12 Steps to Building a Fabulous Coaching Business

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Here at the-Coaching Blog-run by Gerard O’Donovan, our aim is to constantly bring value to those seeking to improve their lives. Therefore we have a policy of publishing articles and materials by guest authors whom we value and appreciate. Today’s guest author is Ruby McGuire (United Kingdom).
When you qualify as a coach you are really excited to get started, you know that you now have all of the skills you need to help people change their lives.  You cannot believe how amazing coaching is and want to share all you know with the world and wonder why you didn’t train years ago.  The problem a lot of coaches face though is that they are not prepared for the massive learning curve of running their own business.  They think that they will open their coaching practice and people will come running.  I liken it to opening a shop in the countryside – unless you tell everyone about it nobody will know you are there.  When the clients don’t come so many coaches drop out, believing in can never happen.  I am here to tell you that you can be successful but you need to get the foundations of your business right, and yes there’s a lot to learn.
My mission as a coach for coaches is to rid the world of grumpy people!  To achieve this I help coaches build their businesses the right way so that they set themselves up for success and don’t give up on coaching.  More people coached = more happy people.  Ta-da mission accomplished! By taking small steps and building the foundations of your business you will have everything in place to make your business work. Below I share 12 steps from my online Coaching Rocks Boot camp to getting it right.  
Step 1 – Get Started

• Determine the business practicalities you need to consider – business type, data protection
• Do some physical and mental decluttering to get yourself ready for success
• Work on your self-care – set aside time every single day to work on you.  I cannot stress the importance of self-care enough, which is why it steps one.  It’s very easy to throw yourself into your business, give of yourself to your clients, friends, and family and forget to take care of you.  By spending time on you first you will have more to offer.

Step 2 – Vision
Work out the purpose & vision for your business. Align your values to your business.  People so often miss out this step.  You need to know what you’re aiming for and ‘why’ you’re in business.  When things are not going so well it will keep you motivated.  Notice I shared with you my big ‘why’ when I talked about my mission.  Knowing that, plus my overall business vision and plan, keeps me going when I’m not having such a good day.  Running your own business can be a rollercoaster, mixed with excitement, challenging times and a daily dose of pushing through your fears. Keep your vision in mind all the time.
Step 3 – Niching
Get really clear on your ideal client, where you will find them and what your message is. In order to stand out from the crowd, you need to know who you are, what you offer and how you can help.  What makes you different?  Why would people buy from you as opposed to all of the other coaches out there? The clearer you are on this the easier it will be to get clients.  It does not mean your niche will not change or evolve over time, because it may, but it will make it much easier for you to market to the right people with the right messages.  It may take time to figure out.  It took me over a year and let me tell you endless hours of contemplating, coaching, conversations and scraps of paper. Take notes as you work with clients and start to identify who you enjoy working with and what you help with the most.  What skills, knowledge, and experience can you combine?  It might be coaching and weight loss, coaching, and marketing.  What do you already know that you could help others with?
Step 4 – Pricing & Packaging
Pull together your pricing and packaging.  Don’t just think about charging an hourly rate.  Think about creating packages with added value, this will help you to leverage your time and in turn generate more income.  If it’s just you there are only so many hours in a day, by building value and not just charging by the hour you are able to work with more people and create that business you dream of.
Step 5 – Digital Setup
Start setting yourself up online.  Identify what you need – website/blog/social media?  I would say you need all of them.  Create a basic profile on the various social media platforms so that people can find you and then work with the ones you enjoy and also remember to be where your ideal clients are.
Step 6 – Networking
Online/offline? Have a strategy for your networking – follow-up, follow-up, follow-up.  People often think that if they’re only working offline they don’t need to network online and vice versa.  The combination of both will serve you well.  Do the one you enjoy the most, and choose the right networking groups.  If you are a corporate coach then choose more formal networking groups.  If you are a life coach find the groups that are less formal.
Step 7 – Discovery Sessions
Set up discovery sessions; know what you will ask, how you will overcome objections and what you will do before, during & after each session. It’s not about doing a hard sell to your potential clients but knowing what package/service you can offer that will help them.
Step 8 – Discovery Sessions
Pull together a pack with your terms & conditions, supporting documents for clients.  Standardise and automate what you can save you repeating the same work over and over again.
Step 9 – Selling
This is something that you have to master in order to build your business.  Our experience is often sleazy salespeople pushing things onto us.  It does not have to be that way.  When you are working for yourself it can be difficult to promote ‘you’.  Try to think of it as offering an exchange of money for the services you offer.  Work out how best you can communicate how you can help and serve people with your offerings.
Step 10 – Build your online presence
Build your online presence through quotes & images, guest posts, your website and social media posts.  
Step 11 – Marketing
Market your business through list building, auto-responders, and newsletters, networking events, articles & guest posts. Choose avenues to reach your ideal clients
Step 12 – PR & Income Streams

• Start using some simple PR strategies to promote your business
• Think about how you might leverage your time through various income streams

Coaching is an amazing profession but lets be honest you want to make money from it so take the time to get the foundations of your business right and then you will attract the right clients.  You will also need to spend some time working on building your confidence and skills as a coach so that you are the best you can be. A combination of passion and income – the perfect formula!
Remember one of your biggest USP’s (unique selling points) is being the fabulous you! People buy from people they know, like and trust.  Don’t just go all out and copy what others do, bring more of you into your business.
Drop me an email to let me know what your big ‘why’ is/will be for your business.
About the Author
Ruby McGuire works with coaches to help them build their coaching confidence, skills, and business. Her big mission is to rid the world of grumpy people. The more coaches that stay coaching the more people get coached = happy people with happy lives.
Ruby is a self-confessed chocoholic and vanilla coffee addict. Married to her soul mate, mum to a teenage daughter and two grown-up stepdaughters, plus a little dog.  
Website: www.rubymcguire.com
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