How to become a coach in 2025: The Ultimate Guide

Become a Successful Business Coach: The Complete Roadmap from Beginner to Expert

Hey! “work online” they said, “become a business coach” they said. Well – whilst you may have been in corporate and the ‘traditional career path’ long enough to die a little inside every Monday morning and feel torn between your 401k and your creativity – let’s take some time to get down and dirty and see what it’s really like like away from the ‘inspirational Instagram’ shoots. 🤮

When you’re wondering how to become a coach in 2025 because it looks like a great path to financial freedom – allowing you to combine your business skill set and know-how with the ability to work online and let your creativity run free and unchecked

But, if you’re not careful you’ll end up being a therapist, mentor, cheerleader, psychiatric nurse and drill sergeant all rolled into one (minus the couch, whistle and jaunty uniform).

If you’re considering starting a business coaching practice, you’re about to embark on an exciting journey of helping others achieve their entrepreneurial dreams while building your own successful enterprise – but you’re going to need a competitive edge and this guide will help you plan out your coaching career.

Understanding the Business Coaching Geography

What Makes a Great Business Coach?

Before we dive into the nuts and bolts of starting your coaching business, let’s address the elephant in the room: what actually makes a great business coach? Contrary to popular belief, it’s not just about having a successful business background (though that certainly helps because I’ve been in this game long enough to have seen some truly fantasy-esque credentials where it’s clear the person in question’s business experience runs the gamet of Walmart shopper to Saks 5th avenue shopper (– operative word being shopper, not C-suite!). The secret sauce includes:

Deep business acumen and practical experience. You’ve got to know the difference between “sure, this shit looks good on paper” and “what actually flies out there in the big, bad world”. And yes, we can agree that there is a market for almost everything – too many are ‘telling’ that their students must keep on banging a square peg into a round hole.

Exceptional listening and communication skills. It’s going to be primarily people-focused. Yep, real live people with crazy-assed shit going on, skewed ideas, black and white thinking and/or an inability to see the big picture. Are you great at talking to people and helping them view the situation from another angle? Got the patience of a saint? No resting bitch face? Cool – lucky you! 😉

Problem-solving abilities that would make Sherlock Holmes jealous – because – it’s not a one-size-fits-all game. If all business worked exactly the way they should from one solitary checklist – then businesses would never go bust and everyone would be successful straight out of the gate. Reality bites, huh?

Empathy and emotional intelligence and the ability to subtly steer your clients on to a better path without smashing their dreams under you feet. People are often reticent to express their true desires – or limitations – and it’s going to be your job to help them.

The ability to hold clients accountable (without becoming their nightmare). Ideas without action are just ideas. 2 hours on Reddit will tell you all you need to know about the difference between ‘thinkers’ and ‘doers’ – those that have had a great idea for 10 years and are waiting for a sign – and those you just get the fuck on with it. The last thing you need is a bunch of clients who are unable to take that first step as that’ll just grind you down – so you need to be a great cheerleader – and get them off the bench and on to the field.

A growth mindset and commitment to continuous learning because if there’s one thing I know for sure – getting into online business – which involves an absolutely enormous amount of marketing – means you need to genuinely love learning. Everything’s changing all the damned time and if you don’t want to keep up then no matter how great a coach you are – you’re going to bail early. Align yourself to experts who can distill the data for you. It’s not your job to be ‘up to speed’ on every single damned facet of business/marketing/technology – rely on others to give you good data.

The Current Market Opportunity

The business coaching industry has experienced significant growth, particularly since the digital transformation acceleration of 2020 when the whole world was disrupted by the C-word. With more entrepreneurs launching businesses than ever before, the demand for qualified business coaches continues to rise – as unfortunately does the rise of the scammers and truly unqualified and unprepared… According to recent industry reports, the global business coaching market is expected to maintain steady growth through 2025 and beyond as the creator economy looks to exceed a whopping $328 billion by the year 2030.

Building Your Coaching Foundation

Defining Your Niche

“But shouldn’t I help everyone?” I hear you ask. While it’s tempting to cast a wide net, the most successful business coaches typically specialize in specific areas or industries – and in fact, when you dilute your brand or offer by trying to appeal to everyone – you appeal to very, very few. They probably just like your hair or some shit like that. 😉 Consider focusing on:

Startup founders. Right now the SaaS market is booming as techies embrace AI-wrappers to push new apps, tools and technologies our way. Trouble is – techies aren’t renowned for being exceptional marketers, copywriters or general business people. Leave them with code and they’re grand – talking to the public? Not so much.

E-commerce businesses. Despite current predictions and uncertainties surrounding trade barriers – there is going to continue to be a boom in drop-shipping and all types of e-commerce business. It seems crazy that in 2002 I was told that my idea of opening an online clothing store was insane because “nobody will ever buy clothes online”. Yeh I know, mind-blowing. Oh well – live and learn – learn to trust your gut I tells ya! 😉

Service-based businesses. For example, people like me who sell services. These could be website designers, copywriters, VAs, bookkeepers and accountants, lawyers – the list goes on. For all of us, we know our business – but we probably need some extra help with aspects of running and scaling our offerings.

Female entrepreneurs. Because frankly we are tired of the ‘pale, male and stale’ telling us what to do. I choose to work with women and help female-owned businesses. There’s an amazing sisterhood out there and women tend to struggle to balance motherhood and the ‘sandwich years’ with corporate careers requiring them to be out of the home and/or travel for work.

Family-owned businesses. Sure, grandpop opened the store in 1928 – but a lot’s changed in that time and many bricks & mortar businesses (frequently family-owned businesses) could be scaling and doing better if they could get a better grip on modern business strategies.

Specific industries (tech, healthcare, retail, etc.). You know your expertise here – what can you drill down on that very few will have direct experience of?

Remember: The riches are in the niches. Your specialized knowledge will make you more valuable to your target market and it’s essential when you come to develop your marketing strategy. Because without clear messaging, you aren’t going to bring those people into your world to become customers.

Developing Your Coaching Methodology

Every great coach needs a reliable playbook so that you’re not just playing it off the hoof for each and every client that comes in. Although it’s fair to treat each client as an individual who has their own needs – you should implement your methodology to include:

Structured yet flexible. You are the expert here and without structure, your programme will become client-led. Which, perhaps on the surface sounds like you’re delivering exacty what the client wants – but the truth is, your client will end up thinking that they’re the one who’s ‘done all the work’ and you just followed. Too much of a good thing, huh?

Scalable across different clients. If, as part of your methodology you always deal with Problem X – then this is going to be at your core – and this means you can develop a framework which can be used by all your clients – with smaller adaptations to each individual. With experience, those smaller adaptations should they become regular – can be incorporated within your master framework.

Results-oriented. Your clients need results – not just ideas. So it’s highly important that you can ensure they get a win. And… the sooner, the better as it’ll bring a huge emotional pay-off to the both of you and strengthen your working relationship.

Measurable and trackable. I know, I know – metrics are boring. But, we have to track our successes – and failures – so that we can improve processes.

Based on proven business principles. Trends come and go, but throughout the age of time – human psychology remains pretty much intact. And – when you’re developing your marketing strategy – it’s important to remember that in their essence – human beings are selfish and want to know what’s in it for them. And… as I write – this is why AI isn’t quite ready to dominate us – it doesn’t understand how us humans are impulsive and driven by weird shit like buying something that’s green because it reminds us of that green ‘thing’ we had when we were 4 years old. 😉

Adaptable to different learning styles. Your clients will absorb information differently. Remember the best teachers at school who were able to explain a different concept to different people in different ways? Some people (like me) absorb written information, others prefer video/audio and you need to be able to adapt your message to suit the client you’re working with.

Setting Up Your Business Structure

Legal Considerations

Time to get serious (and legal) although I’m not going to dive into this too much as tbh I pay my accountant to handle all the legal/tax stuff and I get legal documents drawn up by lawyers. But here are the basics you need to address:

Choose your business structure (LLC, Corporation, etc.).
Register your business.
Obtain necessary licenses, permits and insurances.
Create coaching contracts and agreements.
Establish privacy policies, terms and conditions/usage policy and data protection measures.

Financial Setup

Get your money matters in order because I can tell you first hand that it’s zero fun getting letters from the tax authorities you don’t understand apart from the bit which says “you may be fined if you do not complete X”:

Open a business bank account. It just makes sense to keep all your businesses expenses separate from your personal ones.

Set up accounting software so you can easily aggregate expenditure and see your sales coming in.

Establish pricing structures. This is extremely important because it can be tempting to waiver on price when you’re having a moment of crisis and/or your potential client goes quiet on the line. Understand your opex (Operating Costs) – I have seen many people underprice their services because they’ve not taken into consideration the actual cost of running their business + tax liabilities + profit. $30/hr might sound like a great wage for making coffee in Starbucks – but when you’re running your own business, you’ll need to price yourself as a business.

Create payment policies. Most public or corporate businesses operate with a 90 day policy of payment. Now that’s all good and well for them as they’ve got billions of dollars in reserve. Back in the real world – you are not a bank – and you do not provide a line of credit. Build into your contract that any late payments will accrue interest – this is likely set at a government level, so check this out before applying.

Plan for taxes – because… death and taxes my friend.

Set up emergency funds because there’s always bloody something. Think of your business as like your refrigerator on a Sunday night with 1 pint of milk on the shelf and a snowstorm coming. But in business… there is always a storm coming and you’ll always be short on something. 😉

Building Your Online Presence

Website Development

Your website is your digital storefront and it’s the first place serious buyers go to check you out. Make it count! Essential elements include:

Must-Have Website Features

Professional design that reflects your brand – you can see my website builder recommendations for coaches here.

Clear value proposition – nuts and bolts baby. What are you here to do?

Service packages and pricing. There was a trend for a while for the obfuscation of pricing – but maybe I’m just a grumpy old lady – I’m hitting the back button if I don’t know how much it’s going to cost me. (I once called a stud about a young horse which said “price on application” – I don’t think I’ve recovered yet for the price being about 6x my budget… )

Client testimonials and success stories. Make sure you get permission to share your customer’s stories with your audience – again, this should be built into our contract and/or onboarding process.

Blog/content section – because marketing without SEO is a one-way ticket to burn out and misery.

About page that builds credibility. Ironic that it’s called “about [me]” when really the focus is on what you can do for your client. Nobody cares about your lifelong love of bunny rabbits or how you went to Italy when you were 12. Make sure your credentials shout “yes me! I’m fucking marvellous me and here’s what I can do for YOU!“.

Clear call-to-action buttons. You need to make it crystal clear what steps you want your potential clients to take. Basic = “give me your email address in exchange for my fantastic thing”.

Contact information because you want people to be able to reach out. 🙂

Booking system for consultations. There are a whole heap of booking software out there that can integrate with your website and your own personal calendars. You can nail down the times you’re available for consultation – so for example, if Wednesday morning is never going to happen for you – lock that down.

Technical Considerations

Mobile responsiveness because the whole damned world has their phone glued to their hand. Interestingly, your buyers are more likely to buy from their laptop – but browsers gonna browse.

Fast loading speed – well, because it’s 2025 and people aren’t hanging around waiting for a slow website to eventually load the page.

SEO optimization – I cannot bang this drum loud enough. Most online coaches are missing this entirely from their marketing strategy and it’s costing them in revenue. If ‘Instagram’ shut down their accounts tomorrow, they’d essentially be left without a marketing channel.

Secure payment processing which is easy-peasy to set up. At its most basic you can accept payments via Paypal, or even take payments from your invoicing software.

Integration with your CRM. For coaches, I’d recommend Dubsado, Honeybook or Moxie – all of which are simple to use and aren’t bloated with features you’re not going to use.

Analytics tracking. Because metrics are dull as ditch-water – but what you’re not tracking, you’re not measuring – and what you’re not measuring won’t tell you what’s working and what is – do more of what is – and give everything at least 90 days to get enough data to make that decision.

Content Strategy

Content is king, queen, and the entire royal court – including the jesters with their funny outfits and shoes with bells on – when it comes to establishing your expertise – and should also form the backbone of your marketing strategy as your SEO. Focus on:

Regular blog posts addressing common business/client challenges. When you create these with a carefully crafted keyword and SEO strategy then they directly drive customers to your site as a result of search engines directing them to you – i.e., the one true mistress to solve all their problems!

Case studies showcasing client success so your potential clients can really see how you work and what type or transformation/problem-solving you’re able to achieve.

Free resources and lead magnets – because you want them on your list!

Email newsletter – please, please, please don’t just email your list when you’re selling something. It’s icky and feels predatory.

Video content (if that’s your jam – or even your marmalade). People do like to hear your voice and see your face. If you’re not wanting to plaster your face over socials – you can release video content to your YouTube channel or even keep it on your own site.

Marketing Your Coaching Business

Digital Marketing Strategies

Time to get the word out (without shouting from the rooftops):

Audience/Community Building

Every new business owners starts with exactly zero audience – because your mum and your ever loyal cat don’t count. Whilst building out the initial framework and processes of your business, you need to be building your audience alongside that – which is a big ask, but is necessary.

Whether you decide to go all-in on socials, paid ads – or even decide you’re going to market without social media – you need to start. You will get clarity on your messaging simply by starting, putting the message out there into the world and seeing what resonates with both you – and your potential audience.

Give each strategy at least 90 days to bed in – and go all-in for those 90 days so you can say you absolutely gave it your best shot. Not all audience building strategies will work for you as a person – or your niche – and just because Ms Fancy-Shmancy pants is killing it over on X network – do not be fooled into believing subscribers = sales.

Follower metrics are a very poor indication of revenue – never mind profit. So instead of chasing ‘vanity metrics’ (i.e., a shit-ton of followers on any given platform) – instead work towards building an engaged community of people who are genuinely keen to hear what you have to say and want to work with you.

Social Media

Choose platforms where your target clients hang out. This can be tricky to figure out and it also needs to be balanced with which platforms you actually enjoy using. For example, if you absolutely loathe going live on video then 1) I hear ya sista and 2) TikTok probably isn’t the place for you. To find where your target audience are hanging out though requires a little bit of detective digging work. Figure out who your biggest 3/4 competitors are and go stalk their socials. Which socials (if any) are getting interaction from people. 2000 views on a video doesn’t mean shit if people aren’t engaging with comments – it’s the comments which hold the gold for you and you’ll want to do a sneaky background check on those people who are leaving comments to find out first of all – if they actually are real people (oh the stories… ) – and, what the demographics tell you.

Create valuable, engaging content. Please don’t post “motivation Monday” shit. The algorithm will hate you. I will hate you. Pre-schoolers will hate you. Even your dog will turn its back on you.

Share client success stories – but again, only with your clients’ written permission.

Post consistently – this is probably the hardest part of all and probably the reason why most people tend to give up on their Social Media posting strategy. It can be extremely disheartening to be posting, getting zero interaction and all your efforts disappearing into ‘gone, never seen again’ algorithm beasts. (This is why I will always recommend SEO as your primary marketing channel).

Engage with your audience. Are you funny? What? Even sober and without your badly chosen outfit? Go for it. The whole world loves a comedian – except those that don’t – and they know where the door is. 😉

Use paid advertising strategically – for one, if you don’t know what you’re doing you’re going to burn through your entire budget (and more) within just a few hours and have a total mental breakdown. There, don’t say I never warned you! Ad algorithms change more frequently than any other big tech algorithm and they’re out for your dollars. No skin off their collective noses if you don’t get ROAS (Return On Ad Spend). Proceed with caution.

Email Marketing

You may have heard it said “the money’s in the list” – and it’s really not far wrong. When every other algorithm throws a spanner in the work ever six months – your list is your list – and you own that data. If Google is launching an algorithm update and squashing your content, Instagram is going back to ‘photos’ and LinkedIn (currently!) celebrating creators and you feel you just can’t keep up. Email marketing is where your people live and where you can reach them right in their pocket and it’s another fantastic marketing without social media strategy.

Keep it respectful and authentic though. It’s one thing to get ‘only selling’ emails from Macy’s – it’s quite another to get ‘only selling’ emails from a real person who is selling services or coaching. Don’t breed ick!

Build your email list from day one using that fancy-shmancy optin you should’ve added to your website.

Segment your audience according to either intent or interest. For example, if you know someone joined your list by way of purchasing a product – then you know they’re a high-value subscriber and should be treated VIP. For segmenting for interest, you might want to do this for people who indicate they’re at ‘beginner’ level vs. more experienced users.

Create valuable newsletters – and leave the templates/AI at home. I’ve just this morning had to send an email to my list apologising for sending a couple of emails out on the trot which were written by AI. It had seemed like a good idea at the time to save myself a bit of time – but I grimaced when they landed in my inbox and I re-read them. Now if they’re making me – the ‘creator’ cringe – Lord alone knows what my audience are feeling. Likewise templates – there are several companies out there who sell ‘copy and paste’ emails for you to send out to your subscribers. Now, on paper that might seem like a grand idea – but when you’ve had 2 emails within 2 hours saying exactly the same thing word-for-word – makes you realise just how special and ‘valued’ you are to you that person. Oh yeh… the unsubscribe button was burning red hot! Your readers will forgive all sorts of SPaG (Spelling and Grammar) mistakes – they won’t be so easy on you if you treat them like fools and cash cows!

Set up automated nurture sequences so that when someone subscribes to your email they get treated to ‘all your best stuff’ as part of a Welcome Sequence meaning you can serve up your best stuff and make sure your new people never miss your Greatest Hits [tm].

Track and optimize performance – because what we don’t measure – we can’t analyse. 🙂

SEO

SEO is the ultimate marketing strategy for a sustainable business which can grow year on year professionally – and without selling your soul to social media algorithms.

Optimize your website for relevant keywords. OK, I know you’ve heard this before and the question you’re probably asking is – “what are the relevant keywords”? Clue: They’re not what you read on some ancient blog written in 2014. They are unique to you, your business, your message, your deliverables and your competition. You’ll need specialist software to uncover these – and what your competitors are ranking for. The easiest way to do this is to get your website audited for a customised SEO Roadmap.

Create high-quality, valuable content. It’s OK to use AI for your content structure – but the most creative – and compelling copy comes from you. If you bash out an entire article in AI, it has tell-tale grammatical wtfs, can frequently be just plain ol’ wrong – and – it doesn’t send a message to your clients that you give a damn. A recent survey in the UK + Ireland revealed that nearly 50% of adults don’t trust AI (but can tell when it’s being used!). It can be useful to give you the backbone of your content – e.g., topic sub-headers to help you get started.

Backlinks – far less important than in days gone by. Google said in 2024 that backlinks were no longer a metric they were using to calculate rankings. So yeh… don’t waste your time commenting on some random blog – but if Oprah magazine calls? Pick up the damned phone!

Focus on local SEO if relevant – which it often isn’t in the coaching world because the majority of coaches are working online. If however you are going to be holding in-person events then this is a HELL YES! Do it for Google and Bing (who own ChatGTP) and it’s an easy way to get your business highlighted in the search results.

Track and adjust your strategy based on results – as always, at least 90 days before you start revising your strategy – but especially so for any SEO endeavours as it’s not an overnight game.

Networking and Partnerships

As an introvert – I bloody love the digital world is great – but I have heard a rumour there are real people out there who enjoy real live human interaction – I know right!? :

Join professional associations and local networking groups run by your chamber of commerce or business gateway.

Attend industry events if applicable. It’s a great way to attend masterclasses and seminars and get you looking at an old problem in a new way. Plus – the ‘energy in the room’ is usually incredibly invigorating and you’ll leave feeling totally renewed in your business. Bonus points if it includes an overnight stay in a hotel – top tip: stretch it to two nights and spend a full day in the room with post-its on the wall and brainstorming and collating all the information you’ve gathered. You will never have another uninterrupted 24 hours with room service and no distractions.

Collaborate with complementary businesses – for example – in my case I have carefully selected partners (always women natch!) in the Web Design and copywriting business. So, they’re not competing directly with me – but they can help my customers and do the work outwith my remit.

Speak at conferences, virtual events, participate in bundles etc.

Host workshops and webinars – you can even pre-record these and host them on-demand which is an excellent method of getting that triple-whammy of:
- New clients on your list
- Like, know + trust factor (they get to hear your voice and see your face)
- Really show them your expertise so they know you’re the right person for the job

Build referral partnerships – this can work either with a group of trusted partners (like the collaborate with complementary businesses) – or a straight-up referral scheme – e.g., a monetary reward to a previous client who brings you new business – or even affiliate referrals who get straight up cash-percentages for getting you new people in through the door.

Serving Your Clients

The Coaching Process

Initial Consultation

This is where it pays off to have made the investment of setting up your systems in your CRM so that most of these tasks are automated and start happening when you hit the “Go” button. My recommendation would be Dubsado for client management. To make that first impression count, it really helps if you are able to automate and systemise your standard processes and have them delivered to schedule to your clients – and of course it doesn’t hurt if they’re well designed to boot!

Set clear expectations – i.e., this is a 30 minute consultation – you will not be fixing the world in that time. I do think though that it’s important to be able to deliver a ‘win’ for your client within this call to cement to them that you are worth working with because you can walk the talk!

Assess client needs and goals – because, sometimes it happens that when you start talking to the client – you realise that you’re not going to be the right fit. Maybe it’s because you don’t deliver what they’re looking for – or maybe it’s just that you can tell right away they’re going to drive you absolutely batshit crazy and you’re better off cutting your losses right now. Never take a client just for the money – you will regret it more quickly than you can imagine right now.

Explain your methodology, what to expect and when to expect it.

Discuss terms and pricing. Remember: You are not a bank – and you don’t extend credit lines.

Address concerns and questions. This isn’t about ‘overcoming objections’ which sounds sleazy as fuck – it’s about genuinely answering questions your client has. If you’re selling high-ticket then it’s natural that people are going to have some reservations about spending that kind of cash. It’s your job to reassure them that you know what you’re doing and your deliverables are solid. We’re not in the used car lot service area!

Onboarding

Create a smooth start:

Welcome packet including setting expectations. These aren’t just in terms of any contractual or legal agreement – but also in terms of things like “I will respond to your question during the business hours of 9-5, M-F exclusively”. That means, you have room for pushback when a client is messaging your increasingly late on a Friday night and not giving up all day Saturday + Sunday too. It happens. 🙁

Assessment tools if your coaching practice utilises them. What and when will you be assessing your client’s progress?

Goal-setting session – these should be mutually agreed and assessment planned.

Communication preferences. This is a great time to send a link to your calendar for your regular meetings, to send a link to any customer portal where they can collect their documents, how to contact you, etc., etc.

Schedule setup. You can either agree to ‘every Tuesday at 10am’ – or, if you prefer more flexibility – make your calendar open for Tuesdays and allow your client to select the time which works for them.

Payment processing. This should have been set up when you built your website. You will be able to send invoices by way of Paypal, Stripe, your bookkeeping/accounting software or through your CRM.

Ongoing Coaching

The meat and potatoes of your service lies in the ongoing coaching relationship. This is where the real transformation happens and where you’ll spend most of your time adding value to your clients’ businesses.

Regular Coaching Sessions Structure your coaching sessions for maximum impact. These typically run 45-90 minutes and should follow a consistent format:

Quick wins and celebrations from the previous session because your clients need a win every time you speak to them to ensure they remain motivated. It also helps to quickly recap the previous session because human beings are terrible at retaining the triumphs – but remember every single low… 🙁
Review of action items and commitments so your client can stay on track ready for their next win.
Deep dive into current challenges or strategic priorities; there is never going to be a linear path to growth.
Strategic planning and goal adjustment – you will need to guide them through facing challenges, and when necessary adjusting course strategically for a better win.
Setting clear action items for the next period. It’s imperative that your client leaves the session knowing exactly what their next priority is and the actionable steps they need to take to achieve it.
Summarizing key takeaways and commitments. You can do this either through delivering a written report, short loom video or audio file – just make sure it’s something your client can come back to when their brain goes totally blank and they can’t even remember what they had for breakfast – never mind what they’re supposed to be doing for business growth!

Progress Tracking Implement robust tracking systems to monitor client progress:

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) dashboard – who doesn’t love a pie-chart or colourful graph? Dashboards are a great way to get an instant bird’s eye view of the current status of a project. Make use of them!

Weekly or monthly progress reports – if your client has invested a large amount of cash to be working with you – they want to know that they’re valued. By giving them progress reports, it shows you do actually care, you are actually engaged and you haven’t just got your hand out for more cash.

Client-specific success indicators. A goal might not be achieved 100%, but is 85% a massive fucking win? Hell yeh!

Homework Assignments Between-session work keeps clients engaged and moving forward because sadly in the business world – if you don’t do the work, you don’t grow which is a bit of a bummer – but run like hell if anyone starts warbling on about ‘passive income’ on 3 minutes a day.

Strategic planning exercises
Market research tasks
Financial analysis worksheets
Team development activities
Process documentation assignments
Competitor analysis frameworks
Personal development exercises
Reading assignments with reflection questions

Resource Sharing Provide valuable resources tailored to each client’s needs. The easiest way to set this up would be within a CRM with automated emails and/or a portal the client can access to download documents and files.

Custom-created templates and frameworks applicable to your client’s unique situation.

Relevant industry research and reports – because maybe you have just seen the most incredible blog post over on Hubspot and it makes all the sense – why not share it with your client if you think they’d get value from it too?

Book recommendations and summaries of texts and articles that you’ve found helpful for you. There are some business books which are absolute gold – and some which are dross… send your client the links to gold.

Software and tool suggestions. There are so many tools and apps out there on the marketplace, it can be totally overwhelming as to what to use. Even for me as a techie my head gets turned by a shiny new piece of software with snazzy marketing. But, as is often the case – that amazing tool turns out to be a massive pita – or just doesn’t work the way you like it – or doesn’t feel intuitive for you personally. So, when you do stumble across something that simply works without fuss – share the short-track.

Training materials and workshops. These can form part of your evergreen sequence you’ve implemented within your CRM. Pace them carefully so that they ‘best fit’ where any given client will be on their journey at that specific time.

Network introductions and referrals shows your clients that you’re looking out for them and truly wanting them to succeed. With your help, they should not be in a position to extend their expertise within your network.

Accountability Check-ins Maintain momentum through structured accountability:

Quick check-in messages between sessions. These don’t need to be 500 word essays – you can literally send a “hi Susan, just wanting to check in on you and see how your goal of X is shaping up?”.

Action item completion reports. When you’re working on a project made up of 7332 tiny little pieces which need to be stitched together, even if you’re happily crossing them off a digital or paper list – it can seem like you’re never actually getting any closer to completion. By sending over a report/dashboard it’s an enormous boost to your client who can see everything coming together.

Challenge areas and bottleneck identification – this can be picked up with your ‘check-in’ messages – and if you get radio silence back – it’s time to jump in and fix it before it all turns to shit.

Time-sensitive goal monitoring. Understand that life happens and sometimes things get in the way. What is it they say? Best laid plans of mice and men.. (good Scottish reference there as it comes from a Robert Burns poem. I’d type the whole lot but it contains a lot of dialect you’d probably not appreciate! 😉 ). Be ready to shift out the goal plans to accommodate a crisis.

Remember that the ongoing coaching relationship should be dynamic and adaptable while maintaining structure. Your role is to balance pushing clients outside their comfort zone while providing the support and resources they need to succeed. Regular evaluation and adjustment of your coaching approach ensures you’re always delivering maximum value to your clients and makes for a stronger relationship.

Tools and Systems

Tools and Systems: Building Your Digital Infrastructure

If you’re not coming from a techy background then this might all seem a little terrifying. However, a robust tech stack is the backbone of a modern coaching business. While the human element is irreplaceable, the right tools can dramatically improve your efficiency and client experience – oh, and stop you working until 2am or all weekend because you can just automate. so much of it. Check out my complete recommended tech stack here .

Essential Software

Scheduling and Calendar Management The foundation of smooth operations for your new coaching business – because nothing says amateur like email-tennis when trying to set up a meeting with your new client:

Automated booking systems (like Calendly or Acuity)

Calendar integration with time zone handling (so, so important! I’m in the UK, but have many US-based clients and I will never know which timezone Colorado is in – or if it’s in the same one as Illinois… and where does Rhode Island come in to all of this?)

Buffer time management – what this does is tops you booking back-to-back calls. For example, you won’t get one client booking 60 minutes at 10am and the next 60 minutes at 11am. OK sure, some super women can handle that – I need 15 minutes to go to the bathroom, make a coffee and collect my thoughts before speaking to my next client.

Automated reminders and follow-ups. You shouldn’t be spending your days checking your calendar and reminding your clients that you’re due to speak tomorrow.

Rescheduling and cancellation automations so that your client can reschedule bookings. You will probably want to create policies around this so you don’t have to deal with last minute cancellations.

Group session scheduling capabilities if you’re going to be offering group sessions.

Multiple meeting duration options – because sometimes it’s just a ‘getting to know you’ short call – but for onboarding it could be a 2 hour session.

Video Conferencing Solutions Your virtual meeting room needs:

High-quality video and audio capabilities – and I shouldn’t need to add – your internet connection needs to be fast and stable.

Screen sharing and annotation tools which are useful for demonstrations.

Recording functionality for session review. It’s always good practice to be able to send your client a recording of the session so they can refer back to it – you might want to also. Another way you can offer this is to have a transcript made of the tool.

Breakout rooms for group coaching.

Chat and file sharing features – because it’s so much easier to be able to share files on screen than say “right, I’m emailing this to you now… should be there any minute… yeh… it’s on its way”.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Keep track of your client relationships and know where you stand at any given moment. You don’t need a massively complicated CRM with ALL the bells and whistles, but you do need:

Complete client profiles and history – including how they came into your world and important dates.

Communication tracking and logging. The CRM will allow you to have ‘one view’ of all emails and communications with your client rather than you having to cross-reference multiple platforms.

Pipeline management for prospects so that you know who’s a potential prospect – who’s had their intake call, who’s a paying client – and also extremely valuable for high quality off-boarding.

Task and follow-up automation – for you and for your client.

Email integration and templates so that you can send automations for each stage of the client journey.

Custom fields for coaching-specific data as your clients will have slightly different needs and goals as you map out your program structure until you find that ‘one level’.

Reporting and analytics features so that you know what’s going on at any given time.

Document Sharing and Storage Organize your coaching materials:

Secure file storage and sharing – the easiest way to do this is through Google Workspace or even through using your apple cloud storage. Cloud storage is the way to go – because if you’ve ever lost your laptop or had it broken, you’ll know the feeling of impotence as all your work disappears too…

Template libraries so that you are consistent with your branding and messaging.

Mobile accessibility – you don’t need this for everything you do. But once in a while you do need to dive in and you’re nowhere near your desk.

Backup systems – I cannot emphasise this enough.

Billing and Financial Management Handle the money matters. This can be handled within your CRM or accounting systems – and you’ll also need to make sure you’ve set up payment gateways with Stripe, Paypal or whichever vendor you choose to work with:

Automated invoicing systems – especially for clients on a monthly billing or rolling contract.

Multiple payment gateway options. Some people never use Paypal, some will never use Stripe – give them options.

Subscription management for recurring invoices.

Expense tracking.

Financial reporting.

Tax documentation – your accounting software may handle this – but I’d always recommend having your actual accountant sanity check and submit your tax documentation.

Currency handling for international clients. Most payment processors, banks and accounting software already handles this for you.

Assessment and Evaluation Tools Measure progress and impact. By having templates already in place, you can re-use this for ease (for you) – and for distributing information with your clients:

Business assessment templates so you can assess the current status of the business you’re working with.

Performance tracking dashboards – everyone loves dashboards.

Survey and feedback tools. It’s so important to get feedback from your clients during the offboarding phase and allows you to re-iterate your offers and services to provide exactly what your clients want.

Analytics and reporting systems.

Benchmark comparison tools.

ROI calculators.

Skills assessment frameworks.

Pro Tip: While it’s tempting to adopt every shiny new tool on the market, start with the essentials and gradually expand your tech stack based on actual needs. The goal is to enhance, not complicate, your coaching practice.

Remember: Your systems should work for you, not the other way around. Regularly review and optimize your tech stack to ensure it continues to serve your and your clients’ needs effectively.

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Documentation Systems

Client Progress Documentation Maintain detailed records which you can share with your client within your CRM portal:

Session notes templates – or provide the video transcript or video itself of the session(s).
Progress tracking frameworks.
Goal achievement logs.
Challenge and solution documentation.
Action item tracking.
Decision logs.

Knowledge Management Build your coaching resource library. This isn’t something you’re going to have to hand on Day 1 and will be built incrementally with experience and time:

Categorized resource database.
Client success stories and case studies – to use as reference – or as marketing materials.
Coaching frameworks and methodologies which will evolve with experience.
Industry-specific resources.
Training materials and worksheets which are used repeatedly with your clients and framework.

Measuring Success

Key Performance Indicators

Track what matters for the growth of your business:

Client acquisition rates – how many visits are you getting, how many leads are you getting – and how many are you converting – and at what cost.

Client retention rates – what percentage of clients are booking further work with you?

Revenue growth – don’t confuse revenue with profit – each need to be tracked.

Client success metrics – are your clients getting tangible results from you?

Referral rates – happy clients = happy to refer.

Content engagement – which loops into client acquisition rates – but, do not confuse content engagement with paying clients.

Return on marketing investment. This is such an important one and vital to master your ROI if you’re to know whether your marketing strategy makes sense or not.

Conclusion

Starting a business coaching business is both challenging and rewarding -but ultimately success requires a combination of business acumen, coaching skills, marketing savvy, and genuine passion for helping others succeed.

Remember, your own business success serves as a testament to your coaching abilities – so practice what you preach!

When you make the decision to start on this journey you must remember that even the most successful coaches started somewhere – and, most take a pivot or two (or 6) before hitting the sweet spot and finding what works for them in terms of what they offer – and what they can sell.

Stay committed to your vision – and test every new strategy for at least 90 days, keep learning, and most importantly, maintain your sense of humour because you’ll need it on those days when your clients’ businesses feel more like a circus with nothing more than badly-trained monkeys running the show.

The world needs more great business coaches. With dedication, the right strategies, and a commitment to excellence, you can build a thriving coaching practice that makes a real difference in the lives of entrepreneurs and business owners – and there’s something immensely satisfying and self-rewarding to know that you’ve helped other women succeed in business.

Now, go forth and coach! (…just maybe hold off on buying that whistle.)