As the corporate world is slowly dismantling itself through continual layoffs, downsizing, even insolvency, those who still have years of productivity in them are heading for self-employment in the field of coaching. You want to be a Coach, Do You? What was once a closely guarded group of industry experts and psychologists is not so private and specialized group.
You want to be a Coach; Do You is one of those questions/statements/challenges that I place before you. Here’s another: Why?
Hold on a moment, don’t start answering just yet. Consider what you are considering. Sure, there may be a reason you are shifting from employment to self-employment, but the WHY I am speaking of is Not because you’re out of a job and your family is used to eating three meals a day.
The WHY you are doing this must be emotion based. Is it because you desire to make an impact in people’s lives? Have you discovered a genius within you that you’re compelled to share? Are you attempting to drive significant change in some fashion, like relieving hunger, providing shelter for the homeless, or is it more elusive than that? Is it purely based on the need of an income? Is all you see are dollar signs? $$$$$$
My big WHY is to build a legacy for my grandchildren and the world at large. By working in the NonProfit world doing what I do, I am helping untold thousands, even millions of people through NonProfit interaction in fulfilling their individual missions.
Creating a business assisting those small organizations that cannot seem to stay out of their own way is sustainable, and it is something that can be passed generationally if handled correctly.
The Business Model and More
So, now that you’ve pondered your WHY, let’s talk about the other things that are critical for your success in this new endeavor called coaching.
See What You’ve Done?
If you’ve gotten this far in your pre-endeavor planning (most newbies just jump to the part where money comes in), you’ve identified numerous things. What business type, business model, and the thing that makes you different than any other coach on the face of the planet. You’ve also hit on the Golden Triangle (that’s the key part of how you’ll market yourself –Market, Message, Media). You can’t be successful unless you follow this formula.
Six Million small businesses are started every year in the USA, and 6 Million less about 36,000 fail. Why, it’s not lack of funding, although that is a big contributor. It’s that they didn’t follow this formula.
Typically, these new coaches jump right into social media, or some other type of media. That’s even prior to knowing which personality their ideal prospect is. That’s even before they know what they’ll share in their messaging. They waste big money getting terrible results, then go broke. There is the lack of available funds I mentioned earlier. Hope and prayers is NOT a good way to go about sustainability.
There’s obviously much more than these few tips, tasks, and tactics to establish and run an effective coaching program. There is licensing, price elasticity, frequency size of groups, and more. Check this blog in a little while and part two of this topic should be posted for your education and information pleasure.
If there are questions that come to mind, please feel free to reach out by filling out a contact form and we’ll get our expert to respond.
Cheers!