Start an Online Coaching Business
Using Your Talents and Expertise
Learning something new is fun; it can also be a challenge. Many times we are
required to learn something new with our job and there are times when we are
interested in something and want to learn more about it. That’s why a coaching
business offers a great way to make some nice profits.
There is so much information out there so it seems very easy to just do some
research and find what it is you need to know. How easy is it to apply your new
found knowledge in a real life situation, and how much can you trust the
information out there? It is not really that simple. Learning something and doing
something are two different things.
Learning something and putting it into practice takes time, patience, and a good
coach. This is where you come in handy. Think of your current niche, and as you
are thinking about it, is there something within your niche that people need or
want help with? Maybe you cannot think of something within your niche, so
below are ten coaching businesses examples.
The purpose is to give you the coacher ideas within different niches, then go back
and think of ways you can create a coaching business within your own niche. If
you still cannot think of anything within your niche, then it can be a totally
separate business from what you have right now. Read each one and think about
it. Then read it again thinking of ways you can apply that knowledge to your own
business.
Types of Coaching Businesses
The ten coaching business ideas are computer/IT, financial, career, parenting,
gardening, school (high school and college), cooking, instruments, hone
improvement, and sales. Each one is a different type of business, and you may or
may not need any special experience to start. You won’t need experience to start
the business either, but one thing to note is you must let your potential clients
know you are simply coaching and not giving professional advice
If you are a professional, that is great and you will be a step ahead of others
coachers out there. But nonetheless, people will seek a non-professional who
charges less to give supplemental knowledge to what they already know.
Another thing is do not limit your thoughts and beliefs to what is written. You are
encouraged to take these types of coaching business ideas and come up with
creative ways to start your own business with your skills and expertise.
Computer and IT
Computers are designed to help you to become more productive. But there are
times when they can slow us down. If you are great with computers, you can start
a coaching business to help with those pesky issues that get in the way of getting
your daily tasks done. Let me walk you through some ideas to get you started
with this type of business.
If someone has a minor issue and he or she cannot afford to pay a professional,
you can charge a lower rate and coach them through the issue from home. Maybe
it’s not computer issues that you can help with. There are many new computer 4
programmers out there who may need a little coaching to help them apply what
they learned in school to their career.
Financial
Money management can be very tough for many people. It is very important to
have your finances in order so you are prepared for now and your future. You
know the saying “save your pennies for a rainy day.” You literally need to save
your money so that it works for you and not against you. So many people borrow
more than they make in one year.
The best way to help anyone is to help them before they get into a financial bind.
You are there to help people make sound financial decisions, and coaching will
greatly motivate people to take action and be wise with their money. It is
heartbreaking to see people when they lose so many things they worked so hard
to get. Financial coaching may be the most sought after and necessary business
today.
When people get into desperate situations they look for someone to help them
out. Their reasons for creating this problem are all different, but in this day and
age, it is hard to survive on the little income most people make. There are
however, ways to manage your money well and live off of the income you have
and be in good financial standing.
So as a financial coach, you will be giving sound advice and helping people learn
how money works. You may also help them grow their wealth and use certain
people for your resources such as Warren Buffet, Napoleon Hill, and Dave Ramsey 5
to name a few. These people and more helped many people make their money
work for them.
Career Coaching
Your career is the most important decision you will need to make in life. It will
give you income and ultimately help you to decide your best path through life. It
is hard for some people to decide which career path will ultimately allow them to
live the life they choose.
You might believe your dream of becoming a doctor or nurse when you were five
years old is the best career choice. When you reach adulthood however, your way
of thinking may change significantly. In reality, the best way to choose a career
that is most fitting to you is one that reflects the lifestyle you want. There are
tests you can take and studies performed that act as a guide and give you advice
on a career but, may not be a definite answer.
So if you have a lot of knowledge about careers and which ones are ideal for
certain personalities, then you can make a nice business reflecting what you know
about it to clients. Sometimes it helps if you studied psychology because much of
how you match someone up with an ideal career has a lot to do with his or her
psyche.
Do remember this and all businesses in this article are ones you will not need
previous experience to start, but it does require some ability to work well with
others. You need to be good with people, understand their concerns, and attract
people who are willing to take advice. They should be informed that the final 6
outcome of the coaching sessions is a reflection of their choices. You are only
there to help them see things with a different perspective.
Parenting
Having children is a blessing. Knowing effective ways to parent your children can
seem obscure or even a little difficult at times. You will also notice each child is
different. The best advice for someone to start a parenting coaching career is to
have some background working with children. It is even a good idea to have a
degree in child psychology, but not required.
Whichever coaching business you decide to start is designed to give people advice
and supplemental knowledge. Look for people who are willing to take advice as
sometimes giving parenting advice can turn people off.
When you get the chance, look up a show called “Nanny 911” and learn from it.
These professionals have helped many families get their children on the right
track behaviorally. If you notice, a lot of it has to do with the parent changing the
ways they believe they should discipline their children. Success only comes from
taking the advice the nannies give and working with their children in a consistent
manner.
So if you feel you have what it takes and love working with children and are good
at helping other see things from a different view, then this can be a very
rewarding business choice. Remember the world needs people who are willing to
help others in need.
Gardening
No matter what season it is, people love to garden. Some have indoor plants and
others plant during the spring and summer months outside. Others have
greenhouses where they can plant any time of the year. No matter how you setup
your garden, I always hear people say they do not have a green thumb and their
plants will not last.
It is those people who many times want to learn to garden but feel they do not
have what it takes. This is where a gardening coach comes in handy. There are
many facets and different crucial elements that go into gardening to have the
most success with it. Each plant is not created equal and will require different
types of attention and nutrition.
If you are great at gardening and have had much success with it, then you might
consider coaching others through it. It is always best to have a coach of some sort
help another person. Hearing the advice and seeing it put into action are very
different. There is also terminology that is easier to show than to just know the
definition.
School (High School and College)
Learning is very rewarding but can be challenging at times. It does not matter who
you are, your upbringing, or how well you absorb information. As a child, many
times you can absorb information like a sponge. However, when you reach
adulthood, learning is NOT the same. There are many resources out there to help
you learn something, but there is no such thing as too much help.
With so many learning styles and information changing so rapidly, there is a NEED
for people to coach others through their learning experience. Now there will most
likely be some subjects you excel at and others you are not so great at. So think
about what you are good at and work with people with that subject.
Cooking
When you open your Facebook or Twitter profile, you will notice there are a lot of
recipes and videos of people making the recipe. They look so good and so you just
want to try it. For some reason, you quickly think, “I won’t be able to make it as
good as they did in the video.” But you know that simply is not true.
You probably will not be making a career out of a few people who just have an
interest in making one simple recipe, but rather someone who has a deeper
interest in it. So how will you know if they do or not? You can look at the
comments on the video to get an idea of how to market this type of coaching
business, but may never know who is really interested until they respond to you
ad.
To advertise your cook coaching business make your own video of a recipe and
put a link in it or in the description letting people know you have coaching
sessions for people who want to become chefs or improve their cooking skills.
Instruments
Music is often considered a universal language. It reaches deep down in our souls
and touches many generations. When you like something you are listening to, you
will put your own meaning to it. No matter what language you speak, music will 9
be interpreted in your own language even when you do not understand the words
and their meaning.
People want to carry on a legacy that has been passed down for generations, or
they want to make a crowd of people have a great time. No matter what the
reason, learning instruments is, and will be in high demand for a long time.
If you know an instrument and have a passion for helping others learn to play, you
are on the fast track to growing a lucrative business and earning many clients.
What instruments are easy to learn without being face to face with an instructor?
Pretty much every instrument on the planet and that is due to video and web
cameras.
Home
Improvement
Your house is your home. You want it to be more than just a building you eat,
relax, and sleep in. It is a part of your well-being. Keeping your home in working
order and having it look presentable is something we all desire. Sometimes we do
not know where to start and we begin to look for some good advice.
If you have the expertise in home improvement, then why not create a coaching
program for it? For example, say you want to lay new tile in your kitchen. It may
seem like no brainer, but there are actually some important things to keep in
mind so you can prepare yourself before you start. The measurements of course
along with how to prepare the sub-floor and so on are all things a good coach can
help with.
Sales
Selling is a part of life. Whether you realize it or not, when you go to a job
interview, you are “selling” your expertise and skills to the potential employer.
People think of sales in a negative connotation, but here is your chance to show
people that it is not so bad. Plus people who are already in the sales profession
know that they always need to find ways to improve.
This is why sales coaching will be a great profit maker for you. More and more
people are starting their own businesses, and guess what; sales are going to and
always will be a big part of it. How else will you get your clients? Selling is a must,
but unlike the old days, the strategies used to sell have changed dramatically.
For this section, I will talk about different selling styles. First selling is not
something that can be forced upon others. Whatever way you word things, a
“NO” most likely will be a NO. You have to respect that no and realize you do not
want to do business with someone who gives you a negative response.
What are some selling styles? Proactive, consultative, aggressive, and passive are
some of the styles you may notice. For your business, you may want to take one
style and build it all round that. A majority of people will probably want to focus
on the passive way of selling. In my life, I have noticed that there are more
passive people and introverts than there are impassive people extroverts.
Now, I want to break these styles down for you and give you a better
understanding of each. This is in hopes that if you choose to be a sales coach, you
may be able to understand more than one style which in the end will be more
profits.
Let’s go backwards from the order I listed the styles in since I know there are
many more passive sellers than impassive:
Passive
Passive selling is pretty effective. You do not want to be labeled “pushy sales-person” and so you take this approach. As a coach, you will teach others how
to get the sale without “selling to” someone. Passive selling can be achieved in
a more laid back setting where people are already aware that your product or
service exists.
This makes things easier for you in the long run. Passive selling may require
aggressive selling at the start. This is until people are aware of your brand and
company. When people become loyal customers, then they will be looking out
for new products and services and special offers.
Aggressive
Aggressive is when you seek after people to tell them you have a product and
convince them to buy it. As I said above, when your business is new, this may
be an approach you need to start with. As more people are aware of your
brand, you can transition into a passive approach.
Consultative
This is actually what coaching is about. As a coach, you are not just helping
people understand their skills or business better, but rather acting as a type of
consultant. You are the expert in your niche, so you can rest assured that there
will be people who trust you for your expertise.12
Proactive
Proactive selling allows you to cause the sale to happen. You are not just
standing to the side, then responding to the sale once a transaction occurred.
The sale may never have happened if you were not proactive in it. When you
are coaching people with this style, you need to emphasize the importance of
being proactive. You are proactive with your sales whether you are passive or
aggressive in sales.
How to implement your coaching business ?
Once you have read about and decided which coaching business you feel fits you
best, it is time to implement it. All of these coaching businesses can begin the
same way. First a good plan will need to be set in place. Follow that plan exactly
how it is because consistency is important.
With your plan you should include a mind map of each component of your
business. Search Google® for some sample mind maps. Here you can see all the
different components and can add more or take away some as necessary. Having
an illustration right before you will help you gather all the ideas possible to set
your business up and run it.
Now take each section of the mind map at a time and figure out an order to put
them in. There is no wrong or right order here, but your instinct may tell you to
do certain things before others. Follow that instinct and refer to your resources.
This may require more research to see if there is any logical order to implement
your business in.
Now, take one piece at a time and execute it. Then observe what happens. The
parts which work best will require less attention. Now take those pieces which did
not deliver an ideal outcome. Focus on them and try to work out a way to
improve it. Once it improves, keep executing it. Now repeat this now and for the
life of the business.
Note that things will change as your business grows. What worked one time may
not work in the future. So always be open to creating new plans for your business.
Remember to also be consistent.
Resources and example coaching businesses
Resources are very important. They also help with credibility. For example, if you
want to increase sales a good resource for you is a person such as Tony Robbins.
Tony Robbins is a renowned leadership expert and helps people plan their
businesses.
As a life coach himself, Tony has helped tons of people achieve goals the can only
dream of. Part of your career as a coach is your ability to speak in front of people.
Again, Tony Robbins is a great example to use. You can find out more about him
by doing a quick google search.
Besides people like Tony, what other resources can you trust? If you do some
more research and find peer reviewed articles, they will help tremendously. If you
are not familiar with what a peer reviewed article is, they are written by experts
in a particular field and reviewed by other experts in that field. After it has been
carefully reviewed then it is published.
You can find peer reviewed articles, journals, and other texts of the like at your
library or through the library’s website. Please be advised that you should get as
many resources as possible and refer back to them as needed.
Marketing your coaching business
Now that you have decided on your coaching business and have some important
plans set in place, you will need to know how to market your idea and realize
which ways will be most effective. No two businesses are alike, so there is no right
way to market that will work every time. Even though there are people out there
that say their method works, proceed with caution.
It is best to do some research and test your own methods out. Remember that
you can research the internet, but get as many sources as possible. Many people
will create a site or blog and say whatever they want. So when you get a good
number of sites, compare the sites and blogs with the credible information you
found. Take the marketing ideas that make the most sense and use them to guide
you.
Marketing should also be treated similar to selling and keep in mind what I talked
about in that section. As there are different selling styles, there are different sub-categories for marketing your coaching business.
For those people whom you want to do business with, these small categories are
something you should really pay attention to. There are three categories, which I
learnt that take some unknown out of sales and change the way you think about
it from now on. One is relationship marketing, two is social marketing, and three
is content marketing.
I chose these three styles because they are extremely important in a coaching
business. There are other styles out there in the world but the main focus is
getting some ideas across so you have a foundation to base things off of. Now
let’s talk about the smaller yet important sales categories.
Relationship Marketing
Relationship marketing is a fairly new concept as it stands, but in reality, it is
something most people learn when they get a job. What you learn is that you
should treat the customer so they feel as if they are welcome in the store or
company. You want them to feel at home.
This builds a relationship with the very people you want to do business with.
Another way to build relationships with people is to remember things about
them. When you see them face to face, try and remember their name. When
they give you their information send out a birthday, holiday, or anniversary
card which can help build a stronger relationship.
This is one marketing category you want to be focused on more than others.
The more personable you can be, the better your business will run. Those who
are experts in relationship marketing and can relay the importance of this
concept can expect to have an easier time growing their coaching business.
Social Marketing
This category has been around, but there are some important ground rules to
adhere to. Do a bit of research on the different ways you should market
through social media. It is more than just putting an affiliate like on your
Facebook wall or on you Twitter feed. You have to engage the audience every 16
way you can and NOT seem like you are just trying to get them to click a link
and buy an affiliate offer.
Once you understand the ground rules, the sky is the limit with social
marketing. You can join groups and go on message boards, but be warned, you
want to build rapport with the members first. There are some places like the
“Warrior Forum” that are designed for internet marketers. You still need to
build relationships with the members before you dive right in and post your
ads.
Content Marketing
Content marketing has been around since the written word. People have been
finding ways to communicate with other people since language began. It is
something that will not soon die out, so this should be another of your focuses
when it comes to marketing.
Making your business fun and engaging
Being an enthusiastic person greatly increases your ability to attract more people
to your coaching business. Attracting people is way more than just speaking in an
enthusiastic way and sounding exciting. You have to be authentic as well because
people will be able to tell if you are or not.
If you are just going through the motions, you will not seem real or that you are
really interested in what you are doing. The best way to be successful with this
part is to really have an interest and passion for what you will be doing.
You also want to attract the right people to your business. Trying to get as many
people as you can to jump on board and get coaching from you seems like the
ideal thing, but if those people seem like they are on board then drop off the face
of the planet, it will just be wasted effort in the end.
One thing I warned about early on is be careful of the resources you use.
However, one thing you can do as an exercise to help your business to be more
fun and engaging is to read blogs. Since many blogs are not expected to be
professional and people may not be writing about the subject in the most
professional manner, you can always get some good ideas from it.
When reading the blog, think about what makes reading it fun and engaging for
you. Apply that to your own business and it will be easier to get motivated.
Motivation is the key to a successful coaching career.
Find out what people want and need
How do you know what people want and need? It is a great open ended question
to start you out with. You will never know right off the bat, and it can be hard to
pinpoint what people actually want. If you are a social person, it may be easy for
you to approach someone and have a nice conversation and from there learn
what they want and need.
This is considered small talk and is a great way to find the information you are
looking for. On neutral ground, people are more likely to talk about superficial
things. They don’t know you on a personal level, so it is easier to simply talk about
what is happening at the given moment. This is to your advantage. And if you are
not the most social person or are shy or even a little self-conscious, don’t be.
The reason being is you should not worry about what people think of you at that
moment. They do not know you and if your conversation was not the greatest,
they probably will not remember the negative things about it. And that is okay.
Consider it practice and keep going out in the world and try again.
Once you build up confidence, you will begin to see a change in how people react
to you. Take note of how things have changed and realize those changes. The
more you connect with people and learn their needs, the better things will get for
you.
Plan each session before you start
Hopefully you have heard of the saying, “failing to plan is planning to fail.” Write
this one down and put it into view either on your bathroom mirror, the bedroom
or front door, or anywhere where you will see it. This will act as a reminder that
you need to make sure you planned for what you will be doing from day to day.
Keep a schedule
Having a schedule is so important. You want to know when you hold coaching
sessions and also know what activities you will need to do to accomplish certain
goals. Many people get stuck here because structure is not a huge part of our
daily lives. Get something into practice before you begin your business and make
a point to follow it daily. This will be a big step toward getting into the habit of
being organized and prepared.
Organization is important
Being organized and staying that way is very important. In fact this is one of the
most important attributes to your business and will save you from huge
headaches later. It goes along with planning as well. You plan needs to be
organized and having an organized plan will help you here.
I have some tips and advice for being and staying organized and so I want you to
read once, then go back and read it again. The second time you read it, you will
think to yourself how you will accomplish this task. In the end I hope you will be
better organized and see success down the road as a result.
Be prepared to answer questions
You want people to ask questions. That is how you know they are engaged in
what you are presenting to them. You will never be able to have all the
information you need set in place as to avoid any uncertainties. In fact it is
actually good to have uncertainties because as you are able to answer the
questions, you will also learn something new.
Coaching isn’t about knowing everything, but knowing enough to help people
who want it. If you do not know the answer to something, do not just tell them
anything. If you do, you will be in a world of hurt in the future.
How to get your clients engaged
How do you get clients engaged? Remember earlier I said you want to attract the
right type of people. So once you have the right people, then it will be that much
easier for you. One thing to ask yourself is what gets you engaged? I know one thing that gets me engaged is simple; eye contact and using my name when
someone speaks to me.
Acknowledge as many people as you can. “I have a bad memory”, or “I’m not
good with names,” are the most common excuses people make. The problem is
that neither excuse is accurate. You just did not “learn” how to remember
someone’s name. Learning and remembering go hand in hand. Find out different
methods that people use to help them remember things and practice it. The best
way is to try and continue to try.
Create a calendar (so people can view your schedule)
My favorite thing is to have a calendar with all my events written in. There are
digital calendars you can share with people and even free software you can find
from your website hosting to meet your needs for this.
Experience tells me to write everything down; EVERYTHING. If you have working
experience, meaning you have held a job of some sort, you will realize that people
will tell you something one time then later on, what they told you will be
irrelevant. Even at your job you should write everything down not just to cover
your end, but so you can refer back to it to help you remember what was said.
With the calendar software of your choice, you can have your schedule viewable
to your clients and to whomever you choose. If you have workers who are helping
with your business, it is a great way for them to know what is going on.
Conclusion
Coaching is all around you. It comes in subtle forms and other times coaching is
blatantly obvious. Obviously coaching is associated with sports, but certain other
life activities greatly benefit from coaching. Take the different types of coaching
businesses in this article as something to compare to different life situations
where coaching can be beneficial.
Remember, the most important part in starting your own coaching business is to
think about and decide what it is that motivates you the most. From there, you
can look at the examples above and use them as a guide as you begin to develop
a plan for your business.
As the plan develops, certain strategies can be executed giving you a “jump start”
for a long and successful path. Success is only measured by the results from the
type of effort you put into it. It will take time and effort to start the business and
keep it running. There are no easy answers and learning from others will not
prevent you from making your own mistakes. It is important to make your own
mistakes so you can learn from them and grow stronger.
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