If you feel like you’re working all the time on your life coaching career, yet you still aren’t bringing in new life coaching business at the rate you would like to see, you’re not alone. Many coaches feel the same way. They’ve sacrificed years of their life, only to find that the life coaching career of their dreams seems just out of reach. The reason for this is that most coaches are not running their life coaching businesses like a real business.

Why Are YOU in the Life Coaching Business?

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Some coaches are in the life coaching business because they love learning new things. They sign up for the all the seminars they can afford and read every book they can get their hands on. Then they wait for their life coaching career to take off, but it doesn’t. Unfortunately, there are many great coaches out there who never make money at what they could be the best in the world at doing, simply because they don’t market themselves.

Your Life Coach Career Isn’t Just About Your Clients

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Other coaches are in the life coaching business because they want to make a difference in the world, at all costs. They give away their products and services to people who can’t afford them, hoping these clients will have a “rags to riches” transformation. They hope these clients will give them great testimonials so their life coaching career will be propelled to the next level. Unfortunately, most people who don’t pay for coaching are not really fully enrolled. They have nothing to loose but a little time, and rarely take coaching seriously enough to get optimal results. If you can get your clients who don’t pay to get great results, you have a lot of skills and really should be charging people.

Your Life Coaching Business Doesn’t Have to be Perfect to Be Successful

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Another type of coach is the person who wants to get everything to look just right before he starts his life coaching career. The web page, the business cards, the materials; everything needs to be just right. Unfortunately, most clients don’t buy based on any of your visual aides. They enroll because they perceive you to be the only way to get what they want in terms of what matters most to them, not because you have an aesthetically pleasing life coaching business.

It’s Time to Get Serious About Your Life Coach Career

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If you are serious about your life coaching career, you need to start treating your life coaching business like a real business. That means spending at least 10 hours a week in activity that will result in new business. Some examples are working on joint ventures, new products, and finding new clients. Coaching clients, learning new materials and checking your emails are not revenue generating activity. Coaching clients is actually your reward for doing the work. Like most small businesses, lead generation is the key. Whether you plan on getting new clients through public speaking or internet marketing, you need to create a plan and carry it out.

Colette Seymann
JTS Advisors Bi-Designated Strategy and Accountability Coach