Most people don’t start a career coaching business because they want to be rich, but the truth is less than 10% of coaches make more than $100K per year. If you are making less than that and wondering what you are doing wrong, believe me, it’s not lack of career coach training.

Being a Good Coach Doesn’t Mean You Will Have a Successful Career Coaching Business

The key to a successful career coaching business is not different than any other business. They key is marketing, which is something most career coach training courses don’t offer. You need to make finding clients a priority. Without clients, you don’t have a career coaching business.

The trouble is most of us get into coaching because we want to help people. We want to make a difference in the lives of others, and by doing this we get some of our own needs met. If we are getting our own needs met, making a contribution, and experiencing personal growth in the process, then there is a lot of motivation to coach. Plus, we get to take all these fun career coach training courses.

The problem is that at some point you realize you are not making enough money to pay your basic bills, not to mention saving for your future. You realize your career coaching business is nothing more than a hobby. A very expensive hobby because you keep taking more career coach training, thinking it will help you make money.

What You Need to Make Money in Your Career Coaching Business is Not Necessarily More Career Coach Training, but More Marketing Skills

Does that mean you have to call people? Yes, that’s one strategy. And unless your career coaching business has more clients than you can handle, I recommend getting on the phone 4 hours a week to schedule free sessions. Four hours a week of simply calling for referrals, scheduling free sessions, or making appointments with joint venture prospects.

But only 5% of coaches will do this, which may have something to do with the average life coach salary being less than $40 a year. If you’re at all serious about becoming a successful career coach I suggest the next time look into more career coach training, you make sure the training you sign up for includes career coach marketing training. And if the thought of marketing yourself really scares you, you’re going to need to hire a good coach to get you past your fears.

Colette Seymann

JTS Advisors Accountability Coach