Choosing the right business model can be overwhelming.
There are soooo many options, it’s enough to make you want to lay down…
GOOD NEWS! There’s no need to feel overwhelmed by it because choosing a business model is a simple process. All you need is smart-decision making and a positive perspective (and medicinal chocolate, if you are like me)..
Indeed, it’s easier said than done, but the best news? You’re in control of everything!
There are no wrong or right business models. However, there are specific business models that if they are implemented well, can be a game-changer.
But just so we are on the same page, let’s review the terminology for a second, shall we?
Voila: A business model is a process or method that your company uses to operate. The business model helps a company realize the economic value of the services or products they provide.
A good business model contains information on your target audience, the products and/or services you want to offer, and how you accomplish your financial goals.
Now, we’re going to need a few tweaks to create a business model for a life coach. YOU ARE SPECIAL.
Different Business Models for Life Coaching
There are different types of business life coaching models you can choose from:
- Individual coaching: This type of business model is ideal if you’re only starting out as it can help maintain a steady cash flow. Consider this a good foundation for your life coaching business before you pursue other revenue streams as it has very little infrastructure and is also very profitable from Day 1.
- Group coaching: This is ideal for life coaches who are ready to increase their profit margin by being able to coach more people at any given time.
- Affiliate programs: This is ideal if you want to promote other people’s content on your website and make money from it.
- Coaching courses: A great way to generate income as a life coach is to offer online coaching courses. There are many online platforms where you can hold life coaching courses where you can put your expertise and skills to practice.
These are the types of business models you can explore with your life coaching. Now, what else do you need to know? Many things, but don’t worry, I’ll share them all here. Buckle up, buttercup!
Step 1: Determine Your Niche
Establishing your niche is important if you want to build a strong coaching practice. Being a “life” coach is very broad, if you think about it—but what is it is about life that you’re really good at? That’s where you start.
What big changes have you made in your life? Or, what are you passionate about helping people achieve? Jot down your answers to these questions and see what comes up. From there, you can build a more specific niche that will make it easier for you to develop the right business model.
And if you are wondering which niche to choose to be profitable, or how to talk about your niche, read this article immediately if not sooner.
Step 2: Determine Your Clients
If you want your life coaching business to be a success, you need a clear picture of your potential clients. Therefore, you need to take time to determine who you will do this for? Who can you help? Who *specifically* are the people who will be interested in what you have to offer?
Don’t be afraid to limit yourself! It’s natural to feel that way when you’re only starting out; hence, there’s an urge to cover every base. However, that’s not the way it goes – trying to help everybody usually means you end up helping nobody. Or, put another way – if you wanted to hire a heart surgeon, and you had two options: A heart surgeon, and somebody who said they do “heart surgery, baking, and some light pizza delivery – I like to dabble” who would you choose? EXACTLY..
Determining your clients is important because this will help you make your messages more specific and appealing to YOUR people. And if you look inside your heart of hearts and are brutally honest, you’ll realize you actually don’t want to help everyone. And that’s okay! Focus on the people you most want to help.
Once you know, spend time learning to understand them. Find out their pain points, what they care about, what their main problems are, and why they can’t fix them—because this is where you can come in and help. Yay you!
Step 3: Determine the Amount of Money You Want to Make
When you ask a starting life coach how much money they want to make, you’ll likely get the common answer, “a lot.” This isn’t going to work. I want to lose “a lot of weight” and also eat “a lot of chocolate.”
But how much chocolate should you buy me at the store? And is a lot of weight 5 lbs or 50? I mean, how can we plan?
Money is important in creating your business model and like all the things discussed above, you need to be specific. Pick a number based on what you want to make in a year or in a few years from now, and then you can work backwards to figure out how many clients you need, or programs you need to sell, to hit that number.
However, it’s essential to remember that it will take a few years to build up the skill, contacts, and other things to get to your goal of sustainable income. Therefore, when you establish your ideal income in a few years, you can identify what that means for the first couple of years.
Step 4: Determine the Amount of Work You Can Do
As a life coach, how much work do you want and can do? Pick your working hours and determine how many of those hours are allotted to coaching and the time you need to spend on growth and maintenance.
If you don’t know, in the beginning you’ll spend most of your time on marketing and selling, but as you get clients and your business becomes more stable, you can expect to spend 60% of your time coaching/creating programs, working in your business, and 40% on admin and marketing activities, working on your business.
Be realistic about the amount of hours you can coach, how many you *want* to coach, and what coaching modality works for you. You also need to consider the type of coaching you will do to reach your income targets.
Some Other Helpful Things to Keep in Mind
When building a life coaching business model, always remember that you don’t need to know everything. In fact, you are not superhuman, you can’t know everything. That’s okay! You’ll learn what you need to know over time, and you’ll make mistakes along the way. Welcome to the club, as someone who has built 6 and 7 figure programs, I’ve made tons of mistakes and learn something new every day. Hi!
Remember all the decisions you make in your business aren’t never permanent unless you say so. You can change your mind! The web is erasable! You’ll figure it out! And things WILL change, so get ready to get flexible.
All successful life coaches…
1) started with nothing and
2) Many of their first ideas didn’t work out, or changed dramatically in the beginning.
This will happen to you, so don’t pressure yourself! Focus on progress, not perfection.
Follow the outline here, and keep moving forwards. And don’t forget: Creating an effective business life coaching model will go a long way and set the tone for your success.
Next up, wondering how to get certified and really become a life coach? No problem! Go read this article and get your coaching on!
Need more concrete help finding clients?
Awesome, we’ve got help! Sign up for this free marketing masterclass to learn how to market your coaching business and get you those amazing paying clients! It’s an in-depth dive that will show you exactly what to do *without* hiring anyone or spending hours on social media.