Focus on being a great coach and the business will come.

Focus on a great business and the coaching will suffer.

CU427 - no question about it that you're correct in terms of priorities. Coaching must come first (and second and third). And maybe you just naturally have a knack for biz so aspects like how to price services or spread the news or manage expenses, etc come easy. But not everyone does. I know a ton of coaches who are great coaches - really great coaches - but are unable to build their business.

What we see often is that coaches take the above too far and think the "Field of Dreams" strategy is actually a strategy ("If you build it... they will come"). Then, a couple years down the road, they still only have a handful of clients, are still working their "real" job full time to support their coaching, which has turned out to unfortunately be little more than a hobby?

Congrats on your success!

I would agree with the poster above that Coaching should come first and your results will speak for themselves.

The biggest struggle is that it takes time to get results. It takes time to gain experience. It takes time to have your results associated with you as a coach.

With that being said though, it all goes back to coaching comes first in my experiences. My best marketing has come from word-of-mouth of my athletes having success. Its how I obtain roughly 90% of my clients. So my suggestion would be to put nearly all of your time into developing as a coach and focusing on your athletes. Yes you'll have to market some and keep track of business numbers/ideas... but at the end of the day your athlete speaking about their results is the best way to develop a business in my opinion.

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COROS Sports Science

Thanks ddalzell. Good advice.
So in terms of the question on the table, when it DOES come to the business side of your coaching business, what would be one or two of your most significant struggles? (feel free to email me directly if preferred).

Thanks for the direct email notes. Good stuff. Just to clarify, I'm looking for feedback (if you're willing) from folks who are actually running a coaching business that supports their lifestyle without working a second job and not just a side business that brings in a little extra cash.

Keep 'em coming! Direct email since this may be a bit sensitive to post here is BCooper@uscorporatewellness.com. Thanks!

I also agree the coaching comes first. I get more business from word of mouth and the results of my athletes. I coach athletes from beginners to worlds and Kona qualifiers and podium finishers and it's motivating all types of athletes to their own personal achievements. I do think sometimes the results of some of more talented athletes can intimidate beginners but you have to make sure their focus is what the abilities are at the time and move forward.







futrmultisports.com

Thanks Scot

It looks like I didn't ask the question very well since most of the answers are reminding me of the old Steve Martin routine about "How to be a millionaire and never pay taxes?" (First - get a million dollars).

So let's try re-phrasing the question as a 3 parter:

1. If you are a coach making less than $35K/year through your coaching, what is the most significant limiter to growing your income up over that $35K (or higher) level?
2. If you are already making $35/year via your coaching, what is one thing that is limiting you from increasing your annual income to $50-60K or more?
3. If you're earning more than $60K/year via your coaching, what is one thing you wish you would have known about running a coaching business earlier in your career?

We all agree that the first step to running a great coaching business is being a great coach (as is true for most businesses). I'm looking for your thoughts on the next level. You're a great coach - now how do you run a great business. The two can run hand in hand, but they often don't. Physicians are well known for this. Great docs - but often poor business owners. I see the same with coaches all the time and am curious what you're seeing personally (if applicable).


Again - TOTALLY understand if this is too personal to post, so welcome the continued direct notes if you prefer (BCooper@uscorporatewellness.com). Thanks everyone!