In the past, if you wanted to start and grow an ultra-profitable business coaching practice, this is what it took:
A degree in business. Decades of executive experience. A business coaching franchise. At least $100k in your start-up war chest. Years of struggle until you finally had enough clients that you weren’t constantly in a panic about where the next one was coming from.
Many new coaches simply didn’t have the magical combination of time and money to make it happen. It’s no wonder that some estimates of the business coach failure rate were higher than 50%.
But not anymore! All that has changed.
The rise of the internet, and the availability of smart, savvy, and affordable business coaching systems—for both you AND your clients—have changed the game.
But most business coaches don’t know where to turn.
They struggle to attract and retain high-paying clients, ending up panicked and scattered.
They think:
Maybe I need to post more on social media…
Or maybe I need to spend more time cold-calling…
Or maybe I need to join my local Chamber of Commerce…
Or maybe I need to hire this guru or that expert…
And so it goes. Until you’re burned out or washed up.
But there’s a better way.
It starts with knowing exactly WHO your best clients are (and no, you can’t be all things to all people)…followed by a sleek and simple marketing strategy to attract and convert those clients…and capped off with a business coaching curriculum that is PROVEN to work, so that your clients stay, pay, and refer for years to come.
Why Can Business Coaching Be So Profitable?
Business coaching is one of the most promising fields for an ultra-profitable lifestyle business because:
In a world of non-stop information, entrepreneurs and business owners desperately need help from trusted business advisors to sift and sort that information and apply it in their businesses…
As a business coach, you can work from anywhere in the world with an internet connection and a laptop…
If you do it right, you can build more than just a solo-preneurial practice if you like. You can build a SELLABLE asset, a business coaching firm like the one I sold for $1 Million about a decade ago…
Business coaches are trusted, highly-valued advisors who bring tremendous value to their clients AND the world, by helping small businesses succeed. Entrepreneurs and business owners are willing to pay dearly for this.
To succeed in coaching, you don’t have to have an MBA. You don’t have to be a Fortune 500 executive. You certainly don’t have to buy a franchise. And you don’t even have to have prior coaching experience.
What you need is an open mind…some basic business savvy…and some hustle.
To succeed in coaching, you don’t have to have an MBA. You don’t have to be a Fortune 500 executive. You certainly don’t have to buy a franchise. And you don’t even have to have prior coaching experience. What you need is an open mind…some basic business savvy…and some hustle.
Game-changing performance, it’s a theme that business coaches should find very familiar. In fact, it’s the driving force behind why the majority of clients turn to a business coach for support. It is easy to talk about “game-changing performance;” however, it is another thing entirely to actually live it out day-to-day. As coaches, we deserve to develop in our own lives the life-systems that support high performance. To help you get your high performance in gear we’ve invited leading performance expert Coach John Brubaker (Coach Bru), one of Forbes Magazine’s “Top 10 Consultants Who Avoid The B.S” to share some of his secrets with you.
Here are Coach Bru’s “Ten (10) Keys to Game Changing Performance” that you deserve to develop for yourself first and then pass along to your clients.
Put your goals in writing: Reflect on your goals both personal and professional. Write down the game plan. A goal is just a dream if you don’t put it in writing. Be sure to make goals SMART (Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic & Time Bound)
Exercise your body. DAILY: Every day I hear people say, “I don’t have time to work out.” My experience has been that the time spent working out is an investment in my productivity later that day. I increase my energy reserves, my focus, my mood, and create positive momentum in all I do by INVESTING the time in exercising.
RE-Connect: Re-connect with someone you fell out of touch with over time, either by phone, handwritten note, or email, or go knock on their door. Could be a former co-worker, boss, client, or maybe a friend or family member. It will keep your relationships healthy and positive and will help re-expand your network.
Exercise your mind. DAILY: Whether it is personal, professional, or spiritual development, you need to invest in yourself by reading daily. Name the last book you read. Now answer how long ago that was. If your answer is anything greater than hours, consume some vitamins for your mind by developing a daily reading habit, even if it is only half a chapter. Putting positive messages in your mind will improve your point of view.
Lifelong learning: Commit to developing a new skill, whether it is professional in nature (MBA courses), personal (skydiving), or both (golf or social media training). If you are standing still you’re moving backward. Doing this is both the ultimate comfort zone stretcher and resume builder. Think you don’t have enough time? The internet allows you to study virtually anything at virtually any hour from your home. Don’t believe me? Choose the most far out concept you can and Google it.
Apply a coat of finish: Finish something; you can’t underestimate the psychological impact of tying up loose ends. Complete a project you have been procrastinating on or postponing. It is a mental health triple play: satisfying, liberating, and energizing.
Have a plan, work your plan, have a backup plan: Map out a game plan to better prepare for this week, this month, this quarter. A group calendar, checklists, and quantifiable progress charts displayed in a highly visible location will help your team move the ball closer to the end zone, so to speak.
Give back: While exercise is good for fueling your body, giving back to the community and believing in a greater good nourishes your soul. What fuels your life’s passion outside the office? Find meaningful community service. Serve on the board of a non-profit you are passionate about or help to correct a social injustice. This will add a dimension of meaning to your life that may have been previously absent.
Practice daily gratitude: We often get so caught up in the pressures and responsibilities of daily life that we forget one of the most simple and important acts we can engage in as humans: Giving thanks. Whether it’s verbally or in writing, thank someone who has made an impact on your life, your family, your company, or your community on a daily basis.
We often get so caught up in the pressures and responsibilities of daily life that we forget one of the most simple and important acts we can engage in as humans: Giving thanks.
Recharge your batteries: We are more like our technology than we care to admit. Much like how our cell phones become sluggish when they have too many apps running, our personal batteries become drained from the multitude of tasks we perform. By taking the time to rest and relax you are adding bandwidth and improving your performance. Invest time daily in a tech-free zone. Everyone’s tech-free zone is different. Some of my colleagues enjoy practicing yoga, some prayer, and others prefer the lost art of the power nap. Whatever works best for you, go to that place in your mind and defragment your hard drive. It will pay dividends later.
The International Coaching Federation (ICF) recently released its annual coaching study based on a comprehensive survey of the entire coaching industry, and it had an eye-popping response to a question I get asked a lot: What do business coaches make?
And that’s before you have to deal with the costs, hassles, and uncertainties of owning your own business.
I’ll tell you what, as much as I love being an entrepreneur, I’d take the middle manager salary in a heartbeat if that’s where my earnings stopped.
Yet I, and many of my business coaching clients, have made substantially more than that over the years. And it made me wonder:
What Were We Doing Differently?
After all, it’s not unusual for my clients to generate $10,000, $20,000, even $30,000 per month.
And I realized it came down to three things:
A system
A coach
A community
A system so that you don’t have to start from scratch. Over the past two decades, I have created, refined, and deployed every video, template, guide, checklist, tool, and tactic necessary to build a six-figure business coaching practice—all of which is included in our members-only site. This system has generated literally millions of dollars in coaching revenue over the years. It’s proven and it works.
A coach because it’s important to practice what you preach! The same benefits you sell to prospective clients are precisely what you’ll gain by retaining a coaches’ coach: direction, focus, accountability, expertise. Don’t think because you are a coach that you don’t need a coach. Everyone needs a coach—including you.
A community because coaching can be a solitary gig. Many coaches are solopreneurs, and burn-out often happens when you don’t have the collaboration of colleagues to keep you going. You need a place you can go to share experiences, get help and perspective, and celebrate your successes.
$10,000 to $30,000 in Monthly Revenue—Guaranteed
After realizing what separates the average coaches from the top-earners, I decided I wanted to put together a program that helped more coaches ascend to the upper echelon of our industry.
What’s more, I wanted to guarantee results.
Look, I’ve been in this industry a long time. I’ve seen business coaching franchises and other training programs promise the moon and deliver a crash-landing. I’ve seen people lose everything after being locked into long-term contracts with exploitative, ineffective programs that just don’t work.
Here at the Coaches’ Coach, we’ve never believed in pressuring folks into high-risk purchases. Our program has always been month-to-month and affordable, and our ethic has always been to earn our keep by delivering more value than we earn in fees.
It’s the only right way to do business.
But still, I wanted to do more.
Here at the Coaches' Coach, we've never believed in pressuring folks into high-risk purchases. Our program has always been month-to-month and affordable, and our ethic has always been to earn our keep by delivering more value than we earn in fees. It's the only right way to do business. But still, I wanted to do more.
So I put together a few pilot programs. Could we make business coaching training so reliable, so foolproof, that we could guarantee a six-figure income?
Enter the Rock Star Coaching Program
I’m delighted to say, we cracked the code.
The Rock Star Coaching Program is a LIVE 52-week mentorship program where you walk hand-in-hand with me or one of my certified Coaches’ Coaches to generate five-figure months, month after month after month—or we return your investment to you.
Period.
The Rock Star Coaching Program uses all three of the components I shared above—a system, a coach, and a community—to ensure you get results.
Now don’t get me wrong.
This isn’t for everyone.
The program is intense. It will kick your butt. It’s 52 weeks of intensive, all-out, no-holds-barred learning, training, and accountability—while you put into practice, in real-time, what you’re learning, in order to build your business.
It’s not for tire kickers or complainers.
It’s not for folks who don’t have the capital to invest, both in the training and in growing their business.
And it’s exclusive—we don’t take everyone who applies.
But for those who do, it is a powerful, proven path that will give you the business you’ve been dreaming of. Guaranteed.
Robert Purvin is the Chairman of the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers (AAFD), a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting fair and ethical franchising practices. Prior to being named Chair of AAFD, he had 24 years’ franchise law experience and is known for his skills in dispute resolution and mediation.
In The Franchise Fraud, he dispels the myth that franchising is an inherently safe investment.
No Investment is “Safe”
The truth is that NO investment is “inherently safe.” You need to make sure you’ve done your due diligence ANYTIME you’re asked to part with your hard-earned cash…especially when you’re looking at spending 6+ figures, like most business coaching franchise systems will require of you.
The truth is that NO investment is "inherently safe." You need to make sure you've done your due diligence ANYTIME you're asked to part with your hard-earned cash...especially when you're looking at spending 6+ figures, like most business coaching franchise systems will require of you.
Perhaps you’re familiar with the statistic that claims that only 5% of franchises fail after five years? Before you buy that hook, line, and sinker, keep in mind that this is because the majority of franchises sold in the United States are what Purvin calls “blue chip” franchises–solid, respectable, enduring brands. In contrast, most smaller franchises–including every one of the major business coaching franchises–are unproven and unrecognized systems whose value is suspect, to say the least.
After 20 years in the business coaching industry, I’ve seen franchisee failure rates as high as 80% to 90%. That’s something you probably haven’t heard from your franchisor’s sales rep! So before you buy into all the far-reaching claims about franchises in general, make sure you investigate the particular franchise you’re considering…and that the numbers you have truly reflect reality.
I don’t say this to discourage you. There are reputable business coaching franchises on the market. Not to mention the fact that there are multiple ways to become a business coach without taking on the exposure for a 6-figure investment! (I’m biased, but our own Coaches’ Coach business coaching system is one such option.)
The point is that you need to think through a decision like this carefully. You might just save yourself a lot of heartache.
Did you know that one of the best ways to generate qualified leads is to write ebooks?
Here at the Coaches’ Coach, ebooks are an important part of our business model. They help prospective clients get to know us, understand our process and philosophy, and gain value—even before meeting us or spending a dime.
Whether you’re in a specific market area or niche, you should do the same: write ebooks that are high-quality, high-value, engaging, and actionable. And it doesn’t have to take an excessive amount of time.
Here’s how to write your own ebook in two weeks or less.
Pull Together Articles You’ve Already Written
If you have a blog or newsletter, go back into your archives and pull together your best 15-20 pieces. Find the common thread that weaves throughout each of them (you’ll find it if you look) and give it a title. This is where I started with Secrets of a Business Coaching Rock Star, and it’s still one of the most popular pieces of content we have on this site!
Don’t have any articles in the archives? It’s time to start a blog! Commit to writing one post per week, and within a few months, you’ll have enough to get working on. If writing isn’t your thing, start a podcast where you brain-dump your business knowledge in 15 to 20-minute episodes. Get the episodes transcribed, and voila! You’ve got a starting place.
Hire a Ghostwriter
Even if you’re a decent writer, it helps to have an experienced professional comb through your work and improve it. I like to make sure anyone who writes for me also has sales copywriting experience. Remember: this isn’t an academic paper or even a self-help book—it’s a marketing piece that needs to both encourage prospective clients to go deeper and add legitimate value. You can find great talent on Upwork, if you don’t already have someone in your back pocket.
Remember: this isn't an academic paper or even a self-help book—it's a marketing piece that needs to both encourage prospective clients to go deeper and add legitimate value.
Liberally distribute testimonials and social proof throughout your ebook. You can do this by including case studies of clients who actually did what you’re teaching in the ebook, so that your readers can see that this stuff actually works. Provide quotes from satisfied customers. Don’t be afraid to tell your story!
Link to Other Resources
One of the great things about a digital format is that you can include links inside the PDF to other resources you have available. In our ebooks, we often send folks back to our free downloads page, our free trial page, or our complimentary coaching session page. Get folks to click, click, click!
Length Matters
Your ebook should be about 50 pages long. Twenty-five pages minimum, 75 pages maximum. Why? Much less than that and folks feel like they’re not getting value. Much more than that, and they won’t sit down and read it. It should be easy to consume in about an hour or less.
Design, Design, Design
Don’t just turn a Word doc into a PDF and call it a day. Invest in quality graphic design. Everyone judges a book by its cover (come on, you know you do, too), so be sure to get a nice cover design as well as a professional and engaging layout within.
Keep the Content Evergreen
Unlike more fleeting media, blog posts, podcasts, and social posts, your ebook content should be more or less evergreen. Stick to solid, universal business principles as opposed to fads. You might need to make updates every 18-24 months, just to keep things fresh, but the idea is to allow your ebook to help you generate leads and clients year after year—like ours have!
