I wrote last week about whether you should become a coach. This week I will address whether you can make a living as a coach? Maybe, it depends. I know this isn’t the answer you wanted to hear but it is the reality. When I graduated from my first coaching program, most of my fellow participants struggled to make a living. I was still working at Intel, so it didn’t matter for me. When I graduated my second coaching program, I saw a clear path to earn six figures a year. In this article, I will share with you what changed and I have been earning six figures a year as a coach.
People will only pay you what the coaching is worth to them.
If you want to offer life coaching to individuals, recognize they will see less value in your coaching than a company with an executive leader who needs to overcome a key challenge. The value at stake for a large company could be a $M or more and they will be willing to share some of this value with you.
People hire someone who has what they want
People generally look up to the people they learn from. Your clients will look for someone they respect and probably wish to emulate. If they are a CEO, they will probably want to learn from another CEO. If not, you better have something they need, for example a key skill you are known for.
Learn to sell
Most people don’t like selling. If you don’t like selling, I recommend you find a different profession. You have to be confident in your own skills and the value you offer. Are you willing to ask for what you are worth and say no to low-ball business?
Give yourself three years
Success won’t come overnight. A great piece of advice I received was to assume it would take me three years to earn a good living. In the first year I earned very little. Knowing it would take me three years helped me avoid getting down on myself and to be patient instead.
Don’t join the race to the bottom
There are a number of relatively new coaching companies who offer work to new qualified coaches. It sounds great. You don’t need to sell and there is all this work available to you. The problem is the rates they offer are usually very low. They are targeting the bottom of the market and you will work hard and not earn what you are worth. The better approach is to focus on winning your own clients and you will be better off investing in your selling skills.
My intention is not to put you off becoming a coach. It is highly rewarding work and even more so when you go into it with realistic expectations.
All spot on Andy. And there is more.
When I started out 24 years ago an old hand told me that ‘if you can get 7 years in you have cracked it’. So, in years 8, 9 and 10 I expected there to be a queue of clients beating a path to my door. It didn’t work out like that for me and still hasn’t after 20 odd years. It’s non stop, constant work, doing good work and getting out there to feed the work pipeline. I can’t take my foot off the gas for one moment from winning good work and delivering good work.
It’s a great way to make a living, though not easy.