How to make money as a coach in 2025 is the focal point of this episode. Jo Lott explores different strategies for coaches to make more money next year, covering industry trends, innovative coaching models, and sustainable business practices.

Episode Timestamps:

• [00:01:00] Overview of Making Money as a Coach in 2025
• [00:02:00] Current Industry Trends
• [00:07:00] Proven Ways to Make Money as a Coach
• [00:15:00] Adapting to New Trends
• [00:17:00] Avoiding Burnout and Building Sustainability
• [00:20:00] Conclusion and Final Thoughts

If you're a coach wondering how to make money in 2025, this episode is your roadmap.

Three big takeaways:

1. Coaching isn't a luxury anymore - it's a necessity
2. Micro-niching is your secret weapon
3. Technology (hello, AI!) is transforming how we coach

🎉 Celebrate and Win! 🎉

I’m running a special prize draw to thank you for rating and reviewing my podcast! Here’s how to enter:

1. Find the podcast name, scroll down, and leave your rating and review.
2. Email me at joanna@joannalottcoaching.com to let me know you’ve done it.

I’ll host a live video draw on Wednesday, December 4th with exciting prizes:

•  My signature course to help you craft your niche, create an irresistible offer, and make your first 5 sales.
• Or, if you already have the course, a one-on-one coaching call with me!

Your support means the world, and I can’t wait to celebrate with you! 🥳

Useful Links

Register for the 2025 Visionary Planning Online Workshop For Coaches

Download the Free Digital version of Coches' Planner (edition 2025)

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How to secure more coaching clients' free training

Download the 12 ways to get clients now

Learn about The Business of Coaching programme

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Thank you for listening!

Hello and welcome to Women in the Coaching arena podcast.

I'm so glad you're here.

I'm Jo Lott, a business mentor and ICF accredited coach and I help coaches to build brilliant businesses.

I know that when you prepare to enter the arena there is fear, self doubt, comparison, anxiety, uncertainty.

You can tend to armour up and protect yourself from vulnerability.

In this podcast I'll be sharing honest, not hype, practical and emotional tools to support you to make the difference that you're here for DARE greatly you belong in this arena.

Hello, welcome to the 90th episode of Women in the Coaching Arena.

I am so glad you are here.

It feels very exciting to be on my 90th episode and I must plan some sort of party or something for my 100th episode.

This is an honest, not hype episode with actionable things that you can implement following today's session.

So let's start by thinking about what's working now, what trends do we need to keep an eye on and how can you thrive in your business next year?

So I did some research into what's changed in the industry recently and I always do this for my workshops as well.

My latest research shows that people are now viewing coaching as more like a necessity than a luxury.

So that is really great news.

It's not unusual for an individual to seek a coach now, whereas obviously years ago that was not the case and it was reserved for really senior professionals who would have it bought for by their workplace.

So this shift will open doors for you to expand your reach and access everyday people by addressing everyday problems.

My next finding is that specialization rules in the increasingly competitive market we are now in.

Generalists have lost ground and coaches who focus on niche markets like hormonal health, leadership for hybrid teams or leveraging and scaling businesses are better positioned to stand out and command premium pricing.

So it's more like a micro niche now.

So leadership is not really a micro niche, it's a very, very wide niche.

So the more you can find your area of specialism, the more your audience will see you as essential to their success.

The next change is tech and automation in coaching.

So AI powered tools like for example I use Fathom to record all my sessions and create notes for me afterwards.

That used to take me probably an hour to download the zoom, then upload the Zoom recording into my portal and now all I need to do is copy one simple link into my portal to share the recording and notes afterwards which are really really good notes as well.

Other AI is really changing the industry like ChatGPT or my favorite is Claude.

This really helps to become your own thinking partner with creating marketing in your business, reviewing things for you.

You do need to take it with a pinch of salt.

So don't get too carried away with AI because there is a downside because it doesn't always have real knowledge of what is for example a good niche.

Because if you put in there I help people improve their life, it will say there are thousands of people wanting to improve their life.

This is a really great niche.

When sadly I know through real life experience very few people are buying that kind of general vague life coaching.

Other AI tools and technology are really useful.

For example, I send loom videos to my clients all the time, reviewing their websites, chatting through issues and it's a great way of providing support exactly when people need it without us having to try and arrange to get a call in the diary.

It's been an absolute game changer in my business being able to do this and then provide support within like an hour or two of someone asking for it so they can move forward quicker.

That means they will make more money in less time because they won't stay stuck waiting for a group call or waiting for a one on one call to clarify their thinking.

We can literally chat it through there and then Slack is another technology I use so we have a communal Slack group but we also have direct messaging so you can just get the help when you need it and also share wins, share learnings.

Moving from Facebook to Slack was a real improvement in my business because it's now extremely active and extremely organized.

The final thing I will touch on with regards to the industry changing is ethics and standards.

There are more qualifications and accreditations that you can do.

So the industry is trying to become more regulated, but as you will know if you are in the industry it's not always the case.

And I think especially in the business coaching world, most people are not qualified.

Sometimes we use the word coach when we don't really mean coaching.

So I am definitely more of a mentor these days than coach because I think my clients would be extremely frustrated if they joined my program and I refused to give them feedback on their niche and offer and all of the things.

So despite being a ILM Level 7 executive coach and mentor and having an ICF accreditation, I actually think it's more about having clarity on what you need and what qualifications or experience is needed to be able to support you.

So yes, qualifications are great, but don't underestimate real life experience, including your own real life experience.

The most successful businesses that I have worked with all bring their own unique experience into their coaching.

Okay, so now we have looked at the general industry as a whole.

Let's move on to proven ways that you can make money as a coach so you can decide what is right for you.

Right now the first one is one on one coaching.

So this is a huge advantage for you when you start your business because as you continue your business you will start to feel squeezed for time and want to move to one too many models.

So therefore for those offering one on one coaching is actually a big advantage for you.

I for example, rarely offer one to one anymore because I have a full client roster and just don't have the hours in my day.

So this is a perfect opportunity and is the easiest, quickest way to start.

So please don't underestimate how powerful this is for your business.

But I would say that it is worth considering A more exciting twist I often review coaches profiles and different things in my program and also just generally online and I do sometimes think we need to shake this up, we need to make it more exciting.

Maybe it's just because I see a lot so therefore I'm like come on, give me something more.

So for example, when I was fairly early on in my business I did this laser coaching which was unlimited 15 minute coaching sessions over a three month period.

But the person could only book in the session when they had completed the actions from the last session.

I also think tangible trackers, for example can be really useful.

People love seeing their progress.

They love having really strong accountability in a really tangible way.

So there's so many different things you could do to create a really exciting program that doesn't always require people's time.

For example, lots of people do voice note coaching these days so you don't have to have that session in the diary which is kind of more what I do with my clients.

So they can message me, voice note me their issue, we can chat it out, but it's convenient on both of our terms because we can do it when I'm walking back from the school run or whenever else I fancy.

So allow yourself to be creative and think about exciting opportunities to bring your own unique spin onto one on one coaching.

My second one is group coaching.

This allows you to scale your impact whilst still maintaining personal interaction.

Programs really do need an even more specific niche because there is nothing worse than being in a program with people with varying goals.

For example, I was once in a business program with all sorts of different entrepreneurs.

There was people selling handbags or running software companies and to be honest, the group just didn't gel because we had nothing in common.

The sorts of problems someone creating real tangible goods like a handbag are nothing like the problems I was dealing with in my business.

So we just couldn't work together on that shared goal.

This is something I'm working on now as I'm planning my next level mastermind.

So I need to ensure that everyone in that program is at a similar level discussing the same sorts of things.

So for example, I've specified that you already have a solid business, healthy revenue, typically 3 to 5k plus months, though it might not be as consistent as you want because there's nothing worse than not being able to, for example, celebrate your financial milestones because you feel like you need to hide your success because they're at a completely different level.

Also the conversations will be completely different.

For example, lots of talk about niching or the resistance of niching versus scaling group programs, gaining a team, all of that kind of thing.

So again, the more you move into group programs, the more important you will see the aspect is of ensuring a really good fit for those who are joining.

I would say though from my work with coaches that it's really easy to try and jump to group programs too early.

Please don't underestimate the audience size that you need to get a number of people to pay you and say yes to starting a group program all on the same date.

Digital courses is my next topic.

So the E learning market is booming.

Packaging your expertise into self paced programs can really be a huge asset to your business because people can access it at any time.

But again, just like I said previously, don't jump to thinking you have to do this earlier than you do because often it's not easier to sell a cheap program.

So for example, I sell way more of my higher value packages than I do my lower value self paced course because sometimes people know that they're not really going to log in and they're not really going to be able to take the action.

Without that support and accountability, you also lose the connection, the feedback so there are great pluses of online courses, but do bear in mind that without that support and accountability, the average completion rate is just 3%.

So if you want to create a huge impact in your business, this might not always be the model for you.

Or it might be the model for you if you want to focus on a micro course that people will implement and get results from.

It all depends on where you are in your business as to what stage is right for you.

My next proven way to make money as a coach is corporate coaching and training.

Many of my clients develop workshops or training to fit those corporate needs.

It's also a great way to get your foot in the door to organizations because often training can feel more tangible than coaching.

The next proven way to make money as a coach is by memberships.

These are similar to a group program, but usually larger with way less support.

Most offer content, live Q and A sessions or a community discussion, and they are usually at an ongoing monthly fee.

You usually need to be at a certain stage of your business or audience growth journey to be able to make a membership financially work for you because they tend to be fairly low level, between maybe 30 to 100 pounds a month.

So you would need quite a few people inside to be able to make it worth your time.

There is also often less engagement in memberships because people aren't paying such a high fee.

I'm part of a wonderful community and she has a really high retention rate.

Although I must admit because it's 60 pounds a month, I have never once attended the Q and A call.

I just like knowing that I've got that content there should I need to refer to it.

But for example, when I pay a good price for a high value group program, then I am there every single week getting feedback, getting knowledge, connecting with the community, all of those things.

So what you pay often does make a difference in how you show up.

So let's move on to adapting to new trends.

What can you do to ensure that you remain innovative and adaptable to this changing landscape?

Here is what to keep in mind.

I would suggest leveraging technology, so use tools for client tracking, scheduling and your marketing.

Expand your skills.

Stay ahead by reviewing what you're doing now versus what somebody years ahead of you is doing.

This isn't to say you can implement the exact same things, but there is so much to learn from looking at those who are already successful.

So for example, one thing that I often talk to my clients about is when you look at a really good social media account, you will see extremely clearly who they help and how.

When you look at a less established coach, you will immediately see that it's really vague and there's usually five steps to productivity, but it's not like five steps to productivity.

If you are a leader with a team of 30 people and you want to learn how to delegate more effectively, that is what an established coach would be doing versus a newbie.

So do take a moment to look at your own profile and see if it's apparent who you help and how that leads on to my next point, which is build a unique brand so authenticity sells.

I think people have become really jaded by fake stuff online, or I hope they have, because it drives me crazy.

So define what makes your approach special.

Consistently communicate that across all your platforms.

I went to a two day workshop called Find the Words last week, which was about getting our approach super clear and choosing our words wisely and continuing to repeat them.

We forget the power of repetition.

We feel like we need to have a new thing to say every time we go out there and put a post out.

But actually what this course reminded me of was the discipline of messaging that politicians use, for example.

So then everyone gets super clear on exactly what they represent.

Whereas if they continue to use different words, like we often do when we're kind of explaining what we do, for example, then it's really hard for you to stick in people's minds enough for them to be able to convey to other people exactly what you do.

Now, we have covered a lot, so let's move into avoiding burnout and building sustainability.

I think the more you grow, the more you realize you only have limited time and energy for things.

So your focus is your most valuable thing.

Ensure that you have automated admin tasks.

Like, for example, I've just set up Asana as a project management system and it's just been amazing knowing that every single process I do in my business is recorded in there and I can delegate it really easily.

Next up is to create clear boundaries to avoid burnout.

I'm often really torn with this one because I do think we can end up leaving the workplace thinking that we have to work nine to five or nine to three, whatever it is for you, five days a week, and we must never work weekends and all of the things.

But actually it's about having your boundaries with intention.

So here I would just say what works for you.

Like, I love recording this podcast at weekends because to be honest, the week is really busy.

I've got things going on.

I use this podcast as time to take a step back, reflect when I'm well rested, when I haven't got another call in my diary.

And I'm okay with that.

So don't feel like you have to be super rigorous.

It depends what works for you and what you want to do.

And my third point is to outsource tasks that you don't enjoy so you can focus on what you do best.

It's been a pure joy for me to really learn how to do this recently.

I have a few team members now and I suppose I've always been a doer, so it's actually really hard sometimes to not just quickly get on and do everything myself.

But now I'm starting to notice how much joy it brings me to hang up this episode and know that somebody else is going to do the show notes, get it published to the platforms, draft an email for me about it, which I then edit to obviously inject my own personality into.

But it really, really helps to automate and get help in your business.

And I know that depends on your finances and where you are at right now in your business.

It's certainly not something I did very early on, so I appreciate you sometimes need to ensure that that person can bring you in income and focus on the tasks that are going to free up your time to do lead generating activities.

For me, for example, it's freed up my time to have a collaboration this week with a coach training organization to support their coaches to build their business once they're qualified.

So that's the sort of thing that's been on my to do list for two to three years now.

And I have just not got round to it because I've been drowning in the admin and that project and freeing up my time to do that project can generate a lot of income for my business.

So yes, I think it depends where you're at as to ensuring that you are intending to free up your time for something super, super valuable.

Next up, I covered proven ways to make money as a coach.

Then we talked about adapting to new trends and being innovative.

Finally, we talked about avoiding burnout and building sustainability in your business.

I hope you found this episode super helpful.

It's about being innovative.

It's about getting help.

It's about utilizing tech and AI, maybe corporate training, personal branding.

The opportunities are huge.

So know that it's just like coaching and you can get better and better at your marketing and business building craft.

But also to start like you are going to be rubbish when you start and that is all there is to it.

And even years in you're still going to look at yourself and think my God these people are amazing and they will be amazing because guess what, they probably had 10 years of practice that you haven't had yet in this particular area.

So just know that you are also going to be amazing in 10 years time.

I'm doing a celebratory prize draw for those who rate and review the podcast.

So please take a moment to hit on the show name, scroll down and rate and review and then email me on joannaoannalotscoaching.com let me know you've done that and I will do a live draw on video on Wednesday 4th December.

You will either win my course Signature solution to help you create a really great niche offer and make your first five sales or if you already have that, you will gain a one on one call with me.

So as I say at the end of every episode, trust yourself, believe in yourself and be the wise gardener who keeps on watering the seed.

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Women in the Coaching Arena.

I have a mass of free resources on my website joannalotcoaching.com that's Joanna with an A and Lot with two T's.

Joanna Lott coaching.com and I'll also put links in the show notes below.

Let me know if you found this episode useful, share it with a friend and leave me a review and I will personally thank you for that.

Remember to trust yourself, believe in yourself and be the wise gardener who keeps on watering the seed.

Get into the arena, dare greatly and try.