Did you know that it’s possible to build a successful coaching business, even as a complete beginner? Joanna Lott interviewed Levanah Gates, who transformed from a newly qualified coach to running a thriving practice with 15 clients in just six months.

This episode is perfect for new coaches, career changers, or anyone wondering if they can really make it in the coaching industry.

KEY TIMESTAMPS:

[00:00:00] - Introduction and welcome

[00:01:00] - Meet Levanah Gates and her background

[00:02:00] - The transition from fashion buying to coaching

[00:03:00] - Early business challenges and starting point

[00:04:00] - Finding the right community and support

[00:08:00] - The breakthrough moment: gaining 1000 followers overnight

[00:09:00] - Managing sudden growth and discovery calls

[00:11:00] - Building a sustainable client base

[00:13:00] - Current business metrics and conversion rates

[00:15:00] - Key lessons learned and biggest takeaways

[00:17:00] - Future business plans and scaling strategies

[00:19:00] - Who should consider the Business of Coaching program

[00:20:00] - Final thoughts and closing remarks

Levanah’s journey from fashion buying to coaching inspires others by showing that with the right support and dedication, building a successful coaching business is possible—even as a complete beginner.

Useful Links

How to secure more coaching clients' free training

Download the 12 ways to get clients now

Learn about The Business of Coaching programme

Connect with Jo on LinkedIn

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If you’re kind enough to leave a review, please do let Jo know so she can say thank you. You can always reach her at: joanna@joannalottcoaching.com

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Mentioned in this episode:

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Hello and welcome to women in the Coaching arena podcast.

I'm so glad you're here.

I'm Jo Lot, 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 women in the Coaching arena podcast.

I am so glad you are here today.

I'm excited to have a client of mine, Lavana Gates, share her story of building her business.

She has been super inspiring to watch because she has been all in.

I don't think I've ever had a client who has contacted me as much as Levana, and I say that in a really positive way because I do think in the early days of building your business, you really do need that clarity and that guidance.

You need to ask for help.

And so despite the fact now she is absolutely flying and she definitely doesn't ask for help as often as she used to, she really did make use of the program and all of the support that my business of coaching program offers.

So excited to share the case study conversation with Lavana here with you now.

Hi Nirvana, thank you so much for agreeing to reflect on your journey with me.

I'm so excited for this call.

Please do share a bit about you.

Okay, yes.

So when I joined the business of coaching, I think it was February, I was a newly qualified coach.

I'd finished my training in the December and had kind of decided I was really going to go for it from the January.

At that stage, I thought I had a niche, but I wasn't that confident in it.

My background was in fashion buying, so I'd been in retail 15 years and then I'd left that a couple of years ago and wanted to retrain and do something different that fitted into my life as a mum.

And that felt as though it was giving back a bit more.

And I'd always been really interested in coaching and kind of finally got the confidence up to go and retrain.

But when you're doing that training, no one's teaching you how to actually run a business.

I signed up for your program.

That's a little bit of a background.

Love it.

And can you remember the sorts of things you were doing and how you were feeling prior to joining?

Was there like frustration?

Were you doing any marketing, like what was going on in practical terms?

I was always very busy and it was all very new.

What would have been the biggest challenge?

I think probably just the identity of being a brand new coach.

I didn't have any clients at that stage.

Essentially I'd set up an Instagram account.

I don't think I'd even announce what I was doing to my network on LinkedIn at that stage.

Yeah.

And I kind of felt as though I was paying with it to a certain extent.

I'd put some kind of accountability pinners in.

I knew how many times a week I was going to post, etcetera and I was very much on track.

I was being consistent, but I think I had about 200 followers, probably 80 of which were friends and family and probably 50 other coaches where spaz.

It was just kind.

Where do you even start?

I don't even know how to describe what the challenges would have been because I was just so at the start and needed some support from an expert.

Oh, love it.

And what was most helpful then when you joined the programme?

The programme's brilliant because obviously you get framed straight into a community, which I think is crucial.

Setting up a business is amazing but it's quite lonely, I think all of a sudden being surrounded by mainly women who were probably a little bit further on than me, a lot of them who I could relate to as well because I think, you know, the coaching world is brilliant but it could be hard to find your tribe within it, I suppose.

And people that, you know, seem like real people that had actually made the changes from their careers and were going on to build ethical, sustainable businesses.

So that was really nice.

I kind of felt less alone and then in terms of the content of the course, its just so easily broken down.

The modules are really easy to digest and it really does everything from pinpointing what your niche should be.

Although mine did, through to city appeal websites, your email marketing, just so much in there that it takes that pressure off you.

Because I think when you're starting your business you feel like you've got this mountain to climb and a list of a thousand things every day.

And don't get me wrong, I still do feel like that, but at least it mapped it out for you so you didn't have to think, what on earth am I doing this week?

It was kind of just work through it and a few weeks in you started to feel like you were really making progress.

So yeah, I don't know if I'm jumping into it too soon, but I can't resist.

What was the result for you?

The result for me has been way more than I thought it would be at this stage, which is amazing.

I think I can say now six months down the line that I have built a business.

I'm leaving the program with 15 one to one self funding client and I started with zero.

So yeah, I mean that's been the ultimate result.

I have a coaching business now.

You do?

And I think the most exciting thing is it is consistent and that's why I'm excited that we're having this call now versus early on, which we can talk about in a moment as to gaining one big opportunity and then feeling like that's it.

But you've managed to seize the opportunity but also build that consistent client stream.

So tell us more about what happened in that journey.

I think you're right because I think even if you'd have spoken to me two months ago, I still kind of felt.

Yeah, like this slightly unusual situation which we will talk about now quite early on in that journey was almost like a one hit wonder.

It took me probably another four months after that happened to start to accept, oh no, actually people are still coming and you know they must be liking what im talking about and it is going to consistently build.

But anyway, im kind of getting ahead of myself.

So yeah, what happened was I think I joined you in February.

Id done maybe four or fives week of the calls and at that stage I wanted to help overwhelm mums who were kind of struggling to balance life and work, which.

And actually I still and I've ended up doing that but in a slightly different way.

So I was semi competent on that niche but it didn't feel quite specific enough and I wasn't probably, you know, there with any of my marketing around it.

However, there was a specific audience that I managed to get a platform on and this audience has a huge following in my old world in retail.

But I think where it worked so successfully for me was I'd kind of built a relationship with this person and this is an anonymous person.

Feels strange to say I've built a relationship but I kind of always supported them and kind of had little conversations with them prior to me wanting to advertise through them.

So what happened there was I'd kind of thought, okay, I could advertise through this platform.

Didn't feel quite confident, it felt quite exposing to kind of put my face out there to everyone in my old industry really.

But someone had sent in a message to this.

It's an instagram account.

And someone had written into this individual, I'm assuming her saying something along the lines of, I'm.

I've just been made redundant.

I'm feeling really stuck and overwhelmed.

Do you know of any coaches?

Instead of it kind of being a cold add there, I spotted that moment and messaged her and said, I know we've already spoken about this.

Do you think now would be a good time to advertise?

She came back to me and said, yes, amazing.

I think there'll be a really good need for it.

This had that out and gained a thousand followers overnight, which was quite overwhelming and obviously amazing, but more overwhelming than that was.

And I think these figures are right.

I had 50 people book in for discovery calls within that first kind of 48 hours.

So I was.

I found myself booked up with discovery calls for about six weeks.

But I had no boundaries in place.

I hadn't put a limit on the number of calls that I would take in a day.

I hadn't kind of made my messaging clear on the booking forms as to exactly what that call was, because, you know, in retail, the self development and coaching world is not necessarily a big or a known thing.

A lot of these individuals probably didn't quite know what to expect.

And I think essentially, a lot of them thought, oh, this is lovely.

I'm going to get this free hour and get all of this career support, and maybe didn't even realize that ultimately, I was going to talk them through a program which, you know, I was hoping to convert some of these people into.

So I had to very quickly refine all of that, but kind of, you know, deliver on what I'd promised.

I think in those kind of six weeks, you must have got pretty sick of all of my voice notes where I was just drowning and exhausted and still doing all of this on three days a week because my Nissel girl hadn't started school then I was on a couple of discovery calls every night, and it was a big old process, which was both amazing, but really, really exhausting.

I absolutely loved helping you through it, and because when you're in it, you can't see it.

I remember the hour long discovery calls and different options we discussed at the time.

So tell me now, how have you managed to build that sustainable business without just getting that exponential growth activity that you obviously had at the time?

There was a few things in that first kind of wave of interest.

You had some really good advice, and you kind of kept coming back and kept coming back and saying, essentially just saying, Levana, simplify it.

You can send out this communication and it will simplify it.

And I think I was still saying in it that I probably didn't do that for.

I could have done it sooner and made my life a bit easier.

But I think, you know, when you're so in the depths of something, you don't almost have the energy to think clearly, do you?

I kind of had to get through that, and I think my first ever call converted, which was amazing, that really boosted my confidence.

And then I had another two within the first week.

But then there was this real gap where I was speaking to all of these people and nothing, no one was saying yes, and I was really losing my nerve.

And you just kept saying, you just have to give it time.

They will come back.

You know, you need to wait between three and six months, so these people will start coming back.

And even though I fully trust what you're saying, until you've kind of experienced that, you have such a nervousness, I didn't fully have the confidence that that would happen.

But you were absolutely right.

And I think I got to the summer and went on a two week holiday with my family and felt a little bit down on that holiday because I was just really hoping to maybe get a couple more before we went away.

And then I came back and I don't even think I necessarily did anything particularly different with my marketing.

But all of a sudden, as you had said, a few of these people started coming back, and I got, I think, four or five over a couple of weeks in July, which I had expected to be quite quiet because it was the summer holidays.

So when that happened, I think that's where the confidence really started to shift and that identity became a bit more embedded.

And I started to think, okay, it's not just because this advert went out and loads of people booked in.

These people have obviously stuck around, considered what I'd spoken to them about, gained some trust from what I was sharing, and then they've converted.

And kind of anyone who's joined since then has had nothing to do with that advert.

In April, it's been, you know, they've just come across my profile, or someone's recommended me, or a few have come from link, you know, now I think, I can't remember the last time I had a.

Yes, it's not been in the last couple of weeks, but I don't feel panicked about that.

I kind of feel the right ones come at the right time.

Yeah, totally.

It's so nice when you can lean into that trust and you know, there's always that fear every month.

Like, oh, what if no one buys this month?

Just have to keep thinking, and then somehow you get proved wrong every time.

And it somehow just happens, doesn't it, when you build that pipeline and as consistent and good as you are online.

I suppose when I started consistent to me would have been when?

Every week or when every couple of weeks.

And it isn't necessarily like that.

They seem to come in little waves, but as long as they do come, then I suppose that's the main thing, isn't it?

Totally.

So, in terms of a general month for you at the moment, how many discovery calls, say, do you get booked?

And how many clients?

Maybe as a result it does really depend.

But I normally have at least two discovery calls a week, I would say.

And in terms of a conversion rate, I actually don't know.

I couldn't really give you that statistic.

But I did have a look the other day.

I've got a log of every discovery call I've done since I started in the program.

It's near to 100 and I got 15.

But certainly without looking at the data, the conversion since getting back from that summer holiday has definitely been a lot better.

Yeah, totally.

What was most helpful from the program for you?

I almost don't know which bit to pull out.

I couldn't have set up everything I needed without your content and that step by step process.

So that has been absolutely invaluable and it's really simplified it for me.

I think you make things feel a lot bigger in your head than what they need to be when you're at the start.

For example, the website, you gave me a really simple solution to get that up and running because actually most of my clients are coming through Instagram and LinkedIn anyway.

At this stage, things like that were amazing, I think, you know, you really.

The voice notes and being able to say, oh my gosh, this has just happened.

What do I do?

Or what do you think of this?

Or, oh, I've just had a really tricky response here, how do I handle that?

And, you know, your dedication to your clients, your availability, even though you have brilliant boundaries in place with that, you would always come back to me really fast.

I liked that it was on voice notes because it's just more authentic.

So I think that's been amazing.

And I've also gained such a brilliant accountability partner with one of the women, Leela, who's in the program as well.

And she has been amazing.

She is far, far more established than me and in a very different niche, but she's just been such a big supporter, such a good voice of reason, and hopefully we help each other out and we're really going to keep that going.

So that's three answers for the person.

Yeah, totally.

Oh, I love that.

I've always thought, oh, gosh, who's your responsibility partner?

But it's so great.

And I love how people really do continue it after the program as well.

So hopefully, you and Leela are.

Are you?

Yes, absolutely.

We've got our next call booked in.

I think she's away doing an amazing retreat at the moment, but, yes, we've got a cool booked in in a couple of weeks.

Love it.

Okay, so this is going to be a tricky one, but I'll go for it anyway.

Biggest takeaway from the program?

That you have to trust what people who are a few years ahead of you are actually saying.

Because if I'd have probably just accepted, you know, early on, the key bits of information that you were giving me, that you can really simplify it, that people will come back to you, but you don't need to panic, that you just need to keep doing what you're doing.

I think I would have had a much less stressful April may, indeed.

Yeah, totally.

But you have to go through it sometimes.

But totally, I hear you, and if someone is listening and thinking, I really want to do this, but they're worrying about money, will it work for me?

Or all of the things that we worry about before investing, what would you say to them?

I mean, it was a really big investment for me, and I did feel really nervous about that.

And if I'd have been in a different financial position, I probably wouldn't have requested a discovery call with you because I was pretty sold.

All your content, everything is amazing.

And I'd heard your voice through your podcast.

I was at the very start, so I wasn't making any money yet.

It felt quite scary.

But I've got that return on investment so quickly.

Five or six times that return on investment within the program when ahead of finishing it.

So it's absolutely worth it.

And if it was a product based business that we were building, you would be investing in the stock and you would be selling it later.

And it is that.

It's a different mindset, isn't it?

You have to get uncomfortable and invest, and it just speeds everything up so much.

I can't imagine how long it would have taken me to try and muddle through all of these crucial elements of building a business.

So yeah, absolutely.

Just do it if you can.

Love it.

Totally.

And it's really hard that people don't see that their time is money.

So in other words, if you're going to do it on your own, you might not earn any income for two years because you're figuring out how to do all of this stuff.

So I love that reference.

And also the retail one about the stock.

You have to invest in the stock to actually get the sale.

The other side of what is next for you, Levana?

What's exciting next moves in your career?

I'm in two minds about it.

I'm only really seven months into one to one coaching, so I've still got loads of experience to gain and I really enjoy that.

However, I'm working nearly every evening and that's quite tiring and it's not a long term goal.

So ideally for me, I'd love to working daytime only week and turn time only.

That's sort of the dream.

It very much feels as though I want to kind of pivot the business and scale it to just simplify it, allow me to start really creating hours and boundaries that I set out to do.

I was always very prepared to put in a couple of years and be very flexible, of course, and I'm enjoying doing it, but it's.

Yeah, it's that scaling bit next for me.

So looking at group programs, although I have no idea how that would work in this niche, digital courses, etcetera, moving into that and planning that out, I think.

And that's my absolute love, as you know from running my own group program.

And it honestly can work.

And I've just helped somebody who also had concerns about, oh, they're all in the same industry, they're not going to want anyone to know.

And she has successfully launched, so I'm excited for your next move.

So what should others know about working with me?

Well, your whole marketing is around honesty, not hype, and that is definitely true.

So you'll get an absolute expert, but someone that you can actually relate to that is in the nicest possible way a normal person that has had an amazing career, shifted into this and built a brilliant business.

And that's really, really inspiring.

So you definitely get that.

You get an amazing community.

The resource is brilliant.

There are loads of guest speakers and stuff as well, and additional things that are offered like sales, sprints and positive psychology.

You get a lot of value for your money, basically.

Love it.

And then last question, who would you recommend the program to?

Anyone who is launching a coaching business or has launched one and is feeling a bit stuck.

That is just a good, honest person that wants to build a sustainable business.

I think that's who I would recommend it to.

Thank you so, so much Levana.

You were an absolute joy to work with, as you know, and I cannot wait to continue to follow your journey.

Oh thank you Jo.

It's been brilliant.

Wasn't it super inspiring to hear Levana go from zero clients to 15 paid clients?

Currently in her four figure career coaching program, she has been a huge inspiration and I have loved being part of her journey, especially in this early part when there is so much to do and it can go either way and it is overwhelming.

And all of the things like Nirvana shares the mastery she is committed to in her marketing is a joy to watch.

So if you are in that place of playing around but not really having real support, real feedback, real guidance, you don't have maybe a community to share with and to cheer you on on this journey of entrepreneurship, then please do join the business of coaching program.

I would love to feature you in our next case study conversation on this podcast.

You will find the link to the business of coaching programme in the show notes and I look forward to working with you.

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, joannalottscoaching.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.