165 | Starting a Coaching Business? Do This First (5 Steps That Actually Work)

Speaker: 00:00:00

If I had to start my coaching business

again in: 2026

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clients, no reputation, there are five

things I would focus on immediately.

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Most of them are simple and no

simple doesn't always equal easy,

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and one of them is a thing that

coaches avoid for far too long.

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So let's get started about

what actually leads to clients.

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I am Joe Lott.

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Welcome to Women in the Coaching Arena.

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I am an ICF accredited mentor and

coach, and over the past four or five

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years, I have helped more than 200.

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Qualified coaches through my program, the

business of Coaching, and hundreds more in

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Masterminds and other events that I run.

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And in this episode, I want to share

with you what I wish someone would've

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shared with me all of those years ago.

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And what I would actually do

if I was starting again today.

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When I first started my business,

I spent a lot of time on

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things that felt productive.

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More coach training to ensure that

I could handle every situation

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that could possibly come up.

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Tons of free webinars, five day

challenges, all sorts of shiny objects,

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branding colors, all of these things that

I thought would make or break my business.

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I even published a book in my first year

of business because of course I thought

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I needed to also be a published author.

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I would literally fill

an a four pad of notes.

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Every single week with all of

the stuff I was learning, yet I

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wasn't really implementing it.

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Looking back, it felt productive, but it

wasn't really moving my business forward.

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And while some of it was useful, a lot

of it really delayed the work that you

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really need to do to build your business.

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Which, and wait for it is connecting

with real human beings and helping

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them to solve actual problems

that they have in their life.

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So if I was starting again now,

I would simplify things massively

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and focus on these five things.

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So number one, getting really

specific about who I help and more

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importantly, the problem that I solve.

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So not selling coaching sessions,

not selling the power of coaching,

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not helping people to feel better

and more connected within themselves.

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A real actual problem that people are

laying in bed wanting to try and solve.

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For example, that might

be, I need to get a job.

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I need to speak up in meetings.

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I need to lead my team confidently.

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I need to know how to have

difficult conversations, all of

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those actual, tangible problems

that many of us have in our life.

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So if you can't explain your

I help statement in one clear

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sentence, then you're not ready

to market your business yet.

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And if you are marketing without

this clarity, you will start

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to soon notice that marketing

is really, really exhausting.

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And the best thing is when this becomes

clear marketing and everything you do

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in your business becomes so much easier.

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Because you actually know who you're

speaking to and the types of things that

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you want to share with those people.

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The second thing I would do is create

a simple offer, not successions,

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not three months come for coaching,

but a really, really clear offer.

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That talks about the actual result that

someone might get if they worked with you.

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Often it's good to start with

something like a three month

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coaching relationship because it's.

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Low cost enough for people to say yes.

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It's also low cost on time enough

for people to say yes, and the

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really clear thing though is

not the three month engagement.

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The key thing here is that the

outcome is clear and you can't

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create a great offer unless you

actually know your ideal client.

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So, for example, that might be helping

someone move from feeling stuck in their

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career to confidently securing a new role.

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People need to understand what

they're moving towards and to trust

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that you know how to get them there.

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My biggest learning of this was when

I first started my business and I

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said to a friend, you know, come to

coaching, it can change your life.

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And she was completely

lacking in confidence.

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She really needed to get a new job,

but she wasn't applying for those jobs

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'cause she was lacking in confidence.

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And she literally turned

around and said to me.

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I haven't got time for that.

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It sounds really nice, but I

need to focus on getting a job.

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And at the time I was a career

coach, so I could have easily

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said to her, come work with me.

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I will be able to help you get a job.

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And in that first conversation.

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The, the confidence would've come

up, but what her actual front door

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priority was, is to get a new job.

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So it's just the same.

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When you are selling coaching, we

need to really think about what

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is their front of mind problem?

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What do they really want to work on?

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The third thing I would do is

start conversations immediately.

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This is what I put off for a really long

time when I left my previous employers.

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I wanted nothing more to

do with them ever again.

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The last thing that I wanted to do

was tell anybody that I knew from my

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previous employment and maybe friends,

family, all of those people that I had

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transitioned into a coaching business.

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I don't know really why that was the case.

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I think it was probably because I hadn't

transitioned in my identity to being a

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coach yet, so I just couldn't get those

words out that I was an executive coach.

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Which is what I initially trained for,

and this is the same pattern I see

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time and time again with my clients.

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And like I say, I get it because I

did exactly the same, but all I know

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is the moment that I overcame that

fear, contacted my old employer.

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I had a 10,000 pounds contract at the

end of that 30 minute conversation.

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So all I know is it's worth it.

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Hindsight is an amazing

thing and that's why I'm so.

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Keen for you to take this scary

but really necessary step.

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But what I know is most of the

time you will want to do your

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website, do your branding, maybe

hide behind social media once you

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start getting the courage for that.

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Rather than focus on real conversations.

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So if you take those people with you on

that journey, tell them that you have

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just trained, tell them you're trying to

figure out who you're gonna be helping.

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Take them on that journey with you

and they will want to support you.

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It's completely different from what many

coaches do and what I probably did as

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well, which is the big launch post of

like, Hey, everybody really excited to

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have launched my business, and it's so out

of the blue, and you maybe haven't taken

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them on those early steps for them to

really want to back you and support you.

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So don't wait for the shiny website

before you share your big launch post.

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Get out there.

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Take people on those

tiny, tiny steps with you.

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Another thing I know often is that it can

feel really lonely when you start your

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business and maybe you put posts out.

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Maybe you're not supported by your

friends and family or other people

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on LinkedIn, Instagram, whatever

social media platform you're doing.

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And I often think about

paying into the value bank.

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In other words, providing value for

others until you eventually have

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paid in enough to be paid in return.

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So if you aren't being supported on social

media, if you aren't being supported.

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In your business, then think about

how you can do things for others to

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support them, to eventually start to

be able to articulate your expertise

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and for them to start seeing you

as the person who solves problems.

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So most coaching business, begin with

those conversations long before you

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need to begin with marketing strategies.

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The fourth thing I would do is prioritize

getting proof in your business.

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This has completely changed

the game for me in my business.

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And is an absolute priority

in everything I do.

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So while those first few clients

to get real results in their life,

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because those results will lead to

them growing their confidence, but

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also you growing your confidence, you

will then maybe be able to get case

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studies and testimonials and eventually

word of mouth referrals as well.

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Those things are far more

powerful than a social media post.

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So whilst I'm not saying we don't

need to do social media, I am saying

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that this is a priority, so don't put

off the important things, which is.

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Gaining case studies, helping your clients

in order to quickly get a social post out.

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The thing that is gonna get

you the impact that you want

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is getting those case studies.

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And I say case study deliberately versus

testimonial, because actually no one

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cares what a great listener you are,

what great questions that you ask.

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What they really care about is the

journey that someone has been on with you.

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So how did they feel before?

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What was helpful and how do they feel now?

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So prioritize that ideal client's journey

versus asking for a testimonial about you.

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The fifth thing I would do is

build your visibility in one place.

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You don't need to show up everywhere.

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You need to choose based on your

strengths and what you enjoy.

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So everyone always says,

how do I balance my time?

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It's about really thinking.

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Do you like doing in the moment stories?

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If so, maybe Instagram is your place.

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Do you love video?

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Then maybe TikTok.

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Something is your place or do you

like the more professional setting?

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And if so, maybe LinkedIn is your place.

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And that's just social media.

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Don't get me wrong, there is so much

more to business than just social media.

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But really think about

your strengths here.

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So for me.

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That is generally LinkedIn.

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That has been my one core platform and

I have used it in executive coaching,

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career coaching and business coaching to

build my business and whilst I schedule to

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Instagram, it's just not my core platform.

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I'm not very good at

remembering to take photos.

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I have luckily friends who whenever we go

out, will remember to take those photos.

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'cause I will always come

home with absolutely no

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record of the evening at all.

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So that's why Instagram has not

really been my priority yet.

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That's not saying it will never be,

but at this stage, LinkedIn has really

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suited my needs and my preferences.

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I also have young kids, so I have a

four hour working day, so I have never.

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Prioritize networking in my business

because I just don't have time to

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get somewhere, spend all day doing

networking and the times and the travel.

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It was just not something that

I prioritized with my life.

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For you that might be really different.

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Like I say, I have had clients

that have succeeded on TikTok,

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who've always loved video.

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I have had other clients do amazing

on Instagram because they are really

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creative and they just love creating

reels and different stories, and

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I've also had people be successful

with no social media at all.

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Just in person networking.

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Others love writing.

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Maybe use substack.

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So it's really down to

you and your choices.

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Don't convince yourself there's one right

place for you to grow your business.

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It's really about you building that

consistency and eventually building that

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recognition and relationships over time.

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That recognition is often what

will eventually bring you all of

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the opportunities that you want.

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And it's worth saying at this point that.

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Generally people need a lot more than

one social media post to purchase

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from you, and this is often a big

wake up call when people start their

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business and they think that one

launch post is gonna change everything.

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So just know that it often takes.

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Many, many times of seeing your name in

their feed being helped maybe take tiny,

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tiny steps towards you through those

posts, maybe through podcasts, through

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your emails, through different things that

you do to really get to know you enough.

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To buy from you.

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This is back to step one.

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This is why those conversations are

really important in the early days

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with people that you know, because you

can sign those clients while you are

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building this trust that will eventually

build your long-term business and.

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Again, this is all said from experience

because when I started I tried to

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do LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, all

sorts of things, and didn't realize

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that I was not a social media agency.

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So choose your one platform.

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Trying to be everywhere

usually leads to burnout.

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If you are earlier on in your

coaching business, I know that it

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feels like you need to do everything.

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You don't.

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You just need a few things that work

really well for you, knowing exactly

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who you're selling to, knowing exactly

what problem that you solve, knowing

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exactly what people can purchase from

you, and then real conversations,

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proof, and building that consistent

visibility in your business.

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If you are a qualified coach, building

your business and you would like.

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A simple way to stay focused on the things

that really move your business forward.

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I have a 2026 coaches planner.

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It will help you with every single

step of building your business and

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keeping on track throughout the year.

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So you will find the link to that.

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In the show notes or in the description

below, and like I say at the end

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of every episode, trust yourself.

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Believe in yourself and be the wise

gardener who keeps on watering the seeds.

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Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone):

Thank you so much for listening to this

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episode of Women in the Coaching Arena.

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I have a mess of free resources on

my website joannalottcoaching.com.

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That's Joanna with an A

and Lott with two T's.

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joannalottcoaching.com.

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And I'll also put links in the show notes.

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Let me know if you found

this episode useful.

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Share it with a friend and

leave me a review, and I will

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personally thank you for that.

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Remember to trust yourself, believe

in yourself and be the wise Gardner

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who keeps on watering the seed.

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Get into the arena dare, greatly and try.

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