Getting Started In Coaching, 2021 Style
These days, it takes sheer audacity to start up or grow a coaching business. But it takes more than moxie to succeed. Business and leadership coaching is a $15.2 billion industry with over 500,000 certified coaches competing to launch themselves and their business ahead of the rest. Whether you’re a new or experienced coaching provider, in order to grow your business, you’ll need to draw on different levels of professional and life experience to design, deliver, and improve your services. The good news is, coaching is a community and you’re not alone. Here are some practices you can put in play to kickstart your coaching business in 2021:
1. Network, network, network
Whether it’s getting connected with your cohort from coaching school, attending ICF conferences such as Capital Coaches Conference, or joining online communities, like Optify, finding a way to connect with other coaches is the key to embedding yourself in the industry. Not only will it help you expand your network to more coaching opportunities, but opens you to learn new skills from other experienced coaches. At Optify, we bring coaches together monthly for Coach Learning sessions where you learn from top coaches in the industry, exploring new ways to challenge and support your clients.. These learning opportunities provide hands-on knowledge and experience with new techniques to nurture and grow your business.
2. Find your niche resources/assessments
Since there are over 500,000 certified coaches in the world, it’s important to differentiate yourself and your coaching team by finding resources that speak to your clients in a meaningful way. Approximately 80% of Fortune 500 companies use personality assessments for their employees, and they’re always looking for the next best assessment to understand their teams. Organizations such as OKA give you a place to find your team’s niche assessments and offer discounts to make it an easy investment.
3. Get online
With the world at our fingertips, it’s easy to assume that clients and sponsors are looking for a similar experience with their coaching engagements. Being able to assign materials, communicate, and track progress online makes it easy to give clients a virtual experience while still being personal. The rise of SaaS products like Optify gives coaching providers an easy and affordable way to transition online.
4. Be results-oriented
Coaching isn’t one-size-fits-all, which also means it isn’t one-result-fits-all. Integrating surveys and pre/post-assessments throughout your engagements will allow you to provide tangible results to your sponsors. Being able to track client progress will help you separate your team from other coaching providers and prove your ROI.
Great coaching is about helping your clients and sponsors become the best versions of themselves through personalized development. Aligning your coaching team with best practices keeps you competitive and helps strengthen the quality of your coaching so that you can help put a leader in every seat.
