Running a successful coaching business can be amazing, but it can also come with its own challenges.

So many people leave unfulfilling and high pressure jobs and careers to become a coach so they can help others and enjoy a different lifestyle – but inadvertently create more of the same energy in their businesses that they had been trying to escape from.

If you find yourself hustling out work at 9pm at night or squeezing in clients at a weekend when you’d much rather be spending time in nature, that’s a big indicator that something needs to change.

If you’re wondering how you can enjoy more time freedom and a better work life balance as a coach then read on for some helpful tips.

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Is it work / life balance?

Work / life balance is a term that gets thrown around a lot, and I want to gently challenge that, because I believe that what most people think of as traditional ‘balance’ just isn’t doable or even desirable for most people.

I prefer to think of it as a work / life blend, and in many ways, the lines between my business and life overall are pretty blurred at times!

What is important to me is that I know how I want my business to fit into my life and how I want my business to facilitate that for me.

Having a clear and realistic vision for that means that whatever changes or tweaks you make, you’re getting closer to what it is you actually want.

My work / life blend looks like working around 20 hours or less a week, and much less over summer holidays and the festive season. As I work around my kids 9-3 school hours, and sometimes fit in day time gym sessions or coffee with friends, that does mean that sometimes I’ll be up working at 6am or later in the evening, but that doesn’t bother me as I know that it’s a trade off for the flexibility I need to live life the way I want to.

Mindset check in

Before we dive into more tips and ideas we need to do a mindset and energetic check in. If we’ve been in a high pressure, full on type of job before we decided to become a coach, it can be the case that – although unwanted – that kind of energy is what feels ‘safe’ to your nervous system right now.

This can lead to you inadvertently creating the same type of energy in your own business, even if it’s what you don’t want! Ask yourself if you’re repeating any patterns from the places you’ve outgrown and what mindset shifts you need to make to move through those outdated patterns that might be keeping you stuck.

Have client free days

A simple thing you can put into practice is implementing non client days in your schedule. Running a successful coaching business requires more than just seeing clients, you also need time to work on marketing, strategy, admin and overall planning (depending on what you outsource – see below). You also need time to have flexibility in your schedule – especially if you want to be able to enjoy doing other things at certain times in the week.

I see clients and schedule meetings or events on a Tuesday or Wednesday which means that I can have a lot more flexibility with what I do on Mondays, Thursdays or Fridays. I also have my online scheduler set up to reflect this so people can only book in on those days.

Track your time

This is something I’m working on for myself right now and it’s been really eye opening! Tracking how you spend your time so you can get a truthful picture of where you’re investing it can help you make decisions about how you use it in the future. Are you spending time on tasks that are actually moving the needle and making a difference in your business?

If you want to enjoy more time freedom and balance, then focusing on the business tasks that are getting results is a good way to create more spaciousness.

Batch your work

Another time effective strategy is to batch tasks. This can work especially well for things like content creation. The theory goes that each time you switch tasks a little energy and focus is wasted in that process. When you do similar tasks together you retain that wasted energy and time.

It can be a bit of a process to discover how to best make this work for you. I had a lot of trial and error before I figured out how to batch in a way that worked for me but once I got a system that made sense it saves me a lot of time each week that I can use in other ways.

Invest in systems that are automated / sustainable

Another tip that focuses on better use of time, but seeing what parts of your business can be systematised and automated can help you create more space for enjoying life outside of your business. Using a system to automate some steps on client onboarding can be helpful (I use Dubsado, Paperbell is another great option).

Getting a sales funnel in place that nurtures potential clients can also be a useful strategy – this can be as simple as an automated sequence of emails. Using these strategies and tools helps create a little more sustainability by taking some heavy load off of you.

Whether it’s getting more clients, or using this as a foundation to scale, check out my Aligned Client Attraction System which helps you create your own simple strategy to make more sales:

Outsource

If you have the budget available within your business and you’re finding that you’re doing a bunch of essential but basic tasks that probably take you longer than they should, outsourcing this to a VA can be a wonderful way to free up more of your time.

And just because you’ve freed up that time doesn’t mean that you have to do more in the business if other things are working, you can also use that time for more of whatever brings you joy!

Have better boundaries

If you’ve been feeling a little burned out and client work is becoming a little bit too much, it’s always worth taking a look at your boundaries.

Without adequate boundaries it can be easy to find yourself feeling resentful of clients while also trying to overdeliver. There’s a big mindset element to this that needs exploring and I work with a lot of lovely heart centred coaches who struggle with this because they feel like they’re being a ‘bitch’ if they aren’t at their clients beck and call.

The problem is that without suitable boundaries it can be hard to create the feeling of balance and spaciousness you crave.

You shouldn’t be answering client emails on an evening or weekend, you shouldn’t be feeling resentful of clients and you should have time in your business and life for other things. If that’s not the case, then check in with your boundaries!

Explore whether or not you’re ready to authentically scale

If you’re maxed out with client work and that’s what’s leaving you feeling like you need more time, freedom and balance then it could be time to scale by adding in new, more time-leveraged offers such as a group programme, course or membership.

If you already have some of these but you’re still feeling like you are working non stop in your business then that’s a sign that you could be trying to overdeliver or that they’re not structured or marketed in the right way.

With creating more one to many offers we’re able to – theoretically – make more money in less time because rather than serving one person we’re serving several at once. However getting the strategy behind this right can be tricky – trust me I’m someone who knows! And this is why it’s key to approach it in a considered an authentic way otherwise it can lead you even further into a place of hustle, struggling to meet your expenses and generally feeling like your business is taking over your life.

Looking at how you can authentically scale, and create more time freedom and balance is something I love to help my 1:1 clients with inside my mentoring programme.

It is totally possible to enjoy your coaching business and make life changing amounts of money while working just a few hours a week. It can take time, but with the right strategies and boundaries you’ll be taking Wednesday afternoons off to spend however you like in no time!

I’d love to know if this has been helpful, let me know in the comments!

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