Are you a coach thinking about leaving their employed job to become a self-employed coach, but are feeling overwhelmed and uncertain about the next steps? This post is going to help you understand what you need to consider so you can confidently make the jump.

I made the jump from employment to self employment between 2012 and 2014, having officially set up my limited company on my 30th birthday. I was able to reduce my employed hours down to part time while I spent more time working in my business. I also had pregnancy and a baby thrown into the mix as well as working in another social enterprise and also having to deliver a recipe book to a publisher so it was certainly a trial by fire.

I learned a lot in this process and have a few tips and tricks to share with you today if you’re about to make a similar transition.

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Friendships

I’m very lucky to have some absolutely incredible friendships, but many of them think I’m absolutely insane to be running a business and not having a ‘reliable’ pay check each month. Most of them work in roles in the NHS or the local authority which are very different to being self employed as a coach. This occasionally leaves me feeling a bit disconnected from some of their conversations and also my experiences not fully understood.

However I do have some male friends who are tradesmen and they seem to have a better understanding of self-employed life which has been helpful. I also have many wonderful friends in the coaching and online business space and their support has been invaluable.

It’s worth bearing in mind that when you transition to being a self- employed coach, you might find that your friendships and other relationships are impacted, even if it’s simply feeling like the ‘out there’ friend who’s doing something a bit unorthodox!

The Identity Shift

Becoming self-employed isn’t just about changing your work status—it’s an identity shift. Especially if your employed role is in a profession that has a particular status or is more vocational, it can sometimes take you by surprise how much you’re impacted by the shift in identity, especially if it’s a job you’ve done for a while.

If you’re moving into your coaching business and it’s not yet turning over a significant income, this can also impact your feelings of identity.

A good way to counteract this is to simply do as much as you can to ‘feel like a coach’. This is why I will sometimes suggest to clients to coach for free or pro bono as just coaching while your business grows has lots of benefits, one of being feeling like a true coach.

Looking at what’s going on in your coaching business

There tends to be one of two things that trigger that jump to self employment, either you hit a wall in terms of the time you need to grow the business and be able to see more clients, or you’re not currently attracting clients and need more time to do the work to help you attract them.

Sometimes you can be working more effectively in the time you have available, so if it doesn’t feel like the right time to transition, working with a business mentor or coach might be able to help you focus on the right actions that will get your business to the point where that transition feels more doable.

Transitioning Working Hours

Depending on the situation in your employed job, you may or may not have the option to reduce your hours over time to give you a more gentle transition into self employment.

Often the opposite is true and it’s more handing your notice in and going from full time employment straight into self employment. Sometimes this can feel a bit like jumping off a cliff unsure if you will be caught!

There are positives to this however, and that feeling of having to take a leap of faith can be energetically attractive and bring more positive experiences into your life.

There are ways to make that jump less anxiety inducing however, including making sure that you’re fully resourced to take that jump.

Finances

Obviously finances are a huge consideration when you’re making that transition to self employment. I tend to look at this in two different ways.

Personal finances – here I’d be looking to have some kind of financial safety net or emergency fund that would cover your living expenses should your business struggle to generate the income you need.

Business finances – here I’d be looking at a solid cash flow that shows that your business is profitable and can pay you what you need personally to live on for a certain amount of time.

The amount of time you want to know you have covered is up to what feels good to you, I like to have a solid 4-6 months of guaranteed income / savings to feel financially safe.

Your business shouldn’t just be something that is getting you the bare minimum and you should be aiming for your ‘thriving’ income number, but feeling financially safe is really important and you can learn more about being financially safe in your coaching business here.

Contingency Plans

Another thing that has helped me is to have some contingency plans in place to alleviate anxiety. These would establish certain ‘trigger points’ for taking action if your finances dictate it.

For example you might know that when your savings hit a certain level or you only have a certain number of months of cash flow you’d start seeking employed work again.Having these pre-thought-out triggers and contingency plans can prevent rumination and provide peace of mind.

Next Steps

Making that jump can feel really scary, but it can also be one of the best decisions you ever make. I hope this post and the tips I’ve shared help you know what to consider so you can go forward into your transition to a self employed coach with a bucket full of confidence!

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