If you’re a newly qualified coach, congratulations! Whether you’re brimming with ideas or feeling a little overwhelmed, the early days of launching your coaching business are full of opportunities and challenges.

Since starting my own coaching business in 2012, I’ve learned a lot and I want to share my top tips for new coaches, especially if you’ve only just completed your coaching certification – so you can start your coaching business with confidence, avoid common mistakes, and begin attracting clients sooner.

Set a Realistic Timeline for Growing Your Coaching Business

One of the most important, and often overlooked, pieces of advice for new coaches is to be realistic about how long it takes to grow your business.

It’s easy to look at the highlight reels on social media and believe other coaches are finding success overnight. The truth? Building a sustainable, profitable coaching business almost always takes longer than you expect.

Exactly how long will depend on a variety of factors:

• The size and strength of your existing network 
• Whether your chosen niche taps into that network 
• How much time you can dedicate each week to building your business 
• Whether you invest in paid support, training, or mentorship 
• Your marketing consistency and strategy 

In my How to Get 5 Coaching Clients in 30 Days post, I talk about some of the common myths around so-called ‘overnight success’.

All of these elements influence your timeline. For some, progress comes quickly; for others, it’s a steady climb. Either way, it’s important to prepare yourself for the reality that most coaching businesses take months, often years to truly take off.

Remind yourself that what you see online is usually the edited version of someone’s journey, not the full behind-the-scenes story. Give yourself permission to grow at your own pace, and focus on consistent action rather than comparing your timeline to anyone else’s.

Understand Your Coaching Business Model

A strong coaching business starts with a clear understanding of your business model. Many new coaches skip this step, but it is one of the most important foundations you can put in place.

Your business model is simply how your business will make money while helping people. It covers what services and products you offer, how you price them, and how they fit with the needs of your target audience. This is closely linked to having a business plan, which is essentially a written outline of how your business will operate and grow.

When thinking about your business model, consider:

• Does your niche support high-ticket coaching packages, or will you need more affordable offers at higher volume? 
• How many clients will you realistically need to be profitable? 
• Do you have a mix of offers that make sense for your audience? 

The type of coaching you offer and the clients you serve will determine whether your model should be built around premium services, lower cost options, or a combination of both.

One important tip is to avoid jumping straight into group programs, online courses, or digital products when you are just starting out. Unless you have prior experience delivering those formats, focus on one-to-one coaching first. This allows you to refine your skills, test your offers, and build confidence before expanding into other income streams.

Taking the time to map out your business model and write down a simple plan will give you clarity and direction. It also makes it much easier to make decisions and stay focused as you grow your coaching business.

Find the Right Support and Mentorship

One of the best things you can do for yourself as a new coach is to get support. Working with someone who has already taken the steps you are about to take can save you huge amounts of time, money, and stress.

The right mentor or business coach can:

• Help you avoid wasting money on things that are not worth the investment 
• Save you from spending time on strategies that do not work 
• Guide you to take the right steps in the right order 
• Reduce overwhelm and keep you focused 
• Provide encouragement and accountability when you need it most 

There are options for every budget, from affordable group programs to premium one-to-one mentoring. Whether it is me or another business coach, the important thing is to find someone who understands the journey you are on and can guide you through it.

When I started my coaching business back in 2012, I went it alone. I was fortunate to have some business experience, which helped me make progress, but even so, I wish I had found a mentor sooner. The industry was very new back then and there were not many people offering that kind of support.

Today, there are so many opportunities to connect with experienced coaches and communities. Whether it is joining a membership like Wholehearted Business® or working one-to-one with a mentor, having that guidance can be the thing that makes the difference between struggling and thriving.

Do not try to build your business in isolation. Find a container of support that works for you and invest in it. It can be the single most important step you take in your coaching journey.

Define Your Coaching Niche and Message

Your niche and message are two of the most important foundations for a successful coaching business, yet they are also the areas where many new coaches get stuck.

I use a simple four-part process to help coaches get clarity:

1. People – Who do you serve? 
2. Problems – What challenges or pain points do they have? 
3. Solutions – How do you help them solve those problems? 
4. Results – What outcomes can they expect from working with you? 

Once you can clearly define those four elements, you have the basis for a strong niche. From there, you can develop clear, confident messaging that communicates what you do and why people should choose you.

In today’s coaching industry, strong messaging is non-negotiable. You cannot blend into the background. You need to stand for something, be visible, and build trust with your audience. A clear niche and compelling message help you do exactly that.

Your niche and message should also align with your business model. For example, a premium, high-ticket offer may require a different positioning than a low-cost, high-volume service. This is an area where having guidance from a mentor can really help, because the process can feel overwhelming at first.

Remember, your niche and message are not set in stone. They will evolve as you gain experience, work with more clients, and learn what works best for you. Avoid getting caught up in perfectionism. Instead, focus on creating a clear, effective starting point and then refine as you go.

Getting this right early on will make marketing easier, help you attract the right clients, and set you up for long-term success.

Get Coaching Experience Early

One of the most powerful things you can do as a new coach is to actually coach people. This might sound obvious, but it is surprisingly easy to get caught up in building your website, planning your marketing, and creating content while avoiding the thing that matters most – coaching.

Ideally, you want to be working with paying clients from the start, but if that is not yet possible, consider offering discounted sessions or even some pro bono coaching. Simply engaging in the coaching process does so much for your confidence, your skills, and your self-identity as a coach.

In Wholehearted Business®, we have talked about how identifying as a coach – and as a business owner, changes the way you show up. When you are actively coaching, you step fully into that role. It shifts your energy, strengthens your belief in your abilities, and helps you market yourself with more confidence.

Some people prefer not to coach for free, and that is perfectly fine. The key is to find a way to work with clients regularly so you can build momentum and reinforce your identity as a coach.

Be a coach now, not just when your business reaches a certain milestone. The more you coach, the stronger your skills become, and the more magnetic you will be to future clients.

Choose One Marketing Method and Stick With It

When you are starting a coaching business, it is easy to get overwhelmed by all the advice and strategies out there. One coach says TikTok is the place to be, another swears by LinkedIn, and someone else is promoting a completely different method. Add in countless ads and success stories, and it is no wonder new coaches feel pulled in a hundred different directions.

The problem with constantly chasing new ideas is that you never give any one strategy enough time to work. If you jump from one marketing method to another every few weeks, your results will be inconsistent and your progress will be slow.

Instead, choose one main marketing approach – I’m a big fan of The Searchable Show Method as a core marketing strategy – and commit to it for at least three to six months. This gives you time to build momentum, measure your results, and decide whether it is worth continuing.

It is normal for the online business world to feel noisy. Everyone has their own frameworks and processes, and many will claim their way is the best. The truth is, almost any marketing method can work if you commit to it long enough and execute it well.

In Wholehearted Business®, we take a holistic approach to marketing so you can explore different strategies without getting pulled off track. But no matter what you choose, the key is to stay focused, avoid shiny object syndrome, and give your chosen method time to deliver results.

Celebrate Every Small Win

Starting a coaching business can feel like an uphill battle. There will be moments of self-doubt, challenges to overcome, and times when it feels like progress is painfully slow. This is why recognising and celebrating your small wins is so important.

Small wins might look like posting on Instagram every week, publishing your first YouTube video, securing your first discovery call, or simply feeling more confident when talking about your coaching services. These moments might seem minor, but they are the building blocks of a successful coaching business.

Acknowledging your progress boosts motivation, reinforces positive habits, and helps you stay committed through the tougher days. Every step forward counts, and when you take the time to celebrate these milestones, you create a more enjoyable and sustainable business journey.

Stay Connected to Your ‘Big Why’

Every coach’s journey is unique. Your path will be shaped by your resources, the time and money you can invest, the network you already have, and your past experience in business. These factors all influence the pace and ease of building your coaching practice.

The truth is, starting a coaching business is challenging. If it were easy, everyone would do it. But challenging does not mean impossible. With the right mindset, strategy, and persistence, you can absolutely make it work.

You will have days when you doubt yourself, wonder if you are cut out for this, or feel tempted to quit. When those moments come, remember this: never quit on your worst day.

Instead, reconnect with the reason you started. There was a powerful motivation behind your decision to train as a coach and invest in this path. Tune into that reason regularly. Anchor yourself in your “big why” as often as possible. This is what will help you push through challenges, stay consistent, and keep showing up for your clients and your business, even when things feel hard.

Next Steps

If you’re ready to launch your coaching business, download my free three-month action plan inside the Zero to Launch Guide. It will walk you through the exact steps to take in your first 90 days so you can start attracting clients with confidence.

Download it below: 

And when you’re ready for deeper support, join Wholehearted Business®, a membership for coaches who want connection, accountability, and practical strategies to grow their business.

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