Do you really have to coach clients one-to-one to have a successful coaching business? In this post, I break down the truth about one-to-one coaching, explore alternative ways to grow your business, and share insights that can help you create offers that fit your style, your clients, and your goals.

Interested in this? Then you might want to grab my free Profitable Business Model and Business Planning for Coaches Training below, as this will help you figure out a strategy that doesn’t have to include one-to-one coaching:

Listen to this episode on The Wholehearted Business Show Podcast: Listen on Apple Podcasts / Listen on Spotify

What is One-to-One Coaching?

So, let’s look at the question at hand: Do you need to be working with people one-to-one to be a successful coach?

There’s a lot of nuance to this answer. But first, let’s define what we mean when we talk about one-to-one coaching.

For most of us, one-to-one coaching is what we were trained in when we first became coaches. It’s the core modality: working directly with a single client to support them. That might be through standalone sessions, or through a package of support spread out over a period of time.

There’s plenty of flexibility in how you can structure a one-to-one coaching offer, but at its heart, it’s all about that direct, personalised work with one person at a time.

One-to-one coaching can happen in person or online (Zoom being the most common). It might be highly structured, with a set process, or much looser and led by the client’s needs. Either way, it’s about direct support, and how you decide to shape it will depend on both your business model and your own preferences as a coach.

For most of us, one-to-one coaching is how we were trained. And when you’re just starting out, there are a lot of reasons why it makes sense to begin there:

• It helps you really understand the problems, barriers, and desires of your ideal clients.
• It gives you valuable practice in the craft of coaching itself.
• It allows you to go deeper with clients, learning from their experiences in a very hands-on way.
• It provides a way to test and refine frameworks or methods you might want to use in the future if you lean more towards a mentoring or structured style.

That’s why many new coaches choose to begin with one-to-one work, whether paid or even pro bono in some cases. If you’re wondering if it’s ok to coach for free then check out my other blog post ‘Should I Coach for Free’ here.

So yes, one-to-one coaching at the start can be incredibly useful for your learning, confidence, and business foundations.

Coach or Mentor – Why It Matters

I also think it’s worth bringing in another layer here: your personal approach to coaching, and where you naturally sit on the coach-to-mentor scale.

Here’s the short version:

• Pure coaching is often best done one-to-one, with the coach creating the container for the client’s own exploration.
• Mentoring, which is more directive and guidance-led, often works just as well (or even better) in other formats such as groups or programs.
  That’s where things start to get interesting – and a little less clear-cut.

If you are much further along the ‘coach’ end of the scale, then working one-to-one is likely going to be the most important and sensible way to work. However if you’re more on the mentor end then you perhaps have more options.

So here’s the big question again: Do you have to coach one-to-one in order to build a successful coaching business?

The answer is… unless you are a ‘pure coach’ then probably not.

And that’s where it gets interesting, because there are plenty of alternatives that can work just as well.

Why One-to-One Coaching Might Not Be the Right Fit

While one-to-one coaching can be a great starting point, it isn’t always the best long-term option for every coach. There are plenty of reasons why you might choose not to build your business around this model.
Here are some of the most common ones:

1. It can feel emotionally heavy

Depending on your niche, one-to-one work can be very intense. I work primarily with highly sensitive, heart-centered coaches, and for many of them, holding space for deep personal transformation one-to-one can take a real toll on the nervous system. Without boundaries and balance, it can even lead to burnout.

2. The financial model doesn’t always stack up

In some niches, it’s harder to charge higher-ticket prices for coaching. If your pricing doesn’t reflect the energy, time, and emotional investment that one-to-one work demands, you might find the financial exchange doesn’t feel balanced. This can leave you working long hours with limited income potential.

(If this resonates, I really recommend checking out my free training on building a profitable business model it will help you map out what makes sense financially for your situation.)

3. You simply don’t enjoy it

Some coaches go through training and later realise that one-to-one coaching just isn’t their thing. And that’s okay! If you don’t enjoy it – whether because it feels draining or simply doesn’t light you up – you don’t have to force yourself into that format.

4. You don’t have the time

For some, it’s less about preference and more about practicality. One-to-one work requires you to show up live for each client session, and that can be hard to balance with other commitments. If the hours don’t add up – or if you need a model that offers more scalability – it may not be sustainable.

One-to-one coaching makes a lot of sense when you’re first starting out. It helps you gain experience, test your methods, and build confidence. But over time, there are many valid reasons to pivot into other models.

If you do choose not to focus on one-to-one, it’s important to find other ways to thoroughly test your frameworks, methods, or signature systems before rolling them out on a bigger scale.

The main exception here is if you’ve already been through a powerful journey yourself and supported others informally along the way. In that case, you may already have enough lived experience to build group programs, courses, or other offers without relying heavily on one-to-one.

Alternative Ways to Make Money as a Coach (Beyond One-to-One)

We’ve looked at what one-to-one coaching is, why it can be incredibly valuable, and why it might not always be the right long-term fit. So what if you don’t want your business to rely on one-to-one?
The good news is that there are lots of other ways to serve clients and generate income as a coach.

Popular alternatives include:

• Group programs – Some coaches find group work far more energising than one-to-one, and for some, it’s been their focus right from the start.
• Memberships – A recurring revenue model where clients get access to ongoing content, community, or support.
• Online courses or digital programs – Self-paced, scalable offers that allow you to share your expertise without trading time for money.
• Workshops and intensives – Live, time-bound containers that deliver transformation in a focused burst.
• E-books or digital products – Lower-cost offers that can introduce people to your work and help you reach more clients.

I’ve worked with coaches who completely skipped one-to-one and went straight into group offers because they already knew that group settings were what lights them up and it’s worked really well for them, so it can be more than ok to skip the one-to-one in many cases.

But here’s the catch…

A lot of coaches assume it will be easier to sell lower-cost offers like a £200 course or program compared to a £1,000 coaching package. The logic is: “Well, more people will buy something cheaper, so it’ll be easier to make money.”

But that isn’t always the case.

Here’s why:

• With higher-ticket one-to-one, you only need a small number of clients to hit your income goal (e.g. 10 clients paying £1,000 = £10K).
• With lower-ticket offers, you need far more sales to reach the same figure (50 people paying £200 = £10K).
• And while it sounds easier to get 50 people to buy something at a lower price, in reality, marketing and selling to larger numbers can be just as challenging – sometimes even harder.

So it all comes back to understanding:

• Who your ideal clients are
• How they prefer to be supported
• And how you most enjoy delivering your work

That’s where the sweet spot lies.

If this is something you’re grappling with, my course Create Your Aligned Offer is designed to help you find that sweet spot – balancing your delivery style, your financial goals, and your clients’ needs.

A note on one-to-one pricing

Even if you decide not to focus on one-to-one, it can be worth keeping a well-priced one-to-one offer available. That way, if someone comes along who really wants to invest at that level, it feels aligned and worthwhile for you.

Sometimes, the resentment or lack of enjoyment that creeps into one-to-one coaching isn’t about the work itself – it’s about not charging appropriately. Setting your prices to reflect the depth of energy and support you give can make a huge difference.

Next Steps

So, to sum it up: No, you don’t have to work one-to-one to have a successful coaching business.

What matters is having a business model that makes sense for you and your clients, along with offers that are aligned with how you want to work. There are many legitimate reasons why you might not want to do one-to-one coaching – whether it’s the emotional intensity, time constraints, or financial considerations – and plenty of other ways to help people get results and grow your business.

Even if one-to-one isn’t your main focus, it’s still useful to check in with yourself and understand why that might be. Sometimes keeping a well-priced one-to-one offer available can work really well, while other times, group programs, courses, memberships, or digital products might be the better fit for your style and goals.

Personally, I love one-to-one work it’s one of the things that lights me up most about coaching. But it’s also incredibly fun and creative to explore other ways of delivering value to clients.

The key takeaway is this: whether you choose one-to-one or not, your coaching business can absolutely thrive, as long as your model and offers are aligned with your strengths, your niche, and the needs of your clients.

If you want to explore this further, check out:

• Profitable Business Model Training – Learn how to structure a coaching business that works for you
• Create Your Aligned Offer – Dive into building offers that fit your style, your clients, and your goals

I’d love to hear from you: are you considering one-to-one coaching in your business, or are you leaning more towards group programs and other formats? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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