How to Start a Coaching Business: A Practical Guide for New Coaches

There was a time when people starting a business were told to go out and get business cards.

You chose a business name. Put your new title on a card. Maybe ordered 500 of them.

And suddenly you felt official.

You were in business.

Today, we have a more sophisticated version of the same thing.

You buy a domain. Build a website. Choose your colours. Design a logo. Set up your social media accounts. Research software. Create a coaching package. Spend weeks working on your niche.

And you can feel incredibly busy.

I know because I did all of that.

When I was starting my coaching business, I built the website. I bought the domain. I created a package. I registered my business. I posted on social media. And I spent far too much time obsessing over my niche.

Oh, and I bought business cards too.

There was just one problem.

I hadn't invited a single person to coach with me.

Then I reached the point in my coaching certification where I needed five paying clients to continue.

I had zero. Nada.

I had built almost everything I thought a coaching business was supposed to have.

The one thing I didn't have was clients.

That experience changed the way I think about starting a coaching business and the way I help new coaches start theirs today.

Quick answer: How do you start a coaching business?

Start by learning the basic skills of coaching.

Then choose a good-enough starting niche, create a simple first coaching offer and set up a way to meet with clients, schedule calls and receive payment.

Then start inviting real people to experience your coaching.

Coach them. Get curious. Listen. Learn. And when you see someone you genuinely believe you can help, make an offer to continue working together.

The best way to start a coaching business is to start coaching.

You can build the website, branding, and more sophisticated business infrastructure later, once you have clients and a much better idea of the business you're actually building.

That's a lesson I learned too, the hard way.

Even though I had already done all of that business-building infrastructure, I still had to go back and change everything once I started coaching real clients, because I realized that everything I had created before was not applicable.

It was a colossal waste of time, money, and, frankly, my energy. And it took a huge toll on my self-esteem.

And when you've proved you can sign clients but want to make that less unpredictable, my guide to getting coaching clients consistently shows you the next stage.

Key takeaways

• You don't need a perfect business before you start. You do need basic coaching skills.
• You don't need the perfect niche. You need a good-enough place to begin.
• Your first coaching offer should be simple and easy for you to make.
• To begin, you really only need a way to meet, a way to schedule, and a way to get paid.
• Coaching real people will teach you things about your niche, clients, and yourself that you cannot learn by planning.
• Relationships and conversations deserve priority over building a large audience.
• Your early job isn't to build an impressive-looking coaching business. It's to coach people, make offers, and sign your first clients.
• Once you're coaching and have signed your first five clients, start building more of the business infrastructure around what you've learned.

Table of Contents

1. Do you need coach training before starting a coaching business?
2. Do you need a niche before starting a coaching business?
3. How do you create your first coaching offer?
4. How do you explain what you do as a new coach?
5. What do you actually need to start a coaching business?
6. Do you need a website or social media before you start?
7. What actually helps coaches get clients?
8. How do you start getting coaching experience?
9. How do you make a coaching offer without feeling salesy?
10. What if you don't feel ready to start coaching?
11. How can coaching help you figure out what business to build?
12. When should you build your website, brand, and business infrastructure?
13. What should a new coach do in the first 30 days?
14. Frequently asked questions about starting a coaching business

1. Do you need coach training before starting a coaching business?

I believe you need to learn how to coach before you start a coaching business.

That does not mean you need to spend years training or invest thousands of dollars before you're allowed to begin.

It could be a weekend coaching program. It could be an intensive full-day training. It could be part of a longer coach certification.

But you need the basics.

Why?

Because coaching is a specific skill set.

Coaching is not the same as mentoring.

It isn't consulting.

It isn't teaching.

And it isn't simply listening to someone's problem and telling them what you think they should do.

I know people can wake up tomorrow, call themselves a coach, and start a business.

But if coaching is something you genuinely want to do, why wouldn't you want to learn how to do it well?

You don't need to know everything before you begin.

You do need enough training to start practicing the actual craft.

And then you need to coach.

2. Do you need a niche before starting a coaching business?

Technically, no.

If you're bold enough, you can start by being open to coaching people on a variety of issues. Invite people into coaching conversations, pay attention to what comes up, and begin discovering where you're especially helpful.

For most new coaches, though, I prefer a little more structure.

Choose a good-enough starting niche.

It could be something relatively broad, such as time management, self-care, career transition, or confidence.

You are not choosing what you're going to coach for the rest of your life.

You're choosing somewhere to begin.

This is one of the biggest lessons I've learned from helping coaches find their niche:

You don't have to think your way into the perfect coaching niche. You can coach your way into it.

Give yourself enough clarity to get started, then let real coaching experience give you better information.

3. How do you create your first coaching offer?

One of the things that stops new coaches from making offers is believing they need to create a big, polished signature program first.

You don't.

Your first offer needs to be clear enough that you can confidently invite someone into it.

I often recommend something I call the 5x5 First Offer.

The idea is simple:

Create a five-session coaching package and offer it to five people.

Five sessions aren't going to change someone's entire life.

But five good coaching sessions are certainly enough for someone to make meaningful progress.

They're also enough for you to start learning what it's like to work with a client over time instead of doing one-off practice sessions.

How much should a new coach charge?

There isn't one correct answer.

For me, the price of the 5x5 is partly a function of the new coach's tolerance for asking for money.

If someone is reasonably comfortable making a paid offer, I might recommend $500 for five sessions.

If they're very uncomfortable asking for money and $500 means they won't make the offer at all, I'd rather have them offer five sessions for $100.

And if someone is so stuck around charging that they simply aren't coaching, I would rather have them do those sessions for free and gather the experience.

Why?

Because they're learning so much.

They're learning about their niche.

They're learning about their clients.

They're learning about themselves.

And they're getting better at coaching.

I'd rather have you charge less and get coaching than choose a price that makes you too afraid to make the offer.

Your first package isn't the package you have to sell forever.

It's a way to get into the work.

I wrote about how to set up your first coaching offer here. 

 

4. How do you explain what you do as a new coach?

Eventually someone is going to ask:

“So, what do you do?”

And this is where many new coaches get themselves into trouble.

They try to explain coaching.

They use coaching terminology.

They give a five-minute description of their process.

Or they come up with language that sounds interesting but doesn't actually tell the other person how they help.

You need a simple way to explain:

Who do you help?

What do you help them with?

Your one-liner isn't supposed to be clever.

It's supposed to help someone understand you.

As I teach in my Foundations series:

Clarity beats cleverness.

Learn more about creating your own one liner here.

 

 

5. What do you actually need to start a coaching business?

This is where new coaches often make things much more complicated than necessary.

To start coaching, you need three basic things:

1. A way to meet with people

I recommend something like Zoom.

You can coach from home. Your client can be anywhere. You don't have to drive somewhere, find an appropriate meeting place or worry about whether you have enough privacy for a coaching conversation.

2. A way to schedule calls

Technically, you could arrange every appointment by email.

But an online scheduler makes life much easier.

Send someone the link. They choose an available time. Done.

3. A way to get paid

You need a straightforward way for someone to pay you.

It does not need to be a sophisticated business system when you're starting.

That's your basic technology.

Meet. Schedule. Get paid.

That's enough to begin.

You don't need an elaborate website.

You don't need a complicated funnel.

You don't need an expensive all-in-one platform.

You don't need 17 pieces of software talking to one another.

Technology doesn't create clients. Conversations do.

Listen to episode 352 to learn everything you need to make a start with your tech.

THE SIMPLE COACHING BUSINESS SETUP

MEET → SCHEDULE → GET PAID

That's enough to begin.

 

6. Do you need a website or social media before you start?

No.

Not needing a website doesn't mean you need to hide.

If someone meets you and then looks you up online, you want what they find to make sense.

Use the online presence you already have.

For many coaches, LinkedIn is enough to begin.

Make sure your profile answers the potential client's basic question:

Can this person help me?

Your profile doesn't need to be a résumé containing every job, qualification and certification you've ever had.

And you don't need to start posting content every day.

Make it clear who you help and what you help them with.

That's enough for now.

You don't need to be everywhere. You need to be clear where you are.

I wrote more about setting up your bio and social profiles here. 

 

7. What actually helps coaches get clients?

One of the reasons I encourage new coaches to focus on people and conversations before complicated marketing is that I've seen the same pattern in my own research.

For my Coaching Business Growth Survey, I collected responses from 115 coaches across 10 countries and looked at what coaches reported was and wasn't working to grow their businesses.

One of the clearest patterns was the importance of relationships and trust.

Relationships and referrals were among the approaches coaches reported working. Networking and direct human connection mattered. Speaking and podcasting were also particularly useful among coaches who had already gained traction.

Social media produced a much more mixed picture. Roughly 40% of respondents reported that it helped, while a similar proportion said it didn't, with many describing the results as slight or inconsistent.

And one of the findings I found particularly interesting was that more time spent marketing did not correspond with having more clients.

That's important when you're starting.

Because it's easy to think:

I need an audience.

I need to post more.

I need a funnel.

I need more followers.

But there's a simpler place to begin.

You need relationships with real people.

You need people who know what you do.

You need conversations.

You need opportunities for people to experience your coaching.

And you need to make offers when there's a genuine fit.

That doesn't mean websites, content or social media don't matter. I use all of them in my own business.

They should support relationships and conversations, not replace them.

Source: Coaching Business Growth Survey, Candy Motzek, Step Into Success Now. 115 coaches across 10 countries.

And that's why your next job isn't to create 30 social media posts.

It's to start inviting people to experience your coaching.

 

8. How do you start getting coaching experience?

Coach people.

One of my favourite ways for a new coach to do this is with a Wheel of Life coaching session.

The Wheel of Life is simple. It's repeatable. And it gives you a natural structure for a meaningful coaching conversation.

More importantly, it solves a problem new coaches run into all the time:

Coaching can be difficult to explain.

Once someone experiences good coaching, they understand it.

So make a list of people you know.

Meet new people.

Start inviting them into a Wheel of Life session, aka a coaching experience.

And then genuinely coach them.

This isn't a disguised sales call.

I remember one of my earliest clients. We used the Wheel of Life at the beginning of our work together.

About a year later, during one of our coaching sessions, she pulled that original Wheel of Life off her bulletin board.

She had kept it.

She'd been using it to track the progress she'd made over the year.

That initial exercise had been genuinely valuable to her.

That's what you're offering.

What if you invited 30 people?

I once met a brand-new coach whose coach challenged her to complete 30 coaching sessions in 30 days.

She made a list of everyone she could think of.

Then she gathered her courage and started inviting people into Wheel of Life sessions.

And something surprised her.

People wanted more.

She started signing clients and filled her coaching practice with eight clients.

That conversion rate isn't the point.

The important part is what she did.

She created enough opportunities for something to happen.

If I were helping a brand-new coach get started today, I would challenge her to make 30 genuine invitations.

You can't control whether 30 people say yes.

You can control whether you invite them.

9. How do you make a coaching offer without feeling salesy?

This is where new coaches often get nervous.

They think:

I don't want to bother people.

I don't want to impose.

I don't want someone to think the free session was just a bait-and-switch.

So don't bait-and-switch them.

Give them the coaching experience you promised.

Coach them.

Ask questions.

Get curious.

Help them see something they couldn't see before.

Then, if you reach the end of the conversation and think:

I like this person. I think I can help them. And I can see where coaching could take them next.

Make an invitation.

It can be as simple as:

“Would you like some more help with that?”

Or:

“This is exactly the kind of thing I can help with. Would you be interested in continuing to work on this together?”

That's an offer.

You don't need to make an offer to everyone.

If you don't think you're a match, don't.

If you don't think you can help, don't.

Make well-matched offers when you genuinely see an opportunity to help.

Sales becomes much less complicated when you think about it that way.

10. What if you don't feel ready to start coaching?

If you've learned the basics, created your first offer, and have everything you need to coach someone, but you're still saying:

“I just don't feel ready yet.”

You're probably scared.

Scared someone will say no.

Scared someone will say yes.

Scared to ask.

Scared you'll feel awkward.

Scared you won't know what to do.

And the longer you wait, the bigger the hurdle can become.

You think about it.

You worry about it.

You take another course.

You work on your website.

You adjust your niche.

You tell yourself you'll make the invitation when you feel more confident.

But you've got confidence backwards.

You don't become confident and then take action.

You exercise a little courage.

Then you do the thing.

Doing the thing helps you become more competent.

And competence helps create confidence.

Courage → Competence → Confidence

You don't need confidence to make your first invitation.

You need enough courage to make one.

Then another.

Then another.

Listen to episode on the 5 Cs of Confidence that I recorded to help you overcome self doubt. 

11. How can coaching help you figure out what business to build?

This is one of the things that surprises new coaches most.

You learn an extraordinary amount about your business simply by coaching people.

You start noticing what clients ask about.

Where do they get stuck?

What do they resist?

What problems keep appearing?

What words do they use to describe what's happening?

But you're learning something else at the same time.

You're learning about yourself as a coach.

Which coaching conversations light you up?

Which ones leave you exhausted?

What subjects make you more curious?

What conversation makes you finish a session and think:

Oh my gosh. I want to know more about that.

I think of that as finding your hot track.

Follow the things that make you want to dig deeper.

Learn more.

Ask better questions.

Become more skilled.

That's one of the ways your niche starts to emerge.

You couldn't have discovered all of this sitting at home designing a brand.

Real coaching produces information.

And that information helps you build a better niche, better offer, better message, and eventually a better business.

12. When should you build your website, brand and business infrastructure?

All of those conventional business-building activities matter.

A business name matters.

Legal structure matters.

Bookkeeping matters.

Contracts and appropriate insurance matter.

Your website can matter.

Your brand can matter.

More sophisticated offers and marketing systems can matter.

But sequence matters too.

If you start with all of those things before meeting people, making offers, or signing clients, you can spend months building the foundation of your business.

And it feels like progress.

That's what makes it so seductive.

You're working.

You're busy.

You're checking things off the list.

But you may actually be delaying the most important part:

Signing your first clients.

My preference is that you start coaching, make offers, and sign at least five clients.

That first-five milestone matters more than it might sound.

In my Coaching Business Growth Survey, 69% of respondents had fewer than five paying clients, and 85% had 10 or fewer.

The survey wasn't designed to determine whether one particular action caused a coach to have more clients, so I don't use those numbers to make that claim.

But they do show how common it is for coaches to struggle to move from learning and setting up a business into building a genuine client practice.

That's why I want you coaching first.

Once you've signed those first clients, start spending more time building the infrastructure around your business.

Now you're not building based entirely on guesses.

You've coached people.

You've heard their language.

You've discovered what you enjoy.

You've made offers.

You've learned what people will pay for.

You've started becoming the coach you're going to be.

Now build.

A website can support a coaching business. It doesn't create one. Your first clients do.

Here's some more info on the legal steps for starting a coaching business in Canada

And if you've ever wondered how much it costs to start a coaching business, read more here. 

13. What should a new coach do in the first 30 days?

If I had a brand-new coach who was willing to take action, I would keep the first 30 days surprisingly simple.

Step 1: Learn the basics of coaching

Get enough training to understand the craft and begin practicing responsibly.

Step 2: Choose a basic starting niche

Don't spend the month trying to find the perfect one.

Choose somewhere good enough to begin.

Step 3: Create your 5x5 First Offer

Five sessions. A clear problem. A price you're willing to ask for.

Step 4: Set up the basics

A way to meet.

A way to schedule.

A way to get paid.

Step 5: Be able to explain what you do

Keep it clear and simple.

Step 6: Invite 30 people to experience coaching

Not 30 social posts.

Not 30 days tweaking your website.

30 invitations.

Step 7: Coach the people who say yes

Get curious.

Listen.

Notice.

Learn.

Step 8: Make well-matched offers

When you see someone you genuinely believe you can help, invite them to continue.

That's it.

I can't promise that 30 invitations will produce a specific number of clients.

That's not the point.

The point is radical responsibility.

You can't control every outcome.

You can take responsibility for creating enough opportunities for an outcome to become possible.

And after you've done this for 30 days, something changes.

You won't need to ask me:

“Have I really started my coaching business?”

You'll know.

Because you're coaching.

You're having conversations.

You're making offers.

You're learning.

You're getting traction.

You're not preparing to become a coach with a business anymore.

You're doing it.

YOUR FIRST 30 DAYS AS A NEW COACH

LEARN → CHOOSE → CREATE → SET UP → EXPLAIN → INVITE → COACH → OFFER

Learn coaching
Choose a niche
Create your 5x5
Set up the basics
Explain what you do
Make 30 invitations
Coach
Make offers

 

Frequently Asked Questions About Starting a Coaching Business

Can I start a coaching business without certification?

Certification and learning how to coach are not necessarily the same thing.

I don't believe you need to complete a long, expensive certification before you can begin getting coaching experience. But I do believe you should receive real coach training and learn the basic skills of coaching before charging people for coaching.

Legal requirements vary depending on where you live, so check the requirements that apply in your jurisdiction.

Do I need a website to start a coaching business?

No.

You can begin coaching and signing clients without a website.

A clear existing online profile, a way to meet, a way to schedule, and a way to accept payment can be enough at the beginning.

Build the more sophisticated website once you have some real-world experience to inform what you're building.

How much should a new coach charge?

Choose a price you're actually willing to offer.

For my 5x5 First Offer, I may recommend $500 for five sessions to a new coach who is reasonably comfortable charging.

For someone with substantial resistance around asking for money, I would rather reduce the price than have pricing become the reason they never make an offer.

Your first price does not have to become your forever price.

Do I need a coaching niche before I start?

No, but a basic niche can make it easier to explain what you do and identify people to invite into coaching.

Think of your first niche as a starting hypothesis rather than a lifetime commitment.

I wrote about How to Find Your Coaching Niche here. 

How do I get my first coaching clients?

Start with conversations.

Invite people to experience your coaching. Coach them well. Listen for places where you can genuinely help. Then make appropriate invitations to continue working together.

For the complete process read my step-by-step guide how to get your first coaching clients. 

Do I need to post on social media to start a coaching business?

No.

You don't need a large audience or daily posting schedule to start signing coaching clients.

In my Coaching Business Growth Survey of 115 coaches across 10 countries, relationships and referrals were among the strongest reported sources of clients, while social media produced much more mixed results.

That's why I recommend that new coaches prioritize relationships and real conversations before trying to build a large social media audience.

Episode 364, How to Get Coaching Clients Without Social Media, shares more about this.

 

You don't need to look like a coaching business. You need to start coaching.

If you're at the beginning, it's very easy to spend months creating all the things you think will make you legitimate.

I understand.

I did it too.

But I would do it differently now.

Learn to coach.

Choose somewhere to begin.

Create a simple offer.

Set up the few things you actually need.

Then go talk to people.

Invite them to experience your coaching.

Make offers.

Sign clients.

Learn.

Build the rest of the business around the evidence you collect from actually being a coach.

That's how you stop preparing to start a coaching business.

And start one.

Ready to start signing clients?

If you're a new coach and you want me to walk you through these foundations step by step, start with my free Quickstart Your Coaching Business video course.

I'll help you simplify your niche, create your first offer, explain what you do, set up the basics, and start having the conversations that can lead to your first clients.

About Candy Motzek PCC, CPCC

Candy Motzek is a business and mindset coach for coaches, author of Nail Your Niche: The Coach's Guide to Clarity, Confidence, and Clients, and host of the She Coaches Coaches podcast. She helps coaches move beyond overthinking and build real coaching businesses through clear positioning, genuine conversations, strong coaching and relationship-based marketing. Learn more about her here.