coaching business

When I first heard about life coaching, I was like saaaaaay what? Helping people become their best selves? Hello, sign me up right now, right freakin’ now!

And since you’re reading this, I imagine you had the same experience! Maybe you’ve started your life coaching practice already. You’ve taken some classes and you’re excited to get going.

But I’m also going to guess that it’s not going as well as you’d hoped.

You KNOW you have the skills.

You KNOW you can help people!

So why isn’t anyone signing up?

Let me tell you friends! I have so been there.

And the good news is: it’s not all YOUR fault.

As always, my aim here on this site is to help you avoid the (MANY!) mistakes I made when starting my spiritual business. And this is definitely one of them!

Why Being A Life Coach Will Make You Broke! 3 Problems & How To Fix Them

Reason Being A Life Coach Will Make You Broke #1:

People Only Buy Solutions

You can show people your certificates and talk about yourself all day long. So while I kind of hate to break it to you but here’s the truth: no one cares.

Yup that’s right! It’s harsh but true. No one really cares about who you studied with, what modality you use, who your other clients were.

But they do care about what you can do for them.

This is really just a misunderstanding on our part. We talk about our credits and assume that other people will just understand what that means for them!

But it doesn’t work like that! You have to actually tell people how you can help them, in the most specific way possible.

You need to know what their problem is. And then you simply need to have a solution to that problem.

So in order to stop your business from tanking before you’ve even begun (yikes!), you have to stop telling them your audience about what doesn’t matter to them and start being extremely clear about what you can help them fix.

Reason Being A Life Coach Will Make You Broke #2:

The Title Isn’t Enough

Those of us in the coaching world often forget that we exist largely in our own little bubble. When you talk about life coaching to other life coaches or to people who are really into personal development, they obviously know what that means.

However, to anyone outside of our little world, the term “life coach” is still kind of vague and misunderstood.

I’ve met people who think that I just tell other people what to do all day! Which is pretty hilarious honestly. (And, just in case you don’t know, completely untrue!)

But it’s not up to the world to figure out what we do! It’s up to us to tell them.

That means part of our marketing needs to be about education. Yes, of course you’re a life coach (or a transformation coach, manifestation coach, happiness coach etc.)

But what do you really do? How can you explain that in the most simple way possible?

In other words, don’t just slap the words life coach on your Instagram and just post pictures of your smoothies. That’s not enough for anyone to get it–much less for them to make the leap to come and actually want to work with from you!

Tell them what you. Then do it again. And again. And keep doing whatever you have to to make sure your message is unmistakable!

Reason Being A Life Coach Will Make You Broke #3:

They Need To See The Transformation

Even when you have a specific problem that you can help people with, you have to weave a little more magic to make things more irresistible.

For example: say you’re a confidence coach. You help people go from anxiety to feeling confident and powerful!

That’s a great start. But what does that process actually look like? How can you illustrate it to your potential clients?

This where the art of storytelling comes in extremely handy.

Think about your “before” and your “after” and then paint your audience a picture of both.

What would someone’s life be like when they feel crippled by self-doubt?

What would they experience to finally move beyond that?

Tell them a story about it and they will automatically understand the true magic of who you are and what you do. Stories are the best way to show off your potential and to help them see where you fit into their world.

If you’re feeling stuck about this, think about your own transformation or the journey of someone you’ve already worked with.

Also, don’t assume people will just “get it” from skimming your bio! If this process is the magic you want to base your business on, you need to put that at the forefront of what you write as often as possible.

Don’t you dare think that your lack of clients is because you can’t make it as a spiritual entrepreneur! Once you tweak these few basic points on your website and in your social media marketing, you’ll be amazed at just how easy it is to book yourself out with clients who really want to work with you.

PS Looking for more? You might also want to check out this post about 3 reasons why you don’t have coaching clients or this one about passive income product ideas for coaches.

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Spending endless HOURS on Instagram or Facebook but not booking calls or making sales?

Feel like you’re doing all the “right things” but no one’s paying attention?

It’s the absolute worst feeling: trying your best to be cute and kicky but also like no matter how hard you try, no one gets your jokes. You keep doing the right things (the same things other people are doing! 😩 ) but somehow it’s all falling flat.

And mostly you’re tired of showing up consistently but getting nothing in return!

This is especially frustrating when you’re just starting out.

Picture it now: you’re feeling super inspired. Maybe you’ve just finished your coaching training and you’re raring to go!

You’re all fired up about wanting to change the world. Plus you’re totally confident that you can actually help people in a meaningful way!

You’re also looking forward to the other things you want to create in your life. You’re imagining financial freedom: creating a new level of income for yourself so you can travel the world, buy yourself a new flat, support your family, etc.

So when your posts (blog posts, Instagram posts, whatever!) fail to get any attention it seems like none of that stuff is ever going to happen.

Just how are you supposed to help people–when it seems like no one’s even paying attention?

You might feel like something’s wrong with you.

Or that you’re just not cut out to be successful as a coach or entrepreneur.

You might even be tempted to throw out your whole damn dream because it all just feels so hard…and humiliating.

So listen up my friend: do not give up on yourself right now! You are absolutely correct in that the world does need you and your special magic.

The only problem is that right now people can’t quite see what you’re doing.

But hope is definitely not lost!

This situation is not a sign that something is wrong with you.

It’s just a sign that there’s something wrong between your vision and the way you’re actually showing up in the world. And we’re going to learn about some of the causes of that right now!

3 Reasons Why You Don’t Have Coaching Clients

Reason Why You Don’t Have Coaching Clients #1:

Your People Can’t Find You

I know you’re a coach because you want to help people.

And that’s great because, guess what! The internet is absolutely BURSTING with people who need help.

But here’s the thing:

I know you want to help/transform/embody people.

And I know you CAN do all those things!

But the problem is: your future clients aren’t actively LOOKING for those things.

They definitely aren’t sitting down and typing “transformation” into Google! So if that’s the word you’re focusing on in your copy, that also means they’re never going to find YOU.

If you want to get found by the right people, you need to know exactly what those people are looking for.

And yes, you can still do your magical transformational stuff! But you also need to understand what your ideal customer is needing an answer for.

Reason Why You Don’t Have Coaching Clients #2:

They’re Confused

Think about this right NOW! How many people on Instagram do you follow who are coaches or wellness practitioners?

Now how many of them can you think of where you KNOW what they really do?

Personally, I see a LOT of people out there offering great advice and inspiration. But off the top of my head (without searching through their account) do I actually know what they do? (And more importantly how they could actually help me?)

Out of all the coaches I follow, it’s not always obvious.

And I’m going to guess that those not-obvious coaches are also the ones struggling to book out their calendars.

Inspiration and connection are great. In fact, they’re essential parts of connection and building a soul-led business and brand.

But if people are confused about who you are and what you can help them with, then it’s not so surprising that you’re experiencing online business crickets.

Confused people will never ever buy from you.

So what can you do to help people be less confused?

Reason Why You Don’t Have Coaching Clients #3:

You’re Not Connecting

In real life, connection is one of the biggest factors in why we like certain people and not others.

(Ok be real: how many times have you been tempted to date someone who was VERY wrong for you just because “We have such a great connection!”)

Connection goes an awfully long way in life and that includes the online world.

But sometimes we get in our own way in terms of connection on accident.

When we think about selling, most of us get suddenly weird and awkward. We turn on our “professional” voice. And we leave out our personality!

But that just means that the real you has become invisible.

Now please note, that you don’t have to put all your flaws out there to get noticed!

But you DO have to show people who you are.

And when you do that in an authentic way? Your people are simply NOT going to be able to look away.

So tell me: which tip resonated with you? And what can you start doing today to help connect with your audience and share your message?

Don’t give up on your coaching practice because you think people just don’t “get” you. With a few important yet subtle twists, you can turn around even the biggest business slump and get those leads rolling in.

Need a little help? Check out my intensive coaching starter session–perfect for newbie coaches!

Why Being A “Life Coach” Will Make You Broke: 3 Problems & How To Fix Them!