11 Hard Lessons Learned from Earning My First $5k in Coaching
For many years I searched for what my true passion is. Being very smart and curious in school didn’t help. Every test I took delivered results all over the place.
So you can imagine how elated I felt when I finally found that coaching was what I was meant to do. It’s been 3 years since that decision and I’m still excited to coach every day. That’s what it feels like for anyone who’s found their true purpose in life. The problem was that I struggled to monetize it. We all know that it’s great to be doing what you’re passionate about but without a steady income, it’s not sustainable.
Getting to my first $5k in coaching was the hardest road I had been on. Took me 16 months to get there. All while living with my parents, going into debt, and hanging on to the belief that maybe tomorrow someone will invest with me.
Truth is, it doesn’t have to be that hard for someone to find their path to success in coaching. Here’s what I wish I knew when I got started. Anyone who wishes to build a successful coaching business should keep these in mind.
1. Stop trying to prove a concept
Many people take the idea of proof of concept way too far. They spend months trying to prove a concept before taking it seriously as a business. When the real problem is, they never treated it like a business to prove the concept.
This was me. I was waiting to be making some money from my coaching to prove that it was a real business. Once it made money, that’s when I planned to take it seriously. It wasn’t until I started taking things seriously — acting as if I had a professional business — that things started to shift and the money started coming in.
2. Keep the beliefs in check
If a coach does not believe they can help anyone with their coaching, how can they communicate it to potential clients? It all starts with the coach first.
In this coaching industry I’ve seen people with all sorts of coaching degrees and a long list of testimonials (in exchange for free coaching), really struggle to make money. On the other hand, I’ve also seen people just start coaching with the experience that they have and make money overnight.
I believe that if someone’s heart/soul/gut is calling them to do this coaching thing, they should go for it! They need to believe that they can help people, communicate it to them and make magic together. Don’t ever hold yourself back.
3. Think bigger!
Grant Cardone has come up with the 10x rule. Where he talks about making a target 10 times bigger and putting in 10 times the effort. Why? Because we always underestimate how much effort goes into achieving a goal. Achieving a goal will always require more than we anticipate at the start.
Whether someone is setting a short-term or long-term goal, they should think big! I see a lot of people in the coaching industry trying to “just build a small business”. I used to be one of them. This is often an excuse for not wanting to take massive action because of the risk of failure.
Don’t let yourself fall into the failure mindset. Believe in your success and think big. You can’t go anywhere in life without thinking about it first.
4. Do things your way
There are a ton of strategies out there that business experts and coaches share. They work. So it’s cool to apply them. The danger lies in someone sacrificing their beliefs to apply a strategy.
I used to do a bunch of things in my business that didn’t feel good to me. I did them because they were the strategies that were taught to make money. The result? Usually, it didn’t work. Everything changed when I started to do things in a way that felt good to me.
My favorite way to come up with the right strategy for my business is to take a moment to sit quietly, taking myself in the future to the million-dollar version of me and asking that millionaire version of me what the next step is for me right now. This has helped me create a business that not only makes money but feels good to me.
Breathwork is my favorite modality to achieve this. There’s a 15-min Your Business Your Way themed Breathwork class inside the Soulful Coaching Business Tools. Try it for free.
5. Collaborate
You don’t have to do this alone. Collaborate with other coaches or entrepreneurs to help you grow your business. I’ve done this in the form of creating programs together, organizing a summit, appearing on podcasts and Facebook live interviews. Just to give a few ideas.
I landed my first $1,200 pay-in-full client from appearing on a podcast. She loved what I had to say on the podcast, looked me up and the rest was history.
Find other coaches to collaborate with inside the Lady Coaches Directory.
6. Don’t be afraid to speak your truth
Your way of doing things when it comes to helping others will contradict someone else’s strategies. Some coaches are afraid to talk about their coaching style because of the backlash it might create on social media. As a result, nobody hears about their unique coaching strategies that produce success.
I never wanted to create waves. Especially when I came up with the “Your Business Your Way” concept. I was afraid that people would find that stupid and will bash it. When I finally owned my truth, I got a ton of support around the concept. Many people have started working with me, because of this unique approach to coaching.
We attract based on the vibrations we send out. Standing in one’s truth and showing their uniqueness, will drastically change the types of people that are attracted to them. All while repelling those that aren’t a good fit. This is the secret to attracting soulmate clients!
You’re welcome 😉.
7. Build relationships
In a world where there are influencers like Kylie Jenner who can sell out lip kits with just 1 social media post, it’s easy to end up just writing posts and hoping someone will buy. Though this is possible, it usually isn’t the case in the beginning.
In the infancy of my coaching business, I put out a bunch of posts waiting for someone to buy. When they didn’t, I put out more posts. Nobody was signing up. Not even to my free discovery call.
It wasn’t until I started making connections that things shifted. The $1,200 client that I mentioned earlier only signed up after I approached her personally to see what I could help her with.
8. It’s not a numbers game
Once upon a time I had 40,000 followers on Instagram and couldn’t make a dime from it. This was pre-coaching Sheedia, but it taught me a valuable lesson. It’s not only about the numbers. This becomes even truer when it comes to coaching.
Once someone signs up to work with a coach, they are about to fully open up to that coach. On occasion, they will be sharing some deep secrets. So building up that trust factor with people is super important.
People trust a coach more when they open up to them first. Sharing about some of the vulnerable things a coach has experienced helps people connect. As long as what’s being shared can be connected with the coaching offered.
Let’s be clear, it is important to have the right audience when posting on social media. Family and friends from high school might not be your potential clients. So learning how to target the right people is important.
9. Ask for the sale
It’s surprising how many times I shared some awesome content without sharing about the offer on the table. It also happened often that I would have a full conversation with someone and then just hope that they would visit my website and see the offers. That usually didn’t happen.
When I started telling people about my offers, things changed. I let them know that there’s a way for me to help them achieve the goals they’ve been trying to hit for a long time. Not everyone will sign up, but it worked!
This does not mean being salesy to people. It means genuinely having a conversation with people to see if/how you can help. Since I do not do sales calls, these conversations usually happen in comments or in the DM’s.
10. Don’t hold back!
Coaching is not about being nice all the time. It’s about helping people overcome some of their hardships in life while keeping them accountable to do it. Sometimes that requires calling people out on their excuses in a loving way. This does not always make anyone the most likable person, but it produces results.
Coaching starts before people pay. I had to learn to coach people to invest in the goals they wanted to achieve. At first, it felt scary. As if I was taking advantage of people, then I realized that they’re struggling with something and I’m holding the solution. So it would be selfish of me not to present them with how I can help them. It’s up to them to invest and I never force someone to do so. If they want the help and love the way I operate, they will invest.
11. Persevere no matter what
It might not work right away, but it will come around. For the longest time, things didn’t look like they would work out for me, but it did. I kept going until I achieved the success I was craving. That’s the difference between successful and unsuccessful people. They push through the temporary defeat.
When things don’t work out, analyze, troubleshoot, rinse + repeat. Sometimes I see business like a jigsaw puzzle where I’m trying to fit different pieces together. If that sounds stressful, learn how to relieve the stress of building a coaching business here.
What success is about
Success is 90% mindset and 10% strategy. A majority of the lessons I learned while earning my first $5k in coaching had to do with mindset. There were mental shifts that needed to be made for me to achieve the success I craved. This is why I offer Breathwork with my Business Coaching. Breathwork has fully improved how I show up in my business. Try Breathwork inside the Soulful Coaching Business Tools for free.
Whoever wants to apply the idea of running Your Business Your Way, needs to first know what their way is. Finding your way can only happen through looking within. More on how to Build Your Business Your Way here.
Many people love to focus on the strategy. It’s what’s tangible. It makes sense. Especially in regards to the way the schooling system is set up. However, it’s not about what someone knows. It’s about what they do with what they know. There were a lot of things that were keeping me from applying what I know. That’s what I had to consistently work through to get to the other side.
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