Some people are just naturally empathetic – they feel inclined to help others just by listening or offering potential solutions to problems. They’re like the “go-to person” when others need advice or support.
If this sounds just like you, I highly recommend exploring how to become a personal coach.
Like many others, I’ve faced moments where I felt uncertain about my next steps or how to move forward with my plans. During those times, I often wished I had a personal coach to guide me.
So, I took it upon myself to know how personal coaches can genuinely help their clients and how financially rewarding this career could be. As it turns out, there are many ways to make money from a coaching career!
In this article, I’ll share what it means to be a personal coach and explore 11 creative ways you can start making money in this exciting career!
What is a personal coach?
Table of Contents
Before we discuss how personal coaching generates income, let’s first try to understand what a personal coach actually does. In a nutshell, a personal coach is someone who helps individuals reach their personal or professional goals.
Here’s just a quick peek at what that might look like:
- Helping clients identify their strengths and land their dream job.
- Guiding people through career transitions.
- Teaching time management to entrepreneurs
- Reducing stress by achieving work-life balance
- Boosting confidence and self-esteem.
- Improving relationships, whether it’s with a partner or family members.
As you can see, coaching isn’t just about offering advice. It’s about helping people find solutions and unlocking their full potential.
Whether you’re going through a rough divorce, struggling to identify the most suitable career path or need help parenting your teenage kids, you should know having a personal coach by your side can be truly helpful.
11 Ways to Make Money as a Personal Coach
How do personal coaches earn money? Well, there are actually many ways to make money as a personal coach, including the following:
- Private Coaching
When you establish your coaching career, it’s very likely that your first source of income is private coaching. Private coaching is one-on-one sessions you do with your client. You’ll offer support and guidance to the specific needs of your client.
Private coaching is appealing because it allows you to establish schedules that work for you and your life’s commitments. Since you can do private coaching sessions over video calls, phone or in person, you can easily choose a method and schedule that fits your lifestyle.
And for someone like me who cherishes her “time freedom,” private coaching is an excellent way to make money. Imagine helping your clients but still having a good amount of flexibility to focus on other life goals. That’s a win!
- Group Coaching
Group coaching is the second most popular way to make money from your coaching business.
So, instead of dealing with clients one-on-one, you’ll simultaneously coach a group of people. These people share common goals and struggles, so it’s like helping an entire community.
For example, you can be a parenting coach for parents of special kids, a career coach for new graduates, or a wellness coach for people with specific conditions like PCOS.
Unlike private coaching, group sessions tend to be more affordable, which makes it more appealing to many potential clients. The deal is to give them valuable advice and actionable tips, but at a price that doesn’t break the bank. But beyond that, you’re also building a community where you and the members can help one another.
- Webinars
You’ll feel ready to go beyond private and group coaching sessions at some point in your coaching career. And this is the best time to consider reaching a wider audience through webinars.
I have attended a couple of webinars myself and have found many of them helpful. One thing I’ve noticed about these webinars is that other attendees are from all parts of the world. So, if you’re a personal coach holding such webinars, you’ll connect with clients in your area and reach people far and beyond.
What does that mean for you? The more attendees you have, the more money you make! And I’d like to add that these webinars can be excellent platforms to promote your products, your affiliate products or services, and brand collaborations.
- Online courses
When it comes to passive income, online courses are one of my favorites. Personal coaches can also tap into online courses to make money.
Some of my favorites, like Tony Robbins, sell courses on productivity and business. And as a personal finance enthusiast, I enjoy online courses by personal finance gurus like Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, which teaches the principles of tackling debt and building wealth.
The main advantage of selling online courses is that once everything is all set up, you can relax and let the money roll in. These online courses are usually automated, which means that paying members will have access to course contents without you needing to lift a finger. You’ll rake in passive earnings any time of day!
- Memberships
If you’re looking for a steady income stream, memberships are the way to go! Memberships allow clients access to your exclusive and premium content, which they pay for in a flat monthly fee or on a tiered basis.
With memberships, you offer clients relevant and valuable content and services. For example, they pay a flat monthly fee and have access to all your new and fresh video or audio content, templates, and workbooks. Or, they can pay more (on a tiered basis) and get one-on-one coaching with you, join your exclusive online groups, and so on.
The more members you have, the more money you make. But just remember to always come up with fresh and helpful content to keep your members subscribed and entice new sign-ups.
- Retreats and Workshops
How does getting paid to go on vacation sound? As a personal coach, you can do this through retreats and workshops.
Retreats and workshops take you away from your computer or home office and meet your clients in person. Think of it as providing personal support and guidance that can run over a weekend or a few days.
Hosting retreats and workshops is a cool way to give people a more personalized experience. You can focus on specific topics like leadership, personal growth, or career development. These events allow participants to dive deep into these topics, and because of that, you can charge a higher fee.
- eBooks
The eBooks industry will be valued at almost 27 billion dollars by 2031, and it also happens to be one of the best ways to make more money for your coaching business.
Ebooks are super low-cost to create! You can write, design, and publish an eBook with little upfront investment. What’s more, you don’t need to spend on traditional printing presses or marketing campaigns. You can be a self-published author without all these.
All you need is your creativity and some know-how (which you can learn even on your own with free web resources), and your ebooks should make money in the background. Since selling ebooks produces passive income, you can focus on other ways to make money, such as preparing for your subsequent coaching sessions, retreats, or workshops!
- Audiobooks
Most people are so busy nowadays that they don’t always have the time to read ebooks or focus on online courses. Therefore, as a personal coach, you should consider adding audiobooks to your sources of income.
People love audiobooks because they are so convenient and accessible. They can listen while doing chores, working out, driving, or commuting.
As these are digital products, they are also cheap and easy to start. You pick a topic that resounds with your target audience, create an outline for discussion, and record the material. Once you’ve got a perfectly polished and fine-tuned audiobook, you can start selling it on platforms like iTunes and Audible.
- Consulting services
If you’re specifically leaning towards business coaching, consider providing consulting services. Many businesses, big or small, need expert guidance on several aspects. Some need help with transitioning; others seek support for better management.
Business coaches play a key role in a business’s success because they offer tailored solutions to the company’s specific needs. This means that coaches need to study their clients’ businesses in-depth and come up with the best solutions for their issues and challenges, allowing them to charge premium rates.
Additionally, business coaching allows you to establish connections with businesses, brands, and companies, which could lead to more referrals and opportunities down the road.
- Brand Partnerships
Once you’ve established yourself in the coaching industry and built a decent social media following, it’s about time you explore brand partnerships to make money.
Partnering with brands is a win-win solution. You make money promoting products or services that you use or believe in and, at the same time, tap into the brand’s follower base.
Whether you’re promoting a fantastic meal planning app, personal finance software, workbooks, guides, or self-care subscriptions, these partnerships can boost your income. You may be paid for each promotion or sale or any other arrangement you’ve made with the brand partner.
Brands typically look into your online presence before considering partnering with you, so it’s essential to establish yourself first and grow your follower base. Provide compelling and helpful content to increase engagement. Soon, you’ll have enough stats to back up your pitches to potential brands.
- Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is another income stream worth exploring as a personal coach. Affiliate marketing is about promoting a product or service through your unique affiliate link and earning a commission for each successful sale.
The best part of being an affiliate marketer is that you don’t need the physical product to start promoting. Plus, your affiliate links run 24/7, generating income passively.
The important thing to remember when you venture into affiliate marketing as a personal coach is to choose products or services that align with your niche and target your audience’s needs.
For example, you may become an affiliate partner for self-help books, meditation tools, supplements, or yoga courses. It’s best that you have tried and enjoyed those products yourself so you can be authentic to your audience.
Related: How to Make Money with Affiliate Marketing
How to Become a Personal Coach: A Step By Step Guide
If you love helping and motivating others, being a personal coach could be a great career. Here’s a simple guide to get you started:
Choose your niche
Personal coaching covers a broad spectrum, and it’s essential to pick a niche you’re most passionate, skilled, and expert in to provide the best service to your clients. Here are some of the best coaching niches you may consider:
- Life coach – offers professional and personal support to clients, ranging from transitioning between life stages and emotional well-being, divorce, retirement, and many others.
- Career coach – supports clients as they identify the best career paths, transition to new jobs, and cope with issues at work.
- Relationship coach – helps clients improve relationships among partners, families, and friends. They aim to offer support and solutions to relationship issues and challenges.
- Wellness coach – offers guidance to clients in achieving their wellness goals, whether they want to eat healthier, lose weight, etc.
- Parenting coach – supports parents in improving their family dynamics and offers solutions to family issues. You can focus on specific areas, such as helping new parents or parents of special needs kids.
- Executive coach – helps executives and leaders in the business and corporate setting. This niche is perfect for coaches who enjoy working with founders, executives, and business leaders as they navigate issues at work, manage teams, and reach the best business decisions.
- Mindset coach – provides support for clients who need mental and emotional support. Mindset coaches help you banish limiting beliefs and establish self-confidence.
- Financial coach – supports clients in managing their finances. Financial coaches can help you establish a budget, develop a plan to reduce and eliminate debt, and figure out the best financial track that works for you.
Get Certified
Although getting a certification is unnecessary, it helps establish yourself and build authority in the coaching industry. Such credentials go a long way in providing the best service for your clients.
First, look at certification programs offered by reputable organizations, such as the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and the International Association of Coaching (ICA).
You can also look into supplemental programs online, which are usually free or cheap but still offer in-depth content. One of my favorite places to look for is Skillshare, where you can find many resources.
Check out these Personal Development Classes and The Complete Life Coaching Certification Master Class.
Tackle the business side
Coaching is a business, and it’s essential that you comply with business requirements before you start your practice.
So first, determine your business classification (sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, or corporation).
Next, choose the best business insurance to protect yourself legally and safeguard your client’s best interests.
Develop your coaching package
Having a coaching package makes it easy for you to market your services and for clients to see whether they’re worth the money. For example, you can offer a one-hour per week one-on-one session or a five-day group coaching session.
You’ll soon find the best package that works for you and your clients, and even customize these packages as you go.
Market your coaching business
Now it’s time to get the word out and officially launch your coaching business. There are several ways to market your business, but I’d recommend starting with a professional website to showcase your services, packages, and client testimonials (if you already have them).
Next, use social media to get yourself out there, connect with potential clients, and attract brand partnerships. You can share news in the industry, tips, motivational quotes, and client stories to establish your authority. The more you post, engage, and grow, the more you become more visible and establish your reputation and authority.
Take your first client
You should be ready to take your first client with everything already set up. Check your social media messages and email to respond to queries promptly. You could also consider offering a free mini-coaching session to allow potential clients to get a feel of what it’s like working with you before letting them make a financial commitment.
Keep networking
Building a solid network is essential to the coaching business. Networking lets you connect with potential clients, brand partners, and colleagues. There are many ways to network, including attending seminars and webinars, joining online groups and communities, and even guesting for podcasts and live events. Expanding your network allows you to build solid relationships with people important to coaching practice.
Conclusion
Coaching is a rewarding career that is perfect for people with active listening skills, compassion, and empathy. The best thing is you can combine several ways to earn a living from your coaching business, allowing you to diversify your income while helping others.
Since personal coaching is so broad, picking a niche that works for you is best. Whether you’re interested in becoming a life coach, career coach, wellness coach, or parenting coach, you’ll find that niching down helps land clients willing to spend their money on you.
So, if you want to tackle this fantastic career, start by taking inventory of your skills and interests and finding programs where you could earn certification.
I hope you find this article helpful. Are you ready to start your coaching career? I’m rooting for you!
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