How to Become a Business Coach: The Harsh Truth
For those looking into how to become a business coach, you’ll find no shortage of content on the topic. Most sites will give you some encouraging tips and tricks to get things started.
But what if there’s more to the story? What are they not telling you about trying to make it as a business coach? In this article, we’re keeping it as real as possible for anyone considering this profession or side hustle.
The Harsh Truth Up Front
We won’t keep you waiting. Of those exploring how to become a business coach, the harsh truth is that only a small percentage should actually pursue this path. That’s because successful business coaching takes more than just a passion for business or a desire to get involved with entrepreneurs. It requires a proven track record of driving tangible business results.
Here’s what happens far too often:
A life coach builds a client base, and at some point, a founder or business person hires them for coaching. Maybe it’s a business person who needs help with work-life balance. Or an executive who wants to develop her executive presence. In serving this client, the coach recognizes that they’ve dipped their toe into the business world, incorrectly believing they are equipped to serve business leaders in executives under the umbrella of “business coaching.”
Indeed, business people frequently need help with personal development and personal growth. Sometimes this work even impacts life at the office. But don’t be fooled: this is not business coaching!
Who Is Qualified to Be a Business Coach?
When someone sets out to hire a business coach, 90% of the time they are looking for tactical, hands-on guidance on growing their business. In other words, the “buying intent” of someone looking for a business coach is most often in a similar ballpark as startup advising.
So who is qualified? Who rightfully should be researching how to become a business coach?
Simple: Successful people who have a proven track record in business. Success commonly looks like any of the following. Someone who has…
Founded a startup that raised capital and/or exited
Has been on the board of established companies
Led a key department through a period of major growth
Has reached the executive leadership level of an organization
Has a track record of advising startups and startup founders
This list is not exhaustive, but it gives you an idea of whether or not you should pursue a business coaching career or side hustle. This insight is not designed to discourage folks—rather, it’s a cautionary bit of advice that may save your prospects of becoming a successful coach in the correct niche.
The Implications of Overpromising as a Business Coach
The above list of qualifications may apply to you, in which case the rest of this article will give you some tactical advice on how to become a business coach the right way. For others, if the list above is discouraging in any way, consider the implications of overpromising as a business coach.
Your goal as a coach is to have a book of business highlighted by passionate clients who stick around for the long haul. The ones who would give you a rave review if you asked them to provide testimonials for your coaching business. Achieving that comes down to one thing: expertise alignment between client and coach.
When a coach overextends their offering into the world of business coaching, clients pick up on it quickly. They may show up to sessions hoping for a sounding board who understands pricing models, business financials, org charts, hiring and firing challenges, etc. Most life coaches don’t have this first-hand experience. As a result, clients are more likely to churn and report poor coaching experiences.
Fortunately, the fix is easy: Study different coaching niches and stick to where you truly shine. There are plenty of sub-niches that have lots of demand and a shortage of coaches who truly specialize their offerings. Explore, experiment, and stay true to your ultimate coaching prowess.
Qualified to Be a Business Coach? Read on!
If you’ve made it to this point and believe you’d make for an excellent business coach, let’s dive into some key topics and advice. Here are some of the most important things to remember when exploring how to become a business coach.
Don’t Bury the Lede
Up until this point, this article makes the case that true, business-coaching-worthy experience is not so common. If you’re one who does have a business resume worthy of bragging about, make sure not to bury the lede.
For example, let’s say you’re a female entrepreneur who has sold 2 businesses and wants to empower other women in entrepreneurship to reach the same heights. Your marketing materials (LinkedIn header, website, online profiles) should clearly state this. In its simplest form, your one-liner may look like this:
Founder | 2x Exits | Startup & business coach for women founders in tech
The point is to leave no doubt that you’re qualified to provide counsel to a segmented audience of the business world. For more on this, we’ve written before about how to write the perfect coaching bio with a simple template.
Position for Those Right Behind You
As a business coach, your easiest pitch will be to anyone in the market who is one or two steps behind the milestones you achieved in your own business career. Maybe you raised a Series A for your startup and grew your business until it eventually sold. You’d be the perfect candidate to serve as a coach for Pre-Seed or Seed-stage entrepreneurs.
The closer your business coaching practice is aligned with a predefined target market, the easier it will be to get discovered, get referrals, and ultimately, get more clients.
Get Certified, if Applicable
The coaching industry is largely unregulated, which means anyone can become a business coach as long as they claim to be one. Now, if your career qualifications speak for themselves, you may not need any certifications. Some of the best business coaches in the world can rightfully argue that their career success is all the certification they need.
Nonetheless, a coaching certification may still appeal to some. Certifications suggest a certain level of professionalism and commitment to the industry. The certification process also presents a major opportunity to learn some industry-standard methods for what it means to “coach” somebody.
For more on this, check out our guide to the most credible coaching certifications on the market.
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FAQs on How to Become a Business Coach
Some information is best delivered in bite-sized chunks. That’s why we gathered some of the top FAQs on how to become a business coach, for your quick reference.
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Nope. Business coaches may want to consider earning some credentials to add credibility to their practices. However, there is no regulatory body that requires certifications. In a more general sense, coaches should do their due diligence regarding any regulations or paperwork related to the incorporation of their business. We touch on some relevant considerations in this article on how to start a life coaching business.
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The most important point here is that you should have relevant first-hand experience that makes you qualified to coach other people in the business world. For most coaches, this experience comes in the form of their previous roles and achievements in business. Beyond experience, some business coaches also hold certifications from reputable coaching organizations, such as the International Coach Federation (ICF), which requires specific training hours and passing an exam.
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Most business coaches find clients through networking, building a strong online presence, offering workshops, or free sessions to showcase their expertise. The CoachRanks blog and newsletter are your best friends if you want to learn more about how to get more coaching clients through effective marketing (that’s our wheelhouse!)
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It really depends on your accolades in business and your motives for starting a coaching business. If you’re hoping to earn top dollar and your body of work speaks volumes, you’ll be able to charge north of $1,000 per session among other top executives. More commonly, successful business coaches charge anywhere from $200 to $500 per hour.
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Great coaches in this niche consistently bring strong communication and listening skills, the ability to ask powerful questions, empathy, business acumen, problem-solving abilities, and a solid understanding of coaching principles and techniques. Continuous learning and self-development are also crucial in this evolving field—a driving reason some coaches ultimately decide to pursue a certification.
Building Your Go-to-Market Strategy
If you’ve made it in business and are looking to approach your coaching venture just like a business, you may resonate with the idea of building out a GTM strategy.
You’re likely no stranger to the fundamental concepts that drive successful businesses. Lean into that! Any prospective coaching business can gain from a little strategic planning. You may have your own approach to developing a simple business plan. If not, we took a stab at creating a simple coaching business plan to get your practice started.
Our business plan was written for life coaches, but the content applies just as well to business coaches. We shed some light on some of the basics like developing your mission, marketing & sales, pricing, and more. If nothing else, let it give you a bit of inspiration as you get your business off the ground. Best of luck to you in the future!
