The Easiest Way To Start a Coaching Business and Replace Your 9-5 Income
The Easiest Way To Start a Coaching Business and Replace Your 9-5 Income
I want to talk about the reasons why creating a low-end/cheap course/product or digital product is the absolute worst way to start a coaching business. I know a lot of people are gonna give me crap for that because that’s how a lot of people have started their coaching businesses, I get it, it works for some people. But I want to tell you why this is an unsustainable, frustrating, and painful way to start an online business, especially a coaching business.The plain and simple truth: creating and selling a course or digital product takes a long time. Since it's a painstakingly slow and long process, most people end up quitting before they even see a single dime from the product they've created.
GAH, stop the madness!
I see so much entrepreneur burnout and my heart goes out to these amazing people who are trying so hard to make an impact but seeing so little results.Many new and aspiring coaches think that before they start a coaching business they need to sell an e-book or some other digital product or an affordable course because they don’t feel secure enough in being a coach yet, either with one on one coaching or group coaching. They don't feel they are experienced enough, so they try to get that experience through making an ebook or a cheap course. In other words, they’re hiding. And I totallllyyy get it because, hey, I hid too.
I WAS this person.
I was the aspiring coach who wanted to work with women, impact the world and help people - but I thought I needed more experience first. I thought I needed more credibility, I just didn’t feel...ready yet. So I thought I would put together a quick course or a book - THEN I would be more legit, more official...more credible right?Wrong. The problem was, I never actually did it. I kept thinking about it and worked on growing my audience and blog traffic in the meantime. I even did write an ebook but I was too chicken shit to charge for it! The truth is, I worked SO hard on building an audience so I could sell a product to them that I got burnt out before I actually sold anything to them.Oh the irony.And this didn’t just happen to me. It happens to thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs around the world.They get so focused on content, on building an audience that they often don’t even reach the point of selling anything before they get sick or burnt out and quit.Or they finally do create something to sell and offer it to their thousand person email list and they get crickets. Or maybe if they’re lucky 10 people buy. But the problem is, they’re selling such a cheap product they just made maybe $1,000 for a years worth of work and hustle. Worth it? I think not.I could see this gloomy future ahead of me.So I switched tactics.
I found an easier way to start a coaching business fast.
And I’m going to fill you in on my secret in this post. But first, please just do yourself a favor and agree not go create a cheap digital course, do not go creating some ebook or other downloadable product and try to sell it for $7, $17, even $97. You’ll be going about your new business the wrong way. I get why most people think that this is the best way to start your biz - because SO many online entrepreneurs out there are boasting about how they made six figures in their online course and how you can do it too! I know you see that out there, I do too. First of all, they are just sharing the tip top of the iceberg. They are not sharing the years of trial and error, the years of building a huge list and a huge following. So all we see is this glimpse of the perfect part of this selling of course. The part that says “oh I sold my $97 course to five hundred people and I'm making bank.” OR there are the coaches out there trying to convince you to build your ascension model - start with a cheap product to pull people in, THEN sell them into your coaching package THEN sell them into your mastermind.Ok, fine, that’s all great when you already have an engaged list of thousands upon thousands of people.But what if you’re trying to build your list at the same time, as most new online business owners are?Sometimes, I think those types of coaches forget what it’s like to be either 1) broke 2) in debt 3) feeling your soul sucked out of you in corporate life. They’re off in la-la-land with their 6 and 7-figure businesses and they forget that NEW coaches really need to be focused on MAKING MONEY FAST. Right?Because you want OUT of debt. You want OUT of your circumstances. OUT of your job. You cannot afford to be slinging $97 courses to every Tom, Dick and Harry. #AINTNOBODYGOTTIMEFORTHAT.
Long story short? I want you to stop listening to these people because:
1) they’re trying to convince you that you CAN get rich quick (spoiler: no such thing unless you win the lotto), and 2) there is a much easier way to start a coaching business so you can replace your 9-5 incomeNo, it’s not “easy” of course there’s work involved but it is EASIER than this courses-and-digital products-nightmare and it will prevent a lot of burnout that I see running rampant in the online business space.Look, I know why you want to be an entrepreneur. It’s the same reasons I want to be one too. You want freedom, you want flexibility, you want fulfillment. Those things are not going to come as fast as you’d like if you’re spending all your time and effort growing a list big enough to sell a $97 product to replace your 9-5 income. You will get overwhelmed and quit, probably before you even start to sell something.Before I tell you what worked for me and how I was able to generate $17,000 in sales in one launch over a two week period, I want to dive a little deeper into the evidence for you.
#1 Reason You Shouldn’t Start A Coaching Business With A Low-Cost Course or EBook
The number one reason why a digital product or a cheap course is the worst way to start a coaching business is because it's not as easy as it sounds to build a big email list - and yes, you need a big email list in order to sell enough cheap products/courses to people if you want to replace your 9-5 income.I know so many people out there are saying it's easy (they are trying to sell you their program on HOW to sell a cheap course!!). But the truth is, it takes time, it takes effort, and it takes money. It's not an overnight thing, it's not a quick, one-and-done, get-rich-quick thing. It takes a long time to not only build your list but also to create a relationship with those people.You are not just getting people onto your email list, you have to nurture them as well; you have to build a relationship. It's not like you would go out on one date with someone and then ask that person to marry you.That's essentially what you're doing if you think that you can get someone on your email list and instantly sell them something. You're basically asking them to commit to you on date one!They're not ready for that. The same applies to the people you get on your email list. It takes time for them to get to know, like, and trust you, just as it does with any good relationship.Related Post The #1 Mistake New Online Entrepreneurs Make That Cause Them To Quit
I want to go into some numbers with you guys to really show you the comparison of what I'm talking about.
On average just 1% to 10% of people on your email list actually buy from you. This is a pretty big range. I would say typically, 1% to 5% percent is actually more accurate, unless you have a really really engaged audience and you know exactly what they want, which also takes time. Most people don't get that right even in their first year or so. It develops over time. However, for simplicity's sake and just to be generous let's say that 10% of your list will buy from you. If you want to make $1000 a month that means you need 10 people to purchase a $100 product from you. That means that you need 100 people to be added onto your email list each every month. So if you have 100 people each month seeing your offer, that means 10% are going to buy, so that’s 10 people.
However, $1k a month in earnings is not bad but it’s not enough to replace your income.Let's be real here. You guys are doing this because you want to be an entrepreneur, you want to start making an income online because you want to leave your jobs, you want to find freedom, and flexibility, and fulfillment in your life by doing your own thing. So $1,000 a month just isn't gonna cut it. Let's say a good average for the US would be a MINIMUM of $3,000 a month (remember it isn’t ALL profit, some goes to taxes, some goes to your website fees, subscriptions you need, etc).That means you need 300 people added onto your list each and every month to send to your offer. Again 10% will purchase from you. So you need 30 people to buy a $100 product to make $3,000. It takes so fucking long to get 300 people CONSISTENTLY on your email list each and every month, please trust me! You need good SEO set up, you need good opt-ins, you need to figure out a way to consistently drive traffic to your site or your offers!
So I’ll say it again, list building takes a lot of time and if you want it done fast, it requires money and a lot of effort and even then it's not easy.It takes time to tweak things, it takes time to improve it, it takes time to grow that relationship with your audience.
Now I want to tell you the easier way to start a coaching business fast so you can replace your 9-5 salary.
The way that I finally found after my own trial and error. What I did instead was I packaged up my knowledge, passions, and experience that already existed in my head and laid it out into my own signature system to sell as a high-end service.I recommend you do the same.When you do this you are creating your own process for getting results. Essentially you are going to go teach, guide, coach, or lead someone to the results that you can offer through a step-by-step method. It's quite simple!Take something you enjoy doing or you’ve been able to help people with and think about how you can walk someone else through that same step by step method.That is the gist of it! You don't go sell a product, you sell yourself as a service provider. Service providers automatically will make more than course creators, just for the simple fact that services demand a higher price point. You are getting that one-on-one attention and accountability, and on top of that if you offer your own proprietary method, your own signature system, your signature step-by-step process, that you can charge a premium for because it's your OWN system. You've developed intellectual property that is different from anyone else’s process out there. That is how you can separate yourself from everyone else out there who are doing really similar things to you. You create your own system to get results and it automatically demands a higher price point. Instead of charging $100 or even $300 you can charge $1,000 or $5,000 even $10,000 or more.Now, I know those numbers probably feel scary to you, and I admit, when I figured this out, I did NOT immediately jump to $5K or $10K services. I didn’t even jump to $1K...because I didn’t think I was good enough to charge that price. But that’s another blog post for another time about pricing psychology!But I jumped to $1K in about 6 months, and I jumped to $2.5K in less than a year, and soon I’ll be up in the $5K range. So it’s ok to gradually build yourself up to those higher numbers as you increase your confidence. I love sharing this because it's simple. And the crazy thing is, people WANT this. People want to pay more, they want the high-end services and products. Because they’re more accountable, they commit to themselves and they see a greater transformation.
And that is what I want for you. I want you to help people. I want you to make an impact. I want you to transform lives.
Trust me, a $100 course that most people end up never finishing anyway, is NOT transformative.Selling signature coaching services is the easiest way to start a coaching business and replace your 9-5 income fast. It’s a win for you, getting to earn enough money to live the life of freedom you want, and it’s a win for your clients who get to commit to themselves and make a big change in their life.Realizing this simplified everything for me. You have SO much value to offer, you have so much to give, it’s just a matter of putting it together in a way where people will see that value. Don’t discount your knowledge and experience and try to hide behind a cheap product. The effort and heartache isn’t worth it! 
Getting back to the numbers here, let me prove to you how much easier selling a signature service priced at $1,000 is than selling a course for $100 to start a coaching business.
Let’s say if you want to make a bare minimum of $1,000 a month.If we are going with the same 10% conversion rate so that means you only need 10 eyes, 10 new leads each month. Because 10% of those people will buy, so that is $1000 each month from one person, which means you only need to get one person to know, like, and trust you. You only need to develop that relationship with one person to make $1000 a month.
Now if you wanted to scale it and actually make, let's say $3000 a month then you need 30 fresh leads because 10% of 30 is 3. So 30 people added to your email list who you can contact and say “hey I've got this service, sounds like something you need, let's chat.” 10% of those 30 people is 3. You need 3 people each month to buy your $1,000 service. That's it! 
How much easier do you think it is to bring in thirty new leads per month and sell to three people than it is to bring in 300 HUNDRED new leads and sell to THIRTY!? You are also offering this amazing transformation to them. You're not selling something that they do not need. You are reaching three people who have a problem that you are able to solve. Three people who find value in what you do and want to work with you. Think about it for a second. Do you think you can bring in 3 people per month to work with you? You bet your fine ass you can.I just want you to see building that relationship, finding those 30 new leads is so much easier than trying to find 300 new leads and getting 30 people to find value in what you do in order to purchase from you. When you start with a low-end course or a digital product like an ebook, you are not going to be able to quit your job any time soon. Sure, there are people that do it in the long term (or they already have a massive email list to start with) but like I said it takes a lot of time and there is just a much easier, much more efficient way to do it .You already have that knowledge in your head that people need, so get it out of your own way and just create a system from that knowledge and sell it as a service. It does not have to look like anyone else's coaching program, it does not have to look like an hour-long coaching session, once a week. It can be a course, coupled with group coaching, or maybe a few 30 minute check in calls as accountability. Whatever it is, create your system and go out and sell it and offer your coaching support and guidance with it!
It can be whatever you want to make it, however you want it to look. That’s the beauty of having an online business.
Just remember that people value what they pay for. By charging a premium for your services you are inviting people to transform. You are holding space for someone to say YES to themselves, to fully step into the person they want to be. You are giving them a space to commit to themselves and the transformation they want. Charging a premium isn’t sleazy. Charging a premium is charging your worth and it’s enabling people to have skin in the game, invest in themselves, and make a huge transformation. 
People who pay more show up more, they are more ready to do the work, they are more accountable - I have seen this with my own two eyes in my coaching business over the last yearI cannot tell you how many people I know who have invested in cheap courses and they never finish them. They don't even go through half of them. The number is around 80% of people don’t finish the courses they buy. I will tell you from experience I have a 95% completion rate with my services.I know for myself I even paid for a $500 course and I only went through maybe 30% of it. People will show up more when they invest in themselves on a greater scale. They are much more willing to put in the work and actually see the transformation. It is a really awesome symbiotic, mutually beneficial relationship that you create with your clients by charging a premium and them investing more in themselves. If you create a course, you are going have to reach more people, you are going to get burnt out trying to build your list, and most likely what you’re going to get frustrated when you don’t see the results you want or make the money you want, and end up quitting in a few months. I got really really sick in the first couple months of doing this just from the stress and overwork and exhaustion. I truly believe that each and every single person has something of value to offer this world. You have something special to offer people. A have knowledge, experience, passion, wisdom, that NO ONE ELSE HAS because no one else has had your life. You have a responsibility to share that message.
And you are ready for it.
I want you to know that yes, YOU, have a unique zone of brilliance in your head that needs to come out. Create your signature process. Your signature service will enable you to go out and impact people. It will enable you to help others achieve amazing results and the success they want. As a coach, as a consultant, as someone who sells a signature service, you can have more time, more freedom, less work and more impact than if you were to go sell a low-end course or digital product.So just think about this. If your goal is to leave your job in the next year or so and work for yourself, you are not going do it selling a low end course, an ebook or digital product. It’s too damn hard and takes too damn long! Do yourself a favor and get to know your audience on a deeper level first, and generate a bigger income fast, by selling a service. If you want help creating your signature coaching system and packaging it up into your first offer, come join me for my next round of my signature group coaching program, Path to Freedom - Coach Academy! It’s always a freaking amazing experience. We become quite the family, all launching our businesses together! I mentor these women to help them achieve the same results as I’ve gotten in my first year in business. With 2 successful 4-figure launches and 2 successful 5-figure launches ($10K and $17K) and counting!Don’t believe me? Check out what some of my clients have to say here. Then click the image below if you're an action taker and you just want to get started NOW. <3