When you're just getting into the world of coaching, it’s easy to get hung up on credentials. Sure, degrees and certifications suggest you have more expertise than someone without them, but that isn't the main hurdle. The real challenge in starting a coaching business is establishing that expertise in a way that captures the attention of potential clients and convinces them to stick with you for the long haul.

Your formal education and qualifications are just one part of the puzzle. While factors like how you treat your clients and the quality of your service are paramount, as your clients' own businesses and careers expand, they'll want to work with someone who is growing right alongside them. Continuous learning and credentialing are how you signal that you're keeping pace.

Building Your Credibility Beyond a Certificate

There are plenty of coaching organizations out there that can add a fancy designation to your name, like the International Federation of Coaches or the Coaches Training Institute. These certifications are certainly valuable and can add credibility, but they shouldn't be the only foundation you build your business on. Being a certified coach doesn’t automatically make you a great one.

For example, my own credibility isn't built on a single coaching certificate. While I am a certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach, I see that as a bonus. My real foundation is a master's degree, diverse life experiences from serving in Iraq to working in showbiz, running my own businesses, and the books I've written. Soon, a law degree, an MBA, and a PhD will join that list. Those are the core credentials; everything else is just icing on the cake.

Why Trust Is Earned, Not Certified

Many new coaches believe a certificate will instantly make people trust them. That’s not how it works. Trust comes from what people learn about you through your writing, your reputation in the field, and most importantly, from glowing testimonials from happy clients. This is a key part of your sales, marketing, and client acquisition strategy.

Your best move is to just start coaching. The more you practice, the better you'll become. If you focus on learning as you go while steadily adding to your education and experience over the years, you'll be on the right track. Don't let a lack of credentials be an excuse to procrastinate. I had almost no formal credentials when I started, but I succeeded because I had discipline, courage, and enthusiasm. If you have those qualities, you have what you need to begin.

The Power of Testimonials and Referrals

Getting testimonials is crucial for building your reputation. Jay Conrad Levinson, the father of Guerrilla Marketing, once said of me, “To make it big, you need the Real Deal. Mr. Mann is the Real Deal. I started out as Monroe’s teacher; now I am his student.” A quote like that is priceless. I’ve collected hundreds of similar blurbs from clients, media figures, and authors over the years.

How do you get them? You have to ask. When someone compliments your work, ask if you can quote them. Reach out to prominent people you know. You might be surprised who is willing to help. A great tactic is to offer to write a testimonial for someone in exchange for them doing the same for you. To make it even easier for busy people, you can even draft a few options for them to choose from or edit.

Word-of-Mouth is King

The most powerful form of marketing is a word-of-mouth referral. When someone your prospect already knows and trusts recommends you, the hard part of selling is already done. Your job is simply not to mess it up.

To kickstart this process, make a list of all your friends. Craft a clear 30-second pitch and ask each of them for the names of three people who might benefit from a free 20-minute consultation. When you call those referrals, leading with “So-and-so suggested I call you” gives you instant credibility. This is a fundamental technique for effective sales, marketing, and client acquisition.

Building this kind of buzz takes time and effort; it doesn't just happen. You need to feed the fire with other forms of advertising—flyers, a website, social media—to get the conversation started. But you'll know when it's working. The phone will start ringing with people who have heard about you and want to hire you, which is a fantastic feeling.

First Steps: Setting Up Your Business

When you're first starting a coaching business, one of the biggest initial decisions is what to name it. Should you use your own name or create a separate brand? If your name is already well-known and respected in your field, using it makes sense. If not, a creative name that describes what you do might be a better choice. A distinct company name also provides a bit of separation and privacy.

Think big from the very beginning. Choose a name that can grow with you and that works on an international scale. Does it make you proud? Does it sound professional in other languages? The name should feel like a perfect fit, something you can grow into rather than out of.

Another modern reality is checking for an available URL. Your website address doesn't need to be an exact match to your company name, but it should be logical, memorable, and easy to spell. Sometimes you have to get creative. For my book Guerrilla Networking, all the obvious domains were taken. The book’s concept is about becoming the type of person others want to meet, which led me to the unconventional but memorable URL: StopMeetingPeople.com. Once you find a good domain, buy up the common variations (.net, .biz, etc.) and forward them all to your main site.

Getting the Legal Side Sorted

You could technically start as a one-person shop without any legal paperwork, but that can look unprofessional and create tax headaches. The next step up is a DBA (“doing business as”), which allows you to open a business bank account and accept checks made out to your company. This separation is crucial for good business management and growth.

For more protection, consider an LLC (limited liability company). It shields your personal assets if your business is sued but allows profits to pass through to your personal tax return, avoiding the double taxation of a corporation. The setup costs are higher than a DBA, but services like LegalZoom make it fairly straightforward. As your business grows and you bring on partners, you might evolve into an LLP (limited liability partnership). For most new coaches, C and S corporations are overly complex and not necessary at the start.

Finding Your Niche and First Clients

Thanks to the internet and phone coaching, you can start your business right where you are. Don't feel like you need to move to a specific city to serve a certain market. Relocating will only set you back a few months.

When it comes to your target market, the more specific you are, the better. A narrow niche makes it easier for ideal clients to recognize that you are the perfect solution for their specific problem. And remember, your market is global. I have clients all over the world whom I've never met in person. You can always broaden your focus later on, but starting too wide can lead to confusion and a failure to launch.

The key is to be unique. You must differentiate yourself from the competition. Ask yourself, “Why am I different?” If you can't offer something better than what's already out there, you'll struggle to win clients over. Your coaching needs to be seen as a better investment than all the other things—groceries, a car payment, etc.—that people could spend their money on.

The Grind of Finding Your First Clients

Finding your first clients can be deceptively easy or incredibly hard. If it's too easy, you might get lazy. If it's too hard, you might get discouraged. The truth is somewhere in the middle. Because of this, don't quit your day job right away. I made that mistake. I got a couple of clients easily, quit my job, and then struggled. Keep your stable income until your coaching business is consistently profitable.

To find those first clients, you have to get the word out. Ask for referrals. Put up free ads on Craigslist. Create flyers and leave them where potential clients gather. The most challenging part isn't finding people; it's turning them into paying clients.

This requires a strong backbone. You have to be willing to hear “no” repeatedly. You have to ask for the sale. It can be as simple as, “Does this sound like something you would like to do?” followed by, “Okay, great! When do you want to get started?” If you want to succeed, you have to be willing to make the calls and ask for the business.

Pricing, Packages, and Profitability

Deciding how much to charge is a process of trial and error. Charge too little, and you might attract the wrong clients or seem inexperienced. Charge too much, and you might scare away perfect clients. I started at $50 an hour back in 2000 and have fluctuated over the years, settling around $125 an hour as my experience and credentials grew. If no one ever tells you you're too expensive, you're not charging enough. Remember, you can't charge what you think you're worth; you can only charge what the market is willing to pay.

Understanding Your Numbers

A break-even analysis is a crucial tool for any approach to business management and growth. It helps you figure out the minimum you need to sell to cover your costs. Here’s a simple way to do it:

1. List your total monthly business expenses (e.g., $3,000).
2. Estimate how many clients you can realistically sign per month (e.g., 8).
3. Divide expenses by clients ($3,000 / 8 = $375 per client).
4. Decide how many hours a typical package includes (e.g., 5 hours).
5. Divide the per-client cost by the hours ($375 / 5 = $75 per hour).

This tells you that to break even, you need to sell eight 5-hour packages at $375 each, which works out to an hourly rate of $75. You can then adjust your pricing and client goals from this baseline to start turning a profit.

Sell Packages, Not Hours

I strongly recommend selling packages instead of single hours. It’s often easier to sell a package because it implies you have a structured plan for the client's success. It also simplifies billing—you run their card once and can focus on coaching for the next several weeks without chasing payments.

Keep your offerings simple. Too many choices can overwhelm a potential client and lead to them not making a decision at all. Start with one core package. This projects confidence and makes the buying decision easy: it's a simple yes or no.

Running Your Business for the Long Haul

Starting a business is the easy part; keeping it running is where the real work begins. You need to establish consistent routines for the activities that drive your business forward:

• Sales Calls: Make a minimum number of calls to prospects each week.
• Follow-Up: Consistently follow up with interested leads and past clients.
• Financials: Prepare and analyze your income statements and balance sheets every single month without fail.
• Expertise: Continually work on increasing your knowledge and credentials.

This routine is the engine of your business. It might take time to figure out what works for you, but once you do, sticking to it is non-negotiable. Healthy business management and growth depends on this discipline. Treat it like a job where you're the boss—and be a strict one.