How to Start a Life Coaching Business

Starting a life coaching business can be a fulfilling way to make a positive impact on people’s lives. With a low initial investment ranging from $1,000 to $5,000, you can set up your coaching business, obtain necessary certifications, and establish your presence. Essential skills for success include excellent communication, empathy, and specialized knowledge in your coaching niche, be it health, relationships, or career development.

While the demand for life coaching services is on the rise globally, building a client base and effectively marketing your services will be your initial challenges. Once you navigate through these, you can enjoy a lucrative profit margin ranging from 30% to 70% and relish the flexibility of this profession. Are you ready to turn your passion for helping others into a rewarding business? Read this guide to learn how to open a life coaching business.

How to Start a Life Coaching Business Checklist

Follow these steps to start your life coaching career.

1. Create a business plan

With more than 71,000 life coaches worldwide, this is a growing, competitive industry worth nearly $3 billion annually. How will you make your mark? It all starts with creating a business plan.

Writing a business plan is like drawing a roadmap that helps you understand:

• The products and services you’ll offer.
• How you’ll find customers and determine your target market.
• The goals you’re aiming for.
• The niche you’ll specialize in, such as personal issues, career goals, or health and wellness changes.

Plus, if you seek outside investment to start or grow your business, your plan can help you convince investors because it clearly outlines your intentions and goals. Your life coaching business plan can also include SMART goals, competitor profiles, and market analysis. Think about pricing, too, such as setting monthly fees (usually $200 to $1,000) to meet for 30 to 60 minutes, three times a week.

You can also brainstorm your ideal life coach customers and draft a marketing plan to help you find them. Making this plan now will help you plan for the unforeseen and avoid common, costly mistakes other first-time business owners make when rushing to get started.

2. Choose a business structure

Life coach entrepreneurs often structure their business either as a sole proprietorship or limited liability company (LLC).

A sole proprietorship might be acceptable for low-risk businesses like a coaching business, especially if the company is mostly virtual. Sole proprietorships have no setup cost and usually only a small amount of paperwork to file.

However, an LLC can provide personal asset protection to business owners. In other words, if the company gets sued, your personal assets won’t be at risk as they would be in a sole proprietorship. Your cost for applying for an LLC varies by state, and there are typically annual filing requirements, but the benefits can easily outweigh the expenses.

Whatever entity you choose, you can set it up yourself or work with a business formation company. Need more information about business entity types? Check out this guide that compares the pros and cons of different business structures.

3. Determine your business costs

Determining your business costs can be tricky if you’ve never done it before. You can start a life coaching business on a relatively small budget, especially if you run the business from home and already own a computer with internet access.

Average startup costs range from $5,000–$15,000, which may include one-time costs such as:

• Initial training and certifications
• Smartphones
• Desktop or laptop computers
• Headsets
• Website design
• Domain name registration

Recurring costs may include:

• Annual fees to a coaching trade association
• Monthly internet access
• Insurance
• Website hosting
• Payroll or invoices for employees or contractors, such as graphic designers and assistants

An accountant or bookkeeper can advise you on tax deductions, quarterly and/or annual taxation, and how different business structures may impact those business taxes.

After putting all the numbers together, do you know the bare minimum you have to make to keep your business profitable? Make your projections by using our break-even calculator.

How do you fund your startup costs?

If you need capital to help you start your coaching business, here are some options to consider. Grants can provide funding that doesn’t have to be paid back. Grants.gov lists federal grants that may be available to small businesses. Make sure you fully understand the requirements and application and prepare yourself for a process that can take some time.

Other options include bank loans or private loans from friends and family. However, with only around 24,000 coaches, the American life coaching industry is still relatively small. Investors may want you to explain what a life coach is and how your business will turn a profit.

For equipment or routine purchases, such as a laptop and office supplies, a business credit card can help you build your company’s credit and spread out payments. Be wary of high interest rates, and be strategic about paying down any debt.

What funding options do you have as a business owner? Learn how to fund your business in this guide.

4. Name your business

A business name that’s easy to understand and reflects your brand can help make a good first impression with potential coaching clients. Consider referencing coaching in the title. Names like “Gracious Guidance” or “Bright Beginnings Coaching,” for example, offer instant recognition.

Before picking a name, check its availability. States do not allow multiple businesses to have the same name, so visit your state’s Secretary of State’s website and conduct a name search. If your chosen handle is up for grabs, also look into domain availability and social media accounts for it. At the same time you file your LLC, you could also register your domain and reserve social media handles.

Need advice naming your business? Get some inspiration from this list of consulting business names.

5. Register your business and open financial accounts

Before you can coach your first client, shore up any required business registration and licensing. After registering your coaching business, visit the IRS website to obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN).

The main purpose of an EIN is to pay taxes, but you’ll also need it to open bank accounts for your life coaching company, and it helps you hire employees as well. For additional support, we can help you get an EIN.

For additional credibility, consider getting certified by a life coaching trade association. Different coaching certification programs are available through groups such as CoachU and the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching.

While a life coaching business can be low-risk, insurance provides a safety net for unforeseen circumstances. Consider talking with a local insurance agent about the right coverage for your coaching business, equipment, and home office.

Your life coaching business will also need business bank accounts that are separate from your personal accounts. Keeping business and personal finances separate makes it easier to file taxes and track the overall financial health of your coaching company. It also helps keep the limited liability protection of an LLC intact.

Learn all you need to know to set up a business checking account in this guide.

6. Purchase equipment for your life coaching business

Setting up a life coaching business doesn’t require a lot of equipment. You’ll need a home office, a dedicated space where you can focus on your work and have privacy during coaching program meetings with new and potential clients.

A lot of life coaches offer video or phone sessions, so a strong internet connection, cellular access, and/or a business landline can be essential. A headset will keep your hands free so you can make notes. Also consider using a teleconference service such as Skype, Zoom, or Google Hangouts for a reliable and clear online connection.

Learn how to buy assets and equipment for your business in this guide.

7. Market your life coaching business

Marketing a life coaching business can be a challenge because instead of selling a tangible product, you’re selling an outcome. As you create a marketing plan, focus your messaging on the training programs that you offer. For instance, rather than buying generic ads for life coaching services, sell people on climbing the corporate ladder, losing those last few pounds, or achieving financial independence.

Social media engagement, online webinars, or hosting a podcast can market your business and introduce people to the benefits of working with you as their life coach. Consider social media giveaways too, such as a free 30-minute coaching session awarded through a Facebook or Instagram campaign.

For other ideas, follow industry-leading coaches like Lucinda Bassett or Jay Abraham on social media platforms. There are also resources that explore social media specifically for life coaching in the COVID-19 world.

Word of mouth is a common way for people to connect with life coaches. Consider setting up a rewards program to keep referrals rolling in, and ask your customers to write testimonials of your work that you can display on your website.

As your client base grows, specialized platforms such as Coaches Console and My Coach Office can help you streamline scheduling appointments, hosting webinars, emailing leads, and tracking a client’s progress.

Learn what you can do to effectively market your business here.

Examples of Life Coaching Businesses to Start

Wherever someone wants to improve their life, that’s an opportunity to find a coaching niche to specialize in, such as:

• Mindset and accountability coach
• Health and fitness coach
• Small business coach
• Relationship coach
• Career coach
• Parenting and family coach
• Executive coach

Benefits of Opening a Life Coaching Business

With little more than a home office, a computer, and a smartphone, you can set up your own schedule and achieve the right work-life balance as a new life coach. Along with a solid business plan and some marketing know-how, you can launch your business on an affordable budget.

The earning potential is there, too. With a typical annual salary range from roughly $25K to $210K, the average life coach in the U.S. makes more than $60K, according to ZipRecruiter.

Being a life coach comes with another perk. As you coach clients toward their goals, you get the satisfaction of helping people achieve their potential.