8 Ways to Grow Your Coaching Business: Lessons Learned from My First Year as a Coach

When I signed up for my coaching certification at a prestigious coaching school in the U.S., I intended to do this only for myself, for the deep interest I had developed in this topic over the years, and to understand what was happening "behind the scenes, but I never really thought about working as a coach myself.

Funny enough, I just realized a few weeks ago that I became a fully booked out life coach during the first 12 months of being in business.

This blog post will share some of the most important things I've learned in my first year as a coach. These tips will help you grow your coaching business and achieve success!

 

Here are 8 lessons I learned in my first year as a coach:

 

Lesson #01: You Don't Need To Have It Figured All Out To Be a Successful Coach

One of the recurring things I hear my clients tell me is that they think that before they are "allowed" to think of themselves as an expert, they need to have it figured all out for themselves in their lives.

They feel like a fraud because they believe they can only coach people well on a specific topic once they have it together themselves. This simply isn't true! I was willing to look deeply into my beliefs and self-coached myself constantly. I kept on growing, leaning into the next best version of myself. This willingness to grow and improve was a key factor in my success as a coach. Did I have it all sorted out? For sure not. Could I help them gain clarity for themselves? Hell yes!

The one thing your clients really care about is if you can genuinely help them. They want to know that you can help them achieve their desired results.

I love to tell my coaching clients this one sentence: We teach best what we most need to learn. This has been a massive game changer for many of my clients regarding allowing themselves to step into their expert identity.

Lesson #02: Keep On Diving Deeper

I put my head down regarding reading books that I felt drawn to and which got recommended to me. Being willing to expand your knowledge and laser focusing on diving deeper into what attracts you will also give you the first hint at what you are really good at. I stayed away from too much news consuming or buffering through low-level information. And I still do.

Remember, we get more of what we focus on.

So if you want to focus on "Life is hard." or "I don´t know how to do this.", this is where you direct your brain. Period.

Lesson #03: You Need To Get Out There And Be Seen!

This is probably the most challenging part for many of my clients, but it's also what made the most significant impact on my business growth. People need to know that you are open to business. And they need to understand what you stand for. Who you are being in this world. I love to tell my clients to show the world their "weirdness."You can only be seen if you dare to be edgy."

What makes you you?

Lesson #4: Investing In Your Growth Is Always A Good Investment

I always kept working with my coach, even after being certified as a coach, having all the tools for myself.

I borrowed her belief in me which was 100%, and her only reaction when I wrote that I booked my first paying client was: Of course you did!

Knowing that she had my back when I still didn´t have the full belief in myself was priceless. Our brains are designed to keep us safe—safe from trying new things as well.

Building a business means being willing to spend a lot of time in your expansion zone and leaving your comfort zone to grow into your future self version. Your new coach identity. Of course, you can do this alone. But having my coach by my side helped me skyrocket my willingness to feel discomfort and stretch myself and, most importantly, my thinking.

Working with my clients, I help them see their brilliance. This is what I am really good at.

And I help my clients be able to see their brilliance for themselves, stepping into their strongest self-belief.

Lesson #5: Decide On Purpose How Much Time You Want To Spend Building Your Business

I decided on purpose how much time I wanted to invest in my coaching business, how much I wanted to coach during the week, and when I was off.

And when I was off, I allowed myself to disconnect. Not telling myself I need always to do more, hustle harder.

I took time and space to almost pamper myself and consciously rewarded myself for things that I moved forward with and decided to have my own back, no matter the outcome.

I never allowed myself to talk in a disrespectful or discouraging way to myself. Self-talk is everything. This is one of the things I constantly will tell my clients while working with me. We are creating ourselves through the way we allow ourselves to think of ourselves. Developing an emotional discipline and new habits of what thoughts we subscribe to will significantly impact growing your self-belief and, therefore, your business.

Lesson #6: Stay Focused, Let It Be Fun & Easy

I constantly asked myself these questions:

How can I make it fun? And how can I make it easier? Why not always go with the easiest option? Make it fun. It´s your business. No one can tell you what is right or wrong.

What worked? What didn't? What will I do differently? (It´s important to direct your brain first of all to "what worked" your brain is naturally trained to tell you in a blink of an eye moment "what didn´t work," so first of all, train your brain to see the wins. Then take it to "how can I grow from this."

Lesson #7: Be All-In On Yourself

I was all in on myself. Deep inside of me, I knew exactly what I brought to the table and decided to go all in. I trusted how deep my coaching had gotten over time. Out of the 12 years of experience building an online fashion brand, I also knew how important it is to decide on purpose about how my brand should feel, how I wanted it to look and how to underline the essence of myself I wanted my business to display.

What was unrecognizable "me"? What was my "hell yes" when building my personal brand?

 

Personal Branding is one of the things I absolutely love doing. It is creative and playful. Marketing yourself can be super fun if you know who you are, what you have to offer to the world, and your clients' results after working with you. Crystalizing your message is key.

Lesson #8: Be Hungry When It Comes To Learning New Things

I constantly learned new things in the first year of building my business. And I am not only talking about coaching skills (which we all need, of course), but I am also talking about learning new apps, systems, and programs.

Knowing how to coach is one thing; knowing what it takes to build your business from scratch and deciding which programs to use is another.

In the first year of my business, I learned how to build my website myself while following a process I now teach my clients, implementing a booking system, integrating payment systems, sending newsletters that actually look pretty dope, and writing blog posts like this. How to create social media posts on brand, how to actually decide what means "being on brand", and how to market myself as my own brand.

And trust me, I love things being easy.

I don´t like to overcomplicate things. But this was quite a straight learning curve, and it still is.

Today, I help my clients make the most important decisions for their businesses when it is most helpful—one step at a time.

If someone had told me how much learning this first year included, I would have grasped for air.

Of course, it is up to you to hire someone to build your website. You don´t have to do it all by yourself.

But I also believe that the more you know how to help yourself and how your business is set up from scratch, the more you will be in the driver's seat of running your business while it is growing.

I learned this while building my e-commerce fashion business. No one can tell you the exact formula for success. This is up to you.

You can learn, but in the end, you have to decide. And the more insights you have, the faster you can make decisions.

I always tell my clients, "You do you."

Learning how to trust yourself is a big part of the mindset shifts I help my clients make.

I believe our mindset is our most vital tool to build our business.

You cannot strive by only applying massive action. Pushing forward harder won´t get you there. As long as your thinking is not rooted in a powerful mind, it doesn't lead to meaningful action.

To sum it up, the first year has challenged me to grow in ways I have never expected. I unleashed the power of my own thinking in so many ways. And this is what I help my clients do for themselves.

I called my signature coaching program "Magentic Marketing - Unleash The It Factor Of Your Life And Business."

I am starting my first group this June. It´s the Beta Version of what I will offer in an intimate group setting from now on. It contains many things that I am also helping my 1:1 clients with but in a group setting.

You are invited.

To see me stretch myself while doing something for the first time. Giving everything I have to help my clients grow above and beyond what they thought was possible for them.

Contact me at [email protected].

I hope to hear from you.

Xoxo, Nina