Coaching is your passion and you started your business so you can make an impact. You are not familiar with the practicalities of running a business and you are starting to see the impact of that on your success as a coach so far.

You have a handful of clients who pay you, but not enough to be financially sustainable. The anxiety of not knowing where the money will come from once you finish working with them is crippling. Most of your current clients came from recommendations and referrals and you worry that the pipeline will soon dry out. Your strategy for getting new clients is to throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks.

Other coaches seem to be able to make decent money, but not you. You don’t know what their ‘secret’ is, how they make it work and if there’s something you’re missing. Thoughts like: ‘I don’t know enough’, ‘the coaching market is saturated’, ‘I’m too late to the game’ only make it worse. You wonder if you are ever going to be successful or if starting a coaching business was a mistake.

You’ve seen other coaches charge anything from the equivalent of a cup of coffee for a session to 4-5 figures for longer coaching programs. You’re a qualified coach and you know you ought to charge a decent fee. At the same time, you worry about affordability and losing potential clients because the price might be a barrier for them. If only there were some official guidelines for how to price coaching services – that would make it so much easier.

Even if you did know how much to charge, you find it very difficult to discuss your prices or to stand your ground when someone asks for a discount. You immediately jump in to justify any prices you quote and even say that they are negotiable before the client mentions anything about it. You know it’s a money mindset thing, but it is surprising that it makes an appearance now. You never had an issue discussing money during your corporate career.

You’ve given it a shot by yourself and made some progress. But the way things are going, it will be a while before you see the results you are looking for. You are ready to invest in working with someone who has experience in building their own business and has helped many other coaches do the same. As a coach, you know that doing the same things and expecting different results is not realistic. You’re ready to follow a proven process with a coach, mentor and sounding board by your side.