What I wished I’d known about setting up a coaching business – The nitty gritty of setting up and running your own executive coaching business by Lesley Hayman (Part 3 of 3)
After I finished my excellent coach training I spent the first year of my coaching business asking and researching a lot of very practical questions that I wish someone had told me the answers to. I hope these tips will save you time.
What did you find out when you started your coaching business?
What do you still want to know?
I know some of these tips are relevant only or at least mainly to those based in the UK but I hope you find that the principles have wider applicability too.
Although I have checked what I have written for accuracy at the time of writing (January 2022) do be sure to take advice from a specialist professional in these areas or check government websites. Regulations are complex and change.
For more general points on training, marketing etc. see my first two blogs on these topics.
What I wished I’d known about running my coaching business before I started my coach training, and the second about surviving and prospering post training.
1. Website
While some coaches manage perfectly well without a website, most have one. Your website may not bring you paid coachees directly but it is a good way for new contacts to find out who you are. A website can give you legitimacy. I also refer new clients to my website to read about my coaching approach and to specific articles I’ve written. All this helps to build your brand.
I’d never created a website before but with a little help from a one-day training course at my local adult education institute I learnt to write and design my own. Going on such a course saves money - it’s cheaper than buying in expertise - and it gives you the flexibility to update your website whenever you want to reflect how you evolve as a coach and the changing world.
Crafting the wording on your website and thinking about the look can help clarify and crystallise your approach to coaching, the services you want to offer and your brand. A small subscription will give you access to a photo library with thousands of images. Paying for professional photos of yourself can be a good investment. After all, the main product of your business is yourself.
2. Coaching bio
If, like me, you’ve been an employee in an organisation, you will have been used to sending in a c.v. when applying for a job. For coaching you need something different: a coaching bio. This is usually a one-page statement setting out your credentials and experience as a coach. It should communicate succinctly,
What your approach to coaching experience is, and
The sectors/areas of your expertise.
You want to convey to the reader who you are as a coach and what makes you suitable for the coaching assignment you are applying for. Keep adapting this as you develop and opportunities change.
3. Consider registering your own coaching business as a business entity
Registering as a business will be useful if you are selling your services to organisations either in the private or public sectors. Many companies and institutions will contract only businesses not individual coaches. Check out how in your country:-
Whether your coaching activities can be registered as a company or other entity
How your register your company and how much it costs
Whether it is easy to do it yourself. Beware of private companies that will offer to do this for you for a fee, you may not need them
When and how you need to submit tax returns.
Reach out to fellow coaches for advice initially and consider employing an accountant to help you. Shop around as fees vary enormously.
4. Indemnity and public liability insurance
Some organisations require you to have indemnity and public liability insurance. This protects you against claims of negligence, breaches of confidentiality, dishonesty, libel and slander. Shop around to find good insurance: the standard rate currently (January 2022) is around £100 per annum (UK). You can often get discounts if you belong to a coaching association, check their website. Whether or not your clients require indemnity insurance, as responsible professionals we need to be protected against allegations of damage resulting from poor performance or accidents, so I would definitely recommend this.
5. Coaching agreements
If you are a member of a coaching association you need to sign up to their code of ethics. Part of that code requires you to have a coaching agreement that sets out the basis of your arrangements with each of your coachees:- confidentiality, hours, fees, cancellation policies, data protection or a full legal agreement. etc. Coaching associations have examples of such agreements on their websites. Your coach training provider may also help. You may choose a shorter ethical agreement covering the areas described above or go for a full legal agreement. You can simplify your agreement, but you need to check that it is still in alignment with your Association’s code of ethics. Alignment with a code of ethics (which you should state you are doing) will reassure clients you put their interests first. It will also provide a useful ethical compass as you navigate ethical dilemmas that will inevitably arise in your coaching.
6. Supervision
Meeting a supervisor regularly either 1-2-1 or in a group will help you continue to develop your professional practice and discuss your ethical dilemmas. Some employers of coaches require you to be in supervision.
7. Managing your finances
A separate business account with a bank is also a good idea: it adds credibility and lets you manage your business finances with clarity. Your accountant will appreciate this.
8. Get an accountant
If you set up a business you are going to have to submit a report of your business transactions and accountancy practices every year. While it is possible to do it yourself with online software, I decided to use an accountant as tax regulations change every year and it is a challenge to stay up to date. You will still need to provide details of all your transactions so make sure you are keeping
records of these.
9. Running your coaching business is more expensive than you think
What you have to pay for will depend on how you structure your business and how many support services you buy in. Many of the expenses are annual. I’ve tried to do as much myself as possible, but I’ve still had to pay for:-
a web domain
coaching association fees
credentialling costs
accountant
supervision/mentoring
training courses and conference attendance
indemnity and public liability insurance
professional photographs
subscription to photo library for my website
subscriptions to journals
IT
transport to coaching sessions
tax
Some other things you may choose to pay for are:- a web site designer, help with marketing, brand development, room rental, virtual or in person admin assistance.
10. Administration will take up your time
If, like me, your employment history is as an employee, the administration of your business on your own is unexpectedly time consuming: - answering emails, setting up and rearranging appointments, preparing invoices, recording transactions, tracking coaching for accreditation and so on. I find it useful to keep a cash flow for 6 – 12 months ahead to see when payments are due in. This will help you track if you have enough income to meet your commitments over the year and to inform your spending on marketing, training etc.
Well it is now three years since I set up my coaching business. How time has flown! It is true there has been a lot more administration and marketing than I imagined. On the plus side I have been surprised how much I have enjoyed learning new skills:- creating my own website, designing my marketing pitches and sharing ideas with my wonderful network of coaching friends.
I hope all of you reading this learn something from my blog and find running your coaching business as enriching as rewarding as I have.
I look forward to receiving your comments.
To find out more about my coaching contact me via Lesley Hayman on LinkedIn
Lesley specialises in intercultural coaching for global organisations. Lesley’s international career has taken her to 33 countries, including 9 years in Japan where she worked for the British Council and learnt to speak Japanese. Other highlights include her role as Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa for the British Council and leading the global partnerships team for UCL. Lesley holds an MBA from London Business School and a Professional Certificate in Coaching (PCIC) from Henley Business School. She also specialises in systemic coaching and constellations work.
