Photo by Emma Dau on Unsplash

By Kim Wunner

One of the issues I see coming up is the business of coaching. With the field exploding and the demand growing, how do we want to participate and provide our offerings. The brilliance here is that they are in no one way to do this. The key is to do it in a way that feels harmonious to you. While building a practice may feel uncomfortable because it is new, it can and should be a reflection of your truth. That is what your clients will resonate with.

Currently, there are three ways we engage as coaches;

1) we have a private practice

2) we are an in-house coach at a company 

3) we consult. for this purpose, this is defined as being associated with an organization that businesses outsource their coaching to. 

Each of these arrangements lend themselves to a full time/part-time/or side-hustle engagement. There are a variety of factors each of us weigh in which we want to pursue. And, neither of these are exclusive. You could do all three or two of them.  A few of the factors to include in that decision making process are target market, required income and  schedule. 

Next, we want to look at who we want to coach and why. This is what we mean by target market. - who do you coach? Know this may change over time, as you evolve.  I started with only coaching women and I have expanded my market to include the queer community. There was demand and it became a natural evolution. The community you work with needs to come from your heart. Who do you resonate with? 

Once we know who we want to coach and how, we can go about doing just that. If it is a full time or part time coaching role, we  start looking for opportunities as we would in any job search. If we are going the route of private practice, then we also take on the role of business owner and start to build a business with a website, marketing, etc. 

No matter what the decision that suits you best, the most effective way to be in the business of coaching is to start talking about it. Let your friends and family know you are taking on clients or looking for a role. Use your social media to tell your network that you are here, ready to offer your skills and talent as a coach forward.

The key takeaway is there is no one way to be in the business of coaching. This is about YOU. The best coaching comes from when we are in alignment and true to ourselves. Do not be afraid to ask for what you want and need.