Math + Method = Magic in Coaching
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Ever wonder how the magic happens in a coaching business?
You know, the magic of creating an income that supports your family in the way that you'd hope?
The kind of magic where your spouse is no longer annoyed with your coaching business because you can be counted on for making a serious contribution to your family?
And the kind of magic that has you feeling truly rich, because you've streamlined your work hours and can actually enjoy your time off without constantly thinking you've not done enough?
Here's how I teach this for women in coaching.
Fair warning, these women are not trying to build an empire and they also enjoy not working.
Here it is: MATH + METHOD = MAGIC
THE MATH
Don't worry, you just need elementary school math for this.
Jot the following down:
1. How much did you earn in your coaching business last year?
This is essential to know so you can create a realistic plan.
In the applications I receive to talk about working with me, I sometimes see "magical" thinking.
IE "I'm making 6K per year and need to earn 250K by the end of this summer."
Not gonna happen.
Just get real, get honest, and jot it down.
The coaching field is rife with quick fix marketing promises that unintentionally lead coaches into thinking they can create 100K per year without doing the work required to get there, over a course of a few years.
2. How much is "enough" for you?
How much do you need and want to earn for your family?
How much is your "enough" that you live well, but probably aren't renting a private jet?
This is when we start to discern from "the dream" to real life.
And, this is where we clarify the difference between long term goals (year 3-5 income goal) and short term goal (what's doable this year).
Here are a few examples...
A client with a newborn says, "okay, I want to earn 85K per year when my kids go to elementary school in about 5 years, or I'll have to get a job and that's what I used to earn."
Cool. We work backwards from that 5 year goal, and start with what's doable this year given her time, energy, know-how and new skills she will need to develop.
Another mom I work with, with grown children, earns in the mid 6-figures selling products and her income goal is ADDING a new coaching income stream of 50K. For her, that's about 16 new clients. Doable with her existing business.
Yet another mom, who is working full-time at a job she's so ready to leave, we talk about what's possible in 2-4 years of focused effort and using her "job-job" to fund her transition into coaching over time. And, what's likely achievable for this year (breaking even to landing on a number that would giver her confidence to cut back at her full-time gig).
So you see, each of these women have different "annual" goals based on their starting point.
And they are all correct.
You can't get to your annual goal without assessing what you've accomplished in the past year and answering the question, "how much is enough?"
3. Decide how much do you want to earn THIS year?
Whatever number you land on, it needs to make sense given where you're starting.
This includes the time you have available to work and, it should stretch you just enough to make you sit up and pay attention, but not so much that you ignore your health, family and personal life.
Keep this in mind...
It's much easier to go to 50K when you've already reached 20K.
And it's MUCH easier to jump to 75K after you've hit 40K.
And at 75K it's not a far stretch to go to 100K.
And from there, you can more easily go for 100K or even 200K.
Where are you in this? It's a bit different for each person.
Sure, there are ways to fast track this, but I find most coaches can't afford the advertising budget, technology infrastructure and team to pull that off.
4. How many clients will you need to create in TOTAL to hit your annual income goal.
I suggest in total because while I teach my clients to aim for about 3 new clients per month (in the #happylittlepractice model I teach), unless someone already has a client base, there's a ramp up period of time to get your marketing working and generating clients.
Ramp up time may be just a few weeks or months, or 12 to 18 months depending on skill level, self-discipline, time, energy, ability to focus, your willingness to market, etc.
Then figure out about how many clients that is per month?
Now, how many free sessions or first appointments (I call these "breakthrough sessions") will you need to do to create those clients?
The general coaching average is 25% of free sessions become clients.
This is part art and science and "conversion rates" differs with experience, the urgency and relevancy of your message to your chosen ideal clients, confidence in your work, capability and proof (quality testimonials) that your work "works", marketing in place, etc.
In Happy Little Practice, I find conversion rates are much higher (closer to 50% and higher), because each pro has a speciality business and isn’t a generalist. And provided the coach/practitioner/expert has some sales and marketing skill.
All of this works best when your clients are in start to finish programs, and not hourly sessions or small packages of sessions.
Let's do an example.
Say you earned 30K in the past year (We'll keep the math super simple.)
Perhaps you're ready to go to 45K this year while managing family life and personal stuff. (No business grows inside of a vacuum, undistracted and un-impacted by sick days, snow days, and life. Unless, you have a stay-at-home spouse or full-time nanny taking care of this, but still, it impacts those folks too.)
That's 30 clients at $1500 per client in one calendar year = 45K.
And that comes to about 3 clients per month.
Or, that's 15 clients at $3000 per client, or about 1 - 2 clients per month.
This is where you do some "tinkering" to get something that feels doable (honors where you're starting from) but is a bit of a stretch too, and makes you feel excited to achieve.
5. Work out what this comes to per MONTH, and per QUARTER.
For example, the 45K a year is $3750 per month, or $11,250 per QUARTER.
I like knowing this because it chunks down the annual goal into segments that feel within reach and keep me focused.
Keep tinkering with all of this until you are crystal clear what you'll do with the remaining 3 Quarters of the year ahead. (Yep, the first quarter is just about done!)
Or, if you like, start working on your personal economy NOW, with goals starting April of this year to April of next year, if that works better for you.
Start where you are.
It's not too late.
THE METHOD
This is HOW you'll create the math.
a) What you'll do in your marketing that puts you in front of your ideal clients (not optional).
b) What you'll do for a "keep in touch" (like an email newsletter, also not optional).
c) And what that will look like day in and day out (the daily tasks and how you'll use your time).
For my clients, we just do a few things:
• We speak to create clients (the Great Little Talks Method).
You don't have to, there are other ways to market, but it's what works best for most coaches without funds to invest in advertising, funnels, telesummits, promotional campaigns and the like.
And so that's what I teach. It works for "the rest of us."
• We keep in touch via our email newsletters that back our message up and scoop up the folks who weren't quite ready at our great little talks.
• We do that in one "golden hour" of marketing per work day.
• And we manage our fears, worries and concerns with about 15 minutes to 30 minutes each day of a "golden hour primer" - aka a mindset clearing practice.
This is sacred time to tidy up your brain and cultivate the habit of thinking-feeling-acting on purpose. I teach my clients how to do this too. And this too is not optional. I've noticed that those who don't do this always, and only always, change their direction in their coaching business at the first hiccup or just don't need to make money, and therefore can afford to just follow their whims.
That's it.
The MATH (the numbers) + METHOD (the how) = Magical life.
It LOOKS magical.
People say things like...
You're so lucky to change lives for a living!
Or, oh you're so lucky to stop working at 3pm to pick up kids at the bus stop.
Or, how lucky you are that you get to work from home.
It looks like magic.
But it's math + method (mindset management, energy management, marketing, daily tasks) that create a seemingly magical life.
Fair warning: All of this works when you have ONE clear message that is super relevant to ONE audience, and you have ONE start to finish way of working with people that demonstrates you can solve the problem they want solved.
That's the only way I can vouch for this approach: A systematic elimination of vagueness about what problem you solve and for whom and how you do what you do.
If you want help with this, and you'd find comfort and clarity in creating a plan that will get you where you want to go in step by step fashion, get in touch or learn more about the Happy Little Practice Club.
The #happylittlepractice method isn't for everyone.
But you know if it's for you if a) you love to work, but also love not working, b) you don't need to be internet famous or build an empire and, c) you have a life you want to tend to so you like to work about 25 focused hours a week.
Hope this helpful!
Karin
PS - This is the kind of stuff I go deep with my clients, and it's a little tricky to squeeze into one little blog post. But hopefully you'll see the framework and can "tinker" with to make it your own.
PPS - Shouldn't I have sent this in January, when everyone is planning their big goals for the year? Maybe. But lately, I've noticed that my clients are losing that "new year" high and their focus is getting wobbly. March is a great time to refocus and clean up how you're leading your business.This should help.