Steps to Start Small Business Online Coaching – Starter Kit
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing” – Walt Disney
Coaching is a million-dollar industry that opens a vast-wide door of opportunities to people who are passionate about & skillful in a variety of activities like cooking, dancing, singing, painting, and many more…
These are your golden times! All through these years, you might have earned many people’s hearts out of doing your passionate activities and skills. Going on, you don’t have to stop just showcasing your talents, “YOU CAN ALSO FILL YOUR POCKETS”…
This is where “Coaching Business” enters the scene. All you’re going to do is choose a niche that you feel you’re comfortable with, share your expertise with the world, and do it as a business…
Here, we will walk you through the entire process involved in the business development journey.
Choose a Niche You’re Confident about
Before you kickstart the coaching business, choose the niche and most importantly a niche that you’re comfortable with. Not taking heed to that, if you choose a niche thinking, “Ah, that industry is so popular among people, the audience-base for this niche is big and wide” then it would be a nightmare.
For example, Marsha decided to start a business. Near her home was a candy store that was always surrounded by kids. She was like ‘Ah, wow’. Without spending a minute to think, she started off to build her candy store. Poor Marsha, as she lacked that LOVE towards making candies, her imaginations became vain and the business turned out to be a total mess.
This is common in all types of businesses, for which online coaching business is not an exception too. Many online coaching centers became an epic failure as to choosing a niche just because someone else is paid well in it.
Before starting a business, asking these questions to yourselves is better safe than sorry!
- What am I passionate about? Will I be able to teach my students what I’ve learned?
- Is this niche completely narrowed down?
- Is there a demand for my niche/course idea in the market?
Don’ts
- Don’t choose a niche by looking from an eagle’s view – A broad niche
- Don’t choose a niche that you’re not connected to
- Don’t choose a niche which you cannot work with commitment
Niche down and just before you launch, niche down another 50%. Get laser focused on who your avatar is. When you’re attempting to speak to everyone you get lost in the weeds and end up talking to no one – Aaron Walker
Conduct Market Research – Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
After choosing your niche, the second step will be looking at the demand for it among people – How many of them will show interest in your material or course? Without conducting some basic research on the ideal customers, might turn your entire business journey into a roller-coaster ride!
“Try Not to Be A Product-seller, Be A Solution-provider”
Since you’re going to jump into this coaching niche, you’ve an array of opportunities to impress your prospects to register for your online courses.
Below, we’ve listed a few questions which you can put up to yourself.
- Are your courses apt for housewives? Or college-going students? Or school children? Or other learning aspirants? For people under which demographic like specific age group/gender/educational qualification/profession/lifestyle will my courses help?
- Will the course I offer meet up with any of the values/challenges/beliefs/life goals/desires/pain points of my learners?
- What all your customers have tried before to learn the skill and understand the reasons why everything was a failure?
As you ask these questions, you may not sound like a typical business person merely seeking profits. And, this will build an empire of trust for your learning materials and services among prospects.
Structure Your Coaching Program
This is something important when it comes to building a coaching business. Based on your availability and your target audience preferences, choose a structure.
| Coaching Structures | What is it? |
|---|---|
| Private coaching | One participant at a time - Enhances personalization |
| Group coaching | Multiple clients at a time - Improves scalability and saves time |
| Hybrid coaching | Both private & hybrid coaching models - Altered based on the requirements |
Create a Small Business Website
Since you’d opted for an online coaching business, it’s highly recommended to own a website. You can use the website to showcase your business to internet users, sell your online learning materials, and also share your expertise with the aspirants.
Don’t know how to develop a website? No issues. In this starter kit series, we’ve previously written on topics including.
From selecting a domain, registering to a web host service provider, choosing a theme, to integrating with e-commerce functionality, you’ll find these blog posts as a resourceful collection.
Enhance Your Online Coaching Business Website
Collaborate with Reliable Support Team
- An internet-enabled device: You can use a desktop or laptop or tablet or smartphone with an internet connection. Depending on the type of sessions you take up, number of attendees, and the content that you’re going to share, choose a suitable device
- Camera: To give an interactive feel to your session participants, make sure you use a clarity-rich camera. If the clarity in the devices is not to the mark, you may need to get a standalone webcam
- Headphones/headset: Based on your convenience, you can choose between fully-fledged headphones or headset
- Microphone and speaker: Though your device may be equipped with an internal mic & speaker, it’s good to have a standalone microphone
Ways to Prevent Internet Connection Issues
- Disable the internet on devices and software that are not in use during the session to reduce the network load
- Ensure you have an alternative Internet Service Provider (ISP) you can switch to when technical issues arise
- Connect your device via an Ethernet cable instead of Wi-Fi connection
There are numerous software in the market which might be overwhelming for you to choose the right one. Here, we’ve listed a few amazing software tools that can facilitate a hassle-free coaching experience for your learning aspirants.
Scheduling and Booking
- Integrate an appointment calendar so your prospects will know the slots being booked and the available ones without reaching you. All you’ve to do is, keep your calendar up-to-date
Free software for calendar integration
- Acuity
- Calendar
- SimplyBook
Video Conferencing
If you’re going to connect participants from remote, then video conferencing can be effective. Ensure the tool you pick inculcates the below set of features.
- Multiple participants to connect at a time
- In-built with video recording feature
- Support live-chatbot feature
- Incorporated with whiteboard screen-sharing feature
Free software for video conferencing
- Zoom
- Google Meet
- GoToMeeting
Payment
Use tools that facilitate sending and receiving fees from participants enrolling to the courses.
- Stripe
- PayPal
- Square
Progress Tracking
Make use of tools that facilitate assessment & scoring which is in the gamification method to engage your participants and boost their interaction with your website.
Tools for assessment with gamification
- Kahoot
- Socrative
- Scratch
Some Extra Tips
Determine Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
- Look at the content style & tone used in your competitors’ website & social media profiles
- Go through your competitor site’s customer reviews to spot what actions are praised and what’s criticized
- Don’t be one in the crowd enumerating your skill sets, instead, educate your prospects about the successful outcomes of availing of your online courses
Register Your Business Legally
- Decide a name for your coaching small business, for e.g. your name can contain words specifying your core solutions
- Register your business in your state government’s website, for e.g. if you’re from the USA, then learn more about registering your business in the U.S. Small Business Administration website
- Apply for a federal tax ID number, also known as Employee Identification Number (EIN) online via Internal Revenue Service website
Commitment is Everything
Stay true to the timings. If you’re booking a slot for a particular time, then make sure you’re available at that time. Making your participants wait before the screen or in your classrooms will affect your students’ user-experience.
Act on the Right Time
You should do pretty good research on the timings. You should know when to introduce a new course or make a fresh announcement. Avoid doing something at the same time that clashes with your competitor’s timings.
Being Flexible is a Blessing
When you revisit your website, if anything you implemented didn’t work, then you’ve to be flexible in making the necessary changes. You should not adhere to the same design or development, instead, be open up to changes as well whenever needed.
Complete an Online Coaching Certification
If possible, try to opt for an online coaching certification, which will frame you as a professional coach. By doing so, you can gain the trust of your participants.
Bottom Line
The game doesn’t end once you create an online coaching website, you’ve to integrate the tracking metrics in it as well. This will help you track the performance of your website, analyze the features that are offering good results and that are not!
If the website development process seems overwhelming, then you can reach out to our website developers at Small Business Web. Don’t hesitate to drop us a message or give us a call at +1 (919) 234-5140 anytime. We’re ready to collaborate with you!
Do you have any questions regarding our online coaching website development solutions? Leave us your comments below.
About the Author - Pavithra Samuel
I'm a passionate copywriter at Small Business Web sharing a special bond with digital marketing. I aim at delivering masterpiece content for which my research helps a lot. I always search for unique inspirations and write them all down to use in my blogs & content. I make the best use of the upgraded tools & technologies that greatly assist in content writing. Other than reading & writing, my other two friends are food & music. On and often, I do write blog posts, to get regular updates, stay tuned with us.
