Don’t think you need a coaching business plan? Well, if you aren’t planning on becoming a coach, then no, you don’t need one. But, everyone who wants to become a self-employed coach must have a coach business plan.
What is a Coaching Business Plan?
A business plan is a guide that is designed to provide a road map from the starting point of a business to any number of different desired destinations. It doesn’t need to be a long., formal document; it’s not some formal college thesis you are forced to write. You only need an extremely detailed, formal document if you are seeking investors and funding. Most coaches don’t seek out investors – so a brief, yet organized, comprehensive, and concise document will do the trick!
A Business Plan Template
Here’s what you need to include in a coaching business plan:
- Values – what is important to you and what will be important to your business. What difference do you want to make?
- Outcomes – what desired outcomes do you expect. What are the desired goals of your coaching business? This includes financial or income goals.
- Niche – what type of coach do you want to be? Where is the intersection of your passion, the needs of the market, and your ability to provide outcomes to your clients?
- Target market – where is there a need for your services? Identify the type of client or group of clients with whom you work well.
- Competition – who will you be competing with? Is there room for you as a coach in your particular location. Identify your competitors, how much they charge, what they offer, and how they promote their practices.
- Promotion – create a beginning marketing plan. Identify the ways you will market and promote to attract and retain clients.
- Administration – include all administrative items – licenses, certifications, business tax permits, software requirements, accounting needs, and more.
At the end of the coaching business plan, you should include a SWOT analysis. This is where you identify in outline, and easy-to-read form:
- S. – Strengths (your skills, knowledge, contacts, competitive edge, etc.)
- W. – Weaknesses (lack of finances, lack of experience, etc.)
- O. – Opportunities (lack of competition, large untapped target market, etc.)
- T. – Threats (economic conditions, competition, high cost to start, etc.)
Why Do You Need a Coaching Business Plan?
If you need funding and are seeking investors, it’s obvious why you need a business plan. But for most coaches, the reasons may be a bit less obvious. But, you do need one!
Here are the main reasons that coaches need a business plan:
- Writing a plan forces you to review your business concept, organization, and goals all at once.
- You will force yourself to think about marketing and promotion right away. Some coaches ignore this one nasty detail – you have to market and promote to survive!
- You will be able to monitor progress toward your business goals.
- You will have a handy reference guide to refer to as you conduct business.
- The coaching business plan forces you to act. If you’ve set a goal of 20 clients in six months and you haven’t reached that goal – you may be motivated to work harder with marketing. It provides you with details on your goals and how to reach them!
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