Being a coach can be one of the most rewarding career choices, but one of the first things that you will need to take care of when starting your business is developing a coaching business plan. The process of writing a business plan can be tedious and annoying, especially when you don’t know where to start. As such, in this article, we will be guiding you on how you can easily develop a coaching business plan.

Why Develop a Coaching Business Plan?

A business plan will mainly allow you to have an idea of the viability of your coaching business, solicit investors and obtain a loan from a bank. Concretely, the plan is made of two parts: 

• Your project: Who, What, Where, How, Why
• The financial part: Your income and your estimated expenses

By developing a coaching business plan, you will be able to assess your needs and resources as well as devise strategies that’ll help you achieve your business goals.

10 Key Steps to Developing a Coaching Business Plan

There are several key steps to writing a business plan. The steps may vary depending on the type of coaching business you intend to launch. Following these ‘10 Key Steps to Developing a Business Plan’ will give you a general idea and help the process run smoothly.

Step. 1: Products and services

Your first step towards developing a coaching business plan is to describe your various services, to whom you offer them, why and what benefits they will derive. To do this, it is recommended to draw a table, as it will be more convenient especially if you have several offers.

Step 2: The target market 

Once you have determined the product and services you plan to offer, write down a detailed description of the market you want to target.

Step 3: Competition 

It is a well-known fact that you will always encounter competition in business. As such, it is essential for you to look for and list your competitors. In general, your competitors can be divided into two categories:

Direct – Those who offer the same service as you 

Indirect – Those who offer a service that your clients consider identical to yours. 

For example, you can compete directly with a coaching firm and indirectly with an author who has written a book on your subject. 

Make a list of your top 5 competitors and study the following:

• Their type of business proposal 
• How much they charge 
• How they charge 
• Their strengths and weaknesses 
• The type of marketing they use 

Then, think of at least 5 things that differentiate you and would allow you to attract more clients.

Step 4: SWOT analysis 

The SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis is a strategic analysis tool that concerns a particular area of activity. For example, if you want to create a consulting, training & coaching company, you will have to do this analysis for each of the areas: advice, training, and finally coaching.

You’re going to have to think about:

• Internal strengths of your future coaching activity 
• Internal weaknesses in this area 
• External opportunities available to you 
• External threats that exist 

Step 5: Positioning 

With the information you have gathered on competition and SWOT analysis, you will now determine your positioning by answering the following questions: 

• How will you take advantage of the weaknesses of your competitors? 
• What are the 5 reasons why someone would want to become your client instead of one of your competitors?
• Why are you the best person for this job? 
• What skills, abilities, and experiences are you offering your clients that they cannot find elsewhere? 
• How can you focus on the value you bring?

Step 6: The marketing strategy 

Explain and develop the ways you will use to find, convince and win your clients. You probably won’t have a completely clear idea right from the start, so put in place a framework that will allow you to establish a fruitful marketing strategy.

Step 7: The financial plan 

Developing a coaching plan also means that you will have to estimate your expenses and revenues per year over the next 3 years. 

Step 8: The emergency plan 

While it is always a good idea to be positive, anticipating certain setbacks can be helpful when the time comes. List what could happen and what solutions you could put in place to solve the problem. 

Step 9: Your biography 

A short biography of you and your work will go a long way in ensuring the credibility of your coaching business plan.

Step 10: The summary 

The last step of developing a coaching business plan is to be able to draw a summary of the 9 previous steps, which will provide you with the ability to determine: 

• Why your company should exist
• The products and services offered
• Your target market
• Your business goals and objectives and how you plan to achieve them

This part, once written, will serve as an introduction to your business plan.

Would you like an endless stream of new coaching clients? Simply click the image to the right and email and I’ll send you free videos with step-by-step blueprints for generating a massive income from high paying coaching clients.

Jeannie Cotter
Editor/Writer
Writer, Coaches Training Blog community