How to Become an Online Business Coach: The Ultimate Guide

How to become an online business coach

By Ecombridges    •   Updated December 18, 2022

Do you have a lot of experience and knowledge in online business? Are you looking for a way to share your expertise with others and help them succeed? If so, becoming an online business coach may be the perfect career for you!

This guide will discuss online business coaching, the skills and qualifications you need, how to get started, and more. We will also provide tips for maintaining a successful online business coaching practice with one of the best online course platforms.

TIP | The leading tools you need to start and grow your online business. We use them ourselves:

So whether you are just starting out or are considering making a career change, this guide has everything you need to know about becoming an online business coach!

What is online business coaching?

Online business coaching is a type of professional coaching that helps businesses achieve success. Because everything is done online, coaches and clients can communicate from anywhere globally.

As an online business coach, you will work with clients to help them develop strategies, set goals, and overcome challenges. You will also provide guidance and support as they implement their plans and hold them accountable for meeting their goals.

In other words, online business coaching is all about helping businesses achieve their objectives and reach their full potential.

Are you ready to become an online business coach?

What skills and qualifications do you need to be an online business coach? To be a successful online business coach, you must have strong communication, organizational, and interpersonal skills. You must also be able to think creatively, be resourceful, and have a passion for helping others.

In addition, online business coaches must have a solid understanding of online business. This includes knowledge of online marketing, social media, website development, and more.

If you are unsure if you have the necessary skills and qualifications, consider taking a business coaching certification course. This will give you the skills and knowledge you need to be a successful online business coach.

Now that you know what online business coaching is and what it takes to be a coach, let's discuss how to get started.

How to become an online business coach?

9 steps to become an online business coach

There are 9 main steps you need to take to become an online business coach. Follow these steps, and you'll be ready to start a successful business coaching practice.

Step 1 – Find your niche

The first step to becoming an online business coach is to find your niche. What are you passionate about? What do you have experience with? Once you know what you want to coach others about, you can build your online presence.

Step 2 – Getting your market research right from the start (do this if you want to be successful!)

Define your ideal client

When you're starting a small business, it's essential to take the time to define your ideal client. This process will help you identify potential clients and better understand what services they might need from a coach.

Remember that your ideal client may not be the same as your potential clients. For example, you may target stay-at-home moms as your ideal client, but your potential clients could include working mothers, fathers, or single people.

By taking the time to define your ideal client, you can ensure that you're providing services that meet their needs and that you're marketing to the right audience. In doing so, you'll set yourself up for success as a coach.

Step 3 – Build an Audience

Market your coaching skills

You have to build your online presence and create an audience. Indeed, without an audience, nobody knows you exist, and you won't have anybody to coach. You must show yourself, your personality, and your expertise to inspire trust. In short, you'll build your personal brand.

When starting out, you should focus 100% of your energy on building your audience, as without it, nothing is possible. However, with an audience of engaged people, you significantly increase your chances of landing coaching clients.

Keep that in mind: with an ENGAGED audience, everything is possible.

I put building an audience as the top priority as it takes time to achieve. Of course, while building your audience, you can also work on the other aspects of your business mentioned in this article, such as getting certifications or creating your website.

Where should you build an audience?

What's the best way to create an audience? It depends on your target customer. You should figure out where your ideal customer likes to spend time online.

You can start a blog or YouTube channel to share your knowledge with others. You can also use social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook groups to create a strong online presence.

If you can, try to be active on online forums and in relevant groups, so people know who you are and what you do.

However, I recommend you focus on only 1 or 2 key traffic sources to do it well, as you're probably alone and have limited resources and time available. Later, you can increase your presence in other acquisition channels and use social media automation to scale your business.

By doing this, you will be able to build a strong online presence and create an engaged audience.

Youtube, n°1 way to build an audience online

If you want to become an online business coach to help aspiring entrepreneurs create an online business, Youtube is the best place to build an audience. With over 2.2 billion monthly active users worldwide, Youtube is the second most visited website in the world, after Google.

While Google searches are monopolized mainly by big businesses and well-known websites, small content creators and entrepreneurs thrive on Youtube. Indeed, most people enjoy watching videos instead of reading texts, and they are more likely to trust you as you reveal yourself on camera; you're not anonymous. You can create personal connections at a large scale on Youtube

LinkedIn

If your target customers are employees, you should consider focusing on LinkedIn too. Indeed, LinkedIn is the online platform where more than 850 million professionals network, connect and build their careers.

To build an engaged audience on LinkedIn, you should start by creating a personal profile that highlights your experience, skills, and achievements. Then, you should join relevant groups, participate in discussions, and publish articles.

By doing this, you will be able to build a strong online presence on LinkedIn and connect with potential business coaching clients.

Facebook groups

Another great way to build an online presence is by creating or joining Facebook groups. Indeed, over 1.8 billion people use Facebook groups every month. There are Facebook groups for every interest imaginable so that you can find one relevant to your business.

For example, if you want to become an online business coach for female entrepreneurs, you can join a group such as “Female Entrepreneurs – Business Owners.”

Make sure you are active in the group, contribute to discussions, and provide value. This way, you can build a solid online presence and connect with potential coaching clients.

Step 4 – Know your potential customers

Before creating your offer and getting your first customer, you should learn from your audience.

Interact with them to know their pain points, what they struggle with, and what they want to achieve. By deeply understanding their needs, you'll later be able to create a coaching program that fits their needs, increasing your likelihood of landing clients.

If you decide to build your audience on Youtube or Instagram, you can offer some free one-to-one coaching sessions with a few people to get to know them.

Offer people to book a short initial coaching session with you via a booking tool like Calendly or simply via private messages.

Later, if you see that individual or group coaching sessions are not for you and want to scale your business, you can turn your coaching services into digital products like courses or e-books.

But for now, it's best to do these individual coaching sessions or in a small group to get to know your audience and create an offer they want. You don't want to waste your time and money making an offer nobody will buy!

Step 5 – Build your coaching program

It's time to create your “signature program” – the core offering you'll provide to your clients.

Your coaching program will be the foundation of your business coaching services, and it's essential to take the time to build it correctly.

Your coaching program should be designed to help your clients achieve their specific goals and should be structured to make it easy for them to follow and see results.

The goal of your online coaching program is to bring transformation to your clients' lives – so make sure it's something you're passionate about, and you know it will produce results.

Investing the time and effort into developing a well-crafted coaching program will pay off in the long run – it will help you attract clients, deliver value, and grow your business.

So if you're serious about becoming a coach, make sure you put together a signature coaching program that you can be proud of.

Step 6 – Create a professional website

Coaching business owners to help them take their business to the next level is a process that requires trust. Your website is one of the first places a potential coaching client will go to learn more about you and your business coaching services.

Creating a professional website helps you build trust and credibility with potential clients. It also allows you to showcase your service offerings and expertise. In addition, you can use your website to build an email list of potential clients by offering a freebie.

By offering valuable resources like courses and e-books on your website, you can further build trust with potential clients and diversify your revenue streams.

Investing in a professional website is essential for any business coach who wants to attract new clients and grow their business.

You can easily create your self-hosted website with WordPress or use a SaaS online course platform like Teachable, Thinkific, or Kajabi to host your business.

Step 7 – Inspire trust

Get the right qualifications

As we mentioned earlier, taking a business coaching certification course is a great way to get started.

Getting certified is not always mandatory, but it's strongly advised. However, this will give you the skills and knowledge you need to be a successful online business coach.

By getting certified, people will trust you more, and it will increase your chances of getting coaching clients.

There are many business coaching certification programs available, so it's essential to research and choose the one that's right for you.

Once you've completed your business coaching certification, list it on your website and social media profiles. This will help you attract coaching clients who are looking for a qualified coach.

You may also need specific training or certifications to increase your expertise in the areas you want to coach. For example, if you want to be a health and fitness coach, you'll need to get certified as a personal trainer.

The bottom line is that getting the right qualifications is essential to becoming a successful online business coach. By taking the time to get certified, you'll be able to attract coaching clients and grow your business.

Show proof of success

An excellent way to show your credibility as a business coach is to show evidence of success. For example, if you already have a successful business, you can show it to your audience.

You can also share case studies or testimonials from clients you've helped. In the beginning, you can get them by offering free coaching consultations before switching to paid services once you get enough social proof.

If you don't have any evidence of success yet, don't worry. You can also share your entrepreneurial journey and how you've been able to help others along the way.

Sharing your story and helping others achieve their goals is a great way to show your audience that you're a qualified business coach.

Professional branding

Creating a professional brand is another essential step in becoming a successful online business coach.

Your brand is what people think of when they see or hear your name. It's the overall impression you make on people.

Creating a strong and positive brand will help you attract coaching clients and grow your business.

There are many ways to build a professional brand. As mentioned before, you can start by creating a strong online presence.

Use Canva or Photoshop to create on-brand images for your website and social media. Make sure that you use the same branding on all of your different platforms, as well as on your personal website.

Write blog posts that show your expertise in the coaching industry.

Another great way to build your brand is by guest-posting on other blogs or podcasts. This will help you get exposure to a new audience and show them what you know.

Make content that increases your credibility

You can create video content and write blog posts and social media posts. These are all great ways to attract potential coaching clients and show them what you know.

The more high-quality, helpful content you produce, the more chance you have for people to see you as an expert in your field.

When you create content, make sure that it's well-researched and informative. You want to show your audience you know what you're talking about.

If you can provide value and help people with their problems, they'll likely want to work with you as their coach.

Creating helpful content is a great way to increase your credibility and attract coaching clients.

Step 8 – Getting your first client (and growing your business fast)

Once you have built your online presence and got certified, or you can show your initial proof of success, you can start coaching clients!

You'll get better over time, so don't feel like you have to be perfect from the start. Just focus on helping your clients and giving them value.

To attract high-paying clients, you must show them you're worth their investment.

To do this, focus on creating results-driven programs that help your clients reach their goals.

You can also offer a free consultation call to potential clients so they can get to know you and see if you're a good fit for them.

Step 9 – Writing copy that sells your services and products

As a coaching business, you need to be able to sell your services and products to stay afloat. This means having solid sales pages that speak to potential clients and encourage them to take the next step.

However, simply having a sales page is not enough – you also need to be able to draw organic traffic to your site. One way to do this is by writing engaging copy that sells your coaching business.

This means understanding what potential clients are looking for and how your coaching business can help them meet their needs. It also means using persuasive language that encourages people to take action.

You can attract organic traffic and convert it into paying customers with a well-written copy.

So if you're serious about growing your coaching business, don't underestimate the power of copywriting.

You can use an AI copywriting software such as Jasper AI to help you write copy that sells.

Sales Funnels

The best way to get customers is by using a sales funnel. A sales funnel is a process that takes potential clients from the top of the funnel (awareness) all the way to the bottom (purchase).

A sales funnel can increase your chances of converting potential clients into paying customers.

The best part is you can automate your sales funnel using tools like ClickFunnels, ConvertKit, or a platform like Teachable, Thinkific, or Kajabi. You can set it up once and then let it run on autopilot.

Setting up a sales funnel is necessary if you're serious about growing your coaching business.

Converting clients on sales calls (the sweat-free way)

If you want to make sales and grow your coaching business, you need to be able to convert clients on sales calls. This means having a system in place that allows you to book calls with potential clients and then close the sale.

You can use Calendly, a free online appointment scheduling software, to let people book coaching calls with you.

To convert potential coaching clients on a sales call, do the following:

  • Research your potential client beforehand
  • Build a relationship with your potential client during the call
  • Find out what their needs are
  • Offer a solution that meets their needs
  • Close the sale by asking for the business

Following these steps, you can increase your chances of closing the sale and growing your coaching business.

Getting published in industry-leading publications like Forbes and Entrepreneur

Any small business owner knows that it is essential to have a trusted advisor who can help them navigate the ever-changing business world.

A small business coach can provide valuable insights and guidance, but their advice is only as trustworthy as their credentials. That's why online business coaches must get published in industry-leading publications like Forbes and Entrepreneur.

When small business owners see a coach featured in these respected publications, they are more likely to trust their advice.

And while there is a cost associated with getting published in these outlets, it is worth the investment for any serious business coach.

By establishing themselves as experts in the eyes of small business owners, they can build trust and attract new clients.

Adjusting your mindset and ensuring long-term success

As an online business coach, one of the most important things you can do is help your clients adjust their mindset.

Many small businesses have a scarcity mentality that causes them to make decisions out of fear and ultimately hurt themselves in the long run because they are not able to break free from this cycle as easily when it comes time for budgeting or prioritizing tasks on projects by fixing what needs fixing first before taking anything else off limits

Adjusting their mindset is a good place to start if you want to help your clients achieve long-term success.

Local business coach vs. online business coach

When choosing a business coach, there are two main options: a local or online business coach.

Each option has its own set of advantages and disadvantages.

Local business coaches are great for building personal relationships and providing in-person support. However, they can be more expensive and may not have as much experience with online businesses.

Online business coaches are more affordable and can offer more flexibility, but they may not be as personal as a coach you meet physically.

FAQ

How can I become an online business coach?

To become an online business coach, you need to have experience running your own online business.

You would also need to be knowledgeable about various online marketing strategies and how to use them effectively.

In addition, you would need to communicate well and build rapport with your clients.

If you have these skills and qualities, you may have what it takes to be a successful online business coach.

Are business coaches worth the money?

This is a difficult question to answer because it depends on the individual and their business. Some people may find that a business coach is not worth the money, while others may find that a business coach is invaluable.

It depends on the needs of the individual and their business. If you feel like you need help growing your business, then a business coach may be worth the investment.

Is business coaching worth it?

It's worth it if you want to share your expertise and help others grow in their business. It's also potentially lucrative as coaches charge hundreds to thousands of dollars for their coaching services.

In the future, you can also scale your coaching business by offering digital products via an online course platform. You can learn more by reading our article about the best platforms to sell digital products.

What do online business coaches do?

Are you looking for a way to become your own boss and have a successful online business? If so, you may want to consider becoming an online business coach.

As a business coach, you would help your clients to start and grow their own online businesses. You would provide them with the guidance and support they need to overcome any challenges they may face. You will mainly work with small business owners or entrepreneurs just starting out.

If you have a passion for helping others and want to be your own boss, then becoming an online business coach may be the perfect career for you.

How do business coaches make money?

There are a few different ways that business coaches make money. The most common way is by charging for their services either by the hour or month.

Some coaches also make money by selling digital products such as online courses and ebooks. Others may run group coaching programs. And some may even have sponsorships, ad revenue, or affiliate relationships with other businesses.

How much do online business coaches charge?

Many variables affect how much online business coaches charge. Some coaches charge by the hour, while others charge a flat rate for a certain number of sessions. Some coaches offer group coaching at a lower rate, while others offer one-on-one coaching at a higher rate.

How much do online business coaches make?

Numerous factors influence how much coaches make. Some coaches make a few hundred dollars per month, while others make several thousand or even tens of thousands. It depends on how many clients they have and what type of coaching services they offer.

Many popular YouTubers offer coaching products and services to small business owners and reach $1M per year in revenue.

Wrapping Up

If you want to be a successful online business coach, create an audience, create a signature coaching program, create a professional website, get the right qualifications, and show proof of success.

By following these tips, you'll be well on your way to becoming a successful online business coach. Just remember to focus on your goals, help your clients, and continue learning and growing in your field to build your own business.

Building a successful coaching business takes time, effort, and dedication. However, it can be an enriching experience both professionally and personally.

Keep these tips in mind if you're thinking about becoming a coach or are already in the early stages of growing your coaching business. They'll help you build a strong foundation for success.

And remember, the sky's the limit – so dream big and go after your goals!

There are many different ways to grow your coaching business. By implementing just a few of these growth strategies, you'll be well on developing your coaching business. So what are you waiting for? Get started today!

If you found this post helpful, please share it with your friends! And if you want to learn more about business coaching, make sure to visit the Academy.

Thank you for reading, and I hope this was helpful! 🙂

P.S. If you're looking for more tips on building a successful coaching business, check out my e-book, The Business of Coaching. It's packed with actionable advice to help you take your coaching business to the next level.

Click here to get the book now.

Do you have any tips on becoming a successful online business coach? Which strategies will you use to grow your business? Let us know in the comments below!

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