My niche is who I market to. But I'm getting better by coaching anyone who's coachable!
-A SeattleCoach

Entrepreneurs would rather work long days for themselves than regular hours for someone else. They know that entrepreneurial coaching is a get-rich-slow scheme.
-Patty Burgin

Great coaches listen, serve, and coach--starting with the first conversation. They give away a lot of time up front. Then they charge enough to stay generous.

I started building SeattleCoach in 2003. Before that I was a campus chaplain and then a Marriage and Family Therapist. Not exactly a huge business background. So I'm pretty sure some of my best business savvy started with my DNA. I grew up watching my very playful, smart, and optimistic parents run a successful small business.

My Dad helped me to understand the difference between what a salesperson says to clients ("I've got this thing. Want to buy it?") and the far more fun and interesting things a gifted entrepreneur says ("Tell me what you need. What the problem is that you're trying to solve--maybe what your customers need? I bet I'll have some great options. I bet you'll like them.").

Whether you aim to be an internal coaching leader or to launch your own coaching practice, when you train with SeattleCoach, in Modules I, II, and III and in Coaching for Leaders, we challenge you to find ways to talk forthrightly about yourself and your unique service as a coach (your tagline, your elevator speeches, your Vocáre Compass). And you'll always hear us exhort you to "show up like a coach" starting with your very first steps into your new identity or way of leading.

In the words of one of our coaches, "You can take this stuff and make it your profession. You can also make it your way of living. Date night is better. Parenting is better." She's right! Coaching can be a way of living. (Here comes the big but . . .) If you want your work as a coach to also be a business, you have to treat it like one.

As I like to say, "I charge for my time. The affection is free."

Building a coaching and consulting business is an iterative process as you get steadily better at this craft, and as you stay accessible and responsive to your clients. Remember The SeattleCoach 3-2-1 Rule? You also have to give steady attention to your business entity and infrastructure as well as to your visibility and web and social media presence. I invest about a day a week in leading, managing, and building SeattleCoach.

In other words, you'll need to plan to work on your business almost as steadily as you work in your business.

If you plan to become an entrepreneurial coach and to build a business, below are some of the best resources I've found. Each will help you to think about your brand, who you want to serve, what you want to specialize in, your ethical conduct and how you want to be professionally visible.

Some excellent getting-started resources

• As you build your brand, our friend Lisa Hufford, founder of Simplicity Consulting, has given us special access to her new Work, Your Way Playbook 
• You'll also learn lots from Lisa's LinkedIn Live workshop on defining your personal brand (29'33")
• Patrick Lencioni's book, Getting Naked. You'll like it
• Michael Gerber's book, The E-Myth Revisited. ("E" stands for Entrepreneurial. In addition, this book is Essential.)
• And if you're a mid-career entrepreneur, check out this refreshing news
• "A Short Guide to Pricing Your Services as a Consultant or Coach" (hbr.org)
• Start thinking about your potential "strategic alliances": who else serves your niche, but with a different service? Maybe you'll make each other look good.
• And if you need a great headshot, call our photographer pal Tara Gimmer

Your business entity and infrastructure

The Essentials (you'll want to have a biz license and insurance in place before you accept payments) 

• Doing Business in the State of Washington.
• As you begin to make money, you will need a very detailed yet user-friendly spreadsheet and a way to report your income Federally. Personally, I have a good CPA in my corner. He "gets small biz and is both accessible and responsive.
• Business License in the State of Washington . You have to renew your license annually and once you make enough money, they will ask you to pay taxes either quarterly or annually.
• You will also need a business license for the city out of which you do most of your work. For me of course, that's Seattle. In Seattle you also have to renew your license annually and (though they won't send you a notice and will ding you if you don't, trust me here), you have to file a return annually even if you don't owe them any taxes, quarterly if you make enough.
• Business Liability Insurance: Check with your local insurance person. You may also want to check out the Professional Liability Insurance that is recommended by the ICF , or CPH & Associates.
• A good video webinar about watching your business entity p's and q's: "7 Hidden Legal Disasters in Your Business".
• A Coaching Agreement to Personalize.
• And click here to read my article about Successful Contracting.

The Rest

• Naming/branding this thing you're doing/becoming.
• When you're bringing in about $500 monthly it may begin to make sense to offer credit card processing. I use DirectPay and have been happy with their costs and service.
• Every year, the ICF hosts a Business Development Series. It's pretty good. Here's an example: "Personal Branding in Three Simple Steps."
• An HBR article to help you think about what to charge as an external coach.
• And here is a sample Statement of Work (SOW) that businesses like to see. For me, these are usually preceded by several scoping conversations with both sponsors and coachees to ensure that the agenda is clear to all--and that everyone understands my note about confidentiality that you'll see at the bottom of the SOW document.

Your visibility and web presence

Well. You know people are checking out your web presence and social media. It doesn't have to be huge, just reflective of you and your aspirations. Take time to write well.  And click here if it's time for an affordable, professional, painless headshot with SeattleCoach pal, Tara Gimmer. 

That's a lot. Do a gut check right here. Does all of this challenge you? Make you want to start taking it on "a stroke at a time?" Or do you feel overwhelmed, exhausted and queasy? Being an entrepreneurial coach takes courage and tenacity and it's not everyone's cup of tea. It's got to be one of the things for which you are willing to struggle. And it can be a scary-lonely road. And a spectacular ride. If it's yours, don't forget to build in great support from mentors and colleagues along the way.

And have you noticed? Great support and accountability are baked into everything we cook up at SeattleCoach.