11 Basic Business Questions When Starting Your Coaching Business

We’re exploring answers and best practice to these and other key questions at our Masterclass on Setting Up and Managing Your Coaching Business at The Henley Business School on the 5th June 2019.

(Please note if you would like to attend this Masterclass, Henley Business School only have limited tickets left, so please book now to avoid any disappointment)

Eighty percent of coaching businesses fail. That’s what we’ve learned from working with hundreds of other coaches over the years. How can we reduce these odds? We’ve come up with eleven key requirements that will help us become the 1 in 5 that succeed. These questions are useful applied to any new business, not just coaching ones.

Are we ambitious, courageous, disciplined, and open? 

Just like a client needs to be if they are to get the most from their coaching, as coaches ourselves, we need at least a touch of these attributes to survive and thrive. What can we do to build these capabilities?

Do we know where we’re going to?

As the Cheshire Cat said to Alice in Wonderland, if you don’t care where you want to get to, then it doesn’t much matter which way you go. To ensure we do get to somewhere useful, we have to start with the end in mind. Where do we want to end up? How do we want to exit the business eventually? Do we want to sell it? Wind it up? Appoint a CEO? Where are we heading?

Do we have plans A, B and Z?

If Plan A is where everything goes the way we expect it to, and Plan B is the way things go if there are slight changes, then Plan Z is the ultimate final plan - what will we do if everything goes wrong? At what point will we need to admit we need to stop and start again? Having that final safety net is important, we have found that people who are realistic about their bottom lines tend not to reach them.

What sort of business are we trying to build?

It’s common, at the start, to take on any and every piece of work that falls broadly into the category of ‘Executive Coaching’. But, we need to be more focussed than this. Are we aiming for a purely coaching business, or more of a portfolio affair that combines coaching, consulting, executive education, teaching, mentoring, and so forth?

How much time do we have to give?

Are we going to leave the current job and throw everything into this new venture? There are few of us that are able to do so. For most, a new business starts in the margins of our day job. How much time can we really devote to it? Is our boss understanding? Is our main employment flexible? If not, do we want to find one that is?

How large are we thinking?

When we look ahead, do we envisage a one-person set up? Or is our plan something bigger? How are we going to grow and scale the business? Are we going to increase prices? Recruit staff? How will we get more clients? How can technology help?

What company structure are we going to follow?

Are we going to be a sole trader, a limited company, or a partnership? Do we understand the legal and tax requirements of each?

What help do we need?

What professional help and advisers do we need to set up and run the company?

Do we have contingency funds?

Bankrupt businesses have run out of cash. Do we have enough liquid funds to run the business for six months, through lean times? Do we understand the key levers that affect our cash flow?

Do we have a balanced scorecard?

This is a useful planning tool. Use it to ensure we have at least a simple plan to attract and maintain the clients we want, make the financial return that we need, implement and develop the processes to keep our business effective and efficient, and develop ourselves and the people we need to succeed.

Have we got a success framework?

A success framework, or success system, helps us to have a clear view of our purpose, vision, plan, and actions we need to take. It helps us review ongoing progress and decide if, when, and how we’ll make major changes to our approach.

Through our research with other executive coaches, we have found that the entrepreneurs who are able to give clear and realistic answers to these questions are the ones who are the most likely to build a successful business.

Michael Beale is a tutor at The Henley Business School where he teaches a number of master classes including: Setting Up and Managing Your Coaching Business. You can book a free introductory session through Michael's online diary.

He is a Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Coach and a Richard Bandler NLP Trainer and Coach Trainer with more than twenty years’ experience working with successful professional people.

Ps Please note if you would like to attend this Masterclass, Henley only have limited tickets left, so please book now to avoid any disappointment.

pps Also read: 15 Key Marketing and Branding Questions Before You Start Your Coaching Business