Lessons Learned Taking a Leadership Coaching Business from Zero to One During the Pandemic

For the last 24 months, I've been in the cockpit with my wife Franziska Gonder as she took the leap to pursue her true calling as a leadership coach to founders, CEOs, and political operatives.

Here are the most surprising lessons learned taking this business from Zero to One:

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*First, quick context.*

“Leadership coaching” = Helping high-performing leaders make better decisions and feel fulfilled.

Think: Wendy Rhoades, Olivia Pope, and your favourite therapist--combined.

She uses neuroscientic techniques to get leaders out of their own way.

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*What’s “Zero to One”?*

"Zero to One" = creating something new + taking it to the first step (intensive growth).

This is in contrast to the term "1 to n" (extensive growth) = creating incremental improvements to what's already familiar.

The idea was popularized by Peter Thiel.

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*What’s “0 to 1” mean here?*

In 2 years, she went from:

• 0 clients
• 0 brand or marketing
• Totally different public-facing career

To:

• 25 1:1 clients + life-changing results
• Global community of 500+ high performing leaders
• Making more $ than she used to, & more than me

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For 15yrs before this biz, CEOs and investors would always hire her to run ops but she’d always end up coaching them on how to lead their own companies.

In 2020, she’d already spent well over 10k hours already coaching.

So she said “if not now, then when?” And took the leap.

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2 goals:

1. “One—>Few—>Many” Impact: Give leaders safety, dignity and belonging in their own lives, so they bring it into their org cultures.

2. Democratise access to coaching: Build community around coaching methods and tools so more people can benefit.

Now onto the lessons!

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1. You don’t have to “quit your job and burn all the ships” to launch a new business.

Existential financial danger might motivate some...

...But Franzi wanted to build her biz from a place of abundance and not feel rushed to grow it at the expense of her integrity.

So she waited until we had enough financial stability that starting this biz wouldn’t risk our family’s sanity.

2. Deliver remarkable experiences, *even and especially* before having following or a website.

It’s tempting to get wrapped up in branding at the start.

Instead, Franzi focused on creating great results for her first few clients (friends of friends, former colleagues).

She:

• Made intros
• Mailed relevant books
• Sent handwritten notes
• Recorded appreciation videos
• Texted + talked w them 24/7
• Created personalized meditations for high stakes situations

Those clients’ testimonials and referrals were better PR than any website.

3. Give it all away.

Lots of entrepreneurs worry that “someone else will steal my ideas.”

But the truth is that today with unlimited distribution, the best way to grow is to give!

Franzi wrote 1 essay/day for 30 days, then chopped the essays into content for social.

Now writing daily helps her digest learnings, evolve her craft, and share wisdom.

4. Build economies of intimacy, not economies of scale.

The coaching industry is full of programs teaching coaches to scale fast through spammy social media and shady sales tactics.

Franzi's approach was very different:

She focused on investing energy into her clients rather than lead funnels full of people who might not be aligned.

She creates remarkable experiences that her clients can’t help but talk about with their closest friends, and this brings in new high-fit clients.

5. Transcend the myth of competition.

Think:

• 8 billion people in the world
• We’re in a pandemic + recession
• Mental health issues are on the rise.

There is no competition; people need help! There is a shortage of great coaches!

Franzi embraces coaching allies.

If she's full and can’t take on a new client or needs help with a client, she calls upon coach friends.

The same is true in reverse: business coaches have sent clients to Franzi bc they felt those clients needed emotional support.

6. Be referable.

The main things that make you referable are simple:

1. Showing up on time

2. Doing what you say

3. Finishing what you start

4. Saying please and thank you

NOT doing these things makes you unreferable.

She follows these rules, and gets sent new clients.

7. Pay for a business coach.

In her first year, it was just a matter of generating momentum. Getting the first 5-10 clients, sharpening the toolkit with a few courses, embodying the work fully.

But a year in, something happened:

She started feeling like she needed guidance from someone who’d built a thriving practice at the level she envisioned.

After a long search, she found Ken, who’s become a mainstay advisor in our life and helped us navigate huge decisions on how we want to grow.

8. Create a mini-ecosystem.

Connect your clients with each other!

This community aspect can make your biz stickier because you’ll be at the center of a web of relationships.

It will also keep you on peoples minds more, making it easier to bring friends into a community.

9. How much you charge has more to do with your relationship with money and self-worth than anything else.

As her husband, I’ve known since she started this business that she could charge top rates because she’s *that good*

But...she needed to get to that point of confidence in her own relationship with money, to not feel guilty asking for what she's worth.

This happened when clients started asking her if they could pay 2-3x what she was charging.

10. Stay ambitious.

3 months ago, she made her first hire.

6 weeks ago, she gave her first talk at a major tech conference.

3 weeks ago she released the first episode of her podcast: Leadership that Heals the World.

And the next few months are full of big announcements...

If you want to learn more about Franziska’s vision, coaching, or just follow her journey:

- Learn more here: https://franziskagonder.com

- Follow Franziska here: @franziskagonder