coaching company business plan

Coaching Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Coaching Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your Coaching business plan.

We have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their Coaching businesses.

Below is a template to help you create each section of your Coaching business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

Premier Health Coaching Services Is a startup health coaching company located in Seattle, Washington. The company is founded by Tracy Hoffman, a health coach who holds a Master of Science degree in Food Science and Nutrition from the University of Washington. She is a certified health coach in the state of Washington, and has successfully counseled over 300 clients during the past six years as a health coach employed by a corporate medical health plan provider. Her expertise has brought her “celebrity” status. Her blog and podcasts have brought over 20,000 followers as she speaks about nutrition and health matters. Her client base of over 300 clients has already committed to follow her when she makes this professional move to start her own company, Premier Health Coaching Services.

Premier Health Coaching Services will provide a comprehensive array of health-related products and services, including holistic care, skeletal and muscular alignments, sports nutrition, nutrition and diet support, balanced lifestyle counseling and other health services. This will be a broad-based service, meeting the needs of individuals from all walks of life and in all health-conditional lifestyles. Premier Health Coaching Services will be the top-performing health coaching company within the Seattle, Washington regional area.

Product Offering

The following are the services that Premier Health Coaching Services will provide:

• Individual and group health coaching services
• Nutritional and physiological body assessments
• Skeletal and muscular alignments
• Holistic healing: aromatherapy, acupuncture, massage
• Physical therapist services
• Weight assessment and counseling
• Work-life balance alignments
• Balanced lifestyle counseling
• Product sales: nutritional supplements; health-related products

Customer Focus

Premier Health Coaching Services will target everyone in the Seattle, Washington regional area, including Bellingham and other outlying areas. In particular, they will target those individuals who seek assistance with physically therapeutic and lifestyle balance services. They will also target those individuals who are sports professionals and those who are dedicated to a sports lifestyle. Adults of all ages, including seniors, will be targeted as customers and Premier Health Coaching Services will address the needs and serve each individual with the best possible service and support team.

Management Team

Premier Health Coaching Services will be owned and operated by Tracy Hoffman. She has recruited her former associates, John Blackwell and Melissa Rodriquez, to become associates in leading her team.

Tracy Hoffman holds a Master of Science degree in Food Science and Nutrition from the University of Washington. She is a certified health coach in the state of Washington and has successfully counseled over 300 clients during the past six years as a health coach employed by a corporate medical health plan provider. Her expertise has brought her “celebrity” status, and her blog and podcasts have brought over 20,000 followers as she speaks about nutrition and health matters. Her client base of over 300 clients has already committed to follow her when she makes this professional move to start her own company, Premier Health Coaching Services.

John Blackwell is a well-known and much-admired health coach, overseeing 100 clients on a regular basis. He specializes in sports nutrition and already has the commitment from each client to follow him as he makes this professional move to Premier Health Coaching Services.

Melissa Rodriquez is much-beloved by her weight management and nutritional balance clients and is known for her emphasis on holistic solutions to health problems. Her client base of over 100 clients has committed to follow her as she makes this professional move to Premier Health Coaching Services.

Success Factors

Premier Health Coaching Services will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

• Friendly, knowledgeable, and highly qualified team of professional health coaches, counselors, nutritional experts, and holistic care providers.
• A comprehensive menu of services available during daytime and evening hours, including health coaching, lifestyle and nutritional coaching, holistic care, physical therapy and natural health and healing products.
• Premier Health Coaching Services offers modest pricing, setting a price structure that best meets the health insurance plans of all individuals. Comparatively, the service is a lower-cost option than competitors.
• Products offered, including nutritional supplements and natural health products, are priced lower than retail health food stores.

Financial Highlights

Premier Health Coaching Services is seeking $200,000 in debt financing to launch its Premier Health Coaching Services. The funding will be dedicated toward securing the location space and purchasing office equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated towards three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and marketing costs for the marketing campaigns. The breakout of the funding is below:

• Office space build-out: $20,000
• Office equipment, supplies, and materials: $10,000
• Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $150,000
• Marketing costs: $10,000
• Working capital: $10,000

The following graph outlines the pro forma financial projections for Premier Health Coaching Services.

Company Overview

Who is premier health coaching services.

Premier Health Coaching Services is a newly established full-service coaching and health management company in Seattle, Washington. Premier Health Coaching Services will be the most reliable, total health-directed, and effective choice for clients throughout Seattle and the surrounding communities. Premier Health Coaching Services will provide a comprehensive slate of coaching services, natural health treatments, and natural products for all clients to utilize. Their full-service approach includes an extensive list of health and holistic-related services and products.

  Premier Health Coaching Services will be able to manage and service up to 50 clients at any time, with the ability to increase hours of operation to add more clients. The team of professionals are highly qualified, certified, and experienced in coaching, life-balance counseling and nutritional health. Premier Health Coaching Services removes all the headaches and issues of searching for and finding the right fit for the services of various coaches in multiple locations, as all services are now offered under one roof. In addition, Premier Health Coaching Services will be known for delivering the best customer service.

Premier Health Coaching Services History

Since incorporation, Premier Health Coaching Services has achieved the following milestones:

• Registered Premier Health Coaching Services, Inc. to transact business in the state of Washington.
• Has over 50 client contracts already in place with Premier Health Coaching Services. Has natural health providers in acupuncture, massage, aromatherapy, and physical therapy under long-term contracts.
• Began recruiting a staff of assistants and office personnel at Premier Health Coaching Services.

Premier Health Coaching Services

The following will be the services Premier Health Coaching Services will provide:

Industry Analysis

The health coaching and related services industry is currently at $15,653M, and is expected to grow over the next five years to over $23,587M in 2028, with a CAGR of over 7% during the forecast years. This substantial increase will be due to clients who are increasingly aware and in need of better performance in physical activity, nutrition and eating habits, weight management, diabetes prevention, and medication adherence.

These specific areas are all covered under health coaching, group coaching and lifestyle coaching, which are increasingly in step with the continued growth and concern regarding these health-condition specific issues.

The growth will be driven by key players in the industry, such as major health insurance companies, governmental oversight and other agencies, who will adopt effective strategies to combat continuing health conditions. As they do; the industry sector is expected to expand further, presenting numerous opportunities for advancement.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

Premier Health Coaching Services will target those individuals requiring health coaching, nutritional counseling, holistic care and other natural services in Seattle, Washington. They will target former clients who may choose to contract for services with this new all-inclusive slate of services, those who are personal contacts through years of professional experience, corporations with employee health services under expiring contracts, and individuals who are referred by professionals throughout the region.

The precise demographics for Premier Health Coaching Services are:

Customer Segmentation

Premier Health Coaching Services will primarily target the following customer profiles:

• Individuals seeking contracted health coaching and life counseling services
• Insurance companies seeking expanded services for insured clients
• Corporations seeking health service contracts on behalf of employees
• Individuals seeking natural health and healing products

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

Premier Health Coaching Services will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

Pacific Health & Physical Therapy Group

Pacific Health and Physical Therapy Group provides muscular, skeletal and physical therapy for individuals who are referred to the service by employers under contract with the group. Contracts are yearly, endorsed by the corporate human resources managers. The group provides a variety of services for clients, including a therapy spa, physical therapy services, muscular and skeletal exercise routines, and other kinesiology-related services.

The promise by Pacific Health & Physical Therapy Group is to provide accurate, detailed plans to better the lives of their clients through muscular and physically therapeutic services. The emphasis is on corrective treatments, including exercise. The Pacific Health & Physical Therapy Group provides a 4-Step Treatment Plan that covers diagnosis; analysis of treatment; care routine; extended therapy. This is a plan that is personally designed for each client and care providers follow the plan during each client visit.

Seattle Physical Therapy Associates

Seattle Physical Therapy Associates is composed of ten physical therapists, each with a roster of clients who routinely book a minimum of twenty therapy visits each. This solidifies the basis for revenue for Seattle Physical Therapy Associates and creates an on-going program of increased health properties for clients as visits continue.

Seattle Physical Therapy Associates is focused on providing physical therapy; as such, the pricing for services is higher than other full-service centers. The motto is: Creating the Best Environment for Our Clients’ Best Results. Clients are treated at least twice a week, as physical therapy continues. As the favorite physical therapy group in Seattle, the company can demand higher pricing levels, and those levels are paid by primarily corporate clients, as a result.

Ballard Holistic Health Company

Ballard Holistic Health Company is headquartered in Ballard, located in northwest Seattle. The region is a mixed-population of older university students, young couples with children, and senior residents with longevity in the region. Housing is a mixture of condos converted to apartments, older single home dwellings and multi-use leased homes. The clientele for the Ballard Holistic Health Company is generally seeking holistic treatments as curative or preventative alternatives to western medicine. The company is housed in a former home, large enough to showcase natural health and healing products. Weekly classes directed to nutrition, healthy living styles, and vegan/vegetarian living topics are discussed in group sessions. Merchandise for sale includes books, tapes, vegan foods and protein alternatives, such as plant-based foods. Also offered are a wide array of natural health products and nutritional supplements.

Competitive Advantage

Premier Health Coaching Services will be able to offer the following advantages over their competition:

• A comprehensive, all-inclusive menu of services available during daytime and evening hours, including health coaching, lifestyle and nutritional coaching, holistic care, physical therapy and natural health and healing products.
• Products offered, including nutritional supplements and natural health products, are priced lower than direct competitors.

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

Premier Health Coaching Services will offer the following unique value proposition to its clientele:

• Highly-qualified team of certified professionals who are able to provide a comprehensive slate of services and products to meet consumer demand for solutions for medical conditions, lifestyle choices, and other physical or mind-body needs.
• Substantial number of long-term contracted clients, as well as corporate clients who utilize services for employees.
• Reliable natural health and healing products sold below retail costs at competitive natural product stores.
• Pricing structure for corporate and individual clients is modest and reasonable.

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for Premier Health Coaching Services is as follows:

Word of Mouth/Referrals

Premier Health Coaching Services has built up an extensive list of contacts over the years by providing exceptional service and skilled expertise for clients. They have communicated to Premier Health Coaching Services that they will continue renewing their contracts because they are highly-satisfied with the services provided at the former place of business. Once advised by the professionals that they were leaving the former company, the clients were eager to sign new contracts to continue coaching services with Premier Health Coaching Services. Former and current clients were also willing to offer referrals and spread the word of the new company starting comprehensive services just ahead.

Professional Associations and Networking

Tracy Hoffman, John Blackwell and Melissa Rodriquez are each well-established within their chosen fields and will spread the word of the new startup within their professional associations. Networking among corporations within the region will also begin, as corporate clients can offer large, long-term contracts for employees who require multiple visits or treatments.

Social Media Marketing

With the high number of followers who track Tracy Hoffman, the use of social media marketing will be pivotal to the startup. Multiple social media marketing campaigns will be launched, identifying the professionals who are starting the company and inviting new followers to engage with each via posts and comments. Former and current clients will also be included in short video reels, offering testimonials regarding the service received by these professionals. A social media marketing manager will be hired for three months to cover the costs of startup campaigns.

Website/SEO Marketing

Premier Health Coaching Services will utilize the services of the social media marketing manager to create website content and images to announce the opening of the company. The website will be well organized, informative, and list all services that Premier Health Coaching Services is able to provide. The website will also list their contact information and link to an easy reservation site for clients to book appointments online. The social media marketing manager will also oversee SEO marketing tactics so that anytime someone types in the Google or Bing search engine “Seattle health coaching” or “natural health or holistic services”, Premier Health Coaching Services will be listed at the top of the search results.

The pricing of Premier Health Coaching Services will be moderate and on par with competitors so customers feel they receive value when purchasing their services.

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for Premier Health Coaching Services. Operation Functions:

• Tracy Hoffman will be the Owner and President of the company. She will oversee all staff and manage client relations. She has spent several months recruiting the executive staff: members:
• John Blackwell, a well-known, certified, and much-admired health coach, will be the Vice President, overseeing 100 clients on a regular basis. He specializes in sports nutrition.
• Melissa Rodriquez, a professional counselor in weight management and nutritional balance, will be the Strategic Manager. Her client base of over 100 clients has committed to follow her as she makes this professional move to Premier Health Coaching Services.
• Gary Ragan, an accountant with ten years of experience, will become the Staff Accountant, providing all client accounting, tax payments, and monthly financial reporting.

Milestones:

Premier Health Coaching Services will have the following milestones complete in the next six months.

• 5/1/202X – Finalize contract to lease company staff, client and workroom space
• 5/15/202X – Finalize personnel and staff employment contracts for the Premier Health Coaching Services
• 6/1/202X – Finalize contracts for Premier Health Coaching Services corporate clients
• 6/15/202X – Begin networking at industry events
• 6/22/202X – Begin moving into the Premier Health Coaching Services building location
• 7/1/202X – Premier Health Coaching Services opens its office for business

Tracy Hoffman holds a Master of Science degree in Food Science and Nutrition from the University of Washington. She is a certified health coach in the state of Washington, who has successfully counseled over 300 clients during the past six years as a health coach employed by a corporate medical health plan provider. Her expertise has brought her “celebrity” status, as her blog and podcasts have brought over 20,000 followers. She is dedicated to nutrition and health-balance matters. Her client base of over 300 clients has already committed to follow her when she makes this professional move to start her own company, Premier Health Coaching Services.

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

The revenue drivers for Premier Health Coaching Services are the fees they will charge to the clients for their services. Secondary revenue drivers will include the natural health and nutritional supplement products sold at the company location.

The cost drivers will be the overhead costs required in order to properly staff Premier Health Coaching Services. The expenses will be the payroll cost, rent, utilities, office supplies, and marketing materials.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Premier Health Coaching Services is seeking $200,000 in debt financing to launch its health coaching and natural health service company. The funding will be dedicated toward securing the location space and purchasing office equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated toward three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and marketing costs for the social media marketing and association memberships. The breakout of the funding is below:

Key Assumptions

The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and in order to pay off the startup business loan.

• Number of Contracted Clients Per Month: 1,200
• Average Fees per Month: $50,000
• Office Lease per Year: $100,000

Financial Projections

Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, coaching business plan faqs, what is a coaching business plan.

A coaching business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your coaching   business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can easily complete your Coaching  business plan using our Coaching Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of Coaching Businesses?

There are a number of different kinds of coaching businesses , some examples include: Business coaching, Career coaching, Life coaching, Performance coaching, and Wellness coaching.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Coaching Business Plan?

Coaching businesses are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding.

What are the Steps To Start a Coaching Business?

Starting a coaching business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Develop A Coaching Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed coaching business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your coaching business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your coaching business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Coaching   Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your coaching business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws.

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your coaching business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms.

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations.

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events.

7. Acquire Necessary Coaching   Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your coaching business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation.

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your coaching business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising.

Learn more about how to start a successful coaching business:

• How to Start a Coaching Business

• Coaching Solutions

How To Write A Life Coaching Business Plan: 5 Templates

If you’re passionate about helping others fulfill their potential and reach new heights, life coaching could be a truly rewarding career for you.

This guide will show you how to create a coaching business plan that will help you turn your ideas into reality, so that you can start creating value and deliver real results to your life coaching clients.

5 Tips For Starting Your Life Coaching Business

Starting out as a life coach can seem like a big move, and there’s plenty to consider. For many experienced life coaches, it’s balancing the support, guidance, and coaching theory side of things business admin that can be a little tricky.

Maybe you see yourself more as a development professional than an entrepreneur, or perhaps you’ve helped others professionally but never quite had your own practice.

Regardless of where you are in the coaching game, here are some tips that can help you get started building a life coaching business of your own: [1]

• Decide on a clear, unique value offer. Life coaching is incredibly popular, and that’s not changing anytime soon. To distinguish yourself as a coach, think about the unique value you’ll create for your clients – what’s original about the results you can help them achieve, or how you help them get from A to B?
• Consider accreditation. The right life coaching certification can arm you with useful skills and knowledge in your field while boosting your credibility as a coach. There are plenty of qualifications available online for coaches, and you may find one that goes a long way to enhance your marketability.
• Set your business up, practically. Various states, regions, and countries have different systems for registering and starting an online coaching business. Make sure you allow time to collect or create all the coaching forms you’ll need to enroll and manage your clients.
• Develop or curate your coaching resources. To practice, you’ll need tools such as life coaching worksheets , lessons, exercises, videos (if you’re using them), and more. Create a database of all the coaching tools you’ll need so you know just where to find them when you land your first client!
• Create an online presence. Think about how you’ll reach out to clients, and prepare the things that will help you be discovered online. Some examples include a coaching website , social media profile, or listings in online coaching directories. A strategic way to approach this is by developing a marketing strategy, which covers all the ins and outs of how you’ll grow your visibility.

How To Write A Coaching Business Plan: 2 Examples

A coaching business plan should help you clarify why and how you’ll start and run your coaching practice, as well as the tools you’ll need to help others.

Creating a life coaching business plan might sound terrifying, don’t be put off. You can go into more detail if you prefer a comprehensive organizational roadmap, but your business plan should quite simply help you:

• Clarify your “Why” – What is the ultimate purpose of your business? What is your desired future vision for your practice and clients?
• Solidify your “How” – What are your coaching objectives/your mission? What approaches will you use to achieve them?
• Determine your “What” – Understand the interventions, tools, lessons, or solutions that will help you on your mission.

Depending on the depth of detail you’d like to go into, you can break your plan up into more or fewer sections.

The following two coaching business plan examples illustrate this.

Example 1: Lean Life Coaching Business Plan

A lean business plan is ideal for explaining your coaching practice succinctly, or if you’re planning a small coaching business.

Using this USA Small Business Administration sample as a guide, your lean coaching plan might include the following headings: [2]

• Business identity
• Target client
• Client pain points
• Your solution
• Your competition
• Revenue streams
• Marketing activities
• Team and their key roles, and

Lean coaching business plans can be particularly helpful if you’re keen to refine and enhance your business plan as you learn and gain experience.

Example 2: Life Coaching Business Plan Template

This life coaching business plan template from Profitable Venture is a more comprehensive example, starting with an executive summary and ending with a startup expenditure budget. [3]

SWOT and market analyses are used for an in-depth assessment of potential opportunities, threats, and rivals in the coaching industry.

3 Helpful Templates and Samples For Your Plan

Here are a few good examples of coaching business plans, including some extra sections you might want to include:

• 9 Steps to a Lean Life Coaching Business Plan from Coaching Online – this covers a few more sections such as your competition, marketing, and finances [4]
• Traditional Business Plan from the USA Small Business Administration – a traditional business plan that may work well for larger coaching practices [5]
• Business Plan Template for a Startup from Score.org – a 9-step template for new business owners. [6]

Creating A Business Plan For Your Online Coaching Business

Once you’ve decided on the most relevant format for your business plan, you’ll want to formalize it by writing it all down.

You will most likely be referring to it regularly, as you structure, run, manage, and grow your coaching practice, so it’s critical to keep your plan along with the rest of your business documents.

A quick, straightforward solution for most coaches is to create a digital business plan, as we’ve started to do below using Quenza:

Using Quenza’s Activity Builder , you can create custom sections for each element in your plan, as well as text boxes for all the information that will go into your tool.

This helps you store your plan in your coaching portal alongside your Client profiles, activities, and other coaching tools, so your plan is always near at hand as you start to build your business.

To create your own coaching business plan using Quenza’s Activity Builder, simply:

• Open and title a new Activity
• Create sections for each header of your plan, and
• Save your Activity to your Library when it’s done!

You can also print your plan as a PDF, or access and edit at any time on Quenza’s client app, as shown below:

There’s no right or wrong way to create a coaching business plan template, so don’t be afraid to add in headers or sections as your plan grows. As long as your plan takes you through each milestone of building and running your business, you’re on the right path to creating a successful, growing practice.

Best App and Software For Your Coaching Business

Quenza is a state-of-the-art solution for coaching professionals, regardless of where you are in the process of running your business.

Not only can you plan out your business as a first-time coach, but Quenza’s tools can help you deliver solutions, stay in touch with clients, and even market your business as you gain traction.

With Quenza’s features, for example, you can:

• Design, build, and deliver personal and group life coaching solutions
• Craft coaching programs, curricula, or entire e-courses from your existing tools
• Drip feed your solutions to coaching clients automatically, on a schedule
• Create and customize all your coaching contracts , coaching agreements, and feedback forms
• Collect and securely store all your clients’ data with Quenza’s HIPAA-compliant app and coaching platform
• Offer clients a centralized online coaching portal
• Stay in touch with and engage your clients throughout the course of your programs, using notifications, reminders, and multimedia,
• Track, monitor, and evaluate your clients’ progress in real-time, and
• Document your sessions with Quenza’s Client notes.

5 Unique Features Included in Quenza

We’ve already seen how important it is to carve out your niche as a life coach – and of course, you’re most efficient when you decide on your own workflow, processes, and style.

With Quenza’s custom features, you have all the flexibility you need to get creative with solutions and market yourself in a way that suits you.

For instance, you can make use of Quenza’s:

• Multilingual client app – to translate your own or your clients’ Quenza app into 16 different languages, and custom brand colors
• Group or private chat – to share feedback, reminders, or encouragement
• White label feature – to promote your brand by adding your logo to tools, forms, and programs
• Wheel of Life feature – to design personalized life Wheel of Life assessments , and
• Expansion Library – for customizing popular and evidence-based coaching exercises without starting from scratch!

Final Thoughts

These tips, templates, formats, and examples will help you craft a strategic business plan that can get your coaching practice up and running – even if you’ve never started a business in your life.

If you have a template of your own to share with your fellow coaches, do let us know in the comments below.

We hope this article was helpful. Don’t forget to start your 30-day, 1 dollar Quenza trial for all the tools you need to bring your business plan to life!

Quenza’s practitioner tools will help you craft and deliver powerful online coaching solutions from any connected device, and contains everything you need to run your life coaching practice digitally for brilliant client outcomes.

• ^ Truex, L. (2021). How to start a home-based coaching business. Retrieved from https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-to-start-a-coaching-business-1794520
• ^ SBA.gov. (2021). Sample Lean Business Plan. Retrieved from https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2017-12/Sample%20Lean%20Business%20Plan%20-%20Wooden%20Grain%20Toy%20Company.doc
• ^ Profitable Venture. (2021). Life Coaching Business Plan Template. Retrieved from https://www.profitableventure.com/life-coaching-business-plan/
• ^ Coaching-Online.org. (2021). 9 Steps to a Lean Life Coaching Business Plan. Retrieved from https://www.coaching-online.org/life-coach-business-plan/
• ^ SBA.gov. (2021). Write Your Business Plan. Retrieved from https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business/write-your-business-plan
• ^ Score.org. (2020). Business Plan Template for a Startup Business. Retrieved from https://www.score.org/resource/business-plan-template-startup-business

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How to Craft your coaching business plan in 7 simple Steps

April 23, 2024

Are you eager to launch your coaching business but feeling overwhelmed about where to start?

You’re not alone! 

Many aspiring entrepreneurs struggle with the initial steps, especially when it comes to drafting a solid business plan, including me!

In this article, I’ll share how I crafted my coaching business plan, and you can do it too. 

Let’s dive into the world of business planning, where clarity meets strategy.

In Brief : How to Craft your coaching business plan in 7 simple Steps

• Step 1: 📝 Executive Summary – Craft a compelling summary that encapsulates your business vision, mission, and core elements like the business name, owner, and location, setting the stage for what follows.
• Step 2: 🗂️ Business Description – Detail your coaching services, niche, and operational mechanics. Explain how these elements work together to meet the needs of your clientele.
• Step 3: 🔍 Market Analysis – Conduct a thorough analysis of your target market and competition. Use this data to tailor your services and pinpoint market opportunities.
• Step 4: 📈 Marketing Strategies – Develop a comprehensive marketing plan that includes digital and traditional methods to attract and retain clients, ensuring your brand stands out.
• Step 5: ⚙️ Operations Plan – Outline your business’s operational structure, including the logistics of daily operations and the roles of your team members.
• Step 6: 💰 Financial Planning – Forecast your business’s financial health with detailed budgeting, pricing strategies, and expected financial outcomes.
• Step 7: 🚀 Implementation and Growth – Plan for the future by setting precise milestones for business growth and scalability, and prepare strategies for adapting to changes and expansions.

Do you Need to Have a Business Plan for Your Coaching?

A few years ago, I was just like you—excited yet baffled about the right steps to take in starting my coaching business. I dabbled in social media, attended conferences, tried podcasting, and explored various other avenues. 

Despite my efforts, the results were far from what I needed. It felt like I was constantly moving, but not in the right direction.

Then it clicked. I realized that diving headfirst into business without a well-thought-out plan was like sailing without a compass. 

So, I took a step back and started from scratch, this time with a clear strategy in mind. I laid out a business plan that not only guided my business to success but also continues to guide me today.

From understanding the essence of a business plan to learning how to draft one that reflects your vision and goals, I’ll walk you through every step so that you can create your own successful coaching business . 

Whether you’re a life coach or specialize in another area, creating a focused business plan is crucial. It brings professionalism and lays out a roadmap to achieve your business objectives.

1. Executive Summary

Start your journey right by crystallizing the essence of your coaching business.

This section captures the heart and soul of your venture, outlining your vision and mission succinctly. It’s the elevator pitch that introduces readers and potential clients to the core of what you do and why you do it.

Business Name, Owner, Location

Here’s where your coaching business starts to come alive. This section introduces the name of your business, the visionary behind it, and the strategic location from which you’ll operate.

This information is really important because it helps shape how people see your business. It’s like the foundation of your business’s reputation and operations.

Including these details in your business plan is key because they define who you are as a business.

They also help everyone involved, like potential partners or investors, understand who’s running the business and where it’s happening.

The name of your business helps set the mood and gives a first impression, the owner’s story adds trust and shows experience, and the location can make a big difference in who your customers are and how you run things.

This basic info helps you connect with the right people, make smart choices, and get the support you need to grow.

Whatever you envision for your venture needs to be described in this section. You need to answer a few questions here to start your coaching business plan- Why are you starting your coaching venture?

What is your vision for your coaching business? Do you want to revolutionize the coaching industry? What will set you apart from the crowd?

You have to explain all this here to show your business farsightedness. This will give you direction to achieve your goals and will keep you focused.

It gives energy and inspires to make change happen. Vision is a visual image of your dream or idea which you want to achieve through your business.

After you describe your business vision, you need to write a mission statement that describes your business. The mission is the goal of your venture and is very important for your coaching business plan.

In my experience, mission plays a vital role, as this seven letter word drives our professional and personal lives.

In this section, you need to be clear about your goals and be ready to answer the following questions-

What change do you want to bring in people?

How do you want to help others with your coaching program?

Who can benefit from your program?

Are you passionate to bring change through your venture?

Think about these questions and try to answer them so you can visualize your mission.

2. Business Description

Write about your business in this section so that people can get information about it. It is vital to mention your niche, services, and products in your coaching business plan.

Here you have to select the niche of your coaching practic e . Based on my first-hand experience, the coaching niche will give a clear picture of your business. It will help you to define your products and services too.

Starting from life coaching, health coaching, career coaching to executive coaching , the list is endless. See where your passion lies, and then get started.

Set Your Services

Say, for example, that some clients want detailed plans while others are simply looking for guidance. My personal experience tells me that offering multiple tiers of service is the best way to increase foot traffic. 

Many coaches have various coaching sessions, like once a week, twice a week, or three times a week. Clients can select the coaching sessions depending on their requirements.

Set Your Billing Methods

Will people be able to pay electronically?

What about paying by checks?

How many days do they have past due before services will no longer be continued?

You need to define how payments can be made in your coaching business plan.

Set Up Your Website

I didn’t make a fancy website. I just highlighted how I can serve my clients. Don’t forget to include your certifications and licenses.

My successful business is proof that testimonials are like adding a cherry to a cake. I believe it can influence people greatly.

Consult a web designer too. Do you want people to contact you directly through the site? If yes, then a proper address is a must.

3. Market Analysis

Understanding your market is key to effective positioning.

This section delves into who your ideal clients are and what the competitive landscape looks like, helping you strategize on how to best meet market needs.

Analyze your Target Audience

Once you have your niche defined, the next step is to do research on the target audience. This is an essential point for any coaching business plan.

You do not have to work with them all. Do a little survey to see who needs your coaching sessions.

So how can you do this?

Firstly, ask questions like:

Is your business niche for college graduates who are seeking a job?

Is it for business executives who want to grow their business?

Is it for women groups looking to work from home?

When creating my own plan, I found that asking the right questions helped me narrow down my ideal coaching client . This helped me create marketing ideas in a much more effective manner.

Analyze your Competition

You need to know your competitors as this will give clarity on the level of competition.

You have to plan how to set your business differently from your competitors.

What is it that you could provide that others are unable to?

One of the experts I consulted advised me to look at competitors as a source of information. Further, he added, give yourself time to research what they are offering.

How much do they charge?

What are their strengths?

I checked how my competitors marketed themselves. But I didn’t want to do the same.

It was time for me to identify something which I could provide better than others.

I knew that career coaching was something which I could do best. I started brainstorming ideas to differentiate myself from competitors. Next was to implement consultation calls and sales strategy.

What did I do to make it more meaningful? How to differentiate? Hence, I had to decide my unique selling point (USP).

4. Marketing Strategies

How will people notice you?

Will you do the marketing/sales all by yourself?

Do you want to appoint someone for it?

What sales strategy will you implement? How do you want to present your sales team?

How to create a marketing plan?

After you have your market analysis down, it is now time to sell your services. Marketing can be daunting at first glance.

It took me a while before I could settle on my approach to marketing as well. Through my experience, I was able to pick up the tips and tricks of the marketing trade .

Once you have picked out what strategy works for you, note them down in this section.

5. Operations Plan

Your business’s backbone—operations keep your coaching services running smoothly.

Here, you’ll detail your business structure, staffing, and the logistical setup of your operations.

Business Structure

Image from Pixabay.com

What should the management structure of your business be?

As the founder of a successful coaching business, I can assert that a crucial part of your coaching business plan involves defining the organization’s structure. This further leads to roles and functions.

I started with a few people. But eventually, it became big. Luckily, I had made the structure beforehand. Things became simpler.

I had hired assistant coaches. This was the point when my client base doubled. I used to generate passive income by hiring them. I had fixed a percentage of the fee for myself. This is how you can grow your business. In this section you need to answer questions like:

Do you need ambassadors to promote your coaching business?

Will you have partners or employees?

How many people do you want to hire? Who can support you well in managing your business?

I had various people who helped me grow my business. Remember, proper plans lead to bigger achievements and manpower is essential to those plans.

Equipment And Materials Requirement

When I planned to market my business, I listed down a few types of equipment required to start in my coaching business plan.

I was aware that video conferencing will be part of my work. Hence, I downloaded the needed software and purchased a quality headset.

I noticed many of my peers record calls and give them to their clients so they can review the session. Don’t you think that helps in gaining long term clients?

For this, I bought a recorder. It is used to record all video/audio calls and share the sessions with clients.

6. Financial Planning

Now comes the budget plan. Without money, a business cannot grow and a coaching business plan will be incomplete without this.

I found many coaches who charged a modest fee while starting a business. This is because they felt their experience was low. Hence, they charged low.

Do you think that is justified? They may get more work but remain underpaid. Will you like working for a client if you are paid less?

Such instances taught me to plan my fee structure. I could confidently ask for the fee according to my worth. I wanted to avoid clients who love bargaining.

Next, you need to outline your financial model.

You need to add the following things to the model:

Start-up cost – Do you need to lease an office space? How much would the lease be? Do you need a computer and the internet?

Financial projections – What all do you need to include in a profit and loss statement?

Funding through investors – Do you need a loan to support your business?

Ask if your audience can pay your rate? How much does the target audience earn yearly?

7. Implementation and Growth

Planning for the future is crucial. This final section focuses on setting timelines, monitoring progress, and scaling your business to meet evolving demands and growth opportunities.

You have to decide timelines for your business. Business planning should be done as per these timelines and should be monitored at intervals.

I chalked out five different timelines in my coaching business plan and they are as follows:

Annual Planning

Set your yearly plan. I always devote some time and attention to yearly goals. For example, where would I see my business in a year?

My yearly plan includes both my business planning as well as life planning. This is because everything is connected at various levels.

Quarterly Planning

This involves regular checking. I schedule all the planning sessions on my calendar a year in advance.

I aim to make these appointments a top priority. I don’t let anything get in my planning and I am ready with solutions for every obstacle.

Monthly Planning

I used to sit at the starting and end of every month for an hour. This involved checking the priority projects for the upcoming days.

Weekly Planning

I used to do weekly planning on Friday afternoons, mainly because I relax on weekends. For the coming week, I noted my priorities.

There were questions which I asked like “How to allocate time to meet my weekly commitments?”

Evaluation and Scaling

Stepping into the future of your coaching business requires both continuous evaluation and strategic scaling. This section isn’t just about expanding—it’s about expanding wisely.

This section of the plan outlines how to assess business performance and adjust strategies to not only meet but surpass growth objectives. Consider this both a health check and a growth strategy for your business.

In clear terms, this involves setting up mechanisms to regularly review what’s working and what needs improvement. Gathering feedback, monitoring progress, and analyzing outcomes are crucial.

It’s not just about data; it’s about preparing for growth. Whether that means broadening the team, enhancing services, or extending market reach, each growth step is planned to ensure it is manageable and aligned with the business’s core values and objectives.

This approach ensures that expansion is sustainable and remains focused on delivering outstanding value to clients.

This final step might seem like too much but it is a step you cannot miss out on to grow your coaching business.

But, here’s the good part. You don’t have to do it alone. We’re here to guide you and cheer you on every step of the way . You got this!

As we wrap up, I hope the insights shared here have empowered you to create a structured and effective business plan for your coaching venture.

Crafting a solid plan is crucial, not just for guiding your business but for adapting as your enterprise grows.

If you have any questions about the business planning process or wish to share your own experiences and insights, feel free to leave a comment below.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the steps of a business plan.

A coaching business plan includes the following steps – making a list of the strengths and weaknesses of the company, moving on to a SWOT analysis, outlining a short-term and long-term strategy, creating project benchmarks, and defining the key success factors. Another additional step is how to price the business and launch a new product.

What Must An Entrepreneur Do After Creating A Business Plan?

A list of tasks that entrepreneurs should complete after setting up their business plan includes: obtaining startup capital, researching trade laws, reviewing business licenses, and choosing a company name.

What Is One Purpose Of Writing A Business Plan Before Entering The Market?

Creating a business plan before entering the market can prove beneficial because it allows entrepreneurs to look at the big picture of the company, from the way it will be run to its goals and general purposes. It also gives entrepreneurs an opportunity to look at what they need to do in order to successfully and efficiently run their business.

What Should I Include In A Business Plan?

Every business plan needs to include the questions and answers of these three fundamental issues: what do you want your company to accomplish, why should people buy what you sell, and how will you make it happen? It is important to take this opportunity to be very thorough with your business plan.

How to Make a Business Plan?

To make a business plan, you must know what kind of business you want it to be. You will need to research your market, competition, and finances. If you don’t, then you run the risk of running out of money or building a business that is unable to make a profit.

How Do You Draft A Coaching Plan?

You can draft a coaching plan through plenty of documents and templates that can be used as a guide to help you brainstorm and organize your own thoughts. One great resource is the Coaching Business Plan Workbook and Guide by Mary Baldwin and Amy Levin-Epstein.

How To Write A Business Plan Step By Step?

The precise step-by-step guide on how to write a business starts with first outlining what your business will be and what your long-term goal is. Next, it’s important to start with developing your company’s mission statement, detailing who your customer is and what they want. This is followed by conducting market research and researching your competition.

ABOUT SAI BLACKBYRN

I’m Sai Blackbyrn, better known as “The Coach’s Mentor.” I help Coaches like you establish their business online. My system is simple: close more clients at higher fees. You can take advantage of technology, and use it as a catalyst to grow your coaching business in a matter of weeks; not months, not years. It’s easier than you think.

4 thoughts on “How to Craft your coaching business plan in 7 simple Steps”

This article was very simple and easy to follow. Extremely helpful. Just starting out so needed this kinda help.

Hi J Dawn, I’m glad you got great value from this piece. And since you are just starting out, the webinar would be extremely helpful to you so do register

Thank you so much, very insightful especially as I’m starting my coaching business.

Keep up the great work!

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How to Write a Coaching Business Plan That Helps You Thrive + Template

May 17, 2023

The Coach Factory Team

New coaches often overlook the importance of having a business plan from the beginning , but this critical document will guide your business through its growth stages. It’s a strategic tool that helps you visualize your goals, track your progress, and provide a clear picture of your business’ vision, financial health, and operational needs.

Without a business plan, you’ll face the risk of wandering aimlessly in your coaching practice and struggling to achieve your goals. The absence of a well-defined plan may leave you vulnerable to various challenges and setbacks. 

You may find it difficult to attract and retain clients without a clear value proposition and targeted marketing strategies. You may also struggle with financial management, pricing your services appropriately, and tracking your progress towards revenue goals. 

Plus, the absence of a business plan can lead to a lack of focus, scattered efforts, and a sense of uncertainty about the direction of your coaching practice. Ultimately, without a business plan, you may miss out on valuable opportunities for growth and struggle to thrive in the competitive coaching landscape.

Whether you’re transforming your coaching side gig into a full-time venture or scaling up your existing coaching business, this article will walk you step-by-step through creating a detailed coaching business plan that will propel you toward success.

• Why Your Coaching Practice Needs a Business Plan

A business plan guides your coaching business, directing you through your initial startup phase to growth and beyond. It helps you chart your course, establish milestones, and provide clear directions to your desired destination, similar to how a roadmap directs a traveler.

One of the most significant benefits of a business plan is its role in decision-making. When faced with decisions like introducing a new service or investing in advertising, your business plan provides the context and data to make informed choices. It helps align your decisions with your overall business objectives and strategies, ensuring that every step leads you closer to your goals.

How do I turn my coaching into a business?

If you’re already coaching and are ready to turn your hobby into a full fledged business, one of your first steps is to craft a business plan. As you work through the parts of the plan, you’ll be forced to make decisions about what to name your business , who is your desired clientele , what services you’ll offer , what kinds of expenses and revenue you expect, and how you’ll market the business.

Whether you run your coaching business as a side hustle or as a full time venture, as long as you are making money from coaching, you can officially call it a business. 

Can I write a business plan myself?

Yes, even a novice can write a simple business plan by working through the seven key elements: an executive summary, a company description, market analysis, organizational structure, sales and marketing, financial goals, and an appendix. Use the free 12-page workbook linked at the bottom of this post for a plug-and-play business plan template. 

How much does it cost to start a coaching business?

The costs for launching your coaching business can vary widely from a minimal few hundred dollars to a substantial investment of multiple thousands of dollars. When you dig into the financial parts of your business plan, you’ll be able to start listing the potential expenses you expect: certifications, website hosting and design, online video conferencing tools, hiring an accountant, etc. 

The good news is that you can start simply by offering online coaching to people in your current sphere of influence and as you generate income, branch out with additional features such as a coaching website or a client management system . There’s no need to put everything in place at once. You can build your business as you go, but the coaching business plan provides the blueprint to help you identify next steps. 

Can I make a living as a coach?

Yes, you can! If you have the primary traits that all coaches need and are willing to invest in your professional development and learn the basics of online marketing, you will likely attract enough ideal clients to earn a living wage. It’s not an easy path; it will take dedication to start your own coaching business, of course.  But over time, many coaches are able to generate six-figure annual salaries by doing what they love — helping others achieve their aspirations. These highest paid coaches tend to have the most expertise and work as business coaches. But there’s plenty of room for coaches of all niches and experience levels to find their ideal clients and serve them. As you continue coaching, you’ll refine your practice, find better clients, and be able to charge higher rates .

• Tips for Writing the 7 Key Elements of a Coaching Business Plan — With Workbook

Launching a coaching business requires more than just expertise in a specific niche. It demands a strategic approach and a clear vision for your business’s future. 

A well-crafted business plan has seven key elements, each of which serves a distinct purpose that aids in decision-making. These seven steps are included in a convenient PDF workbook format so you can record your thoughts and get started on your own business plan right away. Download yours and fill it out as you read the rest of this article that fleshes out the directions in the template.

1. Write an executive summary

The executive summary is the doorway to your business plan, providing a concise and enticing overview of your coaching business. It gives potential investors, partners, and other stakeholders a snapshot of your business, its goals, and how it intends to achieve them.

Here are five tips for writing an impactful executive summary.

Begin with the basics

No matter the setting, introductions are essential for making a great first impression. An introduction sets the stage and provides context for the following information. Start by providing basic information about your coaching business, like your business name , location, and specific coaching services.

Clearly state your business objectives

Are you looking to become a leading life coach in your region, or are you aiming to carve out a niche as a specialized career coach for professionals in the tech industry?

You must convey your business goals and give a time frame for achieving them. Although shooting for the stars is always important, your business plan goals should be simple enough to understand. So stick to setting goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).

Highlight your unique selling proposition (USP)

What makes your coaching business unique? Do you have a distinctive coaching methodology, special qualification, or experience that sets you apart?

Your USP is the core reason clients choose you over other coaches. It should be a central part of your branding and messaging to help attract and retain clients. When including it in your executive summary, dig deep to highlight aspects of your coaching business that help potential stakeholders see your value to the industry.

Outline your growth plan

Outlining your growth plan in your executive summary shows your ambition and forward-thinking approach to potential investors, partners, and stakeholders.

Briefly describe your plan for achieving your business objectives and expanding your coaching practice. Include any steps you plan to take in setting your business up for future success, like targeting new market segments, introducing new services, scaling your operations, and setting a flexible timeline for hitting certain milestones.

Write your executive summary last 

Even though the executive summary appears first in your business plan, you should write it last after completing the other sections. This way, you’ll accurately summarize the key points.

Remember, the executive summary is your chance to capture the reader’s attention and entice them to read the rest of your business plan. Make it compelling, informative, and engaging.

2. Create a company description

The company description is a comprehensive introduction to your coaching business. This section is where you set the stage, providing readers with an understanding of your services, target audience, business structure, and mission and vision. 

The more specific you are, the better.

Coaching Services

Start by defining the coaching services you provide. Describe your services in detail, whether you’re a life coach , career coach, or fitness coach. Explain the process, duration, and client expectations from each session. If you offer unique methodologies or techniques, highlight them.

Business Structure

Here, you’ll discuss the legal setup of your coaching business. Always include information about any staff you employ, like administrative help or other coaches, and their roles within your company. Are you a sole proprietor operating independently or set up as an LLC with partners or team members?

Target Audience

The people you want to help are central to your coaching business, so you must dedicate time and space to highlight them. Identify their demographics, such as age, gender, location, and income bracket. Additionally, it would help if you detailed things like their values, interests, and challenges.

Are they professionals seeking career advancement, individuals pursuing personal growth, or athletes aiming to improve performance?

The more detailed you are about your ideal client, the better you’ll tailor your services and marketing strategy.

Mission Statement

Your mission statement articulates your coaching business’s core purpose. It answers the question, “Why does your coaching business exist?” 

The mission statement should capture the essence of your coaching practice, the services you provide, and the value you deliver to your clients. It needs to be clear, concise, and compelling to your ideal client .

This mission guides every present decision and strategy in your business. It’s a constant reminder of your business’s purpose and the impact you aim to have on your clients’ lives. It helps to align your team’s efforts and fosters a sense of shared purpose.

Vision Statement

Unlike the mission statement, which focuses on the present and your business’s purpose, the vision statement is future-oriented. It embodies your aspirations and describes what ultimate success looks like for your coaching practice.

Your vision statement should inspire and motivate—it’s the big dream you’re working towards. It aligns you and your team (if you have one) around a common goal, creating a sense of unity and purpose.

Remember, keep your vision statement ambitious yet grounded in reality. Allow it to reflect the growth and impact you genuinely believe your coaching business can achieve in the future. A compelling vision statement will help you maintain focus and momentum as you build your coaching business.

3. Conduct market analysis and research

Navigating the coaching industry without a clear understanding of the market is like wandering in a forest without a map. You may stumble upon some great discoveries, but you’ll probably spend much time circling back to familiar ground. The goal is to continue to move forward with as little friction as possible. 

The market analysis section of your coaching business plan serves as your compass and map to help you quickly learn and navigate the coaching industry.

Industry Overview

Begin with a broad overview of the coaching industry— this might include the industry’s current size, growth rates, and key trends or shifts in the industry. You can find much of this information through industry reports, market research firms, and business publications.

Competitor Analysis

Identify your main competitors and analyze their services, pricing, marketing strategies, and strengths and weaknesses. Gather this information through their websites, client reviews, and social media channels. Understanding your competition will help you find ways to differentiate your coaching business.

Market Trends

Being aware of and responsive to emerging market trends will allow you to tweak your services and marketing efforts to satisfy evolving client preferences. This foresight ensures your business stays relevant and remains a competitive player in the changing landscape of the coaching industry.

Shine a spotlight on key market trends that could steer the course of your coaching business. For example, if you notice the tide shifting towards remote work, this could signal a surge in demand for virtual coaching services.

Opportunities and Threats

Based on your industry overview, target market analysis, competitor analysis, and market trends, identify potential opportunities for your coaching business and any threats that could impact its success.

For example, an opportunity might be a growing demand for a specific type of coaching in your area, while a threat could be a high level of competition from other coaches in your niche. Detailing both will show you new ways to approach and solve potential issues while allowing you to explore new things.

4. Outline your organizational and managerial overview

The organization and management overview of your business plan outlines the structure of your business and the team running it. This section should clearly define who is involved in your coaching business, their roles, and why they are fit for these roles.

It’s an opportunity to showcase the expertise and capabilities within your coaching business, which can build confidence among potential clients, partners, and investors.

Are you a sole proprietor, or have you formed an LLC, a partnership, or a corporation?

Start by defining the legal structure of your business. This information is crucial as it impacts your taxes, liability, and other legal aspects.

Organizational Chart

If your business has more team members other than you, create an organizational chart that shows the hierarchy and relationships between different roles. This provides a visual representation of your business’s structure. Include snapshots of who’s in management and what your role entails.

Advisors and Support

If you have any advisors or support services involved in your business, such as an accountant, a lawyer, or a business coach, mention them here. They add credibility to your business and show that you have expert support in managing your coaching business.

5. Craft a sales and marketing plan

Your business plan’s sales and marketing section outlines how you will attract and retain clients. It should detail your strategies for raising awareness of your coaching services, engaging prospects, and ultimately converting them into clients.

This section should be dynamic, adapting to your market’s changing needs and your business’s growth.

Marketing Objectives

Align your marketing goals with your overall business objectives.

For instance, if one of your business goals is to increase your client base by 25% over the next year, one of your marketing objectives might be to grow your email list by 50% in the same period. This would give you a larger pool of potential clients to engage with, supporting your overall goal of expanding your client base.

Also, detail how you plan to scale your marketing efforts as your business grows. Consider investing in more sophisticated marketing technology, hiring a marketing professional, or expanding into new marketing channels.

Target Market

Everything in your marketing plan has to appeal to your ideal client . Understanding their demographics, needs, and preferences will allow you to tailor your marketing messages effectively to gain their attention.

Marketing Strategies

Describe the marketing channels and strategies you plan to use. Mention everything from content marketing (blogging, webinars, ebooks), social media marketing (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), email marketing, networking (industry events, local business groups), public speaking, or offering introductory coaching sessions. 

Explain why you believe these strategies will be effective for reaching your target market.

Marketing Funnel 

A marketing funnel is a pipeline that shows how potential clients will move from an initial encounter with your brand to purchasing your services and beyond. This section details your steps for converting a prospect into a client. Include aspects like initial consultations, proposals , a follow-up process, and the sale of a coaching package.

The systems or technology you use to facilitate this process, such as customer relationship management (CRM) software, is information that would validate the efficiency of your funnel, so remember to include it. 

Brand Development

Discuss how you will build your brand and information on developing your coaching website and creating a consistent brand identity across any directory listings and all your marketing materials and channels.

It would be best if you also detailed how you will position yourself as an expert in your field, such as publishing articles or speaking at events. This will give your coaching practice more credibility and make it easier for potential stakeholders to trust your vision. 

6. Financial goals and projections

Your coaching business plan’s financial goals section clearly shows your current financial status and future projections. It provides insight into the profitability and sustainability of your business, which is especially important if you are seeking investors or loans.

Remember, this section will likely require more research and preparation than other sections of your business plan. Be as accurate and realistic as possible in your projections. Consider seeking the assistance of a financial advisor or accountant to ensure that your financial plan is sound and realistic.

Financial Goals

Begin by outlining your financial goals. Remember to keep your goals within reasonable limits based on your current resources.

Do you plan to achieve a certain revenue target within a specified period by attaining a specific number of paying clients?

Startup Costs

Startup costs will not apply to every coaching business, but if you’re starting, itemize your startup costs. This could include costs for setting up your office, purchasing equipment, marketing expenses, professional fees (like licensing or certification), and other initial expenses.

Revenue Projections

Provide a detailed breakdown of your projected income. For a coaching business, this will usually involve estimating the number of clients you will serve, the price of your coaching packages, and any other income streams (like workshops, ebooks, etc. ).

Expense Projections

Similarly, outline your projected expenses. This could include rent (if you have a physical office), utilities, marketing costs, salaries (if you have employees), and other operational costs. Also, remember to account for less recurring costs like equipment upgrades or professional development.

Cash Flow Analysis

A cash flow statement shows how changes in balance sheet accounts and income affect cash and cash equivalents. It breaks the analysis down into operating, investing, and financing activities.

Break-even Analysis

This analysis shows when your business will be able to cover all its expenses and begin to make a profit. It’s essential to investors as it shows the viability of your business.

Funding Request

If you’re seeking funding, present your needs for the next 3-5 years. Explain why you need the funds and how they will help grow your business.

Financial Statement

If your business has been running for a while, include your current financial statement. It should provide a snapshot of your business’s financial health and include a balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement.

7. Beef up your coaching business plan with an appendix 

The appendices section of your business plan serves as a repository for any additional information or documents that support your business plan but don’t necessarily fit within the body of the plan.

These materials can provide extra depth and credibility to your business plan, allowing readers, such as potential investors, lenders, or partners, to dive deeper into certain aspects of your business if they wish.

Remember these three tips when organizing your appendix.

• Only include relevant documents like certifications, awards, customer testimonials, letters of recommendation, detailed market research, patents, product pictures, legal documents, contracts, etc.
• Create a table of contents to give readers a quick view of what’s in the appendix. Readers can then quickly locate the documents they’re interested in.
• Include references to the appendix throughout your business plan to provide context and quick referencing.
• Free Life Coaching Business Plan Template

A well-structured business plan is a vital first step for new coaches serious about building a thriving coaching business. By investing time and effort in developing your business plan, you create a strategic roadmap for your business and set the foundation for success. Your business plan will guide your decision-making, help you stay focused on your goals, and enable you to measure progress and make necessary adjustments.

Download our free 12-page Coaching Business Plan Template, designed specifically to help you navigate crafting an effective business plan. This template provides a clear framework and guidance on the essential elements to consider as you plan your coaching business.

Written by The Coach Factory Team

We're a team of coaching enthusiasts who hire and work with coaches. Members of our team run businesses in the coaching industry or provide services that support coaches, and several of us are coaches ourselves.

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Coaching Business Plan

Discover how a Coaching Business Plan can drive success in your coaching practice. Define the vision, identify the target audience, and strategize growth.

By Joshua Napilay on Apr 08, 2024.

Fact Checked by Ericka Pingol.

What is a Coaching Business Plan?

A coaching business plan is a comprehensive strategic blueprint that outlines the key goals, strategies, and tactics of a coaching business. This indispensable tool is crucial for anyone who intends to start or expand their coaching practice. The primary function of this plan is to serve as a detailed roadmap, directing the business toward its desired objectives while precisely delineating the steps required to achieve these goals.

The plan is typically divided into various sections, each focusing on a different aspect of the business. The first of these is the business description, which outlines the nature of the coaching practice, identifies the intended target audience, and articulates the unique value proposition that sets the business apart.

Next comes the market analysis. This involves an in-depth study of the potential clientele, a thorough examination of competitors, and a keen understanding of prevailing industry trends. This section provides valuable insights that inform the strategic direction of the coaching practice.

The organizational structure section provides a clear picture of the management hierarchy and staff roles, ensuring everyone understands their responsibilities and role in the larger business framework.

Following this is the product line or services section. This part describes the coaching services offered, helping potential clients understand what they stand to gain from engaging with the business.

The marketing and sales strategies section then outlines the comprehensive plans on how the business intends to attract, engage, and retain clients. This could include everything from digital marketing campaigns to referral programs.

The financial projections section estimates the business's income, expenditure, and profitability over a specific period. This vital component helps stakeholders understand the financial health and viability of the business.

Understanding and creating a coaching business plan can be a complex process, but luckily, resources like are available to guide you along the way.

If you want to improve the strategies at your Life Coaching business, check out this video:

Printable coaching business plan.

Download this Coaching Business Plan to create a thorough and detailed plan.

How does it work?

A coaching business plan provides a clear and structured blueprint for your coaching practice . It helps you define your vision, identify your goals, and devise strategies. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to use and fill out a coaching business plan:

Step 1: Executive Summary 

Start with an executive summary that provides an overview of your coaching business. This should include your business name, location, the services you offer, and your unique value proposition. Include keywords relevant to your business for SEO purposes.

Step 2: Business Description 

In this section, describe your coaching business in detail. Explain what type of coaching you provide (life coaching, business coaching, etc.), who your target audience is, and how your services will benefit them. Mention "Printable Coaching Business Plans" if your plan is intended to be printed and used offline.

Step 3: Market Analysis 

Carry out a market analysis to understand your competition and potential clients. Identify the needs and preferences of your target clients and how your services can meet these needs. Analyze your competitors and identify ways to differentiate your services.

Step 4: Organization Structure 

Outline the structure of your business. If you have employees, detail their roles and responsibilities. This step helps ensure everyone understands their part in your organization.

Step 5: Services 

Describe the coaching services you offer. Be clear and detailed so potential clients know exactly what they're getting.

Step 6: Marketing and Sales Strategies 

Devise a plan for attracting and retaining clients. This could involve social media marketing, content marketing, networking events, referral programs, etc.

Step 7: Financial Projections 

Finally, make financial projections for your coaching business. Estimate your income, expenses, and profitability over a specific period. This step is vital for understanding the financial viability of your business.

Coaching Business Plans Example (sample)

A coaching business plan is crucial for any aspiring or established coach. It outlines the blueprint for your coaching practice, detailing the strategies and tactics required to achieve your business objectives. Several examples of such plans can be found online in PDF format, providing a comprehensive view of a well-crafted coaching business plan.

For instance, a sample life coach business plan may include an executive summary, a detailed description of the business, market analysis, organizational structure, a list of services, marketing and sales strategies, and financial projections. Each section is meticulously laid out, offering a step-by-step guide to starting and growing a successful life coaching business.

A coaching business plan also often includes a SWOT analysis, outlining the business's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It may also detail the coaching service's unique selling proposition (USP) and pricing strategy.

Coaching Business Plans PDF can be downloaded, printed, and used as a reference or template for creating your business plan. They offer valuable insights into the intricacies of running a coaching business, making the process less daunting for newcomers and more streamlined for experienced coaches.

Download this Coaching Business Plan Example:

When would you use this Template?

The Coaching Business Plan template is an invaluable resource that can be used in various scenarios by different practitioners in the coaching industry. Its comprehensive structure and detailed sections make it appropriate for various uses. Here are some instances when you might find this template particularly useful:

• Starting a New Coaching Business: If you're launching a new coaching practice, this template can serve as your roadmap. It helps you define your business vision, identify your target audience, map out your services, and create a marketing strategy. It also aids in financial planning and forecasting.
• Expanding an Existing Business: For coaches looking to grow their existing businesses, this template can guide you through the process. It can help you assess your current position, identify growth opportunities, plan new services, and develop strategies for attracting more clients.
• Securing Funding or Investment: A well-prepared Coaching Business Plan is essential if you're seeking funding from investors or applying for a business loan. It gives potential investors a clear picture of your business, its profitability, and its growth potential.
• Re-evaluating Business Strategy: The business environment is dynamic, and things can change rapidly. If you need to reassess your business strategy due to changes in market trends, competition, or client needs, this template can help. It allows you to systematically evaluate each aspect of your business and devise new strategies accordingly.
• Educational Purposes: For students studying business or coaching, this template can serve as a practical tool for understanding how a coaching business operates. It provides insights into the planning and strategic thinking of running a successful coaching practice.

Streamlines Your Vision 

A Coaching Business Plan template helps to streamline your vision and goals. It provides a structure that guides you in detailing your business's mission, vision, and objectives, making it easier to communicate what you aim to achieve.

Enhances Strategic Planning 

The template aids in strategic planning. With sections for market analysis, marketing strategies, and financial projections, it ensures that you consider all crucial aspects when planning for your coaching business.

Saves Time and Effort 

A free coaching business plan template saves you the time and effort of starting from scratch. The pre-defined sections make filling easy, allowing you to focus more on the content and less on the format.

Facilitates Funding Acquisition 

A well-prepared business plan is vital when seeking investment or applying for loans. The template helps you present your business professionally and organization, increasing your chances of securing funding.

Promotes Accountability and Evaluation 

You can set clear goals and objectives for your coaching business with a business plan. This promotes accountability and allows regular evaluation of your business's performance against set targets.

Encourages Comprehensive Market Analysis 

The template encourages a comprehensive market analysis, including understanding your competition and identifying your target audience. This analysis is critical for making informed business decisions and strategizing effectively

Why use Carepatron as your Coaching Business Plan app?

Carepatron stands out as a premier Coaching Business Plan app for several compelling reasons. As a platform designed with the needs of coaches in mind, it offers a broad range of features that streamline creating, managing, and implementing a strategic business plan.

• User-Friendly Interface: The interface of Carepatron is designed to be straightforward and intuitive, making it accessible to users of all levels of tech-savvy. The platform guides you through drafting your business plan with clear instructions and prompts, making it easy to input your information and develop a comprehensive strategy.
• Powerful Collaboration Tools: Carepatron's robust collaboration features set it apart from other Coaching Business Plan Software. These tools enable real-time collaboration, allowing multiple stakeholders to simultaneously contribute to the business plan. This feature benefits coaching businesses with teams or partnerships, ensuring everyone is aligned and working towards the same goals.
• Flexible Customization Options: With Carepatron, you're not confined to a one-size-fits-all template. The platform allows for extensive customization, enabling you to tailor your business plan to your coaching business's specific needs and goals. Whether you specialize in personal life coaching, corporate executive coaching, or health and wellness coaching, you can create a plan that accurately reflects your unique services and target market.
• Uncompromising Data Security: Carepatron places a high priority on data security. The platform employs stringent security measures to protect your business plan and any other sensitive data against unauthorized access and breaches. You can have peace of mind knowing your information is secure.
• Cloud-Based Accessibility: As a cloud-based platform, Carepatron allows you to access your business plan from any device, at any time, and from anywhere with an internet connection. This level of accessibility ensures you can work on your plan, review it, or share it with stakeholders whenever you need to.
• Seamless Integration: Carepatron integrates seamlessly with various other tools and platforms, enhancing your productivity by streamlining your workflow. Whether you need to pull data from another system or want to connect your calendar for better planning, Carepatron makes it possible.

Blackbyrn, S. (2023, July 3). Coaching Business Plan In 10 Steps [Guide For 2023]. Coach Foundation . https://coachfoundation.com/blog/coaching-business-plan/

Lavinsky, D. (2023a). Coaching Business Plan Template. Growthink . https://www.growthink.com/businessplan/help-center/coaching-business-plan

Lavinsky, D. (2023b). Coaching Business Plan Template. PlanBuildr Business Plan Software . https://planbuildr.com/coaching-business-plan/

Lavinsky, D. (2023c). Life Coach Business Plan Template [Updated 2023]. BusinessPlanTemplate.com . https://www.businessplantemplate.com/life-coach-business-plan-template/

Procopio, J. (2023). How To Write a Business Plan for a Life Coaching Business + Free One-Page Life Coaching Business Plan - Bplans. Bplans: Free Business Planning Resources and Templates . https://www.bplans.com/business-planning/industries/how-to-write-a-business-plan-for-a-life-coaching-business-free-one-page-life-coaching-business-plan/

Sutton, J., PhD. (2023). How to start your life coaching Business Plan & template. PositivePsychology.com . https://positivepsychology.com/life-coaching-business/

Upmetrics. (2023, April 20). Coaching Business Plan Template (2023) . https://upmetrics.co/template/coaching-business-plan

Zhou, L. (2023, April 24). How to create a simple life coaching business Plan (2023). Luisa Zhou . https://www.luisazhou.com/blog/coaching-business-plan/

Commonly asked questions

Professional coaches across various fields, such as life, wellness, and executive coaching, primarily use a Coaching Business Plan. Additionally, partners, investors, and the executive team associated with a coaching business utilize this plan to gain clarity and focus on the business's vision, mission, and growth strategy.

A Coaching Business Plan is typically used at the startup phase of a coaching business to define its vision, mission, and strategy. However, it is also used during the expansion phase of the business, for regular business reviews, and when seeking investments or partnerships.

The Coaching Business Plan serves as a comprehensive roadmap for a coaching business. It helps define the business vision, identify the target audience, map out services, craft a marketing strategy, and plan finances. Additionally, it provides a snapshot of the business today and lays out the growth plan for the next few years.

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Creating Your Rock-Solid Coaching Business Plan

Here's the no-holds-barred truth...

Starting and running a successful business - any kind of business -- isn't easy.

It will probably be one of the hardest things you'll ever do, but it will also be one of the most satisfying things you will ever do.

The good news is a coaching business that's based on a solid coaching business plan...

A plan that gives you clarity, focus, and direction...

A plan that's based on clear commitment...

Will take a lot of the sting - or obstacles and difficulties - out of the business-building experience.

Step #1 in creating a coaching business plan is about creating that commitment by finding the truth around why  you want to build a successful coaching business in the first place.

This may sound like a simple thing to do but don't be fooled... it's probably the most challenging step of all.

A lot of coaches believe the reason why they do what they do is because they want to serve others and make a difference in people's lives, but if we're really honest with ourselves, that's only half  the story.

If all you want to do with your coaching skills is to serve others, you'd do it for free and you wouldn't build a business around it and charge for your services.

Just to be clear...

This is definitely NOT a campaign to get you to coach for free! Charging for your coaching services and building a coaching business are awesome and it's the right thing to do.

How else would you be able to serve others powerfully if you can't make ends meet or are coaching after hours, leaving little to no time to your own wellbeing?

You have to make your coaching business sustainable if you want to make a living out of your passion. 

The point of this step is to get you to reflect deeply and dig deeper around your  inner motivation for building a coaching business.

When you get to the REAL root of  why you want to build a business, why it matters to YOU and not just how you can help others, you'll strengthen your motivation and commitment.

You'll find that with strong commitment, you're able to continue along your journey, no matter what happens...

You're able to tap into a level of persistence and consistency that will allow you to overcome all of the challenges, risks and uncertainty that will come up when you start to build your business.

As you think about your commitment in this first step, don't feel like you need to focus on others and that you must be empathetic to what other people want and need all the time.

As master coach and co-founder of Evercoach, Ajit Nawalkha says...

The following questions will help you connect with the heart of your  personal why... the needs and desires within you that don't have anything to do with anyone else.

Commitment is the step that holds all the other pieces in place in your coaching business plan and that's because no matter how awesome your plan is, it's not going to work if you're not deeply committed and focused on building a successful business.

Question #1

Think of a successful coach you admire. What are some of their awesome personal qualities and traits ? What is their business model? What kind of lifestyle do they have? (if you're not sure, Google to get some answers)

Note: When we admire someone, it's usually because we desire some of what they have. This question will help you identify your deepest desires as a coach.

Question #2

Describe an ideal day in your life as a coach. Start from the moment you wake up until the moment you fall asleep at night. Be as detailed as possible, you can add elements of your lifestyle, where you are, who you are with, be specific about times, etc.

Note: This question will give you hidden clues to what you're looking for in your coaching business and why you want to build your business. Is it a rich, luxurious life with lots of 1 st  class travel and a house by the beach? Is it plenty of time freedom or maybe it's working with well-known politicians and celebrities? Let yourself dream BIG!

Question #3

What are 5 to 10 of benefits you personally experience from your work as a coach? Maybe your work allows you to grow and transform as a human being, maybe it's that you get deep satisfaction knowing that you're making a difference in people's lives, maybe it's both.

Note: This question will focus your mind on some of the benefits you gain being a coach. This will help you discover why you want to make this your life's work.

Question #4

Now that you've completed questions 1 through 3, finish this sentence:

"I want to build a successful coaching business because..."

Note: List as many reasons as you want but try to make sure these reasons are related to you, your passion, your work, your lifestyle, your dreams, and your desires. Don't let yourself focus on other people... you have permission to be selfish!

Here's one of the biggest conundrums of the 21st century...

The internet has linked us to more people than ever before in the history of humanity and at the same time, it's left us feeling lonelier than we've ever been.

Here's the thing...

The internet creates an environment where we can reach people around the world and we can share our lives with them, but it does not nurture TRUE connections.

Deep, honest, vulnerable and powerful connections are the foundation of successful coaching.

So, what has this got to do with creating a coaching business plan?

Well, just about everything!

For one thing, people are hungry for connections. They want a coach who creates space for them to be themselves without fear of being judged or rejected.

More and more people want to feel seen, heard and understood in a real way and not just through mindless likes and shares on social media.

A successful coach is someone who has what it takes to build real connections with people both online and offline.

As you continue to build out your coaching business plan, spend time thinking about how you're going to inspire true connections with potential clients.

Are you going to reach out to them online?  Schedule an old-fashioned "coffee date" so you can get to know each other? Will you send them an email and follow up with a phone call?

If you're not sure, do a little research and check out what other coaches -- in your niche or area of expertise -- are doing to create connections in your space so you can kick start a stream of ideas and inspiration.

It's time to make some big picture choices on how and when you want to start creating real connections with potential clients.

This is an important segment in your business plan as it will help you make decisions around being visible and marketing your coaching services.

List all the online and offline methods you can think of to reach out and connect with potential clients. Be specific of what places or platforms you would use to find your ideal audience and approach them.

Note: For instance, if you're a health coach, you could aim to attend at least one a health-related industry conference each month. If you like connecting on social media , what are some of the Facebook groups you could become a part of?

How do you show up best when you're connecting with someone new? Do you love connecting online or do you prefer in-person meetups?

Note: When you've answered this question, check back on your list in Question 1 and circle specific methods that work best for you, based on your answers to this question. For instance if your list in question #1 included "attending live networking events", "running a weekend seminar" and "reaching out via DM on Instagram" and you know you're at your best when you connect in person, then you'd circle the first 2 methods but not the third.

What's ONE thing you can do by the end of today, or if you're reading this before bed, what's the one thing you can do in the morning to connect with at least 3 potential clients?

Conversation

You've identified your preferred channels of connection and maybe you've even already taken your first action step to reach out to potential clients.

This is the segment in the business plan that most coaches absolutely love because they kick a$$ in this area!

We've arrived at the conversation phase of your business plan.

This is where the magic happens.

When you can have a conversation with a potential client, you need to direct your attention to 3 key elements:

Transformation

How can you make every, single conversation you have feel insightful, meaningful, and transformational for the potential client?

How can you take your language and conversational skills up to the highest levels?

The best coaches in the world also happen to be world-class listeners and conversationalists, and that's not a coincidence!

Coaches are in the business of creating transformations one conversation at a time.

So, keep in mind that with every conversation you have, you are also in the position to create transformation right there in the moment ..

This isn't about feeling pressured or stressed into changing lives in minutes although it has been known to happen!

It's actually about looking inside yourself and discovering the internal and external cues, triggers and environmental elements that allow you to show up as a master conversationalist, a master listener...

And a master coach.

At Evercoach, we teach coaches the art of practicing deep listening , asking powerful, perceptive questions that create a space for reflection and game-changing "a-ha" moments for clients.

You can learn more about deep listening and asking questions for life-changing conversations in one of our all-time popular courses on Evercoach -  Being an Exponential Coach

Knowing how to have great conversations with clients comes with deep thought, reflection and practice. The following questions will help you create a personal guideline to start meaningful, insightful, transformational conversations that you can include in your business plan.

What's a great opening question you can ask to trigger a deep conversation with a potential client?

Think of some of the game-changing conversations you've had in your own life - either with a coach or even with a friend. What are some of the powerful elements of those conversations, other than insightful, meaningful and transformational?

Note: When you've identified at least 3 elements, think about how you can include them in your next conversation with a potential client.

Identify 3 ways you can learn to take your listening, questioning and conversations skills up to the highest level. 

Note: You can check out our Youtube channel  and  Coaching Guides to get tons of free, high-value content will help you rapidly up-level your coaching skills - even if you're a brand-new coach.

T he 5-Step Coaching Business Plan

C reating  your rock-solid coaching business plan, build your thriving coaching business.

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Creating a Simple Coaching Business Plan 101

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With an estimated market size of almost $20 billion , coaching continues to be one of the fastest growing sectors in the world. With more and more individuals and organizations understanding the true contribution and impact of coaching (boost in self-confidence, revenues, and an elevated workforce morale), the average yearly growth of the coaching industry stands at a healthy 6.7% with thousands of professionals looking at coaching as a lucrative, long term career option. There are approximately 71,000 certified coaches worldwide at this time – and that, we believe, says a lot!

If you have already taken the plunge (or are preparing to take one) and have chosen the very rewarding career of coaching, the next organic step will be to look at scaling your venture. You may have gotten in the profession with the noble thought of helping people maximize their potentials and become successful, but it is also your work and a major (if not primary) source of income for you! Making every effort to expand your client volumes and boost your revenues is absolutely necessary if you want to make your practice a continued success. 

So, venturing into developing your own coaching business can be a natural progression to your career. But just the idea of having your own coaching business is not enough. Once the brainstorming process is over, how do you move forward and put those ideas on paper and convert them into a viable coaching business plan? Read on to find out how you can create a simple but effective coaching business plan and the lasting impact that it can have on your career.

Why should you have a coaching business plan?  

You have done the groundwork, put in those extra working hours, got a fair bit of experience working as a coach and are now ready to move on to the next level (or you may be just starting out as a coach and feeling ambitious & confident enough to take on the responsibility of running your own coaching business). Naturally then scaling your coaching services is what comes to mind. And for that you need a feasible coaching business plan. But why must you have one? Well, the answer covers multiple reasons – why having a solid, well-thought out, strategically sound plan can give you the best chance at making a success of your coaching business. 

A good coaching business plan

• Provides focus and clarity not just to you but also your other stakeholders regarding the business, its scope, start-up expenses, target clientele, expected competition, potential obstacles, possible income generation, and more.
• Gives a fair idea of what to expect in the near future based on multiple outcomes that are discussed.
• Keeps you on track and alert to the realities so that you concentrate on doing the right things and avoid missteps that could prove disastrous in the future. 

Things to know before you start putting down a coaching business plan

Now that you understand the importance of having a coaching business plan, there are some other factors to consider before you start charting out one:

• Make sure that your coaching business plan is as close to reality as possible. In their newfound excitement of staring their own business, many coaches often lose track of ground realities and overestimate their would-be success and underestimate their challenges. 
• Ensure that your coaching business plan lets you define your coaching niche – coaching is a vast segment that covers life coaching, executive coaching, leadership coaching, health & wellness coaching, personal coaching, to name a few. Based on your aptitude, knowledge, and experience, choose a niche that will give you the best chance for success as a coach. 
• Conduct thorough research about the market and emerging opportunities, the industries that have a high demand for coaching and target audience who can actually pay for your services. 
• Be honest about your financial reality (start-up costs, compare your assets & liabilities, the potential expenses that will be incurred against the potential income that will flow in, gauge if you can start out with your own seed capital or if you need to find external investors, financial goals to be accomplished in the next year as well as 5 years) and then map out your business strategy. 
• Be prepared to be flexible – a business plan that seems brilliant at the scripting stage may not look as promising once all the pieces of the coaching business plan are in place. If that happens, don’t lose heart and go back to the drawing board, tweak and tinker until you come up with a realistic plan that will stand the test of time and will result in a successful and long-lasting business. Being realistic does not mean that you curb your big ambitions – it just means that you go in with your eyes wide open to both opportunity and challenges.

Creating a coaching business plan  

Creating a coaching business plan takes a lot of research, understanding of the business world, a clear analysis of your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats, and the ability to turn ambitions into reality. It is the foundation on which the tower of your business will stand and flourish. 

1. Start your business vision

Write up a mission statement in clear and precise words that provides a detailed understanding of why you are in the business, the type of your business, your business operations and scope, the potential clientele that you wish to engage, the services and products that you will offer and how they will prove to be value additions to those who sign up, and more. This transparency in conveying your intentions can go a long way in establishing your credibility among existing as well as potential clients. 

2. Zero in on the most workable coaching model 

Getting the coaching model right is important as this is the basis on which you will take all the other business decisions, which will in turn impact your earnings. You need to decide if you want to opt for a one-on-one/personalized coaching (personal can be limiting in terms of reaching just one client against the time and effort expended), group coaching (little less time consuming with expanded client size), corporate coaching (business/executive/leadership coaching – where the organization pays a lumpsum for coaching their group of employees), hybrid coaching (a mix of online & offline) or even partially automated coaching (online questionnaires, exercises, surveys, feedback forms). 

3. Concentrate on your unique offerings 

As the data has shown, coaching is a lucrative profession, so, naturally the field will be overcrowded with hundreds of coaches offering their services. It may take extra effort and some unique offerings for you to stand out against your closest competitors, build your coaching business and also make a success out of it.  Saying you are good coach is not enough, you need to state your specialization for clients to notice you. 

Put down what your strengths are (for instance, conflict resolution, mergers & acquisitions, delegation) and what is the expertise you can provide to your clients that will make a discernible difference to their progress (how you have helped top executives complete successful career transitions that made a healthy difference to their work-life balance, for example). You need to understand your own business in depth, only then you can convince the client about your offerings.  

4. Organize your daily schedule 

Effective time management is one of the pillars of your eventual success. Having an organized schedule will mean that you not only make time for actual coaching but also for the peripherals (social media engagements, communicating with clients, updating your course materials, etc.) that are important for your coaching business. Prioritize your goals and then assign time slots for those activities as per importance. Tasks that need more attention (any client activities take top preference) should have regular markings in your schedule whereas lesser important activities can be scheduled once a week or fortnightly. Using an automated planner is a good choice rather than getting into it manually. 

5 . Invest in a good coaching management software 

Personally, handling clients as well as the demands of running a business is fine when your client size is small. But when you scale up your business and start expanding your clientele, it can get extremely difficult, not to mention exhausting, managing multiple demands manually. 

Investing in a comprehensive, fully automated business coaching management software that offers all the features – such as client & business management, sales & marketing, pricing options, coaching tools, etc. – under a single platform will make running your coaching business easy & efficiently and help deliver quantifiable & visible results for your clients and eventually help grow your business.

6 . Offer attractive coaching packages with multiple price points & duration

Not all clients are the same – their requirements and readiness to pay are different. In order to reach a wide audience, make sure that you offer attractive coaching packages with benefits, multiple pricing options as well as durations (you can list out the offerings and benefits of every coaching package, whether it’s 1-month, 3-month, 6-month or even yearly). Having a landing page where the client can reach you and take a look at all your various services & pricing choices will help your potential client make an informed choice about your coaching services and ascertain whether they are best suited to their requirements. 

7. Stick to a single coaching model that will succeed in the long run

The intent behind starting a business and creating a coaching business plan is that you want to scale up to the next level, with the aim of acquiring more clients and thus, more revenue. For that to happen, you need to zero in on a coaching business model and then stick to it. 

A coaching company model lets you be the owner of a business that employs multiple coaches who actually do the coaching alongside you and you get a percentage of the earnings as your profit. The upside is that you don’t need to spend all your time and energy coaching and can focus on business growth, but the downside is that if the client signed up for your name, they may feel short changed that they are not getting coached by you.  

A personalized coaching model is the most personal form of coaching where you deliver your coaching services to a single client in a session. The model works better for the coachee than the coach. The coachee gets the best out of the coaching process but the coach is unable to scale up their business as their time and effort are tied to one client. But by automating this coaching model (personalized questionnaires, feedback forms, assessment reports, etc.) the coach can scale this coaching model for repeated use for other clients as well. 

A productized coaching model focuses on creating a product that can be sold over and over again. Coaching courses, training modules, and other educational material that cover a host of relevant topics are examples of how coaching can be productized. These can be made available on your own website or published via learning platforms. This is one of the more popular coaching models as the products can be sold at a more affordable rate (as there’s no direct exchange of coach’s time for money) and can bought by as many clients as possible, thus widening your client base and ensuring a stable source of income. 

8. Prepare a goal tracker to monitor short-term goals 

Set small goals to achieve and create a short-term goal tracking sheet to monitor if those goals are being achieved. When you achieve smaller goals, you are automatically getting a step closer to attaining your final objective. The goal tracker helps you stay on the path, boosts your morale, and prevents feeling frustrated & getting pressurized by the larger goal. After all, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step forward!

9. Have a solid sales funnel in place 

This is a coaching business plan that you are preparing, so naturally the intent is to bring in as many clients as possible and generate higher profits. As with any business, a solid sales & marketing strategy is the key to making it a success. 

Having a top-notch sales funnel is important – identifying the target audience, understanding customer requirements, listing all the services & products that you offer the client, presenting a comparative analysis of how your services and products are better than your closest competitors, and actually onboarding clients. 

In addition, utilizing other marketing tools such as webinars, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, blogs, vlogs, email & affiliate marketing, online forums & networks, etc., provide multiple platforms for your prospective clients to not only to become aware of your services but to also connect with you. How effective the sales funnel will be, depends on how much financial capacity you have for spending on advertising your business. 

10 . Create a strong brand for your coaching business 

A strong brand that is identifiable with quality offering is one of the best long-term assets that any business can have. An easily recognizable brand is your gateway to growing your business. While creating your coaching business brand, keep in mind a few factors such as its objective, the values you hope to convey, the assurances you are giving clients in terms of services, professional ethics and transparent business dealings.

Creating a lasting brand is not only about glossy and colour-coordinated websites and logos, it is about conveying your best qualities that enhance your credibility and brand recall to further your business growth. 

Setting up a business, running it smoothy, and making a success out of it is not an easy job, especially in this highly competitive industry. Benjamin Franklin summed it up aptly, ‘if you fail to plan, you plan to fail!’. Then why start a coaching business without a coaching business plan? Having a detailed coaching business plan is the foundation on which you can not only build but also scale up your venture. It gives you the required confidence, focus and clarity to shape a business that can provide for you monetarily and also help you leave a lasting impact as a sought-after coach. 

FAQs  

1. What is a coaching business plan? 

A coaching business plan is a framework that states your business purpose, objectives and the means to achieve those goals. It should include your unique service offering, target audience, coaching model, pricing strategy, sales & marketing approach, and proposals for business growth and expansion. It is important to have a solid coaching business plan in place before starting your business as it helps you understand the true current situation, make plans to move forward based on that reality, stay organized, avoid missteps and concentrate on the eventual business goals. 

2. Do you need certification to write a coaching business plan? 

It is not necessary to have certification to write a coaching business plan. If you have the necessary business background and experience, you can write one yourself or hire the services of an expert business coach to create one for you. 

Also, many coaching institutes offer programs and training on how to prepare a coaching business plan. You can choose to enrol in such a program and get certified on proper guidelines as well as learn the importance of having a sound coaching business plan.

About Simply.Coach

Simply.Coach  is an enterprise-grade coaching software designed to be used by individual coaches and coaching businesses. Trusted by ICF-accredited and EMCC-credentialed coaches worldwide, Simply.Coach is on a mission to elevate the experience and process of coaching with technology-led tools and solutions.  

Pallavi Godbole

An avid reader with love for books on history, sci-fi and popular fiction, Pallavi is a gifted content writer. She is also a keen listener of Indian semi & classical music. Currently, she juggles her duties of being a full-time mom with part-time content writing.

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How to Start Your Life Coaching Business Plan & Template

Perhaps like many of us, you’re unsure where to start. Maybe you’re disillusioned by the lack of clear, actionable information available and have shelved your plans – for the moment, at least.

But don’t give in. Help is at hand.

This article introduces many of the answers to the question, “How do I start a life coaching business?”

In doing so, we borrow heavily from a book written by one of our founders at PositivePsychology.com, Seph Fontane Pennock, The 7 Pillars of a Profitable Practice . It is a great read and highly recommended; however, this article offers a powerful starting point regardless, with actionable points, a business plan, and a free template.

This Article Contains

How to start your life coaching business, 3 requirements for setting up your practice, crafting your business model plan: a template, how to market and advertise your coaching business, 10 best names for coaching practices, building and promoting an online coaching business.

• 10+ Software & Forms to Use in Your Practice

A Take-Home Message

Life coaching can have far-reaching and diverse positive impacts on clients’ lives (Clutterbuck et al., 2016).

Many of us have toyed with the idea of starting a life coaching business, helping people change health-related behavior, improve wellness, boost their careers, and strive for personal goals (Karmali et al., 2020; Mann et al., 2022).

You most likely feel you have something to give: highly transferable skills learned from harsh life lessons and/or expertise in psychology, learning, leadership, self-development, and communication.

Or perhaps you are simply great at making people feel so empowered that they stop being “stuck” and take the bold steps to overcome obstacles holding them back.

Whatever your reason and motivation, we will help you get there, and the best place to begin is right here.

Begin at the beginning!

We start by recognizing our barriers.

What’s stopping us? Most likely, it’s our mindset rather than something physical. The following beliefs are potential obstacles, blocking us before we even start:

• Fear of failure : We are afraid we will not succeed.
• Not enough time: “I would give it a try, but I simply don’t have enough time.”
• Self-doubt: Our lack of confidence sabotages our entrepreneurial journey.

It’s not about ignoring the fear or letting it determine how we act; it’s about accepting it as an inherent part of our journey.

Accept fear as part of your journey.

Next, evaluate your existing time commitments. Prioritize your current tasks, dropping some of the nonessentials, and plan to set aside time to start your life coaching business. This is something you’ve dreamed of doing and aligns with your bigger life goals.

There will always be things to do, but by changing your mindset and prioritizing this dream, you will find the time to make it a reality.

Everyone has 24 hours in a day. What will you accomplish with yours?

Finally, recognize your feelings of self-doubt but don’t let them control you. Reflect on some of your past successes and reach out to those closest to you for their support, encouragement, and practical advice.

We’d like to share a great article with you that can help, as it includes tips for increasing your self-confidence. Have a look at What Is Self-Confidence? (+9 Proven Ways to Increase It) .

To build confidence, you have to practice confidence.

If we don’t start, we will never know

Now that we have faced our barriers and established a healthier relationship with them, it’s time to step outside our comfort zone and start the journey.

Who is our dream client?

We can’t be great at everything, so we need to narrow our focus and reach and find an authentic niche.

For example, perhaps you enjoy helping people in the workplace . So, maybe your dream client has worked for several years but now feels stuck in their career. They need help to reevaluate where they are, where they want to go, and how to change their mindset to move toward a more fulfilling career.

Once we’ve defined our ideal client, we can consider each of Seph’s seven pillars for starting and growing a coaching practice sustainably:

• Pillar #1 – Promise We need to be able to make a pledge to our dream client. The five Ps will help: People : Who are we helping? Place : Where are we helping them? Problem : What are we helping them solve? Product : What will we use to do this? Price : What will we charge to do it?
• Pillar #2 – Leads We need to attract more of the right sort of clients (ideally, they will contact us). We must think about how our dream client will find us, perhaps via YouTube, a blog post, a personal website, or social media (think LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, etc.).
• Pillar #3 – Clients How will we convert leads into clients? It may involve screening out those who are not a good fit for our services (depending on our coaching philosophy ) and following up quickly with compatible ones.
• Pillar #4 – Traffic Reducing the legwork associated with finding leads is crucial; ultimately, it gives us more time to help others.
• Pillar #5 – Retention Attracting and converting new leads is vital, yet so is holding on to existing clients. What potential offers can we share with existing clients to maintain (or boost) engagement?
• Pillar #6 – Products How can we generate more income without spending extra time? It might include offering group coaching sessions or additional training, downloadable PDFs, podcasts, or webinars.
• Pillar #7 – Team We can’t achieve everything alone. Over time, a successful coaching business may expand and include dedicated staff performing those administrative activities that take our time away from coaching.

What is the best platform for a life coaching business?

Traditionally, life coaching was practiced face to face and involved a great deal of manual administration behind the scenes.

Thankfully, new technology and online platforms mean we can perform coaching remotely through video calls and set up meetings, share activities, and exercises, and take notes online (Ribbers & Waringa, 2015; Kanatouri, 2020).

Our very own Quenza has been designed by and for coaches, counselors, and therapists, and that is why we believe it is the best coaching platform out there. It allows life coaches to focus on client needs, goals, and overcoming challenges and is a scalable solution for a growing business.

Do you need a business license?

You do not need specific qualifications to set up as a life coach, but accreditation can boost potential clients’ confidence in your abilities.

However, obtaining a business license is required in some locations to provide life coaching services legally. If you’re unsure whether you need a license, check with your local government agencies or consult a lawyer or accountant familiar with your jurisdiction (Lumia, 2022; Blackbyrn, 2023).

3 Best life coaching certification programs

There are many life coaching courses available. However, the International Coaching Federation (ICF) is the world’s best-known and respected coaching program certifier.

We list three of our favorite life coaching certification programs, but many others exist.

Spend time researching the one that best matches your coaching plans, availability, and budget.

• Coaching Out of the Box This fast track to ICF certification can help turn your dream of starting a life coaching business into a reality. It includes group and one-to-one coaching and certification and supports individuals as they obtain documented coaching experience.
• Barefoot Coaching This ICF and university-accredited coach training offers online coaching expertise to develop the coaching skills required as a life coach, HR professional, or business leader.
• Life Purpose Institute The institute offers the coaching tools and marketing expertise to build a life coaching practice plus the training hours required to get ICF credentials. The number of students in online courses is limited, and students can learn the skills needed to coach individuals, groups, and workshops.

For further training opportunities, see our articles, 19 Best Coaching Training Institutes and Programs and 8 Best ICF Coaching Certification Programs and Courses .

A life coaching business plan doesn’t need to be complicated and must remain current, capturing the key actions and challenges.

Use the Life Coaching Business Model Plan or one of our templates from our How to Write a Life Coaching Business Plan: 5 Templates article to create an initial plan.

In this example, we target people who feel stuck in their career or their life (or both).

Business identity

What is the business called? “Clarity Life Coaching”

Target client

Our target clients are individuals who feel stuck, lost, or uncertain in their personal or professional lives. We focus on mid-career individuals or those experiencing significant life changes, such as divorce or career transitions.

Client pain points

Our clients struggle with a lack of direction, feel overwhelmed, and lack clarity about their goals and values. They may feel stuck in unfulfilling jobs or relationships and experience high stress or anxiety.

Your solution

Clarity Life Coaching provides personalized coaching services to help individuals clarify their values, goals, and priorities. Our coaching process helps clients identify their strengths and areas for improvement, develop a plan to achieve their goals, and overcome obstacles that may stand in their way. We use various coaching techniques , including goal setting, visualization, and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.

Your competition

Several life coaching businesses in the local area provide similar services, but our unique approach and personalized coaching services set us apart from the competition. We focus on a highly customized coaching experience tailored to each client’s needs.

Revenue streams

Our revenue streams include one-on-one coaching sessions, group coaching sessions, and workshops on topics such as goal setting and stress management.

Marketing activities

We use online advertising, social media marketing, and partnerships with local businesses and community organizations. We will also attend local events and conferences to promote our services and network with potential clients.

Existing and future expenses include rent for our coaching space, coaching materials, advertising and marketing costs, and attending events and conferences.

Team and their key roles

The team will consist of one life coach responsible for providing coaching services, managing client relationships, and handling administrative tasks such as scheduling and billing.

Initial thoughts on milestones include:

• Launching the business and securing our first clients within the first three months
• Expanding our client base by 25% within the first year
• Increasing revenue by 35% within the first year
• Hosting a successful workshop or seminar within the first six months of operation

Help mid-career individuals gain clarity and direction and achieve their personal and professional goals.

Your plan will evolve and should be revisited regularly to grow and manage your life coaching practice.

For many of us, marketing and advertising can fill us with fear – an unknown and confusing process.

So here are a few valuable pointers drawn from Seph’s The 7 Pillars of a Profitable Practice and Steve Chandler’s book How to Get Clients: New Pathways to Coaching Prosperity .

Your coaching website should be like a funnel

• When your visitor arrives on your website, they should:
• Know which problem you can help them solve or which goal you can help them achieve.
• Find clear evidence of your successful track record.
• Be confident in your abilities and experience.
• Be provided with some upfront value (perhaps a free e-book).
• Do not overcomplicate the website. Consider removing unnecessary content. The goal is for traffic to arrive as visitors and leave as leads (or sales).
• Make use of a call-to-action, either:
• Offer a giveaway in exchange for their name and email.
• Allow them to sign up for their first (complimentary) coaching session.

Productive conversations

Productive conversations and creating relationships lead to new clients.

• Make sure that you follow up on discussions promptly.
• After an initial chat, ask the potential client to complete a prequalification survey.
• Don’t leave them wondering. Tell them when they will receive a follow-up email.
• Don’t be needy (even if you would like their business).
• Be aware that the client will remember how you made them feel rather than precisely what you said.
• Talk less about yourself and your coaching and listen more to their problems.

Online writing

Writing for a personal blog or elsewhere can increase your reach, get you in front of clients, and help others take you seriously. But remember:

• Aim for quality over quantity – you are targeting the right kind of traffic.
• Change your mindset from “How do I find more clients?” to “How do my dream clients find me?”
• Know what people are looking for and create resources on that topic.
• Earned reach is the organic attention that you receive. Perhaps you got a mention in a podcast or on a news website. Paid reach has a cost, such as Facebook and Instagram ads or using the Google Ads Platform. Consider both.
• If you post on your website, consider your owned reach. You should appear in the search results, so get to know which keywords people are searching for when they look for help.

In The 7 Pillars of a Profitable Practice , Seph covers in more detail how to rank for keywords and create a content marketing plan that includes platforms with active audiences, such as:

• The Huffington Post
• Entrepreneur

Ultimately, your goal is for people with problems to find you so that you can help meet their needs.

Finding the right name for your coaching business is not easy. Too obvious, and it is either likely to be already taken or so bland that it will not be memorable.

One approach involves using AI to create life coaching business names . Use it or your own research to consider and evolve potential names, thinking about:

• The customers’ first impression
• The identity and brand of your business
• The type of customer you wish to attract
• How memorable the name is (and for the right reasons)
• Whether the name is already being used

Here are 10 names to start you off:

• Coaching for Success
• The Successful Living Academy
• Evolve Coaching
• Courage Coaching
• The Breakthrough Coach
• The Change Academy
• Coaching for Vitality
• Abundant Life Coaching
• Positive Change Coaching
• The Courage Academy

The following articles offer more suggestions regarding how to build and promote an online coaching business.

• How to Get Clients for Life Coaching [5 Strategies] provides more information and guidance on nailing your business’s value proposition, marketing funnel, and online and offline strategies.
• How to Start an Online Coaching Business: Step-by-Step Plan is a practical guide for building a successful and profitable business.
• How to Start a Life Coaching Business From Scratch explores what you will need and your first moves to becoming an online coach.

10+ Software & Forms to Use in Your Practice

There are several online platforms for coaching, many of which are introduced in the article 12 Best Online Coaching Platforms & Tools .

PositivePsychology.com’s dedicated coaching software Quenza is compelling and unique because it:

• Is extraordinarily user friendly and intuitive
• Uses the latest SSL encryption to store client results to ensure HIPAA and GDPR compliance
• Is highly scalable, growing with your business
• Stores forms as customizable templates
• Securely delivers exercises and forms to clients
• Enables form completion on mobile, tablet, or desktop
• Nudges clients when they need a reminder to do something

In How to Send & Build Counseling Client Intake Forms Digitally , we explore how to create and share online forms using the Quenza platform.

Next, our two articles, Coaching Forms Toolbox: 17 Templates for Your Sessions and How to Create Feedback Forms: 3 Templates + Best Online Tool , explain how forms can be created from scratch, copied, or modified within the tool.

We suggest using the following forms:

• Pre-coaching questionnaire
• A self-contract to encourage client accountability
• Life domain satisfaction questionnaire
• Strength interview form
• Session rating scale
• Coach evaluation form
• End of therapy evaluation

Many other templates exist, including ones for visualization, mindfulness, goal setting, and benefit finding.

Fear, time constraints, and self-doubt can hold us back from starting a life coaching business. Learning to accept our barriers and shift our focus from ourselves to our clients can dramatically improve our chances of success.

Learning from the experiences of successful business owners like Seph Fontane Pennock can provide valuable insights and help us create a profitable and impactful practice.

You most likely feel like you have something to give to your dream clients. You wish to create an opportunity for positive change in their lives while delivering on a personal vision for a life coaching practice.

Creating a clear and achievable business plan can be simple and will help you find your ideal clients and offer them a path to setting and striving toward their goals.

Having read this article and been inspired to start your life coaching business, why not look at The 7 Pillars of a Profitable Practice and use the many lessons Seph learned along his journey to inform your business plans and give your clients their best chance of success?

• Blackbyrn, S. (2023, February 17). Does a life coach need a business license? Coach Foundation. Retrieved April 20, 2023, from https://coachfoundation.com/blog/life-coach-business-license/.
• Clutterbuck, D., David, S. A., & Megginson, D. (Eds.). (2016). Beyond goals: Effective strategies for coaching and mentoring.  Routledge.
• Lumia. (2022, August 4). Does a life coach need a business license and insurance? Lumia. Retrieved April 20, 2023, from https://www.lumiacoaching.com/blog/does-a-life-coach-need-a-business-license.
• Kanatouri, S. (2020). The digital coach . Routledge.
• Karmali, S., Battram, D. S., Burke, S. M., Cramp, A., Mantler, T., Morrow, D., Ng, V., Pearson, E. S., Petrella, R., Tucker, P., & Irwin, J. D. (2020). Clients’ and coaches’ perspectives of a life coaching intervention for parents with overweight/obesity. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring , 18 (2), 115–132.
• Mann, A., Leigh Fainstad, T., Shah, P., Dieujuste, N., & Jones, C. D. (2022). “It’s nice to know I’m not alone”: The impact of an online life coaching program on wellness in graduate medical education: A qualitative analysis. A cademic Medicine , 97 (11S), S166–S166.
• Ribbers, A., & Waringa, A. (2015). E-coaching: Theory and practice for a new online approach to coaching . Routledge.

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How to Start a Coaching Business from Scratch: A Step-by-Step Guide

by Stacey Hagen | Business

Related Posts

When you start a coaching business, you also become a business owner. So aside from coaching skils, you’ll also need a variety of business skills. If you’re thinking about starting a coaching business from scratch, here are some essential steps to get started.

Table of Contents

Step 1: Define your coaching niche. 

Step 2: do market research to better understand your ideal client., step 3: set up your business infrastructure, step 4: develop a business plan, step 5: create your core message, step 6: build your coaching packages, step 7: create a brand and website, step 8: create a marketing strategy to attract clients, step 9: define your sales process for your coaching business, step 10: commit to your learning and growth., ready to start building your coaching business.

Any good coach training program will give you the basic skills to coach practically anyone. However, “anyone” is not a good target market, and so you’ll want to define your coaching niche when you start your business.

Do you want to coach people on their careers, their relationships, their health, their business? Are you a career coach, a life coach, a business coach, a wellness coach?

You’ll want to choose a niche where you have both expertise on the subject matter and passion for what you do.

After you’ve defined your coaching niche, you’ll want to take it a step further to define your ideal client.

If your niche is career coaching, you’ll want to identify who you are coaching. Are you a career coach for new moms who are returning to the workforce or for tech professionals who are burned out? Are you a relationship coach for newly divorced women or for newly married couples?

You want to go beyond choosing your area of focus and define who you want to serve. Although this can be tricky when you’re just starting out, taking time to do market research for your coaching business will help you learn and understand who you can best serve. 

When you are starting a coaching business, you are also starting a business, which is a legal and financial entity. You’ll want to set up your business infrastructure, including registering your business, deciding if you’ll start as a sole proprietor or LLC, obtaining any necessary licenses or permits, and setting up systems for payments, bookkeeping, and taxes. Starting off on the right foot legally and financially will make your business run a lot smoother operationally, especially as you scale and grow.

A coaching business plan can serve as a roadmap that outlines your business goals, strategies, and financial projections. It’s important to develop a business plan to help you stay focused and on track as you start and grow your coaching business. Your coaching business plan should include details about your coaching niche, target market, marketing strategies, pricing, and financial projections. You can download my free coaching business plan template here.

Your core message is that key statement that explains who you are, who you serve, and how it helps. More than an elevator pitch, your core message must resonate with your ideal clients by speaking to their needs and desires, while communicating how you can help. Creating a clear core message will help you establish yourself as a coach and differentiate yourself from other coaches in your niche. Check out this post on how to define your core message .

Coaching packages are specific containers that you design with the intention of helping your clients achieve the goals they hope to achieve while working with you. Even though each client is different, when you know your ideal clients, you can identify and understand their main challenges and desires, and create packages that support them in achieving that. Even if you decide to offer one-off sessions, creating coaching packages can help you serve your clients in a deeper way, while allowing you to better manage your own time, energy, and finances.

Creating a strong coaching brand and website helps you attract clients and give prospective clients information on who you are and what you do. Think of your website as your online home and your brand as the color, decor, and personality of your home.

Your website allows you to establish an online presence, showcase your expertise, and share content that can attract your ideal audience. Your coaching brand differentiates you from other coaches and helps to build trust, credibility, and an emotional connection with your audience. Building your coaching brand can help you stand out in a crowded marketplace and expand your impact by reaching more people. 

When you start a coaching business, you want to do what you love: COACH! That means you need coaching clients. To find coaching clients, you need to have a way to attract, nurture, and convert prospective clients into paying clients. There are many ways to attract clients, such as networking, social media, and SEO. You can also offer free coaching sessions or webinars to build trust and establish yourself as an expert. You can find more on this blog post on 21 ways to market your coaching business . 

Marketing your coaching business will help you attract clients and build your audience. You’ll also need a sales process to bring the right fit clients into working with you at the right time. Many coaches start by offering a free coaching consultation to anyone who is interested in working with them. You can optimize your sales consultation process by using intake forms and pre-call communications to give your prospective clients the information they need to go further, as well as to ensure you’re getting the right fit clients on the consultation calls with you. 

As a coach, you’re likely passionate about your growth and development. (That’s probably what led you to coaching in the first place!) So you’ll want to keep up on your own personal development and training. You can do this by enrolling in training programs, attending industry conferences, and even hiring a coach for yourself . This will not only help you improve as a coach, but also demonstrate your commitment to providing high-quality services to your clients.

Starting a coaching business from scratch requires not only good coaching skills, but solid business planning skills as well. Through defining your niche, developing a business plan, creating a brand and website, and focusing on your marketing and sales, you can establish a successful coaching business that serves your ideal clients and allows you to do what you love: coach! 

Take the first step to building your coaching business from scratch with this free checklist.

Hi. Just completing my coaching qualification and preparing a business plan to set up my business as a Holistic Life Coach. Looking for guidance?

Hi John! Congrats on starting your business! A first step I would recommend is getting the Coaching Business Checklist, so you can see all of the pieces that go into starting a business. Here’s a link to the checklist: https://www.createcoachingconsulting.com/free-resources/coaching-business-checklist/

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If you want to build a business and brand while being true to yourself, you're in the right place. I share business and marketing tips to help you do business your way.

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How to start a life coaching business, share this article.

If you’re someone with an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for helping others, consider starting your own life coaching business! Life coaches can make an uncapped income as there are plenty of ways to monetize your knowledge, including live coaching sessions, downloadable resources, social selling, and more. This guide will walk through the basics of getting set up as a life coach to start growing your industry reputation and earning your first few clients. Already know a bit and looking for something specific? Dive straight to your preferred topic here: 

Table of contents:

The role of a life coach

• Requirements to be a life coach
• Training and certification requirements
• Marketing your life coaching services
• Tips for getting your first client
• Tips for growing your business

Free life coaching templates

Life coaches are important for helping people achieve their goals. There are many specialities in the field, including focuses on:

• Relationships
• Daily habits

Many coaches are there to help clients understand their goals, identify metrics for success, and build a plan to get there within a specific time frame. Life coaches are there as a support system to help work out new solutions to challenges that are preventing their clients from reaching the next level of improvement that they’re seeking. Most client and coaching relationships will last for the long-term.

Requirements to start working as a life coach

While getting started as a life coach is a relatively easy thing to do, it’s not for just anyone. Here are a few core things you’ll need to get started:

Experience 

Of course you’ll need some life experience of your own. Depending on where you specialize, this experience can vary greatly but you should aim to have at least 5 full years of experience in your niche with a diverse range of situations covered in that time. Ideally, this experience will also be from a professional setting rather than personal experience but it’s okay to have your knowledge come from a blend of sources. 

You’ll also need to have your own coaching program built out that you can walk clients through. This doesn’t need to be tried-and-tested, but it would be great if you could get feedback on it from someone in your target audience before you use it in practice. 

As you’ll work closely with many of your clients, it is important to have strong interpersonal skills such as being good at making connections with strangers, high emotional intelligence (EI), and the ability to be confident on camera (if you plan to host your coaching sessions over video conferencing). And don’t forget about great business management skills! Most of your time will involve managing budget, scheduling meetings or content, and reporting on business successes. 

At your core, you will need to be passionate about what you’re teaching. As a life coach, your main responsibility is to inspire clients to lead a better, more fulfilling life. You can’t do this if you’re not passionate about the conversation or if you don’t feel motivated to support other people on their own journeys.

Fortunately, becoming a life coach isn’t cost prohibitive for most people. With your own skills and passion, you’ll just need to invest in a few tools, certification programs, and business administration costs such as website domains and legal set-up fees. If you’re hosting your life coaching business in a physical office space, you will also need to consider the costs of renting the office, commuting to and from work, and purchasing office supplies or furniture. 

Getting life coach training and certification

It sounds a bit funny, but to become a life coach to train other people on how to live out their dreams, you also need to go through a bit of training. This helps prove your knowledge and experience to new potential clients. The International Coaching Federation (ICF) hosts plenty of courses to learn from in a variety of niches or you can check out these highly rated courses . They also offer continuing education credits that can be earned through attendance at select conferences in your niche, completion of more advanced courses, or engagement with the local community on select initiatives related to your coaching business. 

Building a life coaching business plan

The key to making your life coaching business successful is to thoughtfully and strategically plan how your business will be created, organized, and promoted. 

Understanding your target audience

Before you begin anything related to content creation, lead generation, or actual coaching, take time to understand your target audience . It’s best to have a narrow view on who you plan to serve. This will help you develop niche marketing messaging that will have a better appeal to your audience and a higher likelihood of leads converting to sales down the line. For example, rather than saying you’re wanting to help anyone improve their relationships, focus on a more specific segment such as recent divorcees or LGBTQ+ groups.  

Determine your own personal brand

Building your own personal brand identity helps potential clients understand and relate to you before they’re officially working with you. Your brand identity should strongly align to the needs and interests of your target audience. It will also affect which marketing channels you use and the style of your content later on. As you grow and experiment with your business plan, your brand identity can change too. But it’s good to have a starting point when you first kick things off.

Identifying marketing strategies

There are plenty of marketing tactics you can use to promote your new life coaching business. Before we jump into different approaches, it’s important to understand the difference between these terms:

It’s important to consider your budget when selecting a marketing tactic. There are many paid and unpaid options available. For example:

Paid marketing options include:

• Advertising on social media or search engines (eg. Google Ads )
• Out-of-home advertising such as posters or billboards
• Paying a third party website for a digital newsletter or display ad sponsorship

Unpaid marketing options include:

• Writing your own content like blogs or whitepapers to try and earn SEO rankings
• Recording podcast episodes and posting them on YouTube
• Designing your own social media graphics with Canva and posting them

Creating a sales funnel

A sales funnel guides your audience from the first time they learn about your business to becoming a paying client, to eventually even referring your services to a new client. The most basic sales funnel stages include:

• Awareness: This is the stage where you introduce your life coaching services and explain the benefits. 
• Intrigue: At this level, you’re trying to convince a potential client why they should keep learning more about you. Leverage thought leadership here.
• Decision-making: Now, it’s important to show how your coaching services stand out from other life coaches in the area. Talk about your certifications, experience, and industry reputation.
• Conversion : This is when clients are ready to start paying you for your services!
• Post-conversion : Consider upsell or referral opportunities to boost customer loyalty. Maintaining a customer is much more affordable than generating a new client, and it helps improve your reputation to have long-term clients. 

Planning the post-sell customer journey

Maintaining and growing with your client base in the long-term is so important that it deserves its own focus area. The main three ways of leveraging your existing clients for future success are:

Keeping them where they are

Repeat, stable business is good business! Having regularly recurring meetings and working with your client on their life goals can bring in steady income that is an important part of growth. As a best practice, don’t try to convert all of your existing clients to higher paying options at the same time. You’ll appreciate having some stability in your business. 

Finding opportunities for upselling

If a client is ready to take their services to the next level, such as going from a group coaching session to a one-on-one training session, make sure you have a plan to nurture them through this upsell process. You can also offer upsell opportunities by selling content like e-books, research papers, workbooks, or other tools that they need to reach their goals. 

Encourage customer referrals

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a measure of success for many businesses as the higher this number is, the more likely your customers are to scream your name from the rooftop when it comes to referring new business your way. It’s a good idea to run your NPS surveys with clients every few months. You can also consider offering clients incentives for referrals, such as 50% their next session. This is a fantastic approach to use if you have a customer who may not be able to spend more money with you or may not use your services for a long time but still had a positive experience. 

Tips to get your first client

• Build network connections . Building trust with your clients is necessary for your first interactions to go well, and what better way to earn trust than by having a connection to someone in your network! Talk with your LinkedIn connections, meet people at events, or engage with community activities.
• Engage with your target audience where they are . Spend time researching where your target audience finds information and post your promotional activities solely on those channels. Don’t spend time experimenting with new channels with less engagement from your target audience until you have a strong cash flow and book of business. 
• Offer a free trial . This isn’t a good long-term solution for monetizing your skills, but it is a good way to give new clients a risk-free way to try working with you. For example, offer your first five clients to have their first session with you for free. 
• Focus on establishing industry reputation . Continue developing thought leadership content like blogs or whitepapers, or be a guest on an industry podcast . This helps you generate leads and shows off your knowledge.
• Build a strong online presence . When potential clients search for you, they’ll want to see that you have an online presence to show credibility, which may include a website, LinkedIn profile, contributions to other websites, or other relevant social channels. Over time, reviews & testimonials will help here too. 

How to scale a coaching business

• Continuously experiment. Even if you have experience running other businesses, the strategies that made that business successful might not be the same ones that make this one grow. A/B testing is a popular approach to experimentation that allows you to test multiple versions of something at the same time then eventually convert to just using the top performer after the testing period ends.
• Collect feedback. Ask your clients about their experience. Reflect on things like how they found out about your business, what they wish they knew early on, and areas that they’d like to see you improve or expand. Try not to take feedback too harshly and instead view it as areas to continue growing your business in a positive direction that works best for your client base.
• Identify new areas of expansion. You can do more than just selling your coaching services. A great way to scale sales is to monetize digital products , like templates, workbooks, or pre-recorded videos. If you’re using Thinkific to host your coaching business, you can also leverage it for selling digital products too. 
• Leverage automation and AI. Many coaches spend a lot of their day planning, creating schedules, ideating solutions for their clients to improve, and organizing their work. Luckily, AI can take some of that workload off your shoulders! For example, SaneBox can help with managing your inbox when it’s full from client requests and Descript can help you edit videos or podcasts before you add them to your coaching courses or marketing content.
• Don’t be afraid to cut things that aren’t working. As you continuously review and experiment with things around your business, you’ll notice things that do work well and things that don’t . Whether it’s a marketing strategy, approach to coaching, or even if your niche just doesn’t have as much traction as you thought it would, know that it’s okay to pivot. It’s okay to stop putting energy into areas that aren’t providing a good investment and re-allocate those resources into new areas. 

We wanted to provide a bit of extra support as you kick off your life coaching journey. Try one of these free life coaching templates that will help you with setting goals for your business, reflecting on your business growth and experimentation, logging client progress, and more.

Several templates can also be used to guide clients through their own goal setting and progress check-ins! 

It’s an exciting and easy time to start a life coaching business! If you’re passionate about helping people in a specific niche, trained to coach people, and ready to put your business management skills to work, this role could present you with uncapped income. With so many great digital tools available, the set-up requirements and costs are fairly low to get started. Many content creation, promotional, and client management tools have free plans available and platforms like Zoom can allow you to connect with clients from anywhere. Thinkific gathers your material in one place to make it easy for new potential clients to find and purchase your life coaching services, whether that’s in the form of live sessions or downloadable assets. Try Thinkific for free here today ! 

With 4+ years of experience leading brands in the tech & security industry, Alexandria loves to write about making the day-to-day more efficient. In her free time, she enjoys biking and traveling to find hidden gems around the world!

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How to Create a Simple Business Plan for Your Coaching Business

So… you’ve decided to start a coaching business? Or maybe to get more clarity within your current coaching business? Either way… congrats! The brainstorming phase is now over and it’s time to develop a plan of action. That’s right, it’s time to create your business plan!

Now before you freak out, take a deep breath. We are going to make this process as simple as possible for you. Unless you are applying for a loan, you do not need a traditional business plan. Do you know those crazy 300 page documents with all those charts? Yeah… those. We’re not going to make you do that! Together, we are going to create a short, sweet, but powerful mini-coaching business plan.

Inside this blog post you’ll learn:

✔️ Why you need a coaching business plan.

✔️ What to do before you start writing your plan.

✔️ What to include in your coaching business plan.

Why you need a coaching business plan.

A coaching business plan is really about clarity and focus for you, your partners, your investors, and your executive team. This plan will help you build a business that will support you financially, have an impact on those around you, and leave a lasting legacy you can be proud of.

The research you have to conduct to finalize a coaching business plan will help you peer into the future and predict different outcomes. Though it’s certainly not perfect, it helps you map out where you currently are and where you’re headed.

Get Your Free Coaching Business Checklist!

Fill out this form to access our free comprehensive business checklist with 149+ actionable tasks to setup your coaching business for success.

Plus, join our email list to stay up to date.

Specifically, a business plan helps you…

• Estimate total startup costs
• Understand your target audience
• Compete from the start
• Anticipate challenges

Bottom line? A business plan helps keep you on track. It ensures that you focus your attention on the right things and helps you avoid mistakes that could sink you.

Ready? We’re going to walk you step-by-step through the process of creating a solid business plan.

What you need to know before you start writing a business plan.

At Lovely Impact, we are all about dreaming big. Have you seen our tagline? “Launch your coaching website. IMPACT THE WORLD.”

We truly believe truly in that mission. However, every coaching business has to start somewhere. Unfortunately, many business plans are wildly unrealistic. The initial excitement of starting the business often causes coaches to massively overestimate how successful they’ll be and underestimate the challenges they’ll encounter.

In order to be effective, a coaching business plan needs to be realistic. Before you launch, you want to be relatively confident that you have a good chance of succeeding.

In many ways, a business plan should help you decide whether your coaching niche and business idea will pan out. It’s possible that you may put together your business plan and then realize that the potential outcome isn’t as bright as you initially thought. That’s okay. It forces you to go back to the drawing board.

This is why taking the necessary time to do the market research, analyze your financial needs, and map out your strategy for the future is super important. Don’t look at being realistic as the thing that’s preventing you from dreaming big. View it as building a foundation for a successful, long-lasting business.

What to include in your coaching business plan

We want you to put a lot of thought into each section of your coaching business plan. To help, we’ve not only included a free download in our Free Resource Library , but we’ve also broken each part down for you:

Section 1: Mission Statement: Keep your mission statement concise and specific but make sure anyone reading it will have a full understanding of your business. Your mission statement should include what you do, how you do it, who you do it for, and what value or need you are serving.

Section 2: Executive Summary: In this section, you should describe your business in more detail. What type of business is it? Why did you start this business? What does it mean to you and your customers? What industries do you service?

Section 3: Products and Services: Here you’ll want to list out and describe all of the products and services your business will offer. But we want you to dig a little deeper by including pricing and materials needed to provide them to your customers.

Section 4: Targeted Audience: Now it’s time to describe your ideal customer. Include demographics, influencers, trends, where they are online, and more. Don’t get too obsessed with this. In chapter 3 we’ll be doing a deeper dive on marketing research.

Section 5: Customer Needs: What need is your business fulfilling? Here you’ll need to discuss the pain points and frustrations of your potential customers, and how your business will solve those problems.

Section 6: Customer Acquisition: In this part of the plan, you’ll discuss where your customers are and how you will reach them. Include social media platforms, forums, magazines they read, activities they frequent, etc. Explain how you will use these mediums to promote your business and reach your customers.

Section 7: Competitive Advantage: What makes your business so unique? This is where you explain why you are better than your competition, how your products and services stand out, and what make you different.

Section 8: Owner Passion: Here’s a section that many don’t add to their business plans, but that’s the point of this course right? Describing why you are personally passionate about this business is important to keep you motivated. Be sure also to include your three top qualities that you will put into your business.

Section 9: Finances: Here we go! Don’t panic. For this part, we will keep it very simple. What are your financial goals? How will you fund this business? Finally, what is the cost to start this business?

Section 10: Business Goals: For this part, list what goals you plan to accomplish in 6 months, one year, and five years from now.

Download our free the coaching business plan worksheet

Ready to get started writing your coaching business plan? Head on over to our free resource library and look for the “MINI COACHING BUSINESS PLAN”. This guided workbook goes along with this blog post and was developed to help you create a short, sweet, but powerful mini-coaching business plan.

Sign up here: https://lovelyimpact.com/free-resource-library-for-coaches >>

About The Author

Hey! I’m Tee, a brand and marketing coach and the Co-Founder & CMO at Lovely Impact, a website template shop for coaches. I help coaches grow their coaching businesses digitally. Here on our blog, my content focuses on web design, marketing, business, and social media strategy.

Tee, thank you so much for this article! I’m planning to download the mini coaching business plan because I love how you laid it out here!

Hi Laura! I’m so glad this helped 🙂 The mini coaching business plan is laid out exactly like this, so if the article helped the download will follow the same process.

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Health Coaching Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Health Coaching Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their health coaching companies.

If you’re unfamiliar with creating a health coaching business plan, you may think creating one will be a time-consuming and frustrating process. For most entrepreneurs it is, but for you, it won’t be since we’re here to help. We have the experience, resources, and knowledge to help you create a great business plan.

In this article, you will learn some background information on why business planning is important. Then, you will learn how to write a health coaching business plan step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What is a Health Coaching Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your health coaching business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategies for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan for a Health Coaching Business

If you’re looking to start a health coaching business or grow your existing health coaching company, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your health coaching business to improve your chances of success. Your health coaching business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Health Coaching Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a health coaching business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans, and angel investors. When it comes to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to ensure that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for health coaching companies.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a business plan for a health coaching business.

If you want to start a health coaching business or expand your current one, you need a business plan. The guide below details the necessary information for how to write each essential component of your health coaching business plan.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your executive summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the kind of health coaching business you are running and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a health coaching business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of health coaching businesses?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan.

• Give a brief overview of the health coaching industry.
• Discuss the type of health coaching business you are operating.
• Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers.
• Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy. Identify the key members of your team.
• Offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Overview

In your company overview, you will detail the type of health coaching business you are operating.

For example, you might specialize in one of the following types of health coaching businesses:

• Fitness health coaching : Fitness health coaches work with clients to improve overall health by eating balanced meals and creating a comprehensive fitness plan.
• Holistic health coaching: Coaches offer plant-based diets, along with integrated mind and body health platforms.
• Wellness health coaching: Wellness health coaches concentrate on clients’ behavioral and mind-body integration.
• Nutritional health coaching : Primarily focused on nutritional balance and performance in the body, nutritional health coaches work to reduce food allergies and other irritants to good health via selective eating plans.

In addition to explaining the type of health coaching business you will operate, the company overview needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of clients served, the number of cases with positive outcomes, reaching X number of successful clients, etc.
• Your legal business Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry or market analysis, you need to provide an overview of the health coaching industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the health coaching industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your marketing strategy, particularly if your analysis identifies market trends.

The third reason is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your health coaching business plan:

• How big is the health coaching industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential target market for your health coaching business? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your health coaching business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: individuals, families, and HR personnel in corporations.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of health coaching business you operate. Clearly, individuals would respond to different marketing promotions than HR personnel in corporations, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, including a discussion of the ages, genders, locations, and income levels of the potential customers you seek to serve.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can recognize and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other health coaching businesses.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t directly competing with your product or service. This includes medical clinics, alternative healers, and fitness gyms. You need to mention direct competition, as well.

For each direct competitor, provide an overview of their business and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as

• What types of customers do they serve?
• What type of health coaching business are they?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide options for the uninsured?
• Will you offer health products or services that your competition doesn’t?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a health coaching business plan, your marketing strategy should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of health coaching company that you documented in your company overview. Then, detail the specific products or services you will be offering. For example, will you provide holistic health coaching with a balanced program of all components: mind, body, and spirit?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your plan, you are presenting the products and/or services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the site of your health coaching company. Document where your company is situated and mention how the site will impact your success. For example, is your health coaching business located in a busy retail district, a business district, or in a standalone office? Discuss how your site might be the ideal location for your customers.

Promotions : The final part of your health coaching marketing plan is where you will document how you will drive potential customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertise in health and natural wellness magazines
• Reach out to websites
• Distribute flyers
• Engage in email marketing
• Advertise on social media platforms
• Improve the SEO (search engine optimization) on your website for targeted keywords

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your health coaching business, including answering calls, planning and providing coaching sessions, billing clients,  etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to book your Xth session, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your health coaching business to a new city.

Management Team

To demonstrate your health coaching business’ potential to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing health coaching businesses. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act as mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing a health coaching business or successfully running a small natural health store.

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statements.

Income Statement

An income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenue and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you see 10 clients per day, and/or offer packaged sessions? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets

Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your health coaching business, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a lender writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement

Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and ensure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt.

When creating your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a health coaching business:

• Cost of equipment and office supplies
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Other start-up expenses (if you’re a new business) like legal expenses, permits, computer software, and equipment

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your office location lease or a list of insurance plans you accept.

Writing a business plan for your health coaching business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert and understand how to start a health coaching business. You will understand the health coaching industry, your competition, and your customers. You will develop a marketing strategy and will understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful health coaching business.

Health Coaching Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my health coaching business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily write your health coaching business plan.

How Do You Start a Health Coaching Business?

Starting a Health Coaching business is easy with these 14 steps:

• Choose the Name for Your Health Coaching Business
• Create Your Health Coaching Business Plan
• Choose the Legal Structure for Your Health Coaching Business
• Secure Startup Funding for Your Health Coaching Business (If Needed)
• Secure a Location for Your Business
• Register Your Health Coaching Business with the IRS
• Open a Business Bank Account
• Get a Business Credit Card
• Get the Required Business Licenses and Permits
• Get Business Insurance for Your Health Coaching Business
• Buy or Lease the Right Health Coaching Business Equipment
• Develop Your Health Coaching Business Marketing Materials
• Purchase and Setup the Software Needed to Run Your Health Coaching Business
• Open for Business

Where Can I Download a Free Business Plan Template PDF?

Click here to download the pdf version of our basic business plan template.

Our free business plan template pdf allows you to see the key sections to complete in your plan and the key questions that each must answer. The business plan pdf will definitely get you started in the right direction.

We do offer a premium version of our business plan template. Click here to learn more about it. The premium version includes numerous features allowing you to quickly and easily create a professional business plan. Its most touted feature is its financial projections template which allows you to simply enter your estimated sales and growth rates, and it automatically calculates your complete five-year financial projections including income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements. Here’s the link to our Ultimate Business Plan Template.

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Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.   Click here to hire someone to write a business plan for you from Growthink’s team.

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I was LinkedIn's first head of HR. PIPs don't work — there's a better way to help struggling employees.

• Steve Cadigan has led HR teams at top companies for over three decades.
• He has seen how performance-improvement plans (PIPs) often fracture relationships between managers and employees. 
• The better alternative to PIPs allows employees to mutually agree to separate from the company.

Over the past three decades, I've witnessed various approaches to performance-improvement plans (PIPs) as an HR executive across five different industries and three countries.

Often, the traditional approach to PIPs — slapping them on employees who are underperforming without offering sufficient support — can feel punitive rather than constructive to many employees, fostering an environment of fear and mistrust.

But PIPs often fail to achieve their intended outcomes for a variety of reasons — from inadequately prepared managers to breakdowns in communication between managers and employees to subjective judgments of performance .

In my experience, the primary reason for the failure of PIPs lies in the irreparable fracture they create in the relationship between the employee and manager. Once the PIP process begins, this fracture in trust is seldom repaired. The atmosphere becomes palpably tense, and trust begins to erode.

PIPs lead to an irreparable fracture in the relationship

Recent stories of employees feeling unfairly targeted and demoralized and complaints of mishandling of PIPs have illuminated the complexities and challenges inherent in performance management.

These stories serve as cautionary tales, highlighting the potential pitfalls of traditional PIPs and the need for organizations to rethink their approach to managing underperformance.

Even if an employee successfully meets the objectives outlined in the PIP, the underlying tension and strain on the relationship often persist, adversely impacting productivity and morale not only for the manager and the employee, but for the entire team.

Related stories

I've rarely seen managers more tense than when addressing a PIP. These conditions don't set the stage for a productive process. At their core, PIPs should reflect an organization's commitment to achieving high performance. They should identify areas for improvement, set clear expectations, and provide a roadmap for progress.

A better approach involves choice

From 1998 to 2004, I was an HR executive at Cisco Systems, where I encountered a novel approach to the traditional PIP process.

Prior to my arrival, Cisco had recognized that something was broken in the PIP process. The HR team conducted a thorough analysis of PIPs across the company and made a fascinating discovery: most individuals placed on a PIP left the company within a year , regardless of whether their performance improved.

They spoke with many of the employees who survived their PIP and improved their performance yet still chose to leave, and the story they heard had a similar refrain. The employees felt their managers did not really support them, they no longer felt they were in a safe work environment, and many felt humiliated and deeply hurt by the process.

Looking at the data and listening to employees, the HR team developed a new approach that involved choice. Employees who were not performing to an acceptable level were offered two options:

Enter a PIP and try to improve, or

Mutually agree to separate from the company and receive more severance than they would if they failed the PIP.

By presenting employees with this alternative path, Cisco empowered them to make decisions aligned with their personal circumstances. This approach also alleviated stress for managers, enabling them to focus on other priorities. The conversations became more constructive, and employees appreciated being given a choice rather than feeling cornered into a dead-end PIP.

Challenge conventional practices

In the years since leaving Cisco, I've introduced this alternative approach to other organizations, contributing to healthier cultures and more constructive environments .

Performance evaluation is inherently subjective, and no process can eliminate all conflicts or unexpected reactions. However, offering employees a choice rather than a one-way ticket to a PIP can lead to more positive outcomes and healthier work environments.

As HR professionals and organizational leaders, it's our responsibility to challenge conventional practices and explore innovative solutions. By rethinking performance management and embracing alternative approaches, we can create a culture of trust, transparency, and continuous improvement where both employees and organizations thrive.

Steve Cadigan is a talent advisor to leaders and organizations around the world. He specializes in helping firms build talent strategies for the modern workplace.

Watch: Jill Kramer, CMO of Accenture, says disability inclusion should be baked into creative briefs

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Moscow International Business Centre (MIBC)

The Moscow International Business Centre (MIBC) is an ambitious engineering project in the centre of Moscow. The site is

Estimated Investment

$12 billion

Construction Started

Moscow, Russia

Project Type

Business complex (city within a city)

CITY JSC, Moscow City Government

The Moscow International Business Centre (MIBC) is an ambitious engineering project in the centre of Moscow. The site is on an old urban area near the river embankment. The goal of the project is to create a new business district within the city.

The whole complex is to be built on a 100ha site (divided into 30 plots) designated for new development on the Krasnopresnenskaya embankment. The management company for the project is CITY Joint Stock Company (CITY JSC), a company first set up in 1992 as a collaboration between the Russian government and private investors.

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The project was first launched in the early 1990s but has been stalled for much of the last 10 years due to a lack of investment. In 2003 the project started to attract investment again and has been gaining momentum ever since.

PLOT 1: BAGRATION BRIDGE AND TOWER 2000 OFFICE COMPLEX

The first major building constructed in the MIBC project on Plot 1 was the Bagration Bridge (pedestrian bridge) and mall, completed in 1999. The second project was the Tower 2000 office complex, a multi-use business complex begun in 1996 and completed in 2001. The building is 106m high and has 30 storeys above ground and four storeys below. The total floor area of the complex is 60,000m².

The underground area contains parking garages, restaurants, retail areas and a fitness centre. Floors 3–15 and 17–26 are business offices while floors 8 and 27 have a media centre, large exhibition hall and piano bar.

The business areas are served by structured cable network, fibre optic cable, satellite broadcasting, Wi Fi and ADSL Internet access, automatic digital telephone exchange with integration of services, local broadcasting system, municipal broadcasting network, electric timing system, data collection and processing system, audio and video systems, simultaneous interpreting system, conference system, video projection system and security systems including biometric access control and a monitoring system.

The tower also has a central air conditioning system, auxiliary exhaust ventilation system, cooler and heat supply systems, Uninterruptible Power Supply system (UPS), automatic fire security system, automatic volumetric fire-fighting system, sprinkler system and automatic smoke removal system.

The general contractor for the tower was Promstroytechnologia-M Company Ltd. The facade of the tower, which is made of glass and structured concrete, was constructed by Transwall Technology. The tower is equipped with 17 computerised rapid elevators, supplied and installed by Schindler Aufzuege AG, and an outer panoramic elevator, supplied and installed by Kone Lifts. The exterior lighting equipment was supplied and installed by Thorn.

PLOTS 2 AND 3: MOSCOW WEDDING PALACE AND CITY SQUARE

The sites designated by plots 2 and 3 are now to be developed as the Moscow Wedding Palace and City Square. This will include a city square, an underground retail complex and a 14 storey multipurpose complex, which will include the Wedding Palace, banquet halls, restaurants, shops and a hotel.

The developer is Capital City Developments. The architect is Mosproject – 2. The construction started in 2005 and is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2007.

PLOT 4: AQUAPARK

The Aquapark leisure complex was started in 2002 and was completed in 2005. The site occupies a 1.74ha area adjacent to Krasnopresnenskaya embankment. It includes:

• Complex of swimming pools, water mountains and leisure attractions, restaurants and cafes and retail areas (24,352m²)
• Five-star, 30-storey hotel complex (54,640m²) built on a six-storey podium containing retail areas, restaurants and nightclubs
• Parking to accommodate 425 vehicles (13,050m²)
• The aqua park will be connected with a mooring on the Moscva River

The developer of the complex was Aqua-City Palas Company Ltd. The project required an estimated investment of $230 million. The general contractor was Liard Stroy Ltd and the designers were Mosproekt-2 of Russia and Tkhomesto Engineering of Finland.

PLOTS 6, 7 AND 8: UNDERGROUND MALL AND METRO STATIONS

A large underground complex containing the central core of the MIBC, an underground mall and two metro stations is located on these plots. Construction started in late 2001 on the 5.1ha site and was completed in mid-2004. The complex has a total floor area of 150,000m² and includes:

• 35,000m² shopping mall
• 20,000m² multi-purpose performance complex
• 10,000m² dancing complex
• 15,500m² sports and leisure complex
• 30,000m² ‘Wonderful World of Entertainment’ theme park
• 7,000m² restaurant complex
• 30,000m² hotel

The complex developer was CITY JSC and the designers were Mosproekt-2. The construction engineers were Bovis Europe and Jones Lang Lassale of the UK.

PLOT 9: CAPITAL CITY PROJECT

This project involves the construction of two connected tower blocks and a dome. The towers will be of 73 and 62 storeys high, with a 16-storey domed building containing an atrium. Connecting the buildings will be a podium building with three storeys above ground and 4–6 below ground.

The lower levels of each tower will be for office space (200,000m²), while the upper levels (above 80m) will be residential and the dome will be used as a retail area. The investment for the project is $250 million.

The developer is Capital Group; the construction engineers are Bouygues Construction and the architects are Erick van Egeraat Associated Architects of Holland. Construction has been underway since 2005 and the project is scheduled for completion in mid-2007.

PLOT 10: NABEREZHNAYA TOWER

This project involves the construction of a new office and apartment complex consisting of three A-Class buildings 16 (86m), 27 (135m) and 52 (250m) storeys high, with a total floor area of 220,000m². The construction began in mid-2003 on the 2.55ha site with the smallest of the three buildings.

The first building was completed in autumn 2004. Enka, a Turkish construction company , is carrying out the development and construction. Enka has invested a total of $150 million so far. Work is continuing on the other two buildings with completion expected in 2007.

PLOTS 11 AND 12: MIXED-USE TOWER BLOCK

The major project on these plots will be a 300m, 75-storey, mixed-use tower block with over 204,000m² of floor space. The facilities will include commercial and government offices, residential areas, retail space, leisure and health centres and a four-star hotel.

Offices will occupy the floors 4–45, while apartments are on floors 48–66. The building was designed as a two-tier skyscraper, 30 floors in the first tier and 37 in the second one. The second floor of the building will be occupied by a casino. The 47th floor will be occupied by a gymnasium.

The designers for the project are Swanke Hayden Connell Architects and the investors are Techinvest, who are investing $270 million. The contractors for the construction are Summa, a Turkish development company. Groundwork was carried out by Kaskatas. Construction on the building started in the third quarter of 2004 with completion scheduled for late 2006.

PLOT 13: FEDERATION OFFICE COMPLEX

The Federatsiya (Federation) office complex is to consist of two towers, one 57 storeys high and the other 87 storeys (345m), and a podium. The 87-storey tower will hold offices and the 57-storey tower will include residential apartments and a hotel. The total floor area of the complex will be 240,000m².

The podium will have three to five levels and 30,000m² of floor space and will contain retail areas, banking facilities, cafes, restaurants and leisure facilities. The complex will have 14 lifts built between the two towers, including four ‘Shuttle’ round-observation lifts.

Stroimontage and NIKoil Financial Group will invest more than $500 million in the project. The architects for the project are P Schweger, S Tchoban and A Asadov of Germany. Stroimontage is the general contractor for the project. Construction started in April 2004 and the complex is scheduled for completion by 2008.

PLOT 15: CITY HALL AND DUMAS

Plots 2 and 3 are owned by the Moscow City Government and original plans were for the new City Hall and Dumas (Parliament) buildings to be located there. However, these buildings will now occupy Plot 15.

The construction on Plot 15 consists of four 70-storey interconnected 308.4m buildings. The project started in November 2005 and will be finished by the end of 2007.

It is expected that all government administration will be accumulated in the new complex to provide better organisation, allowing the buildings currently in use to be sold.

The four skyscrapers will be connected by several two storey bridges between towers and eight storey bridges at the top. The highest bridges will be built in shape of letter ‘M’ for ‘Moscow’.

PLOT 16: RUSSIA TOWER

Plans for a 600m-tall tower to be built in Moscow to designs by British architect Sir Norman Foster were released in March 2006. ST Towers is the developer behind the project and is part of the ST Group.

The Russia Tower will be more than 50% higher than the Empire State Building and is to be built within the Moskva-City development on Plot 16 near the site’s border with the Third Ring Road. It will overshadow the 430m Federation Tower under construction at Moskva-City, which developers say will be the tallest building in Europe when it is completed in 2008.

The 420,000m² tower is a striking design comprising three blade-like structures arranged in a trefoil-like plan around a central core and tapering sharply toward the top, with part of the steel structure exposed on the outside like an exoskeleton.

Described by the architect as a vertical city, the tower is to house parking and retail space on nine underground levels, a public ice rink on the first floor under a spacious, pyramidal atrium, a hotel with serviced apartments above, 24 floors of office, high-end apartments on the top levels and a public observation deck at the very top. The resident population of the tower could be 25,000.

The Russia Tower is billed as an environmentally friendly project, maximizing natural ventilation and lighting, with solar cells, the collection of rainwater and snow to reduce water demand and the recycling of energy between areas with varying levels of demand. In addition, atria several floors high are to be spaced throughout the building’s central core and decorated with plants, providing the luxury apartments on the upper floors with private gardens in the sky.

The construction of the tower is expected to cost about $1.5 billion; of this about $150 million to $200 million would be supplied by ST Towers. Plans for the tower have been approved and it should be finished by about 2010. Construction has not yet started.

PLOT 17 AND 18: MULTI-PURPOSE OFFICE-HOTEL COMPLEX

The multipurpose complex will include two towers (80 and 78 floors), with a common underground space for parking. The high tower will contain office premises and the second tower will be a hotel.

The complex will also contain a roof-top restaurant with a panoramic view, cafes and bars, conference halls and billiard club. The architect is Skidmore, Owinds, and Merrill LLP. No dates have yet been announced.

PLOT 19: NORTHERN TOWERS

An office complex is being developed on this plot by ZAO Severnaya Bashnya. The Northern Towers will consist of three buildings – two 12-storey and one 29-storey. These will contain 135,000m² of floor space.

The architect is Project Institute 2 and the construction engineer is Bau Holding Strabag AG (Austria). Interior design in the building will be carried out by ABD Limited, and legal services with regard to lease documents are provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The first phase of Northern Tower is scheduled for shell and core delivery by the fourth quarter of 2006. The marketing and leasing campaign has already started. Raiffeisenbank has agreed to become the first tenant of the complex.

Northern Tower will feature spectacular atriums, prime office premises and a multi-level parking for 688 cars. There will also be a multi-functional conference hall for up to 200 people, banking premises, restaurants and cafes, a fitness centre with a swimming pool operated by Reebok, a professional dental clinic and a beauty parlour.

POWER PLANT CONSTRUCTION

The power supply for the new MIBC has been a subject of much contention among foreign investors. The complex requires an efficient power distribution system operating at 20kV rather than the more typical 10kV.

CITY JSC and power supplier Mosenergo JSC put forward a proposal in 1999 to the Moscow City Government to develop a new power network for the MIBC, mini-metro, metro junction core, Eurostation and Sheremetyevo-Moscow Rapid Transit System.

The power and heat supply for the MIBC will be provided from three sources: the Mosenergo power station ‘SS-CITY-1’; the district heat and power station ‘Krasnya Prsnya’; and the MIBC power plant on Plot 7A, which entered its first phase of construction in 2002–2003 and is now well into its second phase with completion expected in 2006.

Having established the power supply sources, the next part of the project was the bulk power and distribution network to support the MIBC. Phase 1 of the MIBC power plant has seen the construction of a Gas Turbine Unit (GTU) and Heat and Power Plant (HPP) with a capacity of 50MW and a substation with two transformers for 110V from 20kV and 110V from 10kV and two 63MVA distribution units. The next phase will see an increase of capacity up to 100MW.

The developers of the power plant are CITY JSC and CITY-ENERGO Company Ltd. The contractors for the project are Liard-Stroy Ltd and the designers of the plant were Mosproekt-2 and VNIPI Energoprom.

TRANSPORTATION CONSTRUCTION

The Moscow–Sheremetyevo line is the first phase of the RTS to connect the three satellite airports to the centre of Moscow. This first line, 34.3km in length, will provide interconnectivity between the airport, regional centres and urban junctions and also interconnect with the existing municipal transport system. The project was started in 2001 and eight stations were planned. This stage is now complete.

The developer for the RTS is CITY JSC in collaboration with the City of Moscow; the designer is SNC Lavalin of Canada. The Phase 2 section of the project to extend the line to cover Vnukovo Airport was started in 2004 and is now nearing completion (scheduled to open in 2007).

The RTS development not only concerns rail links to the new commerical centre of Moscow but it is also a development in its own right. The Plot 11 development will include the construction of the new Moscow transport terminal uniting the RTS, three lines of the underground and the intercity bus terminal.

The complex will include transport stations with waiting rooms, boarding areas for VIPs, a hall of customs inspection, left-luggage offices, a 342 room hotel and ticket offices.

For this section of the development Citer Invest B.V. of the Netherlands is the developer, Behnish and Behnish Architekten of Germany are the architects. The investment is $200 million and construction is underway with an expected completion in 2007.

MINI-METRO LINE

A mini-metro line was also constructed to provide transportation within the MIBC and to connect with the historical centre of Moscow. There are three stations, one constructed in Phase 1 of the project and two in Phase 2. The three stations are Dorogomilovskaya, International and Moscow – City.

The length of the line is 5.85km. The engineering and transport contractors were Metrogiprotrans JSC. The line along with the International and Moscow – City stations came into operation in September 2005.

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Why Disney is doubling down on theme parks with a $60-billion plan

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Over the decades since Walt Disney opened his first theme park in 1955, the company’s tourism business has ballooned to an enterprise worth tens of billions in yearly sales, with sprawling locations in Anaheim, Orlando, Paris, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Today, the Burbank entertainment giant is doubling down once again. Disney plans to invest $60 billion over 10 years into its so-called experiences division, which includes the theme parks, resorts and cruise line, as well as merchandise.

In Anaheim, the city council recently approved an expansion plan at Disneyland Resort, which could lead to at least $1.9 billion of development and involve new attractions alongside hotel, retail and restaurant space.

Why the massive investment? At a time when Disney faces revenue challenges due to cord cutting, streaming wars and a slower film box office, its theme parks are a bright — and reliable — spot for its business. Moreover, they play a major part in the company’s strategy — using well-loved movies to inspire rides and vice versa (think “Pirates of the Caribbean”), feeding an ongoing virtuous cycle.

“When you consider other elements of Disney’s business, those theme parks, they’ve shown themselves to be proven winners,” said Carissa Baker, assistant professor of theme park and attraction management at the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. “There’s no doubt that they have stayed very competitive in the film space and the TV space, but they’ve always led the theme park sector.”

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During the most recent fiscal year, the company’s experiences division — which is heavily anchored by the parks — brought in about 70% of Disney’s operating income, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. By contrast, Disney’s sports sector, including ESPN, contributed 19% of operating income. The entertainment division, consisting of the company’s TV channels, streaming services and movie studios, brought up the rear at 11%.

Those numbers represent a stark contrast from even 10 years ago, when the company was heavily reliant on its TV networks, which brought in 56% of Disney’s operating income (that segment included ESPN at the time). The parks and resorts division drew just 20%.

The tide began to turn in 2019, as the global theme park industry saw record-breaking attendance, just in time for the pandemic to hit the next year.

With the parks closed, Disney reported an operating loss of $81 million in 2020 . Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure, in particular, were shut for 15 months, due to tight restrictions in the Golden State. Since then, pent-up demand from visitors has propelled theme park revenue in a way that hasn’t been replicated in movie theaters.

“The industry was really growing quickly before COVID-19, and that obviously put a crimp on everything,” said Martin Lewison, associate professor of business management at Farmingdale State College in New York. “But it appears as long as the economy remains healthy, the industry is back on track for that growth.”

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Theme parks are typically one of the fastest parts of the travel and hospitality industry to recover after economic downturns, said Dennis Speigel, founder and chief executive of consulting firm International Theme Park Services. Part of that is because it’s hard to duplicate the theme park experience at home.

“Disney sets the bar for our entire global theme park industry,” Speigel said. “The guests, the visitors, they love the way Disney immerses you in their storytelling.”

The Disneyland Resort expansion plan, known as DisneylandForward, will help the 490-acre park stay fresh for visitors. The plan calls for changes to the park’s zoning, allowing the company more freedom to mix attractions, theme parks, shopping, dining and parking. While the plan doesn’t specify exactly which attractions will be added to the resort, company officials have floated ideas including immersive Frozen, Tron and Avatar experiences.

Over the years, Disneyland has cycled out many rides and exhibits to make way for new ones — for example, of the original 33 attractions that debuted with the park , only about a dozen still exist. (One that didn’t make it? The Monsanto Hall of Chemistry).

Though Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure have recently seen additions such as Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge , Avengers Campus and the renovated Pixar Place Hotel , giving guests new reasons to come back again and again are the key to increased growth. This summer, the Magic Kingdom will open Tiana’s Bayou Adventure , replacing the controversial “Song of the South”-inspired Splash Mountain attraction.

“In the theme parks business, you tend to make more money the more you invest,” said Lewison of Farmingdale State College. “People love riding Haunted Mansion 50 times, but the truth is that even that gets old. So new rides, new lands, new parks — these things draw in attendance, they create pricing power and they add capacity.”

And Disney’s rivals in the theme parks business show no signs of slowing down, meaning Disney can’t just rely on its existing hits. Universal Studios Hollywood recently added Super Nintendo World to its park, SeaWorld is touting new attractions and shows for its 60th anniversary this year, and even immersive art installation company Meow Wolf is expanding throughout the U.S.

The competition is becoming so fierce that Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger faced a pointed question during last month’s shareholder meeting about Walt Disney World’s readiness to vie with a new Universal park set to open in Orlando in 2025. He pushed back on the query, saying the idea that Disney World didn’t prepare enough attractions to compete for guests that year “just couldn’t be further from the truth.”

“We’ve been aware of Universal’s plans for a new park for more than a decade,” he said. “We have a sophisticated approach to analyzing the needs of all of our businesses and strategically deploying capital.”

The importance of the parks to Disney’s bottom line is also showing up in the entertainment giant’s search for Iger’s successor . (Iger is expected to retire in 2026.) Josh D’Amaro, the chair of Disney Experiences, which includes the parks, is considered one of four front-runners for the job. Notably, it was Bob Chapek, formerly of the parks division, who initially succeeded Iger, though he was later ousted from the role.

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Samantha Masunaga is a business reporter for the Los Angeles Times. She’s worked at the paper since 2014.

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