Why Coaches Don’t Make Money And How To Avoid It
If you're a coach, you know that it can be tough to make a living. In fact, most coaches don't make money at all. But there are ways to avoid this fate and create a successful coaching business. We will discuss seven reasons why most coaches don't make money and how you can avoid these mistakes.
1. Matching and Mirroring Results
The first reason that coaches do not make money online is a process called matching and mirroring, also known as copying.
How often have you seen a coach online post a foolproof strategy that worked for them that allows them to reach six figures?
You decide to jump on board.
Then you see another coach that says you have to post three times a day and be on all the social media sites.
And so you buy into that strategy too.
What ends up happening is that you're trying many different strategies all at once. The truth is that what works for one coach isn't a guaranteed strategy that works for you.
I'm not saying that every coach's strategy is wrong for you, but you need to find a strategy that feels aligned for you and dig into that. A big mistake I see online is that everyone wants to coach hop because they think the next coach has the best strategy. What ends up happening is they're more overwhelmed and have less strategy than they began with.
Also, you will always feel behind when comparing success to someone else's.
I recently saw a meme online showing two people swimming next to each other. One person focused on the finish line, and the other focused on the other swimmer. Ultimately the person who focused on the finish line was the one that won the race.
Focusing on your big picture goal and your main objectives will put you in a position to succeed.
I'm a firm believer that success follows when you focus on impact.
But when you focus on comparing yourself, mirroring and matching, or copying what everyone else is doing, you will always feel one step behind.
2. Not Niching Down
The second reason coaches struggle to make money online is that they try to be everything for everyone. I see this a lot, especially in the life coaching arena.
People decide they are going to coach people on money, relationships, and a variety of areas. The truth is when you try to speak to everyone, you relate to no one.
The key here is to know what it is that you want to support your audience with and who it is that you're talking to.
So let's say, for example, you want to support people with weight loss.
Are you talking to people who just came back from gastric bypass and want to support them in maintaining weight?
Or are you talking to new moms that want to lose that last 10 pounds after having a baby?
You need to understand who you're speaking to and speak directly to them. You want to be that coach that people will feel like you're speaking directly to them. You want them to see your message, social media posts and visit your website, knowing that you are the coach for them.
It makes it a no-brainer for them to take that next step with you.
It's also less overwhelming creating content since you are making content for one particular client type.
That doesn't mean that you have to pigeonhole yourself. You can expand your clientele as you continue to scale and grow your business. But when you begin, it's essential to know who you're speaking to, how you support them, and how you show up from that place.
3. Trying to Hustle Your Way to Success
The third strategy that prevents coaches from actually making money is something that I struggled with. It's buying into the belief that you must work hard and hustle your way to success.
The truth is hustling is a sure-fire way to burn out. We all know burnout won't get you closer to your vision. Taking care of yourself is. The problem is that it's hard for us to allow ourselves to make room for self-care.
Recently, I was onboarding a client, and she shared that she worked between 60-80 hours a week in her business and didn't see any results.
I'm not surprised because our clients can sense when we create from exhausted energy. If we're not filling our cups, how can we fill someone else's cup?
One of the things that I'm a big advocate of is taking care of yourself.
When you take care of yourself, get rest, move your body, and eat healthily, you show up with different energy. This is how people get to see the fantastic services you have to offer.
4. Lack of a Marketing Strategy
The fourth reason coaches struggle with making money is because they lack a proper marketing strategy.
They are simply not sharing what they have to offer. I get it. It can feel overwhelming, whether it's insecurity, overthinking, or lacking marketing skills. And for many of us, selling can feel sleazy.
When I think of selling, I often remember the movie Matilda. Matilda's dad was a terrible car salesman. He made money rolling back the miles on cars and even selling people old beat-up cars! The truth is, selling is nothing like that.
Did you know that we are selling every single day?
I recently went to Costco and got this fantastic pre-made macaroni and cheese. I loved it because I found it convenient for a busy day. I enjoyed it so much that I told my mom and a neighbor about it. Guess what? That's selling!
Have you ever watched something on Netflix, posted it online, shared how much you enjoyed it, and pleaded with everyone to check it out?
That's marketing at its finest, but we have limiting beliefs in our minds.
We automatically believe that making a sale means being sleazy and desperate. But you have a gift and need to know that you're meant to share it with the world. You are doing a disservice by playing small and not telling people what you have to offer.
People want to hear from you, and the truth is there is someone somewhere waiting on you.
When you play small, you sell yourself short and the entire world. I'm challenging you to get your offers out there and share your genius with the world.
5. Trying To Do It All
The following reason why coaches struggle to make money online is that they're trying to do it all.
When I started my business, I tried creating my website to save money. I realized that I was saving money but also wasting time.
I spent three weeks creating a website that didn't work. And on top of that, it didn't look nice. It looked so bad and didn't function well that I didn't think anyone would be able to use it.
From that experience, I learned that it's okay to get help. Outsourcing in my business has been a total game changer for me. You get to take things off your plate when you get service from professionals like a virtual assistant or an online business manager. Additionally, when you get help from a business coach, you can shorten the time frame it takes you to create success.
If you know you need to do tasks in your business, don't be afraid to ask for help. Doing this creates space and time for you to stay in your zone of genius.
6. Having Limiting Beliefs
The sixth reason that coaches struggle to make money online is because of their own limiting beliefs. Our beliefs serve as a guide, showing us what's possible, and when these beliefs are negative, they determine our success.
Your limiting beliefs become the norm for you.
It's the way our subconscious mind works. It never wants to feel like a liar, so what you focus on is what you find in your reality.
Let me give you an example:
Take a brief moment to look around the space that you're currently in.
Count all the black things.
Keep them in mind for a couple of seconds.
Close your eyes and keep those things in mind.
Tell me the red stuff you saw in your space with your eyes closed.
You likely won't be able to name many because what you focused on was black, and you didn't focus on the red.
What we focus on is what we find.
So when you focus on a limiting belief, such as "no one will want to hear from me," you will experience situations that confirm that belief.
Remember, our subconscious mind doesn't want us to feel like liars. It will confirm what you believe to be true.
If you replace that belief with: "people LOVE to hear from me, and they're so engaged with my content," you will notice that you get many more comments on your posts or your lives. You'll see more people DMing you and talking about how inspirational you are.
You'll see people ready to take that next step with you because we find what we focus on. So, you might as well focus on the beliefs that serve you and create success.
7. Not Creating Passive Income Streams
The last reason coaches struggle to make money online is that they do not create passive income streams. Many coaches believe they can only earn a living from an active income.
This belief doesn't surprise me because most of us come from a traditional 9-5. Whether it's a corporate job, nursing, or education, most of us are used to working 40 hours a week and, every two weeks, getting a paycheck. Some of you may get lucky and get a bonus here or there. My point is that you are used to showing up to earn money.
Unfortunately, many of us carry that same belief into our business. Many coaches believe they have to teach live online if they want to make money. They think that they have to create in front of people if they're going to make money.
A common type of active income for coaches is one-on-one services. But the truth is you only have so many hours in a day. There are 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, and only so many times you can show up.
Let's say, for example, that you decide to coach one-on-one. You can't coach for 24 hours a day, and even if you could, would you want to do that?
This is where passive income comes into play. Passive income is powerful because you create something once, then leave it on repeat, and it continues to make you money.
It has become an evergreen product, which is terrific. I love this business model because you don't have to show up for every dollar you earn.
A lot of coaches you see online are making money in their sleep and making money on vacation. They're doing this because they've created passive income. The cool thing is that you could build your business solely on passive income, active income, or a hybrid of the two.
Another benefit of having passive income is that it allows you to scale your business, and there is no cap on that. Whereas with active income, there is a cap on your reach.
Passive income allows you time and financial freedom to have that freedom-based business lifestyle I know so many of you desire.
If the idea of passive income intrigues you and you want to learn how to incorporate that into your business, I have just the thing for you inside my workshop, Passive Profits.
I teach you a straightforward process of creating profitable offers from your passion and making money from them passively.
When I say that this is a game changer, I genuinely mean that.
Upon completing this workshop, you will no longer normalize the feast and famine cycle where you're desperately seeking that next client or payment. You'll no longer normalize burning the candle at both ends and making burnout something you're used to.
You will be able to create an easy, evergreen process that allows you to have the freedom-based business that you deserve.
Making money as a coach doesn't have to be complicated.
Now that you are aware of the pitfalls that you want to circumvent, you don't have to run into those same obstacles or barriers again.
If you are ready to make the way that you earn money creative, expansive, and empowering, then sign up for the Passive Profits here. I can't wait to see you on the other side!
If you’re ready to take your income to the next level join us in the upcoming workshop passive profits