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Starting an ADHD coaching business can feel super overwhelming. But I’m here to tell you that it’s entirely doable, even if you’ve never started a business before. Having started (and failed) with several businesses before this one I have now, I’ve picked up a few essential tips that I think are absolutely critical, and not talked about enough.
These tips will guide you in setting realistic expectations and avoid “magical thinking” and burnout, by focusing on systems, building a business aligned with your interests, establishing boundaries, and having fun while doing it all.
Ready to dive in? Let’s do this.
Tip 1: Set the Right Expectations
“We don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.” – Archilochus
Let’s get one thing straight. Being a great coach is only half the battle. The other half? Well, that’s all about marketing, sales, operations, finance, and administration. No amount of coach training will help you master those skills instantly. It’s a learning curve, just like anything else. So, don’t expect yourself to be a natural at all of this and expect to fail sometimes. That’s the price of entry.
Most important, as you start to build your business and you start to realize everything that’s involved, I don’t want you to get overwhelmed and quit. It’s very easy to assume that you’ll “never be great at marketing or finance”, but you don’t have to be great at all of it. You just have to stick it out long enough to understand how each function works. That way, you can outsource it down the road if you want to.
The main thing I want you to takeaway from this first tip is that once you dive in, unless you’ve done this before and know what to expect, just expect it to be overwhelming at first. But also know that it’s not impossible to figure out. Many people way less smart and talented than you have figured it out, and so can you.
Remember how terrifying it was to get behind the wheel of a car for the first time? And yet, now you somehow drive yourself around without even remembering how you got there these days.
We all learn hard things. It’s one of the best parts about life.
Tip 2: Emphasize on Systems Over Goals
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” – James Clear
This tip goes hand in hand with setting the right expectations. In the coaching industry, we often hear about “6 figure launches in their first year of business” but that’s an unrealistic goal for someone starting out who has ZERO systems in place.
Just imagine if you somehow did have a huge successful launch at the start of your business, but you had no systems for managing all your new clients. That would be terrible! You would also lack the confidence to manage it all because you’ve never done it before which would translate into a terrible customer experience and zero repeat clients.
Big wins are not only unusual when you start out, they can be detrimental to your confidence and brand experience, so embrace starting small and building a solid brand over time.
Instead of setting big lofty goals for your business in the first year, focus on putting foundational pieces in place, such as:
- Defining a target customer, a clear pain point, and a relevant offer,
- Creating a system for finding potential customers, a system for nurturing potential customers, a system for converting leads to paying customers,
- Developing a system for managing all of the above, along with your many business operations.
Tip 3: Build the Business YOU Want
I’ve signed up for various business courses throughout my career. Yet, I didn’t always get the results I wanted. Why? Because I either didn’t want to implement the processes that were being taught, or I couldn’t maintain the processes because it didn’t align with me.
For instance, I recently enrolled in Justin Welsh’s creator MBA. It was a brilliant course, and I learned SO much. However, I didn’t implement his end-to-end process because he primarily uses Twitter and LinkedIn, platforms and personally I can’t stand being on either of them.
That said, I picked the parts that appealed to me from his process (which is a lot, and I do highly recommend his course for anyone who wants to build a business with organic social marketing) and I left the rest.
Lately I’ve also been building out more digital offerings in my business so I can rely less on 1-1 coaching because I value time freedom so much. So I joined a business coaching program to help me do that. If you’re interested in building digital products or programs in your business, I highly recommend Wandering Aimfully (aka WAIM). I wrote a whole blog post about them here.
So, think of your business training as something ongoing and crucial, but be mindful to chart your own course and design your learning in the direction you want your business to go in. Building a business you can’t stand is something a lot of entrepreneurs find themselves doing when th6-ey aren’t aware of what works for them and what doesn’t.
To that end, I created a short, affordable program to help new entrepreneurs figure that out and start building in the direction of their own personal needs, strengths and values.
Tip 4: Establish Boundaries and Stick with Them
Boundaries are an expression of respect for self and others. When we ignore them, we abandon ourselves and present a false reality to the people around us. – Caren Magill
In my experience, many entrepreneurs ignore their own boundaries and go above and beyond for their clients. This results in them resenting their clients and their business because pleasing others comes at the expense of self-abandonment.
The more you abandon yourself in favor of pleasing others, the faster you’ll run yourself into a wall of burnout and failure. Boundaries are not punitive; they provide clarity and a much-needed sense of what to expect for you and your customers.
Spend some time thinking about what “loving boundaries” would look like in your business. This might relate to your availability in terms of time, or how your clients can communicate with you, or what’s included in your pricing and what’s extra.
Tip 5: For The Love of God, Make It Feel Good!
“I quit working 40 hours a week for someone else to work 80 hours a week for myself” – Lori Greiner
This quote perfectly sums up the reality many new business owners face. You might work harder and probably longer than you ever did as an employee, and there’s no guaranteed paycheck at the end of the week.
So, why start a coaching business at all if it’s so hard? Because if that’s what lights you up, then you’ll love the work. And when you love what you do, even when it’s hard work, it makes life so much richer and satisfying. But the key is, you have to create a business that feels good to you.
For me, having a feel-good business means wearing what I want, having an open calendar for creating rather than endless meetings and appointments, choosing the people I collaborate with based on whether or not I enjoy their personality, and working my own hours, in my own office, with my pug snoring beside me and chill tunes playing on my Sonos.
Bonus tip: Invest in Tools Before Team
Finally, I recommend investing in tools to help you execute your day-to-day business before starting to hire people (if that’s ultimately your goal. Personally, I prefer to work solo).
Here’s the thing – tools are cheaper than employees or contractors, they don’t require management, and they will help you scale your time and processes faster. Then, once you’ve got your systems and tools nailed down, take the time to record each process with a simple video that shows how you do each thing. Then hire a VA to watch the recordings, learn how to operate each system, and then work on improving your systems over time.
This is the best way to bring on help in your business!
The Must-Have Tools in My Business
For marketing and content creation:
Descript for recording videos and podcasts. It does it all and it’s SO easy to edit. You also have all your scripts documented so you can quickly turn them into blog posts, social media clips, etc using their AI functionality.
Flodesk for email marketing – I’ve used so many email marketing softwares and NOTHING is better than Flodesk. It’s the cheapest, easiest and simplest tool for nurturing your customers and their templates are gorgeous.
Managing Projects and Tasks in my Coaching Business
I use Notion for everything in my business, and I also have a Notion template available specifically for new coaches that will walk you through how to create a structure for your business systems.
However if you’re not a Notion user, then I HIGHLY recommend checking out Enji, which is a task management system that will actually help you build marketing strategies, figure out your brand elements, and tell you want to do on a day to day basis. This is hands down the best software I’ve seen for newbie entrepreneurs.
Launching a coaching business doesn’t have to be overwhelming. The journey can be exciting, rewarding, and yes, even fun! Keep these tips in mind as you embark on your coaching business journey, and remember – it’s your business, make it one that you love.
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