When you’re still in the beginning phases of building your business, there’s a lot of planning going on. And one of the earliest plans you’ll make is deciding on your business model. For instance, you might know you want to be a coach but you’re not sure which coaching business model you want to use. Because there are a lot of them!

And to be fair, this isn’t a decision to be made lightly since it will ultimately control the services you’ll offer, how you market your business, etc. So, before we get into which model you should be choosing, and the three steps you can take to make that decision, you’ll need to know what your options are.

So first let’s discuss, the different coaching models…

One on One Coaching

One on one coaching is probably the most traditional type of coaching model, and for good reason as it can be very effective. This type of business model is based around the coach spending quality time with the client in order to give them a personalized coaching experience. 

With this method, it is key to remember that it’s not the coaching that gives you freedom; it’s the coaching business that will give you that. It’s easy to think that the coaching lifestyle will grant you more freedom since you’re working for yourself. 

But first, you’ll have to focus on getting clients in your pipeline and booked. Only then, will you be able to start making money from your new business and be able to enjoy the freedom that this business plan offers.

This method, however, does make for a good starting point and can help you to improve your concept before moving onto other business models. It’s also easy to reach client fulfillment faster as it doesn’t involve any coaching modules to get up and running. So you could essentially begin this sort of business right away, with limited work done upfront.

The only real problem here is that you’re selling your time for money, and you may not be able charge high enough rates to properly compensate you for your time at first. A good deal of patience is necessary with this coaching model.

Group Coaching

Group coaching is sort of an extension of one on one coaching. And it can be a great solution for you if you’re finding that you’re not making enough money from one on one coaching; because you’ll be spending the same amount of time on a coaching session, but you’ll be paid by each client present in the session instead of just one.

If you’ve done one on one coaching and see a high demand in your niche this could be the one for you. Especially if you’re confident in what you are teaching and feel you can get results for multiple people at a time.

But group coaching isn’t for everyone. For instance, if you’re introverted then you may find it difficult to deal with so many people at one time. And in this case, it might be best to stick with another coaching mode.

online coaching

Online coaching is a newer type of coaching model that is still evolving as the internet invents new ways for you to share your skills with a broad audience. It’s come a long way in the past years, and now, it’s just as viable as any other type of coaching method.

Here you get to put your skills and expertise into an online format and monetise your knowledge to a global audience. You can also package your online coaching in a course where your clients can continue to reap the benefits year after year. Your pricing model can grow over time and your earning potential won’t be capped as you have the flexibility to fully automate it.

This new-age coaching method has a lot of potential!

Agency Coaching

Agency coaching is a fairly unique method, but it can be the perfect option for people looking to start a career in this industry without the desire to actually coach people themselves.

This might seem a bit unorthodox, but like Uber doesn’t own any cars and don’t need to have any products to sell in order to be successful. Instead you can offer results in the form of coaching and hire a contractor to deliver the results for you. You charge a higher price point, pay off the contractor, and keep the difference.

If you want a business that doesn’t require any start-up costs and you have extensive research, knowledge, or networking skills then this business model would be perfect for you.

Affiliate marketing

With affiliate marketing, a business earns a commission when a member of its audience buys a product or service that it recommends. If you’ve ever heard a podcast host encourage you to use a specific offer code when you buy a product they’re promoting, affiliate marketing is probably part of their business model.

You may be wondering how to make this into a coaching business model, and the answer is simple. All you have to do is promote other’s coaching packages in exchange for a commission. Much like with agency coaching, you’re not delivering the product yourself but you still stand to make a hefty profit.

For this type of coaching business model, you’ll probably need to have an extensive reach in some capacity. This could be in the form of social media, some other platform where you can amass popularity, or even superior networking skills.

Physical products

Physical products in the coaching industry, really? It’s been done, in fact coaches like Tony Robbins and Russel Brunson still use physical products in their business.

The downside to this coaching method is that you’ll have to take care of fulfilment and shipping; plus the profit margins are lower. But if you like the idea of exclusivity and want an e-commerce business in the online education space then this could be for you. 

Just be careful as you’ll spend a lot of time managing the business vs growing the business. It can be done though!

In person events

If you’ve always wanted to do a retreat, a mastermind, a conference show, or any type of live show then this method is for you. This will allow you to create a more in-depth experience and provide the most value for your clients.

Obviously, tickets or passes for something like this would be sold at a high-price point, so your profit margins can be high with this type of coaching model. You can even combine this coaching method with another type, and have this as an add-on to max out your revenue once a year.

Now Let’s Discuss 3 Steps To Help You Decide Between These Coaching Business Models.

Step 1 – Ask Yourself What Your Strengths and Weakness Are

The first step in any business plan should be identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the said plan. But when you’re going into the coaching industry it’s important to remember that you, as a person, are a huge part of the business itself. This means that recognizing your strengths and weaknesses is vital to forming a successful business model.

You want to choose a coaching method that plays to your strengths and avoids your potential weak points as much as possible.

For instance, if you’re an extroverted person who enjoys interacting with people in person then you might excel at one on one coaching. But if your strength lies in other areas, like designing courses that can help anyone then you should consider online coaching seriously.

As far as weaknesses go, one example would be that if you’re not the best at delegating tasks then you should probably think twice before you go into agency coaching. Or, if you find that you’re not comfortable promoting products or services that you aren’t in charge of, then you’ll find it harder to do something like affiliate marketing.

Step 2 – Ask Yourself What Your Financial Goals Are

The next thing that you’ll need to keep in mind when you’re deciding which coaching business model to choose is how much money you’re planning, or hoping, to make from your venture. At the core of every business is money, so make sure that you don’t avoid this topic while you’re making your plans or you could regret it later when you find that you’re not making as much as you would’ve liked.

If you’re looking to make large profits and quite a bit of money from your coaching business then you need to take into account that some coaching methods can pay better than others. Something like online coaching could bring in a lot more revenue than say, one on one coaching, because it has the ability to be purchased worldwide and not just in your area.

But if you’re not focused on making large amounts of money, and only care about making enough to get by comfortably on, then any and all of the coaching methods could work for you and you don’t have to pay as much attention to this step.

Step 3 – Ask Yourself How Much Time You’re Willing To Put Into Your Coaching Business

Time, other than money, it’s one of the most valuable resources that you need to keep in mind when you’re forming business plans. Especially when you’re going into an industry that could potentially be trading time for money, like coaching. So before you choose which coaching model you want to use, make sure that you know how much time you’re willing to put into it.

If you’re looking to spend less time working, then you’ll want to choose a coaching option that takes advantage of a more hands-off approach and allows you to make a passive income. You may have to put a lot of work into these options on the front end, but after a while, the money will start to roll in with minimal effort from you.

Two great examples of these types of coaching models would be affiliate marketing or online coaching. Affiliate marketing doesn’t take as much work for obvious reasons since you’re not actually putting time into forming a product or service. With something like online coaching, if you adopt certain strategies such as creating courses or e-books, will take a lot of work at first but will eventually turn into a mostly passive income.