Driving Sustainability in Your Coaching Practice
We all aspire to have a thriving coaching practice. One of the biggest indicators of a thriving coaching practice is sustainability.
What does the word sustainability mean then in building one?
Sustainability is “the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level.” Thus, sustainability is a level determined by us and it needs to be consistently maintained.
For me, it means I have a monthly profit that will allow me to:
- Have the lifestyle I want
- Reinvest in my professional development as a coach
- Give back to my community
How then can you make sure sustainability is built into your practice? Here are three top things that you must have in your coaching practice to make it sustainable.
1) Credibility and Visibility
To be credible builds trust and belief in your skills and professional development. There are many ways to do this, including getting ICF Credentialed, getting certified in a program specific to your target niche, writing a book and contributing articles on different platforms.
Having credibility does not mean that you are visible. If you are not visible to your clients, then you are not going to be able to enroll them, and they cannot access what you offer.
Visibility means that you must put yourself out into the world. This includes speaking at events related to your target niche, attending events where your clients would attend, partnering with other coaches to get clients together, using appropriate social media platforms that will boost your visibility and engage in regular networking events.
Thus, credibility and visibility go hand in hand in contributing to your growth. How do you then know you are sustainable? Have clear measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)!
2) Clear Measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Do you know your average charge rate? What about your revenue, profit and costs? How many clients do you need to fill your practice and attain your sustainability goals? Do you know your conversion rate; i.e., how many prospects after a discovery session sign up with you?
These KPI’s may sound technical and overwhelming. However, until you see your coaching practice as a business, you cannot attain the sustainability you desire. Thus, you need clear, measurable KPIs. This will help you see and know if what you have been doing on your social media is working or whether you need to tweak your discovery session to get more sign ups.
The formula is simple. No clients mean no coaching. So just as we skilled up as coaches, we also need to skill up as business owners.
3) Get Coached!
Especially for solo coach practices, it is important to get coached. If you don’t get coached, why would your clients sign up with you? This is an important mindset shift to make sure you are constantly reflecting and getting rid of your blind spots. Your coach will help you get out of your comfort zone and help you see what you need to do to reach your sustainability goals.
As you work hard to get to your sustainability goals, it will get hard and stressful. Getting coached will allow you to stay the course and have the support you need to stretch and grow. A budget should be set aside annually to hire a coach for your own personal development.
Do you know your sustainable business goals?
What will you change to have what you want?
Lai Han Sam, ACC
Lai Han Sam, ACC, founded Lifework Global five years ago. She is a Women’s Life Coach who helps women going through midlife transitions gain more clarity, freedom and joy. To the coaching process, she brings 20 years of corporate experience with a Fortune 500 company, as well as leading high performing teams and coaching associates in sales, marketing, operations, support and client management. Sam has served in several roles in the ICF Singapore Chapter Executive Committee for four years. Most recently, in addition to being the ICW 2019 Chairperson, she was also the Immediate Past President of the Chapter.
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