You Can Create A Business From Teaching What You Love

While information technology still dominates as the fastest growing career field, the coaching industry is right there competing along its side. Coaching as a business is expanding at an incredible rate. By many standards, it is the second fastest growing industry in the United States and continues to gain popularity around the world.  There is much more behind this industry than meets the eye. According to a global study released in 2012, there are currently an estimated 41,300 professional coaches, making it the only fast growing international industry. So do you have something that you love? A talent, field or passion that you want to share with the world? There’s no reason why you can’t jump in this dynamic shift and start a business by teaching people what you do best.

Be a Part of It

We all have a level of expertise or insight into something that another might want or need. For me, it was about finding a place where I could fully appreciate and put into practice my talents as well as what I had gathered and cultivated from my years of education, certifications, and professional experience. I pursued my passion of counselling and life coaching, and by learning the ins and outs of creating a successful business, I honed my craft into an expertise that would help others on their path toward achieving their potential. This experience made me truly believe that anyone who has a passion for their craft can teach this to others if they simply take the right steps to do so. Entrepreneurship is at the heart of this industry; if you want to make a career for yourself – one that is not dependent on an employer – then you can choose to take a look at what coaching has to offer to you.

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What Can You Expect from the Coaching Industry?

Let’s say you’ve spent the last 15 years as a chemistry teacher. You’ve invested a lot of time and heart into your students, but you’re ready for a change. Why not turn that skill of teaching into a business by creating online courses and tutoring students? Coaching isn’t just a popular industry based on trends, rather the industry is booming due to marketplace demand. This demand comes from advancements in technology and social media. We as human beings are using the increased accessibility of knowledge in order to grow and better ourselves as individuals at unprecedented rates.

You might not believe that you have anything worth teaching or wonder if what you have to offer is good enough. There is no such thing as a person who is good at everything, but we know as distinctive individuals that each one of us has an incomparable set of skills and a standout proficiency in something we do.  Start by finding out what that might be. You might be thinking “that’s easier said than done.” If you feel stuck or need some direction, seeking help and the opinion of others will help you reflect on yourself and your attributes.

How Do You Start a Coaching Business?

Now, one thing I have to emphasize is that there is a false view of coaching being “easy” due to its popularity and exponential growth. It is true that the startup costs can be minimal which makes this industry accessible to any person who has the passion to teach their craft and help others better their lives. But in order to create a successful coaching business that is sustainable long term, you’ll need to create a business development plan. Who is your target audience and how will you reach them? What materials will you make to assist your coaching programs? What kind of advertising and marketing strategies will you use? What is it that makes you stand out from others in the industry and how can you communicate this through your branding and messaging? To get you started, I’ve compiled a list of tips that are important for helping you reach your audience:

• Use social media platforms to build interest and a following e.g. LinkedIn
• Create social ads – paid promotions for your service on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, etc.
• Create a subscription e-mail that releases newsletters – this will help you develop brand awareness and increase retention rates
• Work to build a webinar – a type of coaching session you can start sharing online
• Network locally with others in the industry
• Connect with or hire other coaching leaders in related industries that will help you hone your strategic planning and business direction and learn what worked for them
• Give some thought to your WHY- why is it that you want to help people and what is your mission? Think about how you can include authenticity into your personal brand and let people know why they should work with you

A lot of building a business is strategizing, and using objective data to drive decision-making. This means that you’ll have start with some market research and testing to find out what works for your unique audience. It may take time to reach your desired financial goals but with persistence, you can quickly become an expert and influencer in your industry and find yourself having a lot of fun along the way.