2. It’s a hustle the first few years

I read somewhere that mothers actually don’t remember the unbearable pain of giving birth — because if they would, they would choose to never have another child again. It’s the same when we start things: we always imagine them to be much much easier than they actually are. This is a good thing because otherwise, we would never ever do anything worth doing!

When I started my coaching practice, I thought I would have a full practice within a couple of months — and that from there my pipeline would just be full all the time. Totally naive! I can’t believe I was actually thinking this way.

Of course, my imagination was very far from what actually happened: I had 3 clients in my first year, 2 of them paid me and only one signed up for more than a single session.

But if I wasn’t completely underestimating my endeavor, I would never have started — and I wouldn’t be where I am today (read more on that here).

The truth is, the first few years as a coach are a teeth-grinding hustle. Getting your first paying client will feel like climbing Mount Everest. But once you are at the top, the climb doesn’t stop. It never stops. You need to do the same work again for the next client. And the next one. And the next one.

You are always hustling.

It’s a terribly exhausting hamster-wheel because you are constantly working with clients or working to get clients — and you can’t stop because if you stop, your business stops. Trust me, I felt less trapped when I was working a 9-to-5 job (at least I could switch my work brain off on the weekends and take a paid vacation once in a while).

Over time though, you will figure out how to create a consistent stream of new clients, you will optimize how you work and you will start to charge higher prices. Together, all of that will allow you to build a business that works for YOU, not the other way round. That’s when you’ll have your dream of the flexible coaching lifestyle, doing what you love while making great money.

Most coaches I know that are at this point though — and by “this point” I mean they don’t worry about when the next client is coming in, things just flow, they are fully in control of their schedule and take time off as they need — they are 3 — 5 years in. It just takes time to nail down your perfect niche and ideal client, build systems that work for you, find a sustainable channel that brings you consistent leads without the hustle and become so good at coaching that your clients constantly refer you new ones.

If I had known from the beginning that it takes so long to build a business that runs like clockwork, I would have waited to quit my job. When I took the leap to start my own business, I had $5,000 saved, a website, an ebook, a business plan, and some coaching training — but no clients. If I had the chance to do it all over again, I would build my coaching practice on the side without the pressure and only quit once I’d built a sustainable business.