Free PDF: How to build your dream coaching business that frees you from the 9-5

How to Start an Online Coaching Business in 8 Steps (2025)

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Want to start a flexible online coaching business?

If the answer is YES, this post is for you. I’ll show you how to become a profitable online coach. (I used these same steps to grow my own coaching business to $211,000 in my first year in business.)

Want to dive right in? Read on!

Key takeaways: 

  • Online coaching is a flexible, profitable way to start your own business—even alongside your 9-5.
  • With a clear niche, a structured program, and effective client acquisition, you can scale quickly.
  • Focus on solving problems and delivering results to build a sustainable coaching business.

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    6-Figure Coaching Business so you can achieve more freedom!

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What is online coaching? 

Coaching is a $4.564 billion industry. And a growing number of coaches are taking their business online for more flexibility and freedom.

That’s because as an online coach, you work exclusively online. Most often, you don’t meet clients in person or market yourself locally. Instead, all your coaching and marketing is done online. 

What are the benefits of online coaching? 

Online coaching offers a ton of benefits:

  • Flexibility: Work from anywhere.
  • Scalability: Help more clients without burning out.
  • Low startup and overhead costs: All you need is a laptop and internet.
  • Faster profits: Sell high-ticket services and leave your 9-5 sooner.
  • Fulfillment: Get the chance to impact thousands of people. 

Plus, if you start online coaching as a side business while you’re in your 9-5, your business is pretty much risk-free. 

These benefits are why I was able to scale my coaching business to multiple six figures so fast. I left my 9-5, built a full-time business, and have since helped thousands of new coaches do the same.

Coaching testimonial by Emily
I help people like Emily, a career coach, build fulfilling and profitable coaching businesses.

Who can become an online coach? 

You might wonder:

  • “Is it possible to build an online coaching business?”
  • “Isn’t selling coaching online scammy?”

Here’s the thing: Online coaching is all about delivering value. If you can solve problems for people, you can become a coach.

Whether you’re a:

If you’ve achieved results yourself or helped others achieve them, you can sell your knowledge and time. 

Coaching isn’t counseling, so if you’re thinking, “I don’t have an online coaching certification, how can I become a coach?”, don’t worry. Certification is optional—it’s your ability to deliver results that matters most.

That’s not to say that I didn’t have any doubts when I first looked at starting an online coaching business. In fact, when I started my first coaching business, I wasn’t so sure that coaching was possible. But creating a profitable coaching business comes down to a few things…

What makes a successful online coaching business? 

I’ve helped thousands of people start their own coaching businesses. The most successful ones focus on these key areas

1. Niche: Stand out by solving a specific problem.

2. Audience: Identify people who can and want to pay for your services.

3. Skills and Expertise: Use your experience to guide your clients.

4. Offer: Create a clear, results-oriented coaching program.

5. Client Acquisition: Use proven strategies to find and sign clients.

6. Testimonials: Build trust with client success stories.

Later on, you can add on marketing and sales systems, delegate, and automate your business and scale it with other products.   

With that, let’s look at how I was able to grow my first coaching business to six figures…And how you can use these lessons in your business!

How I grew a multi-six-figure coaching business in four months 

When I started my coaching business, I had what most people dream of: A six-figure career and a life in New York City.

Then, over the period of a year, everyone in my family got sick. My dad needed emergency heart surgery, my mom was diagnosed with cancer, and my sister nearly lost her eyesight. I wanted to be there for them, but my limited vacation days meant I couldn’t. 

That’s when I realized I was lacking the flexibility to live my own life! 

I knew an online business could give me freedom, and coaching felt like the fastest way to replace my income and quit my job. But there was a catch: I had no idea what to coach people on—or how to even begin coaching.

I happened to stumble into a few social media groups. And it hit me: At this time, people were constantly asking for help with digital advertising, a skill I used daily in my 9-5. I could solve their problems!

My first paying coaching client

I started engaging in these groups. Not to get clients, but to figure out what people wanted. My first client, a woman I helped by answering her question about paid advertising, came out of the blue.  

One day, I answered a question about paid advertising, and someone reached out for more guidance. For two weeks, I helped her for free. Then she asked, “Can I pay you to keep working with me?” I didn’t know how to price my services (I didn’t even have an offer), but because I had already delivered value, she saw the value I could offer.

Screenshot of PayPal payment
My first payment!

From one online coaching client to many

But relying on this approach alone wasn’t scalable. Building that level of trust with every client would take forever. I needed to speed things up.

So I tried a new strategy: offering free, short coaching calls to let people experience my services. The results? Within a month, I had several paying clients.

Screenshot of Luisa Zhou Facebook Live
I continuously shared value like livestreams in social groups.

With this system in place, my business exploded. In just four months, I hit $106,000 in revenue and handed in my resignation letter. Within a year, I had scaled the coaching side of my business to $211,000 and my overall revenue to over a million dollars. 

Visual of 100k in 4 months

You can learn more about my story here:

But how can you use these lessons to build your business? Let’s take a look. 

How to start your online coaching business

Growing your own online coaching business comes down to a few things:

1. Find your coaching niche

First, you’ll need to find a problem to solve because that’s the foundation of your business. This is your coaching niche. The problem you solve doesn’t need to be a groundbreaking idea. By focusing on an existing problem and solving it a bit better than the rest, you hit a sweet spot. 

There are thousands of online coaching business ideas. Choose a niche that you already have some experience in. For example, my first niche was helping businesses with paid advertising because I had experience managing ads in my 9-5.

To find your niche:

  • Identify what you’re good at.
  • Figure out who wants and can pay for those skills.
  • Validate your idea by interviewing potential clients.

Some examples of niches my clients have succeeded in:

  • Helping introverted men build relationships
  • Guiding millennials to find dream jobs
  • Coaching engineers to land better roles
  • Mentoring people to invest in rental properties  
Venn diagram of coaching niches

Figure out exactly what your ideal clients want by conducting market research. Set up interviews with them and ask them about their challenges and goals. Then, listen to what they say and use that to create your offer. 

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2. Create a coaching program

Your coaching program should focus on delivering a transformation. You see, the biggest mistake I see people make here is to create a program that doesn’t have an end goal. But the value of your program is the results your clients get.

And it’s with that transformation in mind you should create your offer. My first offer in this business was called “Your First Paying Clients.”

Other examples include: 

  • A career coach might offer: “Land your dream job in 90 days.”
  • A fitness coach could provide: “Lose one size in 3 months.”

Use this goal to create your program so that each month has a sub-goal and each session builds on that sub-goal. 

For example: 

Month 1: Create a meal plan of delicious, slimming food

Month 2: Track your plan

Month 3: Evaluate their progress 

You also need to set a price. Pricing too low may undervalue your services, while pricing too high can deter potential clients—especially if you don’t yet have testimonials to demonstrate your coaching works. 

A good starting point is around $1,500 for a three-month package. Once you’ve worked with a few clients, ask them for testimonials and increase your rate. 

ETE case study page
Today, I sell a self-study program called ETE (Employee to Entrepreneur) based on my coaching offer.

But at this point, you might be thinking: “What if I want to sell a group program?” 

Good news. Even if you start out in online coaching, you don’t have to work one-on-one with people forever. Once you have 10+ clients, you can expand to other online coaching business models, like group coaching, for more scalability.

3. Build your brand

As a coach, you are your brand. And to stand out, you need to position your business in the right way. Because building a strong brand helps you ask for higher rates, attract the right clients, and build your business with more ease. 

Creating your brand comes down to these five questions: 

  1. How are YOU different? Highlight your unique traits, experiences, or stories that make you relatable and memorable.
  2. What’s your “secret sauce”? Show how your approach uniquely helps clients achieve results.
  3. What are your core values? Share beliefs that resonate with your audience and build deeper connections.
  4. Who is your audience? Tailor your branding to your ideal clients, focusing on their specific needs and preferences.
  5. How is your product different? Highlight what makes your service or program more effective or easier to use.
Diagram showing the key elements that define your brand

4. Set up tools and platforms

Fortunately, there are plenty of online tools that help you run, systematize, and automate your coaching business. 

Your coaching business needs: 

  • Scheduling tools: Use platforms like Calendly to let clients book sessions easily.
  • Video conferencing tools: Zoom or Google Meet are great for hosting coaching sessions online.
  • Payment processing: Use Stripe and PayPal to accept payments securely.
  • Course hosting platforms: If you offer courses, Teachable is an excellent choice. 
  • Client communication: Use email, WhatsApp, Slack or Voxer to stay in touch and provide updates.

You don’t need a website as a new coach because your time is much better spent on finding your first clients. (You can simply refer people to your LinkedIn page if they’re asking for one.) 

But when you’re ready to build one, WordPress is a great option because of how easy it is to tailor based on your needs. But a coaching platform like Thinkific or Kajabi or a website builder like Squarespace will work just as well. 

5. Figure out the legal and financial side

To set up your coaching business, create a simple coaching business plan. This business plan should include two aspects of your business: 

  • Legal structure: Research your state to understand whether you need to register your business. And if so, choose a structure, such as an LLC or sole proprietorship. An LLC provides liability protection, while a sole proprietorship is simpler to set up. Read more on the SBA website
  • Financials: Identify your main revenue stream (one-on-one coaching) and estimate your costs. You won’t have too many costs early on, as all you need is a simple call scheduling software ($10/month) and call software (free-$20/month). 
  • Licenses and insurance: While most coaching niches don’t require licenses, some, like nutrition coaching, might. Consider optional coaching insurance or health coaching insurance for added protection. Here’s more on the legal side of coaching.

I talk more about how to set up your coaching business here:

6. Get coaching clients

Getting coaching clients can feel hard. But it doesn’t have to be a hustle. On the contrary, finding clients is about connecting with people and building win-win relationships.

And the top strategies to do so are: 

  • Referrals: Tap into your network. Let friends, family, and past colleagues know about your services and ask for introductions. And no, it’s not about being sleazy or persuading someone to work with you. If someone needs and wants your coaching, let them know you offer it–and then they’ll decide whether it’s the right thing for them. 
  • Social media: Share valuable content on platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook to attract your ideal audience. Don’t go in with the mindset of selling. Instead, focus on delivering entertainment and insights. 
  • Email marketing: Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to build an audience. I run a multi-seven-figure business and I still sit down every day to write a daily email to my audience. 
  • Testimonials: Get testimonials that show your coaching works. 75.5% people trust reviews and so testimonials are one of the best ways to build trust with your audience. 
  • Other strategies: Host free webinars, partner with complementary businesses to expand your reach, run paid ads, or use search engine optimization to reach more clients.

The key is to provide value. Early on in my business, I used social media forums (Facebook groups), as that’s where my audience hung out. Once I had found my audience, I started interacting with them on a daily basis. 

Of course, your audience might not be in Facebook groups. In that case, it’s on a different platform. My clients have found clients on social media platforms like Reddit, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest. 

Some platforms work better for specific niches. For example, LinkedIn is a good bet for career coaches and Instagram can be a great tool for health coaches. By finding out where YOUR target audience hangs out, you can start building relationships with them. 

For more, take a look at this video:

7. Improve your services and scale 

Finally, one of the biggest mistakes new coaches make is this: They jump from one thing to the next. Instead, focus on finding that one strategy that works for you. And when you find it, focus relentlessly on it. 

By perfecting your marketing and your offer instead of chasing new, shiny objects, you’ll quickly be able to leverage your momentum. That means: You grow your income and spend less time in your business. To do so, work closely with your first few clients and figure out how you can build a coaching program that helps them get results. 

But once you’re at a certain point, you might start to think about other ways to scale. That’s what I did after I had made my first six figures in my business. 

As a coach, you only have so much time to use on one-on-one online coaching services. And when I looked around, I realized that there were a few business models that would help me scale my income.

The first was hiring coaches to work for me. 

However, the more leveraged business model that would eventually free up much more of my time was to sell online courses. That’s because you don’t have to personally walk people through your online courses. Most of them are self-study courses that people buy to go through at their own pace and independently. 

This means you can sell them at scale.

The great thing was: Everything I had learned and built through my coaching helped me create and sell a course much faster than if I hadn’t coached others before. 

A lot of online courses fail because of this single reason. These course creators don’t understand their audience, how to help them, or how to make sales. 

But by first helping people privately, I had built up that know-how. I knew exactly how to position my course and how to sell it. And that was a major reason why I was able to hit almost $1 million in course sales in less than a year. 

FAQ: How to start an online coaching business 

Is online coaching profitable?

Absolutely. Coaching can be highly profitable if you target the right niche and audience—people who are both willing and able to pay for the transformation you offer.

How to start up an online coaching business?

Start by choosing a niche that aligns with your expertise and experience. Begin coaching clients at an introductory rate to build trust and deliver results. Collect testimonials to showcase your success, and use them to attract more clients and grow your business.

How much should you charge for online coaching?

New coaches often start at $1,500 for a three-month package. As you gain experience and build credibility with testimonials, you can confidently increase your rates—eventually charging $5,000 or more per package.

What is the best online coaching platform?

The best platform depends on your needs. If you plan to offer both coaching and courses, Teachable is an excellent option for an all-in-one solution.

What’s next? 

Now you know how I built an online coaching business that made me $211,000 in a year. I spent that time figuring out a few things that worked great for me. I then focused on perfecting those things that gave the biggest results.

The best part is this: You can get started building your own online coaching business. Quitting your day job within a year or even in a few months isn’t an unattainable fantasy, it’s something hundreds of my students have done.

Get the Ultimate Guide

for building a
6-Figure Coaching Business so you can achieve more freedom!

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However, there’s only so much I can share in a blog post. 

Building a sustainable and profitable coaching business isn’t easy…But there are ways to make the process faster and simpler.

I’ve put together my top learnings in one FREE PDF. Get it now to learn how to build your own six-figure coaching business!  

Read more: 

How to Start a Life Coaching Business 

How to Market Your Coaching Business

Coaching Salary: How Much Do Coaches Make? 

About Luisa Zhou

Luisa Zhou has helped thousands of students build and scale their own profitable online coaching business. Fun Fact: She used to work as an engineer for the Space Station and holds a B.S.E. from Princeton. Click here to learn more about Luisa.

Hope you enjoy this blog post.

Want to know how to build a profitable, meaningful business to replace your 9-5?

The proven blueprint for building your dream coaching business - that frees you from the 9-to-5

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3 Responses

  1. Online is now the preferred platform for marketing. You can now become someone’s mentor even if you live a thousand miles away from them.

  2. Hello! My name is Carlos. My coaching niche is to target men in helping them attain the self-confidence & self-worth they need in order to achieve success in love.

    Then, eventually I would like to move onto (same niche), relationship counseling.

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