7 lessons

for building
a thriving
coaching practice

Practical insights from career coaches

who’ve worked with a total of
more than 5,000 clients
Looking to grow your coaching
practice – and its impact?
We asked a cross-section of established career coaches
(shown below) for their key insights.

Marianne Craig Michelle Bayley

Firework Coaching & Find Your Way
Careershifters Coaching

Sue Powell Sarah Dawrant

Eluminas Leadership Forward Bound &
Coaching Careershifters

Sonia Lakshman Marie-France

Happy Mondays & Domarin
Careershifters Kaizen People &
Organization

Georgie Scully Richard Alderson

Georgie Scully Careershifters
Coaching

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1
Be a business owner, not just a
coach

Running a successful Then, as you build up the

funds, focus on delegating and
coaching business is as
automating your operations,
much about business as it
including your bookkeeping,
is about coaching. accounting and diary
Coaching is what you’re good at management.
and what you love to do. Reach out to coaches with
Equally, there are two other successful practices and learn how
critical functions that you need to they run these functions.
ensure are running smoothly in “Being a business owner starts with
your business: these are business your mindset. Your coaching will
development (finding clients) and only ever be sustainable if your
operations (the behind-the-scenes business is. That means allocating
‘machinery’ in your company). time and resources to running your
Focus first on building a business; it means a particular focus
consistent flow of potential clients on marketing; and it means you
approaching you. You can read bringing on others to help you.”
more about how to do this in the – Marianne Craig.
rest of this guide.

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2
Define a small, solid niche

Get clear on who you want to start working with groups and
corporate clients in that field.
to work with – and, equally
Interestingly, she discovered that
importantly, who you
her success in this area led to
don’t. further work with individuals, and
This will make it easy for the right her practice took off as a result.
clients to find you. Sarah Dawrant also found that
Marie-France Domarin was focusing on people who can relate
keen to reach as many people to you can pay dividends:
as possible with her coaching “Decide who you have credibility
practice. But after working with with and go after them. For example,
a specialist marketing coach, she if you are a former lawyer going
found that narrowing her message into career coaching, then market
(and her client base) would make yourself to unhappy lawyers. While
the most impact. as coaches, we can really coach
“I learned that by trying to speak to anyone, I’ve noticed that a lot of
everyone, you speak to no-one.” clients like it if you come from their
world.”
As Marie-France had a
background in HR and the
hospitality industry, she chose

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3
Know yourself

Understand your natural “Always play to your strengths. If

you’re a good writer, write. If you’re
strengths. Focus on tasks
a brilliant networker, network. If
in your business where
you’re a tweeter, tweet. Don’t feel
you can apply these – you need to be all things. Not every
and then say ‘no’ to, or coach has a social following, or a
delegate, the rest. book. Do the stuff that gives you joy,
then do it brilliantly.”
“It’s very tempting to do everything
– Sonia Lakshman.
in your business – and sometimes
also a financial necessity in the early
days of your practice. However, keep
asking yourself if an hour of your
time spent coaching or developing
business, is a better use of it than
doing administration. Focus on
making money doing what you’re
good at and let others earn money
doing what they are best at!”
– Sue Powell.

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4
Share yourself and what you
have to say

The best way to reach “Focus on giving not getting. Think

about where your audience lives
more potential clients is to
and where they go. Then go to them.
put yourself in front of the
Engage them. Can you do a talk? A
people you most want to workshop? An article? Get in front
serve. of people. And if standing up in
front of people isn’t your thing, build
You don’t need to do this in a
connections with people you admire
way that’s uncomfortable to you.
and respect – things don’t exist in
Instead, focus on being true to
boxes and referrals come from the
yourself and your strengths.
most unexpected places.”
“Put yourself in the shoes of the – Sonia Lakshman.
people you most want to work with.
What are the challenges they’re
facing? What do they most want,
right now? Speak directly to these
things in your communications
and you’ll find the clients you want
naturally approaching you.”
– Richard Alderson.

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5
Sell a process, not just an
outcome

The more your potential “The main thing that took my

practice to a consistently busy level
clients understand not
was the confidence that doing the
just what they’re going to
Firework training provided. For
achieve with you, but also me, establishing myself as a career
how you’re going to help coach was about knowing – and
them get there, the more communicating to the client – that
likely they will buy your I had a tried and tested process to
take people through.”
services.
– Michelle Bayley.
You’re probably already making
likely outcomes clear with
potential clients.

But also take time to define

the steps you will take your
clients through. Put these into a
framework. And, to give increased
confidence to your potential client,
sell this as a package rather than a
set of individual sessions.

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6
Grow with your own coach
or supervisor

While you nurture and “It’s so important. In the same way

as counsellors have a space to
challenge your coaching
debrief and process their work, I get
clients to enable them to
a huge amount from having my own
grow, who is doing the mentor coach to learn from and
same for you? bounce ideas around with.”

Hiring your own coach (for aspects As Michelle Bayley points

of your life) or supervisor / mentor out, doing this can also have a
coach (for processing thoughts beneficial financial impact on your
about your coaching and clients) is practice:
a great way to help you accelerate
“If you invest in supervision, you’ll
your learning – and, in turn, the
be in a better position to charge a
development of your practice.
fee that reflects your worth because
Georgie Scully has been working you’ll have validation from someone
with Marianne Craig, creator of else about the quality of your
the Firework Career Coaching coaching.”
Programme, for a number of
years. For her, having a supervisor
is a central part of being an
effective coach to others:

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7
Build partnerships and
collaborations

Don’t do this alone. “Talk to local recruitment companies

about partnering up: they might
The level to which you
refer you potential clients in return
work with others will be
for a small fee.”
the level to which your – Michelle Bayley.
practice will thrive.
“Partnering with Careershifters has
Seek out like-minded given me so much: a movement I
organisations and see how you believe in, an incredible platform
can get involved. from which to share what I have to
say, international credibility and
Offer to volunteer, turn up to their
visibility, not to mention lots of
events, or write and ask what you
business.”
can do for them. Get to know the
– Sonia Lakshman.
people behind the company. Show
them how passionate you are. Put
your hand up for stuff (even if they
haven’t asked). Pitch! Say yes.

Collaborate too with other

coaches and tap into connected
fields.

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Are you looking to work
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 I was looking for a This programme is extremely
comprehensive, tried and good value. Since my training
tested programme around last year I’ve used it with 31
career change that I could offer clients, which means I’ve
to clients. Firework has become earned back the initial cost
the foundation of my practice 75 times over. Firework has
making up about 40% of my been key to me establishing
business. My clients are also a thriving coaching practice.
highly satisfied with the clear It’s moved both the quality of
outcomes it gives them and my offer to my clients and the
they appreciate the structured success of my practice onto a
thinking this programme different plain.
provides. I would recommend
the programme to any coach
who would like to add career
change to their offering.

Jon Mitchell,
Career Change Coach

Ros Toynbee,
Director, The Career Coach,
UK

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 Twenty years from now you will be
more disappointed by the things you
didn’t do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.

- Mark Twain

Firework Coaching, part of Careershifters Limited, 75 Kenton Street, London WC1N 1NN, United Kingdom. www.fireworkcoaching.com