163: How Many Coaching Clients Can You Serve at Once?

This episode is about thinking through how you’ll earn as a coach based on how many clients you can feasibly serve at a time. It requires a bit of math and strategic thinking. And, it will be eye opening! Find the full transcript for this episode at prosperouscoach.com/163.Are You Charging for Coaching by the Session?Most often, when I meet new coaches in a Discovery Call or Strategy Session where I help them with a bite-sized topic such as determining their audience and niche — if they have paying clients at all, they are charging by the session.Speaking in terms of US dollars, they’ve set their prices anywhere from $25 to $150 per session. Some may be packaging sessions of say  … 3 sessions for $450.At the top of that range, coaches tell me they feel uncomfortable. $150 per hour sounds exorbitant! I mean aren’t those getting close to lawyer rates? Would anyone or should anyone pay more than that for coaching?So I get it. These are the same concerns I had as a new coach. Part of the issue here is perspective. The standard behind that approach is pricing in dollars per hour. That way of thinking will not help you earn well as a coach.I’ve switched up my perspective on pricing and invite you to do the same. First, what’s making you think about pricing with that old standard?Well to start you may be used to earning an hourly wage or salary. You might also be used to receiving benefits like health insurance, paid vacation and sick days as part of your employment package.Once those things are deducted from your pay and you divide the amount of your net paycheck by the hours you work, being paid $25 to $50 per hour seems decent, right?A small percentage of employees in the world earn $150 per hour or more so it seems crazy to believe you can as a coach, right?Why Charging By the Session Keeps Coaches Struggling FinanciallyBut wait … the key word is ‘employee’. When you’re working for yourself, you pay for your own health insurance. There are no paid vacations and sick days. At least not in the way you’re used to thinking.And, you may not realize that you also will invest money regularly into your own business infrastructure beyond the initial costs of coach training. Add to that the hours and expenses of marketing. You’re paying your own social security (an amount deducted from US paycheck).As part of my VIP program I help coaches create that infrastructure and set up systems. It involves paying for a few accounts. Those yearly or monthly fees add up. Health insurance and business expenses need to be taken into consideration when pricing your program.After all you need to earn well as a coach. You may have a full time job now that you want to transition out of soon. Or you may have been laid off or quit which lead you to building your coaching business. In any case, it’s important that you think differently about your time, your expenses and earnings.When I started my coaching business I imagined I would work with a lot of people every year. I also thought that everyone wants to hire a coach. I figured it was just a matter of a great looking website and maybe a little public speaking and I’d soon have a flow of eager clients. Can you relate?Click here to read about a more savvy way to price your coaching program.