Want to become a parenting coach? Starting a parenting coaching business can be incredibly fulfilling. And today, you learn the exact steps to take to become a successful parent coach. Want to learn more? Read on! What is a parenting coach? A parenting coach is someone who helps families in different areas of parenting, including: Baby sleep coaching Potty training coaching Communication coaching Nutrition coaching Coaching is all about supporting people to get the results they want. That’s why, to qualify as a parenting coach, you need to have helped others (or yourself) get past the parenting challenges you help your clients with. For instance, you might have had a baby with sleep problems and you developed your own sleep methodology to get your baby to sleep. Maybe your friends started using your strategies – that’s a great way to show your future clients that you can help them, too. Or you're a child therapist. That work experience translates directly into coaching. Get the Ultimate Guide for building a 6-Figure Coaching Business so you can achieve more freedom! Get Instant Access A few examples of parenting coaching niches include… Baby sleep coaching Breastfeeding coaching Potty training coaching Birth coaching Communication coaching Relationship coaching for parents Divorce coaching Grief coaching ADHD coaching Stress coaching Happiness coaching Nutrition coaching Spiritual coaching Coaching for foster parents Coaching for kinship parents Co-parenting coaching And here are two real-life parenting coaching businesses: GoDiaperFree.com is a coaching and course business that helps parents potty train their children. Mealmentor.com is a vegan meal planning service that helps people, including parents, plan and prep their food. Now you know what parenting coaching is. But how do you build a business around it? How do parenting coaches make money? How do you make money as a coach? There are three different pricing models you can use: Per session. If you charge per session, your clients pay you for every session. I don’t recommend this pricing option, though, because it trains your clients to believe that the value in your coaching lies in the time that you put in with them. Per month. This is a retainer contract, which means that your clients pay you every month. I’m not a fan of this pricing model because it makes it harder for you to establish boundaries and the focus isn’t as much on the results. Per package (my favorite). If you charge per package, your clients pay for a specific package, such as a 3-month coaching commitment. I’m a big fan of pricing per package because you position your coaching and pricing based on the results you’ll help your clients get. The average coaching salary is, according to the ICF Global Coaching Study, $62,500. That said, as an online coach, you can build your coaching business to six figures and beyond, just like many of my clients have done. How? Let’s reverse engineer. If you charge $3,000/coaching package, you need to sell 3 packages/month to get to six figures/year. That’s completely doable. That said, a good starting point for new coaches is to charge $1,500 for a 3-month package. As your coaching develops and you help your clients get better results, you can increase your prices. Learn more about coaching packages in this short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw2iDEYrPvc&t=237s But how do you become a parenting coach? That’s what we’ll look at next. What do you need to become a parenting coach? Do you need a bachelor’s degree in social work or child development to become a parent coach? Or a parenting coaching certification? The answer is simple - no, you don’t. Education isn’t what determines your value as a coach. Instead, what matters is the transformation you help your clients achieve. Here’s what you need to know. How do you become a certified parenting coach? What are the best parenting coaching certification programs? And do you even need a certification? The thing is: you don’t. Coaching is not the same as therapy or counseling (which require education and training). Yes, you help your clients but coaching is no substitute for therapy (just like therapy isn’t coaching). Instead, look at the results you’re able to help people get. That’s what your clients care about -- not whether you are certified or not. And if you’re worried about your lack of experience if you don’t get a certification, don’t worry. You gain experience as you’re coaching paying clients (but you charge less early on so that you can develop your coaching skills one client at a time). Get the Ultimate Guide for building a 6-Figure Coaching Business so you can achieve more freedom! Get Instant Access That said, there are some coaching niches that require a certification. Typically, they’re in the health or mental health niches, so if you’re planning on helping parents on these or related topics, you should be extra careful when researching whether your coaching niche requires a certification. If you do decide to get a parenting coach certification online, make sure that you choose a good certification program. Too often, these certification programs aren’t recognized in any way, while they can cost $1,000-$3,000 or more. Going through one of these programs won’t help you at all or give you any credibility whatsoever. One program that is a recognized certification program? The International Coach Federation. But while you don’t need a coaching certification to become a parenting coach, you DO need coaching clients. Here’s how to find them. Where do you get parenting coaching clients? You might be thinking, “Why would someone want to buy from ME? There’s nothing special about me. What if I'm not good enough?” At least, that’s what a lot of my students tell me. But if you have results in some shape or form (your own results and/or you’ve helped someone else get results), you are ready to take on paying clients. And building your own online coaching business can be surprisingly simple if you let it be. You don’t need much more than these strategies for getting coaching clients (pick one and roll with it): Asking people who you’ve helped before (family and friends) if they want to work with you as a coach Pitching podcasts and guest posts Being active in online or offline groups where your target audience hangs out (such as online mommy groups or local parenting groups) That’s how I got my first few clients as a career coach, by asking friends to whom I had previously given career advice if they wanted more of my help. And these are strategies several of my students have used to quickly grow their coaching businesses. If you want more steps to find your first clients, take a look at this short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el05EoPAUfM&t=279s But once you have your first client, how do you coach them? That’s what we’ll look at next. How do you coach parents? Here’s the thing: Coaching is a skill you learn. So don’t worry if you don’t feel like you’re an amazing coach right now. The more clients you work with, the better your coaching skills are going to get. And because you charge a lower rate early on, your first few clients get a sweet deal, too. They get to work with you for less, while you’re developing your skills as a coach. When you’ve earned your stripes and you have a few testimonials to share with new clients, you’re ready to raise your rates. Here are a few ways you can develop your skills as a coach. Become a great coach The word “coaching” is actually a bit misleading. I like to talk about coaching as “coach-sulting.” You see, while coaching used to be based on Socratic questioning (asking probing questions such as, “how do you feel about that?”), coaching these days is more and more a mix between coaching and consulting. You as the coach don’t only help your clients find the answer themselves (=”traditional” coaching), but you sometimes also give them the answer and help them figure it out faster. For instance, if your client is struggling to get their baby to sleep full nights and you know what they could try to get the baby to sleep better, you’d give them the alternatives rather than leave it to your client to find the answer. Now that you know what coaching looks like, how do you hold a parenting coaching session? Let’s take a look. Hold a coaching session I remember my first coaching session. I was so nervous that I ended up prepping for hours and writing down word-for-word what I would say. But for every client I worked with, coaching got easier and easier. I learned what questions would come up, how to structure my calls, what material I needed to create, and so on. Ultimately, I could just hop on coaching calls without needing to prep beforehand. Before your first call That’s why you don’t need anything before your first coaching calls -- no website, PDFs, or other material. Instead, send a welcome questionnaire to your coaching client so that you understand what they’re struggling with (you can use Google Drive to share the document). Be thorough; I keep my questionnaire to about 30 questions. During your calls You can hold your calls using Zoom, Google Meet, or Skype. And Calendly makes it easy to schedule your coaching sessions. Every coaching call should have a goal that supports your client’s overall goal. For example, if their goal is to help their baby to sleep better, one session might focus on a specific sleeping strategy as a subgoal. And the next focuses on another strategy, and so on. Every coaching call supports that month’s goal, which in turn supports your coaching package’s overall goal. You can break down the months like this: Month #1: Getting the foundations in place for better sleep (nutrition, routine…) Month #2: Test proven sleep strategies to see which ones work for your baby Month #3: Bringing it all together with a baby that sleeps full nights After your calls Your coaching is so much more than just the coaching sessions. In between, your client works on the things you discussed on your previous call. I always send a recording of the call so that my students can revisit them if they need to. Coaching is also all about checking in with your clients between calls and answering their questions. Maybe you do a quick tutorial, share some extra material… Whatever helps your client achieve their goal. Get the Ultimate Guide for building a 6-Figure Coaching Business so you can achieve more freedom! Get Instant Access Over to you! There you have it! Now you know how to become a parenting coach. Parenting coaching is all about helping parents succeed and what it comes down to is that you build a sustainable business based on your clients’ testimonials. Are you ready to launch your parent coaching business? Let me know in the comments below!
Parent coaching services ✔️ | What to know before hiring a parenting coach. ✔️ Get started to learn how to have a more peaceful home.
Helping parents/caregivers to understand what parent-coaching is, and why we are following this approach in Early Intervention, is crucial.
A friend of mine recently asked me to explain coaching- why would someone hire a coach? Is this like doing yoga once a week? What’s the point? Is it really worth the investment? If you’re curious, read on to learn more about what professional coaching is, as well as several research-supported
With our extensive library of video courses on many aspects of positive parenting, you’ll have useful knowledge and years of experience at your fingertips.
Parent coaching and education provided by a child development expert. Parent coaching using asynchronous messaging from your phone.
Five great positive parenting tips from a parent coach! Great insight into your child and your relationship with them. We got this parenting thing down.
WHAT DO I PUT IN MY COACHING PACKAGES? LIFE COACH TRAINING// Crafting coaching packages that sell is both an art and science. So, if you’re at the point in your online coaching business where you’re wondering how to create coaching packages and how to sell coaching then this is the video for you!
Teaching your children emotional regulation is one of the keys to a successful parent child relationship
What is parent coaching? It's a way to stop the chaos and reaction in your home, creating a family that is intentional, present, and thriving. Learn more.
Check out this post for 3 evidence-based tips for building strong working relationships in your parent-coaching sessions.
Steal these 12 powerful coaching questions to help your coaching clients breakthrough their limiting beliefs and reach their goals.
Parent coaching and education provided by a child development expert. Parent coaching using asynchronous messaging from your phone.
Parent coaching and education provided by a child development expert. Parent coaching using asynchronous messaging from your phone.
Launching an ADHD Coaching Business? This is what I'd do differently if I had to start over from scratch (both easy and affordable).
When you’re just starting your life coaching business, it can be overwhelming to figure out what pieces of tech to use. Here are the 5 types of tech you need to start your coaching business.
If you want to scale your coaching business, read this! This is the guide on how to create a group coaching program that ACTUALLY sells!
Have you ever thought about making the jump and becoming a professional life coach? Despite the global mess that is 2020, life coaching has proven to be an increasingly popular, practical, and sustainable profession. Globally, there are more than 71000 coach practitioners, with a large majority being based in North America and Western Europe.
What Does A Team Parent Do? 17 Ways To Stop A Coaches Headache. This post is for either a brand new team parent who wants to know more about the role and how to do it right, or for an existing team parent who wants to see if there is more they can do to make the team's life easier.
Parenting Coach Canva Template, Parenting Expert & Life Coach Empowering Mothers Instagram Post, Motherhood Template, Parenting Quotes This parenting coach canva template is perfect for promoting your services to parents. The design features a friendly and helpful coach, along with text that outlines the services you provide. Customize the template to match your branding, and use it to attract new clients. This parenting coach canva template is perfect for promoting your childrearing skills. The template has a modern design with plenty of space to add your own content. Topics Include - Parenting Tips - Motherhood Quotes - Mother and father Quotes - Child Growth Tips - Mom Quotes - Parenting Infographics - Parenting Gets Easier - Parenting in digital age - Child Development - Rules For Parents - and many more Details: Size: Instagram format Format: Canva Editable What you are receiving? 110 Template 45 INSTAGRAM Parenting Coach POSTS: 1080 x 1080 px 15 INSTAGRAMParenting Coach STORIES: 1080 x 1920 px 50 INSTAGRAM Parenting Coach and Motherhood Quotes: 1080 x 1080 px May You Also Like : https://www.etsy.com/CreativeDesignsbypp/listing/1235291998 WHAT CAN I EDIT? Text & Text Color Fonts Background colors Add your Photos How does it work? After purchasing you will be taken to the Etsy download page. Your file will also be sent via email. Terms: For personal use only. Copyright remains with the designer. Seo Helper: Parenting Coach, Parenting Expert, Empowering Mothers, mom quotes, editable template, Canva template, Parenting Instagram, Instagram Template, Parenting Coach, Parenting Expert, Empowering Mothers, mom quotes, editable template, Canva template, Parenting Instagram, Instagram Template, Parenting template
This post outlines an evidence-based approach for parent-coaching that you can use in your early intervention sessions, inc. a free handout.
“My clients and I keep getting stuck in the weeds… how can I elevate my coaching to be truly life-changing for them?” As a heart-centered coach, asking great questions is the most powerful way you can facilitate reflection and transformation in your clients! Having a few breakthrough questions up
Suggested reading about instructional coaching and adult learning. Prepare for an interview by reading about education, leadership, and coaching.
In today’s video I’m going to break down for you how to run a 60 minute online life coaching session that helps your clients to have life changing results.
Inspirational free coaching questions for your clients, coaching sessions, social media & more! Includes goal-setting questions & wrap-up session questions.
Wondering how to start a consulting business? In this post we break it down into 7 easy-to-follow steps + we share the top mistakes to avoid. Check it out!
Coaching intake forms help life coaches deal with their clients and create a strategy to address their client's concerns and issues. Click to view examples.
A friend of mine recently asked me to explain coaching- why would someone hire a coach? Is this like doing yoga once a week? What’s the point? Is it really worth the investment? If you’re curious, read on to learn more about what professional coaching is, as well as several research-supported
As a business coach for mom coaches I seem to attract a lot of multi-passionate mamas. Which makes sense. Being an entrepreneur takes a lot of fire in your belly to be success. Having a successful coaching biz, just like any business, is a marathon. You will reach your income level goal IF you don’t […]
Whenever some one asks me what’s one thing I would have different at the beginning of my coaching career the first thing that comes to mind is sticking to the principles offered inside Profit First. I’m by no means an expert in this system offered by Mike Michalowicz in his book Profit First to grow […]
A friend of mine recently asked me to explain coaching- why would someone hire a coach? Is this like doing yoga once a week? What’s the point? Is it really worth the investment? If you’re curious, read on to learn more about what professional coaching is, as well as several research-supported
5 Business Tools That Help Me Run My Coaching Business
Note: This article is a guide for coaching assessment tools. If you’re looking for coaching tools in general, check out this article on our blog.
Le coaching sportif est connu et reconnu depuis des années. Le coaching de vie lui est en pleine émergence. Cependant, je suis certaine que beaucoup d’entre vous ne savent pas trop ce dont il s’agit, à quoi ça sert exactement, à qui cela s’adresse … Et cela je m’en rends compte depuis que je suis… Lire la Suite Pourquoi faire appel à un coach de vie ?
Teaching your children emotional intelligence by becoming their emotion coach. There are five easy steps to do this including being aware of emotions.
Not sure how to write your coaching philosophy? Still a little unclear about what it is in the first place and why you need one? We’ve got you covered!
Learn the importance of hiring the right business coach in the right season and meet some of our favorite coaches from the SOWBO community.
Are you a new coach wanting to start your business in the right way? Then, a coaching contract is what you need. As a business owner, you want to protect your business and make sure you get the money you’re owed, you don’t suddenly get sued by a disgruntled client, and your business is safe. (Spoiler alert: A coaching contract does that and much more.) Today, I, together with legal coach Lisa Fraley, share how you can create a solid coaching agreement for your business. Steps: Why do you need a coaching contract?What should your coaching contract include? How do you use your coaching contract? How do you enforce your coaching contract? What about all those other legal considerations? Further reading: Create a coaching business Who am I? My name is Luisa Zhou. I’ve taught thousands of students and counting how to leave their day jobs and start their own business making anywhere from 10K to 100K plus in less than a year. I started my first online business teaching people the digital advertising skills I’d learned from previous jobs, made 6-figures in 4 months, and quit my job. Today, I teach smart, successful people like YOU how to start your own six-figure plus business. Who is Lisa Fraley? Lisa Fraley, JD is an Attorney, Legal Coach®, Speaker,#1 Best-Selling Author of Easy Legal Steps and the host of the “Legally Enlightened” podcast on iTunes. As a Holistic Lawyer®, Lisa blends her legal expertise as a former health care attorney in a large corporate law firm and the care of a Health & Life Coach through IIN & Coach U to help thousands of heart-centered holistic health coaches, licensed practitioners, and online business owners protect their businesses and brands with contracts, disclaimers, trademarks and more. Want to Build a 6-Figure Coaching Business So You Can Achieve More Freedom? Get Instant Access To My FREE Ultimate Guide Below! GET INSTANT ACCESS When you sign up, you’ll also receive regular updates on building a successful online business. Why do you need a coaching contract? Wonder what a coaching contract does? First, research shows that contracts build trust. Your legal agreements will make clients trust you more and that way, improve your coaching services. Second, if you already have a couple of coaching clients, you know that it happens from time to time: Clients who don’t appreciate you, ghost you for no apparent reason, and then blame you for not getting results. Students who keep rescheduling with just a few hours’ notice. People who send refund requests long after your refund period has expired. Even if these situations are relatively rare, you still want to protect yourself from them. That’s what a coaching contract does. A client agreement helps you set boundaries A one-on-one coaching contract is the first agreement or legal document you should have in place as a coach. You see: If you're serious about your business, you should be legally protected from the very beginning. You save time, energy, and a lot of gray hairs by having clear boundaries for your business. You set the terms of your coaching Establishing a coaching agreement helps you set the terms for your coaching. It helps you say, "This is how I conduct my coaching calls, how I respond to messages, and how you can get in touch with me." And look, it’s not all about telling clients what they can’t do. An agreement makes it clear what your coaching program is all about. It protects both you AND your client. As Lisa puts it: “A Client Agreement is the written contract you use with one-on-one clients. It’s your key document for protecting your one-on-one service or program that you have poured HOURS over to develop (not to mention the blood, sweat, tears and dollars!) and it protects the income that you plan to earn. Your written Client Agreement gives you strong legal backing, which helps you feel safe, secure, and confident—and it clearly spells out your client policies in one place so your clients don’t have to dig through their e-mails to remember your policies about refunds, missed appointments, or cancellations so you can prevent headaches and awkward conversations later.” When I started my coaching business, this was the only agreement I had in place. It was only when I added on group programs and courses that I created more contracts. A coaching contract shows your clients what they can and can’t do with our content and program. It: Protects your income. Outlines your responsibilities. Outlines your client’s responsibilities. Sets the payment terms. Sets the terms for your coaching calls. ...And much more. For example, here's how I've been able to protect my business with my contracts: Example: How coaching contracts protect against refunds and chargebacks It’s relatively rare that I get a refund or chargeback request because I offer quality services and products and I’m careful to make it clear who my products are for. Still, it does happen. Most coaching businesses will get at least a few refund requests for every hundred clients or so. (It’s just the name of the business game -- ANY business will get refund requests.) My refund request process depends a bit on the specific request. If it seems that someone just doesn’t feel like paying (and is in clear violation with my terms), I will hold them to the contract. That’s where contracts help. If you’re delivering what you promise, you can feel assured that you are protected legally from wrongful refund requests. I talk more about it in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh4d0gB3bdg&t= Plus, coaching contracts help with chargebacks. You can use your contract to show the credit card company what your terms are and that the client isn’t honoring that agreement. That's how a contract helps you win the majority of chargeback requests. After all, if you have delivered your part of the agreement and you offer a great service, you SHOULD get paid for it. A client who has read and agreed to your terms is responsible for acting in accordance with those terms. In this video, I talk about another contractual issue... Clients who ghost you! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AbzpTzGxSk&t= The most common misconceptions about coaching contracts There are a few things people tend to get wrong about coaching contracts and their terms. These are... #1: Content that you and your clients own Your contract will probably state that you own your own content and your students own the content that they share during the coaching program. But there’s an exception to the rule. Your contract might mention that if a client shares a testimonial in a facebook group or via email you can use it without having to ask. My personal policy is to ask if the testimonial was shared via email (as it’s more private). And if the testimonial is shared in a Facebook group, a semi-public forum, I’ll mark out the name and picture and share it without having to ask. #2: Non-defamation clauses Most coaching contracts have a non-defamation clause that states that a client can’t post false information about the coach. Now, this doesn’t mean that the client can’t post an honest, bad review. Instead, defamation is a false statement that discredits someone’s reputation. For example, if a client badmouths a coach because they don’t feel like paying or the coach holds them to the contract they signed, that would likely be defamation. A review, on the other hand, is a review of the coaching services and their results. This is also not a clause that is unique to coaching agreements. In the same way, most employment agreements have a similar clause. (Which means that you probably can’t badmouth your employer -- but nothing keeps you from reviewing them on Glassdoor.) #3: Responsibility for other clients Let’s say that you run a group coaching program or a course where your students interact in a private Facebook group or a Slack thread. Are you responsible for how your clients behave? A possible scenario is that one student might steal an idea or content from another student. Most coaching contracts will say that the coach can’t be responsible for this. That’s because there’s only so much a coach can do to monitor these situations. That being said, usually, this is a non-issue to begin with. Over five years and with thousands of students who have gone through my programs, we’ve only had one instance where this was even close to being an issue. That time, a student reached out and we had a conversation with the person who was stealing the other student’s content. It ended up being resolved (to the first student’s satisfaction) with that person taking down all their content and issuing a sincere apology. What should your coaching contract include? Let me share a quick story about why you need terms that are specifically created for a coaching business... Before I had made any money in my business, I hired a lawyer to write my contract and website terms. I yelped lawyers in my area and specifically looked for lawyers who worked with startup businesses. Why? I figured they would understand my needs as an online business owner. In the end, I ended up paying them around $3,000 without much to show for it. Well after I paid for the contract, I learned more about the legal requirements for my industry. And I realized that my contract wouldn’t cut it. It was about two paragraphs long and a lot of basic things were missing. For example, my website terms didn’t include a cookie policy, something that is standard for website terms and conditions. The result? I had to hire a completely new lawyer and spent thousands more. Lesson learned: Your contract needs to work for your business. If you’re an online coach, then it needs to take those online requirements into consideration. (On the other hand, if you’re an offline coach, there are other things that need to be addressed, like liability for accidents at your office.) The length of your coaching contract As Lisa explains, one of the biggest mistakes coaches make is to create a short contract. “Each coach is free to be as strict or as lenient as the coach wishes. However, some of the biggest mistakes come from using a very short contract - like 1-2 pages. Many coaches are afraid to send a 4-5 page contract because they think it's "long" and might scare away their prospective client. However, short contracts are generally vaguely worded or incomplete in that they are missing key sections which can work against you. The way that law works is that if something is not spelled out in writing, it's harder to prove or defend. It can more easily be construed against you. You actually need to spell your policies out in detail to be super-clear. For example, if you have a 30-day money back guarantee, instead of writing ‘I offer a 30-day refund’, it's far more clear and protective to write ‘You have 30 days from the date of purchase to request a refund by sending an email to me at this email address.’” The thing is... You need to make sure that your coaching contract is as long as it needs to be. (A great way is to use Lisa’s own legal term templates, which we’ll get to shortly.) Next, we’ll look at exactly what you need to include in your contract. The elements of a coaching contract The good thing about coaching contracts is that you only need to create them once. You then send out this standard contract that you and your client sign. A coaching contract consists of the following parts: Introduction The introduction establishes the purpose of your contract. You identify the parties of the contract (that’s you and your client). Program description The program description gives a clear overview of your coaching program. What’s included? How many hours/calls? Expectations and responsibilities In this section, you list your own responsibilities as a coach. You also list your client’s responsibilities as a coachee. Scheduling and communications What is your policy on contacting you and rescheduling calls? This is the section that establishes your policy. Investment and payment Here you state your program rates, your refund policy, and other payment-related issues. Confidentiality Your confidentiality clause outlines the information that is and isn’t confidential and under what circumstances. Intellectual property rights This is the section where you establish how your clients can use your content. Personal responsibility, disclaimer, and release of claims Here, you tell clients what they can expect of your services and what they shouldn’t expect. You’re basically saying that you can’t promise specific results and that your advice isn’t medical/financial or legal. Other terms This section helps you include different terms that don’t fit in the other sections. For example: How contracts can be terminated and how you resolve disputes. A coaching contract template Now, if you want a secure contract that you KNOW will cover most situations you might face as an online coach, I recommend that you buy contract templates for coaching. Lisa offers DIY templates, which are created for online coaches and cover everything you need in your business. Her legal starter kit for 1-on-1 clients include all the legal contracts you need right now: A one-on-one coaching agreement. A disclaimer. And a website disclaimer, privacy policy, and terms and conditions. And, if you’re just setting up your business, take a look at Lisa’s Sole Proprietor Biz Registration and Taxes package. You can also use a tool like LegalZoom or RocketLawyer. My own preference is Lisa’s templates because as a lawyer for coaches, Lisa has so much experience in the coaching industry. Want to Build a 6-Figure Coaching Business So You Can Achieve More Freedom? Get Instant Access To My FREE Ultimate Guide Below! GET INSTANT ACCESS When you sign up, you’ll also receive regular updates on building a successful online business. How do you use your coaching contract? Now, you know how to set up your contract. But how do you actually use it? I have a standard process in place. It’s simple and pretty much automated: When a client says yes to working with you, they will first pay you. After you’ve received the payment, you send a contract. I use HelloSign, which sends the contract straight to your client. It’ll also send reminders, if needed, to your client to review and sign the contract. There’s one important thing to note here: You need to ask them to sign the contract as close as possible to paying you. Why? If they don’t agree to your terms, you’ll need to refund them. And so you should never have your first call before your client has signed the contract. (Or you risk doing work for free.) How do you enforce your coaching contract? In most client relationships, both you and the client will walk away happy with your time together. But sometimes, you will need to enforce your contract. The specific rate of enforcement cases depends (and can vary a bit from industry to industry), but as Lisa puts it: “Sometimes newer coaches can feel more leery of stating and enforcing clear boundaries around payments, refunds, cancellations because they're worried that they'll lose clients, so they may end up with clients missing payments or rescheduling calls up to 30-35% of the time. However, as coaches progress in their practices, usually they feel more comfortable holding their boundaries more (with love, of course!) and may only have to chase down payments or reschedule calls only 10-15% of the time, or even less often.” Enforcing your contract So, what if you HAVE to enforce your contract? When should you enforce it? And how? Lisa explains: “Coaches have the right to enforce their Agreement anytime a client oversteps a boundary or who doesn't hold up their end of the Client Agreement - in other words, as we say in legal-speak, when the client "violates a term of the Agreement." Enforcement can take many forms. It could be calling the client and discussing the situation or sending an email all the way through actually bringing a lawsuit if a significant amount of money is in question and hasn't been paid. The best option is to send your initial correspondence by email (rather than merely talking by phone) so that you have proof that you have reached out to the client in writing to try to resolve the situation and proof of the date on which the email was sent.” Step-by-step enforcement process The step-by-step of enforcing your contract is this: Step 1: Try to enforce your contract amicably. Send a few emails and try to get your client on the phone. Step 2: If this doesn’t work, send your client a cease and desist letter. For this, you need a lawyer’s help. Step 3: The biggest step is to enforce your conflict resolution clause, either in court or in a private proceeding. This is a whole process and comes with a lot of costs so you should only sue in a very small number of cases, if at all. Besides these steps, you’ll also have standard processes in place for chargebacks and non-payments. I have a system set up with a company that handles this for me. But when you’re just starting your business, you’re better off handling this yourself. What about all those other legal considerations? Now you know A LOT about coaching contracts (and you can even get Lisa’s bulletproof contract template to set up one for yourself!) But there are a few other things you might be wondering about for making your business comply with the law. I’ve listed some of the most common questions I get here: #1: Do you need insurance? A contract is actually the first step BEFORE you get insurance. That’s because a contract sets the boundaries for your services. The next step is to get insurance. In most cases, you’re not required to get insurance. But in some industries (mainly health-related industries), you might be obliged to get insurance. You can read more about business insurance on the SBA’s site. #2: GDPR, Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation, and CAN-SPAM You might have heard of GDPR, CASL, and CAN-SPAM, the EU’s, Canada’s, and the US’s privacy and/or anti-spam legislations. How do you go about meeting these requirements? It actually all comes down to treating your community members with respect. Have a clear sign on your email opt-in form that says that people are going to be added to your email list, a double email opt-in button that people receive when they sign up, and don’t send newsletters to people who haven’t signed up for your email list. (Want to learn more? Lisa has A LOT of great content on this. For example, this article on GDPR.) #3: International clients and legal considerations How do you work with international clients from a legal standpoint? “If you have international clients, you want to make sure you have registered your business locally to prove your business is based in your state. Then you want to be sure that your Governing Law section in your Client Agreement states that the law which will govern your one-on-one relationship is the law of your state. Of course, there may be other international or national, state or local laws you need to follow as well,” says Lisa. Want more? Check out Lisa’s podcast episode on this. Want to Build a 6-Figure Coaching Business So You Can Achieve More Freedom? Get Instant Access To My FREE Ultimate Guide Below! GET INSTANT ACCESS When you sign up, you’ll also receive regular updates on building a successful online business. Further reading: Create a coaching business If you want more advice on how to start your coaching business, don’t miss these articles: “How to Start a 6-Figure Coaching Business” Want to know the step-by-step process of starting a 6-figure coaching business? Here you go. “3 Steps to Finding High-Ticket Coaching Niches” Want to find YOUR perfect coaching niche? This post shows you how. “How to Sell High-End Coaching Packages” Wondering what it takes to create a coaching package that sells like hotcakes? I spill the beans here. “How to Price Your Online Coaching Services” How do you successfully price your coaching services? In this article, I share my best tips. “How to Get Coaching Clients Fast: The Foolproof 3-Step System” I have a system for getting coaching clients fast. Want to learn what it is? Read on! "How to Hold a Great One-on-One Coaching Session" Wonder how YOU can be a great coach and hold powerful coaching sessions? Read this post. Ready to create your own coaching contract? There you have it! Now you know why you need a coaching contract -- and how to create one. Next: Set up your own legal agreement. The easiest is to create one yourself with a tool like LegalZoom or buy one of Lisa’s ready-made agreements. Let me know in the comments below: What’s holding you back from creating a coaching contract? (Disclaimer: This article is not meant as legal advice. Consult a legal expert for tailored legal information that applies to your specific situation.)
What is parent coaching? It's a way to stop the chaos and reaction in your home, creating a family that is intentional, present, and thriving. Learn more.
Uncover the do's and don'ts of crafting a coaching welcome package that makes your clients excited to work with you.
Confused by all the coaching styles out there? Is there a difference between the type of coach and their coaching style? This post answers all your questions.
Free Coaching Tools, Resources & Templates to save you time, money and effort! Includes Wheel of Life Template, Coaching Intake Form & more.
Not sure how to write your coaching philosophy? Still a little unclear about what it is in the first place and why you need one? We’ve got you covered!