Business coaching is an exciting and satisfying profession that gives me great personal and financial rewards as well. If you’re skilled as a business coach and know how to create real results for your clients, you can be paid really well working the days and hours you desire. You also can create a hugely profitable business as coaching doesn’t require much in the way of overhead. If it’s this easy, then why do we see so many business coaches who lack clients and income and don’t have a sustainable business?

I have been pondering this question and decided to do a bit of research. I surveyed 20 business coaches doing over $100,000 per year and 20 who were doing less than $50,000 per year – and was able to see some pretty major distinctions. Before I compiled the results I was a bit baffled why some business coaches weren’t making it. All I could guess was that these coaches thought they could dub themselves a business coach without any support, training or resources. Since they had no effective coaching process or tools to provide their clients, my guess was that they would struggle to make a living.

And I found my hypothesis to be true. In fact, their coaching doesn’t work. Their clients don’t get the outcomes and results they paid them for and the business coaches who were struggling financially didn’t know the actual success strategies they need to actually grow a profitable business coaching practice.

Let’s shift your paradigm about business coaching and look at what the success strategies are that you need in place for long-term financial success in this industry.

First, you are in the right business. Business coaching is booming because small businesses everywhere need help with their growth. Large firms want help with marketing, sales, operations and leadership. As more and more businesses have realized they can’t fix their own problems they’re seeking business coaches to assist them. Let’s face it, every business needs and wants more customers and to increase their profits. Yet, the business typically has a major problem that they haven’t been able to fix themselves. This is why they’re now hiring a business coach to help them see who their best prospects are and then to give them a proven system that will attract their best prospects… or to help with other areas of business success.

All of the six-figure business coaches I surveyed had taken their experience and expertise in a business segment like marketing, sales, operations, management, accounting or other business related areas and brought that ability to their clients. This can have a major impact on these businesses and smart coaches set up their contracts so they receive financial rewards for the additional revenue they help generate. So what’s needed to be successful? Why aren’t all business coaches successful?

First, let’s look at why business coaches fail. One reason is they don’t have their own proven marketing tools in place. Another is they haven’t selected a narrow niche and focused on their ideal avatar in that niche. And another reason these coaches told me they aren’t making the money they desire is that while they can see the problems a business has, they don’t have the proven systems, processes and tools to help the business overcome their problems.

I see business coaches who don’t have a clue how to help a business implement the strategies and techniques and resources the clients really need. It’s not only having the tools as a business coach; it’s knowing how to help clients implement what you bring to them. And finally, business coaches surveyed said they’re failing because they don’t deliver outcomes for their clients and as a result, their clients don’t remain with them long-term and don’t refer other businesses to them. This means they’re constantly hunting for more clients.

The successful business coaches making over $100,000 have a well-defined plan with tested and proven strategies and tactics – and a system for their coaching along with resources that help their clients get real, tangible, measurable, predictable and quantifiable results. Successful business coaches have invested in training and systems and processes to bring to their clients. They have real solutions to real business problems and only work with ideal avatars who they know they can help and achieve their desired outcomes.

I looked at my business coaching firm and compared my success to those six figure coaches and found we have a lot in common. I only work with clients who are fully committed to my coaching process and those businesses that have a gap that I know I can provide a solution for that will get them measurable results. I only work with businesses I can provide a return on investment for and I only work with clients who really want their problem/s solved. My track record of success with my clients is due to working with perfect, brilliant, ideal clients who are destined for success.

The business coaches who are crushing it have established themselves as experts in their niches and exude confidence while also being competent as coaches. These coaches aren’t trying to be all things to all people. Instead, they’ve selected a niche to focus on that they have experience with and expertise in. These business coaches easily have six and even seven figure businesses.

Having been in this industry for the past 2 plus decades, it has become clear to me that business coaching is a fantastic business if you’re willing to focus on a niche that you can bring your expertise to, and if you invest in training, proven strategies, tools and resources to bring to your clients. If you want to really make it big by being a business coach and creating a long-term profitable business, follow the footprints of the other successful business coaches.