The Power of Cloning: Why Reinventing the Wheel is Killing Your Coaching Business

If there’s one strategy that gets misinterpreted, and underutilized more than anything by business coaches, it’s this: cloning.

Yeah, you heard me. “Cloning” gets a bad rap. The entrepreneurial world is obsessed with “innovation,” thinking the only way to make it big is to break new ground, create something the world has never seen.

And, don’t get me wrong, there’s room for innovation. But if your small business clients aren’t thriving, if your coaching revenue is stuck in the “sandbox” (as I call it), and if you’re forever chasing the next shiny object, odds are you’re burning time and money on being new instead of being smart.

Let’s dive in, get real about cloning, and talk about how you, yes, you can install this proven strategy and shortcut YEARS of struggle.

Why Cloning Works

If you honestly think the Domino’s or the Papa John’s guy sat in a dark room dreaming up pizza, I’ve got bad news. They spotted something that worked, improved a part of it, maybe made delivery faster or the crust a bit thicker, and scaled the whole thing to dizzying heights. The so-called “disruptors” in every industry? Nine times out of ten, they’re just brilliant cloners.

• Apple’s iPod? It’s a refinement of the old-school MP3 player.
• Word and Excel? Built off the backs of WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3.
• Starbucks? Howard Schultz literally imported café culture from Italy and installed it in North America.

Cloning isn’t stealing. It’s reverse engineering proven frameworks, bolting them into your own business or your client’s, then adding YOUR secret sauce.

How Cloning Solves Real Coaching Problems

Here’s the thing. As a business coach, you’ve probably felt stuck when:

• Clients don’t grow fast enough, and you feel like you’re failing them.
• Your lead generation runs cold because your offer doesn’t sound special.
• You waste hours “brainstorming” the next great service, offer, or webinar only for it to fall flat.

The truth? Your clients like landscapers, roofers, or mortgage brokers don’t need reinvention. They need results. And results come quicker by modeling businesses that have already blazed the trail.

Think about it: nobody remembers the guy who invented the burger. But everyone knows McDonald’s, and Burger King, somehow, is still printing money.

Cloning for Coaches and Their Clients

Let’s get practical. Suppose you’re working with a local landscaping company in a small town. Most coaches say, “Let’s come up with a new offer, stand out, find blue sky.” I say, “What are the best landscapers in L.A., New York, and Toronto doing?

What does their website look like? What service packages are they offering? What marketing hooks pull in the leads?”

The cloning approach:

• Research the Top Performers. Google the biggest players in major (competitive) markets. Don’t just stop at the homepage, study their offers, language, social proof, upsells, and client journey. Tools like ChatGPT or AI-powered research tools make this easier than ever.
• Reverse Engineer Their Processes. Map out exactly what they’re doing. Email funnels, maintenance plans, “free quote” opt-ins, seasonal service bundles steal, adapt, repeat.
• Install and Refine. Bring these strategies, offers, or funnel layouts into your client’s business. Put your twist on things, but don’t lose sight of the original framework.
• Rinse and Repeat. Once it works for landscaping, clone for your roofer, florist, candlestick maker… You get the idea.

The payoff? Your clients see faster results. You gain legendary status as the “coach who brings real-world, battle-tested strategies.” And guess who refers you to their 7-figure business buddies?

Want to Stand Out

Guess what: “Originality” isn’t about inventing something new. It’s about executing proven ideas better than the last guy, or combining several winning strategies in one flawless package. Steve Jobs was famous for saying “good artists copy, great artists steal.” He didn’t mean piracy; he meant integrating what works.

Don’t shy away from copying successful offers. Don’t let trial and error drain your time, bank account, and confidence. Trial and error is popular, but it’s the WORST strategy for business. It’s expensive trust me, there’s a long list of business experiments in my past that still make me wince.

The Big Mistake

Every time you obsess over building “the next big thing” rather than modeling the proven, you’re gambling with your business, your client’s future, and your reputation.

Here’s what really happens:

• You lose focus.
• You miss out on rapid growth.
• You watch less talented coaches with more focus run laps around you.

Keep it simple. Find what works, install it, and never apologize for using the shortcut that every great businessperson has already taken.

Your Cloning Blueprint

If you’re ready to make cloning a core pillar of your coaching practice (and you should be), here’s your action plan:

• Pick a Niche: Landscapers, roofers, dentists whoever your favorite client is.
• Find the Leaders: Research the top 3-5 performers in large, competitive markets.
• Catalog Their Best Offers: Snapshot their front-end offers, lead magnets, pricing models, and guarantees.
• Install in Your Client’s Business: Adapt these proven elements, localize where needed, and launch.
• Track and Optimize: Watch the numbers. Iterate like the best franchises do.

And if you want the ultimate shortcut, I created an operating system you can install in ANY small business to increase profits and cut years off the learning curve.

Ready to stop reinventing and start winning?

Book a call to learn how to clone the best and install a results-driven operating system in your client businesses TODAY.

Book your call. Let’s get cloning. Your revenue, and your clients will thank you.