What I'd Do To Get 10 Paying Coaching Clients in 90 Days... if I started a health or wellness business today
Plus the 3 pieces of common advice I'd completely ignore!
If you’ve been trying to build a health or wellness coaching business, you know it isn’t easy.
You’re up against a lot of competition. And I bet all the ‘advice’ you’re hearing about what you should do is only making it more confusing
So I’m going to tell you exactly what I would do if I wanted to start a health or wellness coaching business today from scratch. No clients, no audience, and no website. This is based on what I’ve seen work, and what I’ve seen be a waste of time.
But first, in case you’re wondering why you should listen to me, let me give you a little background…
First, I’ve been a marketer for over 30 years. I don’t have one of those “I used to be a health coach, but now I help health coaches build their businesses” stories. My story is that I’ve been a marketer for my entire career. I spent years building brands like MTV, Nickelodeon, and Pokémon into global icons.
Second, I left the corporate world because I wanted to build a business that gave me two important things:
The freedom to work on my own terms
Work that focused on something I was genuinely passionate about (natural health and wellness).
Then I discovered copywriting. And I had the amazing fortune of apprenticing with one of the top alternative health writers (who is a legend in the copywriting world).
And third, since 2018 I’ve been using my Fortune 500 experience and advanced copywriting skills to help health and wellness professionals build profitable coaching businesses. I’ve helped over 1,000 of them. And many have gone on to add $10,000 to $20,000 to their monthly income (and some a lot more).
Okay, now let’s get to the three things I would focus on if I wanted to start a new health or wellness coaching business… and the three things people often tell aspiring coaches to do that I would completely ignore. Let’s start with those.
Here’s what I would NOT waste my time on
Everyone tells new coaches to “pick a niche.” Even I used to say the same thing.
But then I watched how it kept coaches stuck for months. And some a lot longer.
It feels like such a big decision. And honestly, the advice out there on how to do it is mediocre, at best.
Now there’s nothing “wrong” with having a niche. And if you’re already 100% certain what you want to do, that’s great.
But if that’s not you, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Because in a moment I’m going to tell you what’s even more important than picking a niche.
The second thing I’d skip is spending any time or money developing my “brand identity.” (And I say that as someone who had a 29-year career building brands!)
If I was starting a new health coaching business, I wouldn’t have a photo shoot. I wouldn’t worry about a logo. And I wouldn’t spend any time thinking about brand colors, fonts, or any of that type of stuff. Those things are all nice-to-haves. But they will not get you clients.
Honestly, a person with a health problem doesn’t care about your brand colors or your logo. All they care about is whether you can help them.
So building a brand identity at this stage is often procrastination disguised as productivity. It keeps you busy, but it won’t move the needle on your business.
And the third thing I’d skip is building a website. At this stage, you probably don’t have what you need to create a website that actually gets you clients. (And if your website isn’t helping you get clients, what’s it there for?)
Save the website for later. Right now, you need to focus on something else entirely.
So if I’m not picking a niche, building a brand, or creating a website… what am I doing?
The 3 Things I Would Focus On Now To Build My Coaching Business
The most important thing when you’re starting out is getting client experience. Hands down, this is your #1 goal.
When I was building my copywriting business, I already knew I wanted to help health and wellness professionals with their marketing. But my copywriting mentor told me to get any kind of client experience I could. So I worked with anyone who’d hire me — an interior designer, financial planners, a theology teacher, SaaS companies, a supermarket… and a bunch more.
And I learned so much! I learned how to ask questions that got people to reveal insights I needed to write their copy. I also figured out what kind of people I liked working with (and who I didn’t). And most importantly, I gained confidence.
I also started seeing patterns. I noticed where people lacked clarity and where they struggled beneath the surface. I got clearer about where I could make the biggest difference.
I hear the same thing with a lot of the health and wellness professionals I work with, too. As they start working with clients, they realize there are other factors that contribute to the problem. They see patterns, no matter what they’re helping people with.
Those kinds of insights only happen through real conversations with people. And that brings me to the second thing I’d focus on…
I’d build a deep understanding of the people I’m helping.
Every conversation with a client or potential client is a golden opportunity. And to make the most of it, you need to go beyond surface-level questions like “How long have you had this problem?” and “What have you tried?”
You want to understand how the problem affects their daily life. That means talking about:
What things have they’ve stopped doing because of the problem?
How does missing out on these things make them feel?
Why do they think the things they tried didn’t work?
How would their life be different if they didn’t have the problem?
Why are they trying to solve it now?
Write down the exact words they use because these insights will become one of the biggest needle-movers in building your business.
When you use these insights in your marketing… especially if you use the words real people use… you’re speaking as a genuine person, not a marketer. And that builds trust.
Plus, when you understand their frustrations and obstacles, you can find ways to make those non-issues in your coaching program. That’s how you stand out.
Okay, now let’s get to the third thing I’d focus on…
Building social proof.
Working with clients is the only way to build your library of social proof. Even if your early testimonials are from people dealing with different problems than what you’ll eventually focus on, they’re still valuable. They show potential clients what you’re like to work with as a coach. And that’s one of the first things people want to know before they invest with you.
OK, so those are the three things I would do and the 3 things I’d ignore. Now let’s talk about how I’d put this into action!
How I’d Get My First 10 Paying Clients In 90-Days
Let me lay out the exact 90-day plan I’d follow to get my first 10 paying clients.
The First 30 days
My only goal during the first 30 days is to get three paying clients. I don’t care if they’re only paying me $100. As long as they’re paying me something, it counts.
First, I’ll ask friends and family if I can coach them. If I’ve already done that as part of my training, I’ll ask them for referrals. And I’m going to be honest about it. I’m going to say I’m looking to get some experience, and I would love it if they’d let me coach them.
I’m going to pick a topic that I’m interested in helping people with. Then I’m going to go to ChatGPT (or whatever AI you like to use) and ask it a few questions:
What symptoms do people hate most about X?
What frustrates people most about having X?
What questions do people ask most about X?
With the info from ChatGPT, I’ll create an outline for a free workshop and put the date on my calendar for 10-12 days out. Then I’ll promote it:
I’ll tap into any social groups, online communities, or organizations that I already belong to and let them know about it. I’m going to say something like, “I’m holding a free workshop about X where I’m going to (then I’ll list 3-5 things they’re going to find out about in the workshop). If you’re interested in finding out more, DM me.”
The reason why is that I want to start a dialogue with people. That initial contact with them is important. So make sure you don’t give them all the details (day, time, etc.) until they’ve contacted you.
I’d reach out to my chiropractor, my functional medicine doctor, the yoga studio I go to, church, my kids’ school… in short, wherever I have any connections… and I’d ask if I can put up a sign about the workshop.
I’d make sure to somehow get people’s email addresses. Tell them you’re sending an email with the zoom link a couple of days before the workshop.
I’d try to get workshop attendees to schedule a call with me:
At the end of the workshop, I’d invite people to speak with me if they want to have a more in depth conversation about their own situation.
After the workshop, I’d contact everyone by email and invite them to book a call.
I’d do everything I can to get some of them to sign up for coaching. If they schedule a call with me, I’d weave that into the call. I’d send them emails about an opportunity for me to coach them to achieve X outcome.
I’d look at local companies that have wellness programs and offer a free lunch-and-learn session, where I’d present the workshop. I’d do this ASAP because I know it will probably take a few weeks (at least) to get on their calendar and promote it within the company.
The key here is that I’m not trying to build an audience on social media. I’m having real conversations with real people who might actually hire me.
So that was the first 30 days. Let’s look at the next 30 days…
Days 31 to 60
Now I’m working with those first three clients and refining my process. I’m asking those deep questions I mentioned earlier. I’m tracking what’s working. I’m writing down the exact words they use to describe their experience.
I’m also figuring out what I love about this work, what kind of people I enjoy working with, what patterns I’m seeing, and what obstacles keep coming up.
By the end of the second month, I should have a much clearer picture of where people need the most help and what I’m good at. And I’ll make sure to get testimonials from every client I’m working with.
Days 61-90
Then in the third month, I’m packaging what I’ve learned into a clear offer that solves a specific problem for a specific type of person. I’m going to use the language my first clients used (or anything I heard in the workshop or other conversations) to describe their problem and transformation they want.
By now, I may have at least one lunch-and-learn on the calendar. And I’ll add any insights I came up with to strengthen that session.
I’ll also go back to those same strategies from the first 30 days and try to get more paying clients.
If I haven’t reached my 10-client goal by the end of ninety days, I’ll at least have a handful of paying clients, a library of testimonials, deep insights into what people really need, and confidence in my ability to get clients.
Then if I wanted to try a different workshop topic, I’d go through the process again. Only this time I’d be able to do it faster.
So that’s exactly what I’d do if I were starting a health or wellness coaching business today. I’d skip the niche paralysis, the brand identity, and the website. And I’d focus on getting client experience, building a deep understanding of the people I’m speaking to, and I’d collect testimonials.
If you’d like to find out more about the path to building a successful coaching business, I laid it out in this article: The Best Strategy For Coaches Right Now
If this article helped you in some way, I’d love for you to give it a like! And if you have other ideas to share on how you got your first coaching clients, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
See you next time!