Overheard In Our Coaching Sessions
As business coaches, we work with entrepreneurs at all phases of their start-up journey. Despite where they are in their business, most of our clients deal with the same three problems. By working with our clients through these problems, we are able to empower them to scale and drive revenue.
These are some common mistakes we hear from our coaching clients:
“I don’t know how to price myself.”
This one we probably hear the most. Many times first-time entrepreneurs will price based on the low-end of what they think they can get for their service. We always recommend that our clients price themselves by using this step-by-step methodology:
(1) Conduct market research: Find out who in your industry is offering your type of package, what they include, and what range their package investment falls into. We recommend comparing five different competitors.
(2) Determine how much your time is worth for the specific package: How many hours are you spending on your package? How much expertise is required for this type of work?
(3) Include a healthy margin within your industry range: Once you find out how many hours your project will take, make sure to include a healthy margin that considers the time it takes you to run other aspects of your business. Be sure this margin is still being kept within your industry's range.
“I customize my pricing for every client.”
Here’s the thing - we always recommend creating package offerings. This allows you to price based on your expertise and value-add, instead of trading time for money.
This doesn’t mean you don’t offer customized packages, but your packages should always be a base, in which you add on customizations. There is nothing wrong with customizing your offering as needed. Start-up requires flexibility. The key is to not solely offer customized work.
“My target audience is everyone.”
This one is our runner-up. It’s really tempting as a first-time entrepreneur to want to connect with everyone. As entrepreneurs, many of us have been told we need to niche down. Most of us have fears around niching down because we don't want to exclude anyone or miss out on business.
This doesn’t mean that you are only going to serve one type of person. Simply put - you're just messaging and connecting with a certain type of person. This is not excluding whom you will do services with.
You don’t have to choose a hyper-specific industry to work within. Only if you want to. For example, our niche is entrepreneurs and small businesses that are launching or scaling their businesses. That covers a wide array of industries!
You don’t have to limit your pricing to work within one type of budget. You can offer an array of packages that work within different budgets. Niching down comes down to marketing and communicating to a specific set of people.
Don't let the fear of niching down stop you from connecting with your ideal client.
If you're anything like we were when we first started, you don't know when it's time to hire a coach. As a solo entrepreneur or first-time entrepreneur, it’s hard to get stuck and not know what to do next in your business.
Hiring a business coach is for you if:
(1) You are about to start a business.
(2) You are trying to find your niche. Finding your niche can take some time. A coach is a great resource that can help you discover what your ideal clients look like.
(3) You are scaling your business. You are confident in your business and the market you're in, but you are constantly having to choose time over money or vice versa. A coach can help you become more efficient and scale.
(4) You are having trouble converting your prospective clients into paying clients. This is very common when launching a business, so don't worry! It's likely you are missing some key converting elements in your messaging.
(5) You need an outsider's opinion. An outsider's opinion is never a bad idea! A coach can bring in new ideas and prospectives.
Ready to work with the experts? You're in the right place. Click the button below to fill out our inquiry form and schedule your free discovery call to see how we can help!
