EP 299 - The 5 Steps to Starting a Coaching Business in 2026 (Beginner-Friendly Guide for Women 50+)
These 5 steps to starting a coaching business in 2026 will help you build a solid foundation, and today I’ll walk you through each one so you know exactly where to begin. If you are a woman over 50 who wants to start coaching, this simple framework will give you clarity on what matters most and what you can skip for now.
Starting a coaching business does not require a niche that takes months to decide, a complicated website, or a long list of tech tools. You need a clear offer, a simple plan to talk about your coaching, and the confidence to begin working with people who already know and trust you. These five steps will help you do exactly that.
Want to grow your coaching business? Join us in the Business Building Boutique. Schedule a call here: debbieshadid.com/schedule
In this episode, I’ll show you how to choose your first coaching offer, begin speaking about your coaching with confidence, connect with warm people in your network, and start booking conversations that lead to paying clients. This is the most practical way to begin your coaching business in 2026.
Inside this episode, you’ll learn:
The five steps to starting a coaching business in 2026
How to choose a simple coaching offer you can confidently explain
Why your first clients often come from people you already know
How to begin talking about your coaching in a way that feels natural
What to focus on first as a new coach
The mindset required to take action and build early momentum
Want my First Client Conversation Guide? Grab your copy here: https://coaching.debbieshadid.com/conversation
Ready to grow your coaching business in 2026? Register for our upcoming free LIVE workshop here: https://coaching.debbieshadid.com/workshop
Free Resources for coaches:
- Free Masterclass to Grow Your Coaching Business: https://coaching.debbieshadid.com/masterclass
- Canva Workshop: https://coaching.debbieshadid.com/canva
- First Client Conversation Guide? Grab your copy here: https://coaching.debbieshadid.com/conversation
Tools I recommend for coaches:
- Flodesk (email marketing): https://flodesk.com/c/DEBBIESHADID
- Descript (video editor): https://get.descript.com/cj4n2vzke4vu
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Website: https://www.debbieshadid.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debbieshadid/
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Disclaimer: Some of the links shared in this description are affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools and resources I use and trust to support your coaching business.
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#DebbieShadid #LifeCoachBusinessBuildingSchool
Let’s connect!
Website: https://www.debbieshadid.com
Instagram @debbieshadid
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Transcript
So you've decided to start a coaching business. Maybe you've just gotten certified or you're in the process of getting certified. Maybe you've been thinking about it for years, or maybe you've actually been coaching already and you really wanna make it official and start making some money. But now you are thinking, okay, how do I even begin with this deal? Now you're staring at your computer, you've watched all these trainings, and you're like, how do I even begin? Today, I am gonna give you the exact roadmap, five simple steps in the order that you need to take them so you can know what to focus on and what to ignore when you are getting started. My name's Debbie Shadid I've helped over 10,000 coaches not only build but grow profitable, successful boutique style coaching businesses. Starting a coaching business should be exciting and it is until you go online and suddenly everyone is telling you something different to do. They're saying you need a website, a funnel, a podcast, an email list, some kind of fancy software. You need to be on all the social media platforms. You need a personal brand photo shoot and a logo designed by a professional. Oh my goodness, it is no wonder everyone feels so overwhelmed before they ever get started, and so many people never start. Here's what I want you to know. Most of all of that stuff that I just said can wait in fact you don't even need most of that, and the coaches who succeed faster are the ones who focus on the right things in the right order. So let me walk you through the five steps that actually matter when you're getting started out. Okay? Number one, get clear on who you help and how you help them. Before you can do anything else, you must be able to answer these two questions. Who do you help and what are you going to help them achieve? This is the foundation for everything else you're gonna build from this point, your entire business. And I'm not talking about you creating some fancy niche statement or some perfectly polished pitch just yet. Okay. I'm talking about basic clarity. Can you explain to me in plain language who your ideal client is and what is the transformation that you can provide? If you happen to watch my video on how to decide on an offer, which I will link here. You are gonna be already ahead on this. If not, go ahead and watch it when we're done with this one. But here's what I want you to know. You should be able to say something like this. I help new empty nesters figure out what's next for them. Now that their kids are gone. Okay, so who are you helping? Empty nesters. In fact, new empty nesters. And what are you gonna help 'em do? Figure out what's next for them after the kids are gone. That's your basic statement, to get you aligned with who you are helping and what you're gonna help with, or I help women in corporate jobs manage stress so they can stop bringing work anxiety home to their families. Can you see how that is so clear? Who you help and what you're gonna help 'em achieve? This is simple, clear, and specific. You don't need to have every detail beyond that figured out, but you do need to have enough clarity to start having conversations, which brings me to step two. Start talking to people. Do not wait on this. Start talking now. So often women are hiding behind all the things they think they need to do. This is called buffering, by the way. It's like eating the chips on the couch instead of doing what you need to do. So you don't need to build your website just yet. You don't need to create any fancy content. Just yet. What you do need to do is talk to people, especially in the beginning. Your job is to talk to as many people as possible, have real conversations with real human beings, And I recommend that you do it in person. We spend so much time trying to find somebody online to connect with. You could talk to your next door neighbor. So now maybe you just 10 step, maybe you're thinking, okay, I am an introvert, and the idea of putting myself out there. Oh, it makes me wanna crawl underneath my desk. I understand. Honestly. It's uncomfortable for everybody. But here's the thing, you could make this easy by just talking to your neighbor. You don't have to sell anybody anything. You don't have to push anything. You don't have to try to manipulate anyone into anything yet. What I am saying is let's have some genuine conversations about what you do. This can be as simple as telling somebody what you're doing at work. Okay? By the way, you can start a side hustle and work full time. Tell 'em you're starting a coaching business. Tell your friends at work when you sit down in the church pew and they're like, how are you? Tell 'em what you're doing. Like, I'm great. I'm working on my coaching business. And they're like, really? Who do you help? Tell 'em. It is that easy. For those of you guys who play pickleball, go tell your friends at pickleball. I was blown away. When I got on the pickleball court and I told the women I was a life coach, they were like, really? Everybody started talking about needing to hire a life coach. This is possible for you too as soon as you start telling people, you can just have conversations, If you go online, there are online communities where you might find your ideal client. Please. No pitching though. If you are in somebody else's Facebook group, it is their Facebook group. I am just talking about you making friends online. Okay. If it's a community that they're talking about the things that you love, then join in the conversation. you can also have discovery calls or consultation calls. I like to call 'em comfortable conversations with anyone who expresses interest. These conversations are for you to learn what your potential client actually struggles with. Use the words that they say. Listen to how they describe their problem and what they're willing to pay to solve. They pay to solve problems. every conversation will teach you something, and some of these conversations will literally turn into clients. Okay? The third step, create a simple way to work with you. Notice I used the word simple again, you don't need five different programs, three memberships, any of that. You need one clear, simple offer when you're getting started, I actually recommend just a straightforward coaching package. Something like 12 weeks of one-to-one coaching with weekly calls, or I like to tell people about three for three. Three sessions for $300. You could get fancier if you want to, but why would you for now, just keep it simple. You need to know three things. When you talk to somebody about your offer, what is included? How long is it and what's it gonna cost? Because you already know who you're helping and what you're gonna help 'em solve. That's what we talked about in step one. That is it. You don't need to have a contract now. Listen, at some point you need to have. But you are just getting started. You need to be able to clearly explain what somebody gets and how they're gonna work with you. Please do not spend weeks agonizing over your pricing. Pick the number that feels like the best to you. Don't listen to what everybody else is telling you online about pricing, unless it's the perfect price. Somebody gives you a price and you watch a video and they're telling you a price. You're like, okay, I can do that. Then go for it. But honestly, what I find with new coaches is they just need to pick a easy price that is comfortable for them to sell. That's why I love that. Three for $300, three sessions for $300, 3, 4, 3. That's what I just was talking to you guys about. That's an easy offer to make. But here's what I want you to know. One of our clients actually did four sessions. For a hundred dollars, four for a hundred. She couldn't do the three for three. So decide what is right for you and then start making offers. What I want you to do is work with at least five people. Get started because here's what you will learn. You'll actually learn what they need. You'll learn how to work with them. You will get the skill of getting people the results that you promised. The fourth step. Set up very minimal tech. You actually need very few pieces of tech. I have so many other videos on what tech you need. I'm not gonna get into that. You need just a couple of things. Do not let the tech feel overwhelming. You don't need something fancy. You hear me on that? So when you're just starting out, you just need a way for people to pay you and a way for them to schedule. Let me just say, I recommend Calendly for scheduling, but you know what else you can do. You can get out your phone, look on your calendar, tell 'em what time works, and then send 'em a text message with the time at a Zoom link, okay? You don't need anything else fancier than that. You can collect payments. Through Stripe or PayPal. I recommend Stripe as the number one resource, but you know what else you can do? Somebody could write you a check. Yeah, that's old school. But for some of my ladies, over 50, some of you guys are still writing checks, so you can write a check. You could Venmo, whatever it is. Long term, I recommend that you use a professional platform, but for today, you don't need anything fancy. You don't even need a checkout page. you do not need a website. I know that might sound shocking because I teach people about websites. I actually help you design a website, write your website, copy, help you with your branding, all of that, and it is nice for you to have. But don't let that be the thing that keeps you from having clients have conversations. Get clients started a beautiful website with no traffic. It is nothing but a pretty page. You do not need a logo just yet, or a professional photo shoot. In fact, I can tell you, we actually have a photo guide for how to take photos with your iPhone instead of doing a professional photo shoot. Now, someday you wanna do that, but for now, there's many other things you can do. You do not need a custom email address. Just start with your Gmail address. Please hear me on this. At some point, you need all of those things, but not today. I have seen too many women spend six months getting their business set up, perfecting their website, getting their branding just right, creating content for social media that they spend days on and they have no followers. Please just get started on social media. In fact, this is the time that you can go live and not do it well because nobody is watching. You only get good when you do it. We always talk about in our coaching calls that you can learn about doing all the things on social media, but until you do it. You don't even have a good question to ask us. During our calls, clients will ask us questions, but they don't understand what question to ask until after they've tried the thing. So please just start trying what you need to do to get yourself out there and to connect with just a handful of people, right? The Fifth Step coach someone I know this sounds super obvious. Here's the deal. There are so many people that have actually never coached anyone, including themselves. So your first client, it might be a friend. I'm so disappointed in all the certifications out there that don't have requirements around practice coaching. Now, some of 'em do, but we work with many clients who have never had a coaching session. Please find people to do coaching with. When I certified at the Life Coach School, not only were we required to do coaching sessions and we had to record 'em and turn 'em in for people to assess 'em. We also practiced with everybody under the sun. I mean, I spent hours and hours having practice sessions. Please do that. You've gotta do that and get some practice and get some comfort with that. You cannot learn that from a book. So find a friend who needs help. Use this time to get the skill. They don't need to pay you. Or they could pay you. It's up to you. They could pay you full price, a reduced price, or you can say, look, I'm looking for testimonials for feedback. That is what I want in exchange for this complimentary coaching session. Coaching is a skill and like any kind of skill, you're gonna get better by doing it. Nothing will prepare you for coaching until you actually do it. So if you're brand new and you don't feel ready to charge, offer complimentary coaching sessions. If you have been around very long, you know that I built my business on free coaching calls. I literally did free coaching calls and I gave my best coaching sessions for free, and I landed clients. I actually made my first $100K in six months by using free coaching calls. So that's a strategy you can take advantage of. Yes, you can get feedback and testimonials, and you can ask for referrals. When you do those free coaching calls, you're not gonna stay free forever. You're not gonna do more than one call. I did one call with one person and that was it, because I knew the level of value that I was providing in that one call. And if they wanted to hire me, great. If they didn't, then I was like, you know, thank you. Please refer a friend to me. What I want you to ignore right now is a lot of things. Let me save you so much time, frustration, overwhelm by telling you what you can completely ignore. Stop letting everyone tell you what you need. You do not need to be on every single social platform. I recommend that you pick one platform, one and just get good on doing that one platform. You don't need to start a podcast or YouTube. None of that matters right now. Content is going to be something really amazing that you will learn how to create, but all of those things are what I call a long game. It is not how you get clients today. Yes, I love YouTube and thank you for being here or listening to my podcast. Thank you so much. And I do get clients out of it, but that does not happen overnight. I have a lot of episodes for people to watch. Where you do get clients immediately is by having a conversation, and I'm gonna reiterate one more time. You get clients by having a conversation with somebody in person, even faster than anything else. So focus on those five steps that I gave you. Get clear on who you help. Talk to people, create your simple offer. Set up the very minimal tech start coaching. This is how you build a real business. One client at a time. It is that simple. if you are just getting started and you wanna learn about the four pieces to building a profitable coaching business, this is my proprietary framework. Comment, the word masterclass. I'm gonna walk you through those four elements. It's a puzzle that fits together. You'll see how that is so you can learn about everything else that you need when the time comes. So tell me in the comments, which of those five steps do you need to focus on right now? What are you stuck on? Is it talking to people? Is that the part that's tripping you up? Let me know. I'm gonna read every comment. I would love to be able to cheer you on also, don't forget to watch that other video on creating your coaching offer. I have that linked right here. Don't forget to subscribe. You haven't already. I have some incredible things planned for you. I love to share practical steps twice a week with no fluff about building your business and having a life that you can enjoy. Hit subscribe so you don't miss the next video. Starting a coaching business does not have to be complicated. It can be simple and consistency beats complicated processes all the time. So just make it easy. Talk to people, get started coaching, and use the simple technology that we've talked about. Okay, now go do your first step, which is have the conversation that you need to have with somebody today. Okay, I'll see you guys in the next video. Bye-bye.
