April 11, 2024 • 25 mins
If you’re an online coach, should you focus on one-on-one coaching first or a scalable group coaching program?
There is a lot of conflicting advice on how to start your online coaching business and it can be overwhelming and confusing to try to figure out what you should focus on.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- The difference between individual coaching and a group coaching program
- The pros and cons of running a group coaching program
- The pros and cons of offering 1:1 coaching
- Whether you should start with private coaching or group coaching first
- How focusing on only one offer will simplify your business and make sales easier in the future
- The importance of mastering and refining your expertise now
- How you can eventually transition from one offer to the other
❤️🔥 Doors to RECLAMATION are open. We begin June 16. Let’s reclaim it all together. Join for $22: https://www.meganminnsking.com/offers/g57DKQrE/checkout
⭐️ If you liked this episode, share it on Instagram stories and tag me at @MeganMinnsKing! And don't forget to leave a rating and review.
LET'S CONNECT:
Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganminnsking
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meganminnsking
Website: https://www.meganminnsking.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey, welcome back to thisepisode of the podcast.
I am really looking forward tothis topic because we are
digging into the idea of whetheryou should focus on private
coaching or group coachingfirst.
And this is kind of a juicytopic because I think this is
one of the things that there's alot of conflicting.
information on.
(00:20):
There's a lot of conflictingInstagram posts and podcast
episodes and YouTube videos andexperts out there telling you
one is better than the other.
Maybe you're an online coachsitting there trying to do both
at the same time, or kind ofstuck in analysis paralysis.
Wherever you're at, even ifyou're already coaching in one
of these containers, the stuffwe're going to talk about in
(00:41):
this is very foundational andmay help you make a choice in
your business that is not onlygoing to simplify your life, but
also save you time andultimately simplifying your,
your business in a way where youcan kind of take that deep
breath and say, this is what I'mfocused on.
(01:03):
Put the blinders on and not feelthis shiny object syndrome
constantly where you feel likeyou should be doing something
else.
So wherever you're at, I feellike you're going to get some
really great value of thisepisode.
And if you are an online coachin particular, who's trying to
make this choice, or you findyourself kind of like spiraling
in indecision.
(01:24):
you're really going to want totake action after this episode.
It's going to be great.
So let's, let's clarify thedifference between group
coaching and private coaching sothat we can dig into some of the
pros and cons of each of theseand ultimately what I recommend
you and what I recommend to allof my clients in terms of what
to focus on.
First, because I do think youshould pick one to focus on
(01:47):
first.
So when I'm talking about groupcoaching, this usually looks
like memberships or like a midticket group coaching program.
And it can also include thingslike masterminds.
When I'm talking about privatecoaching, I'm talking about
actual one on one coachingsessions, whether these are, you
know, video calls or maybeasynchronous coaching, I really
(02:11):
am talking as well.
To.
More of like signature privatecoaching where it's like a
couple of months, three months,six months.
Of course, there are other typesof private coaching, like
intensives and VIP days.
So absolutely those could applyhere as well.
But the lens that I'm speakingthrough is, is about, you know,
like three to six months of oneon one coaching sessions where
(02:31):
you're going really deep withone client and you're working
with individual clients.
Okay.
So let's talk about some of thepros and cons of group coaching.
First.
Because I think group coachinggets a lot of positive hype
because of this word, scalable.
Um, group coaching is absolutelytossed around as the idea that
(02:55):
this is the most scalable way tocoach.
We assume scalability is what weshould be striving for right out
of the gate.
And if it's not scalable, it'snot worth doing at all.
Group coaching also is veryappealing because you can
support more clients at onetime.
You could potentially price itmore excessively than private
coaching.
And again, we, we assume ascalable offer where you can
(03:18):
work with more people and youknow, an indefinite amount of
people without it increasing howmuch time you're spending on the
program.
We assume that that is better.
And if it's better, we shouldstart there.
There are some.
Really significant cons to groupcoaching, however, group
coaching does require somelaunching, whether you launch it
(03:39):
once and the doors are open andyou're perpetually filling it,
or you're like periodicallylaunching it and doing launch
events.
It does require.
Um, actual launching andpromotions because it is like a
group offer and requires largeramounts of leads and ultimately
(04:00):
group coaching programs, whetherit's an affordable membership or
a high ticket mastermind aregoing to be harder for you to
sell.
If you don't have solidexpertise and credentials and
testimonials and client results.
And another thing that peopleoften underestimate is group
coaching is actually.
Much heavier energetically.
(04:22):
It's harder to hold space for alot of people all at once in one
program.
I've worked behind the scenes ofbusinesses.
I've worked with clients.
I've done it myself.
And consistently when you'restarting to support 10, 15, 20,
50 plus people, it's a, it's abig thing to hold space for, and
it can be more energetically.
(04:44):
taxing than we expect if wearen't prepared for it.
And especially if we aren'treally solid in the foundational
parts of business, if we're notreally solid in how we help
people and who we help them andthe messaging and positioning of
this and the selling of it andtalking to them and attracting
them.
Like if we don't have the corefunctions of a solid business
(05:05):
down, then It's really hardenergetically to hold space in
this because you're going to beconstantly dealing with imposter
syndrome.
You're going to constantlywonder if people are happy or
not, we're getting results ornot.
And the sale, the selling isgoing to be more challenging
because not only do you nothave, you know, a solid list of
(05:25):
clients who've had results.
But you also don't have thosefoundational things figured out
yet.
You don't know how to reallyposition yourself in the market.
You don't know how to talk aboutwhat makes you and your offer
and your work different.
You don't have that deep masteryof your work and your genius
solid yet because you'restarting in this group program.
(05:46):
And it's much harder to getpeople results in a group.
scaled program than it is one onone.
When you are working withsomeone one on one, you can get
them results.
If you know what you're doingand you're talking to the right
person and you were doing theright thing, you can absolutely
get people results.
And so if you haven't gonethrough that experience of
supporting people one on one,getting them results and going
(06:09):
through that journey, whichwe'll talk about some of the
pros of that in a second, it'sreally challenging to try to
start doing that in a group.
when people aren't getting asmuch one on one support,
potentially no one on onesupport, depending on what type
of program you have.
And even if you do have, um,like a mastermind that has
elements of one on one, youknow, that's kind of putting
(06:31):
this in a different category ina lot of ways, but even so
that's still really tough tostart there energetically.
So group coaching absolutely hassome pros.
I think group coaching isincredible.
I have a group coaching program,rich coach club.
I love it, but ultimately it'snot where I think you should
start.
(06:51):
So let's talk about the pros andthe cons of private coaching.
And then I'll get deeper intowhere I feel like you should
focus your energy when it comesto private coaching.
There are a lot of pros, to behonest.
Um, not only Is this a great wayfor you to solidify your
expertise like we were justtalking about because you'll be
working with someone veryintimately and you will really
(07:13):
start to hone in on what makesyou different.
What makes your work different?
What is your ideal clientactually struggling with?
What are the actual thingsholding them up?
And this is incredible marketresearch.
So not only do you get tounderstand your unique genius
and your clients are feedingthat back to you being like, Oh
my gosh, this blew me away.
Wow.
I didn't know I could do it.
(07:33):
They're going to be reflectingback to you what makes you a
good coach.
And also you're gettingincredible paid market research
because you are getting a deepdive in your ideal client's
world in their head.
And where they're spending theirtime and where the hiccups are
and in what work truly helpsthem move towards their goals
faster than if they didn't haveyour support.
(07:56):
It also helps you get incredibleclient results and incredible
client testimonials when you aremastering your one on one
coaching, when you become areally good coach.
database that like library ofclient results and testimonials
is going to make the future ofyour business so much easier
because it's going to makeselling your private coaching
(08:17):
easier, but it's also going tomake it way easier when you do
launch scaled offers, whetherit's a membership, a mastermind,
a group program, a course,whatever it is, when you do go
to scalable offers, you havereal evidence and testimonials
of client results that are goingto make that selling process.
So much easier.
Private coaching is also greatbecause you requires way less
(08:40):
leads.
You just need like.
five to 10 people who know you,who you are to like start
getting clients.
Um, and it is ultimately wayeasier to sell private coaching
than something that's a groupprogram because people
inherently see the value in oneon one support and personalized
coaching and customized feedbackand advice.
(09:01):
Like you don't have to explainit to someone.
People see the inherent value inthat.
And it's much easier to sell oneon one access than it is to sell
Scaled access and group access.
You can also charge higherticket per client when we're
talking about private coaching.
And ultimately private coachingis an easier energetic load than
(09:23):
running a group program becauseyou have less clients that
you're focused on.
You're also very focused on themindividually.
You can control how many clientsyou're working with at one time.
Your confidence is going toaccelerate and grow.
really quickly in privatecoaching.
And, um, it's just easierbecause you actually know each
person.
If you're working with fiveclients at a time, 10 clients at
(09:45):
a time, you know exactly what'sgoing on with them.
You're not sitting therewondering if they're getting
results and wondering if they'rehappy and wondering things you,
you know, because you're in itwith them.
So it's actually way easierenergetically to support people
one on one than in a group.
Program, especially at first andprivate coaching is absolutely
(10:07):
the fastest way for you toestablish yourself as a true
expert in what you do and havethe proof to back it up.
Coming back to the clientresults here.
If you want to come out and saythat you are really good,
mindset coach, for example, butwe don't have any examples of
what that looks like to actualpeople that you've worked with.
It's a lot harder to establishthat you're really an expert.
(10:28):
Um, but if you have thesetestimonials of actual, like
tangible results, your clientshad in working with you, you are
an expert, like you already arethe expert.
And now it's easier to reallyshow up and establish yourself
as the expert.
And logistically, I didn't eventalk about this when it comes to
group coaching, but.
Private coaching is so mucheasier to run as a business
(10:52):
logistically.
It requires way less overhead,less technology.
No team is required, whereaswhen you're looking at a group
coaching program as it grows andeven just foundationally, it
requires more systems, moretech, and as it grows more team,
it's ultimately more complexthan private coaching and
private coaching.
(11:12):
You could literally just say,here's my stripe link and here's
a zoom link.
The end.
Like that's, that can be it.
You don't have to worry aboutcourse platforms and email
management software and all themillion other things.
You can really keep it supersimple and lightweight.
So if you're starting out,private coaching is logistically
(11:33):
so much easier.
There are of course, a couple ofcons when it comes to private
coaching.
Nothing is ever.
perfect and a hundred percentonly good.
And there's no compromises,right?
Everything has compromises, butwhen it comes to the cons and
the compromises of privatecoaching, I feel like they are
totally worth it when you arestarting out.
So of course you can't work withas many clients in private
(11:55):
coaching as you could in a groupsetting, but I think that's okay
because of the pricedifferentiation and how much
you're charging.
And again, all the pros and conswe already discussed.
The other con with privatecoaching is that you will
eventually, assuming you're goodat this, you will book out of
private coaching and hit yourmax client load pretty quickly.
(12:16):
And that can feel frustrating.
And in the moment it can feellike a bad thing, but ultimately
it's a good thing because it'sshowing.
that your expertise, like your,your messaging is working, who
you're targeting and how you'retargeting them and how you're
talking to them is working andyour clients are getting results
and you're getting booked out,which means your demand is
higher, which means it's timefor a price increase, right?
(12:38):
And so getting booked out canfeel like, Ooh, I'm booked out.
That's a bad thing, but actuallyit's an incredible thing and a
tool to help you go to the nextlevel.
with your business and toincrease your prices and to
continue to master selling asyour prices increase and
messaging as your pricesincrease.
So ultimately the cons ofprivate coaching are kind of
(13:00):
just about that scalabilityissue, which when you're just
starting out, it's actually somuch better to start with
private coaching and to trulyestablish yourself as an expert,
but also to master it and tomaster it.
Um, everything about a privatecoaching business, because if
you can master private coaching,when you transition into group
(13:22):
coaching and scalable offers,you're going to be so much
better.
Like you're going to be a waybetter business owner, a way
better marketer, a bettersalesperson, a better coach.
Your confidence is going to bethrough the roof.
Your rates can be far higherwith like actual reasons and
evidence for why.
And it's.
It's truly what can propel youand your business forward so
(13:44):
much faster in the long run.
If you're willing to do privatecoaching first, even if you
don't want to do privatecoaching forever, can there be a
season of your business whereyou do private coaching first
and you master it, you figureout who you're helping and
exactly how you help them andwhat makes you unique and why
you are the coach for yourpeople.
You master your process.
(14:05):
You master messaging andpositioning and Um, content
marketing and sales content andselling and coaching, actually
being a good coach and trackingresults and getting your clients
results consistently and justmastering private coaching in
all of its aspects, gettingbooked out, raising your rates,
(14:25):
and then mastering selling atyour new, your new rate, right?
Getting solid in your expertiseand truly just mastering this
type of business.
You can absolutely make sixfigures just focusing on private
coaching.
Um, by going in on privatecoaching exclusively by not
getting distracted by groupprograms and scalable offers and
(14:46):
courses and funnels and emailthings and yada, yada, yada.
If you can put your blinders onand say, I am going all in on
private coaching, I'm going toget my first client.
I'm going to get booked out andstart raising my rates.
I'm going to hit six figureswith private coaching.
You know, once you start hitting50 K a hundred K from private
coaching, you can absolutelywith confidence.
(15:07):
Either transition completelyinto group programs and stop
doing private coaching ortransition where you have much
higher private coaching ratesand you start doing some group
coaching and scaling both atthis, you know, scaling the
group coaching while you haveyour well oiled machine of
private coaching happening onthe side.
Um, and so you can absolutelytransition and leave private
(15:28):
coaching behind later if youwant.
But by going through this seasonof focusing on private coaching,
you are going to set yourself upfor so much more success and
ease going forward.
And again, simplicity.
If you're here listening to thispodcast, if you're my type of
person, you probably don't wantto spend infinite amounts of
time on your business.
(15:48):
You probably have a limitedamount of time.
Whether that's energy, physicaltime, mental time, like you
probably have very limitedresources to work on your
business.
And what you want your businessto be is something that's
fulfilling, that is profitableand brings financial security to
your family or financialfreedom, potentially extra
income to play with, who knows,depending on your situation and,
(16:12):
and you want the ability tostill focus on your life first.
My people, like the people youare, I know, I know you are, if
you're listening to this, likeyou want a business that allows
you to prioritize your life.
That isn't all about workingaround the clock 24 seven and
doing the, like doing everythingand just like burning out and
(16:33):
trying to be everywhere and beeverything to everyone all the
time.
Like that's not what we're doinghere.
When you focus on privatecoaching first and you close the
door to everything else, Youimmediately block out so much
noise and shiny object syndrometemptation because you were
like, this is it.
I'm going to be a really loudperson.
(16:55):
fucking good private coach.
I am going to master this.
I am going to figure out exactlywhat makes me different, exactly
how I help my clients.
I'm going to get these resultsfor them.
I'm going to raise my rates.
I'm going to be a really goodsalesperson.
I'm going to master this.
And when business is at itssimplest, like private coaching
businesses are the simplest yourbusiness will ever be.
And so you're going to masterbusiness while it's at its
(17:18):
simplest, while you don't needto worry about email sequences
and funnels.
And webinars and team members ordoing all the different things
like you really can just narrowyour focus to a couple of
things.
You can focus on creatingcontent that attracts your
(17:39):
dreamy clients.
You can really hone in onselling and you can hone in and
master coaching and like that'sall that matters.
You can really, really simplify.
You don't need to have all ofthese fancy things set up.
You just need these basics andyou need to master them.
And that's going to unlock somuch for you.
(18:00):
When you do then shift intoother aspects of your business,
you're going to be so much moreconfident.
Everything's going to be so mucheasier because your skills will
be so much stronger.
Like you will actually be askilled salesperson.
You will be a true skilledcoach.
You will be so, it'll be so mucheasier to create content.
to send emails, to do thingslike webinars and to create
(18:23):
courses and curriculum.
But when you allow it to just besimple and master the simple
version before you add in allthese layers of complexity, it's
going to save you so much time.
You're going to see.
So many results faster and likethis is just so much easier and
you may choose to stay inprivate coaching.
You can absolutely have a veryprofitable, very successful
(18:44):
business and all you do isprivate coaching and that is
okay.
You do not have to have scalableoffers.
You do not have to do anythingbut private coaching if you end
up loving it and not wanting toadd anything else to your plate.
It can be this simple forever oryou can start with this
simplicity and eventually add inscalable offers.
when this whole side of yourbusiness is locked and loaded
(19:07):
and mastered.
And you can just continue torefine and raise your rates and
work with potentially lessclients as your rates raise.
It's just like truly so simple.
If you're sitting there lookingat business and you're like, Oh,
I'm supposed to be on YouTubeand tech talk and I need to have
a free email course and I needto have a webinar training
(19:29):
funnel that leads to a tripwireoffer that leads to my course
that has an upgrade to work withme one on one and then that
upsells them into my privatecoaching.
And then over here I have a freeFacebook group.
And then over here I'm alsotrying to grow my tech talk and
Oh, I should be blogging andposting on Pinterest.
Like, Oh, I'm like, right, ah,I'm like, no, we don't, uh, we
(19:56):
don't need to do that.
You could just literally haveone offer.
You can have one way to workwith you and you can have one
result that you strive towardsmastering for your clients.
And you get really good aboutit.
You really understand your dreamperson and where they're at,
you're in their head.
(20:17):
So then creating content andspeaking to them is easy.
You have one platform, maybetwo, where you connect and get
in front of your dream clientsand you just refine that, master
that, master the selling, masterthe coaching.
Keep doing it.
Keep refining.
(20:37):
You can really tune out all thenoise.
You don't need to have anInstagram broadcast channel and
a million other things, right?
You can just really hone in.
There's a lot of power when yousay no.
There's a lot of power when yousimplify and you focus and you
(20:58):
May see a lot of opportunitiesfor other things.
And it's so hard sometimes tomute those out.
But when you've committed andchosen this path of focusing on
private coaching and this pathof simplicity, and you see the
benefits of that simplicity andthat mastery, it becomes easier
to say no.
And you're going to start to seethis momentum grow and your
(21:20):
revenue grow and yourfulfillment grow and the mastery
and your skills improve and it'sjust going to really start to
propel you forward and makeeverything so much easier and
ultimately more enjoyable.
This is why I recommend youstart with private coaching.
Now you are your own person andyou should feel totally
(21:40):
empowered to make choices thatfeel right to you.
But if any of this Just gave youthe biggest sigh of relief and
be like, Oh, that sounds good.
Then I really encourage you tofollow that thought.
And that may mean like closingsome of your group programs.
I did that.
I closed my membership and mymastermind at the very beginning
(22:00):
of 2024, because I realized Ineeded to narrow down my focus,
focus on Less offers and lessprograms and go through a season
of refinement again, even thoughI've done this before.
And so you may be at a placewhere you realize you need to
close down a group program orshift what you're working on to
(22:23):
focus on private coaching.
Or maybe you're sitting theresaying, this is all great, but
I'm not gonna do that.
That's fine.
Like I'm still here cheering youon either way.
But I do strongly believe thatif you want to grow a business
that can hit, you know, sixfigures, multi six figures,
seven figures one day, and youare a coach and you want it to
(22:44):
feel simple and you want to haveconfidence and you want to feel
like you've mastered all ofthese core principles of
business.
running a coaching businessbefore you have to hire a team
and things get super complex,then I really encourage you to
start with private coaching.
I've always started mybusinesses focusing on one on
one services first, whether thatwas graphic design or virtual
(23:05):
assistance or coaching, I'vealways started with one on one
work first.
And I stand by that being whereI recommend you start as well.
So if any of this is interestingto you and you want to actually.
focus on private coaching.
You want to grow your business,your private coaching business
to 50k, 100k.
(23:25):
Wow.
Um, working part time, like Iwork 12 hours a week or less and
that's on a good week.
And that's just the season oflife I'm in as a mom and I've
got maternity leave coming upand like this is very much a
life first business where I canstill show up and have
tremendous impact on my clients,have a very profitable business
(23:46):
and find a lot of personalfulfillment while keeping things
really simple.
And that's what I help myclients do as well in my 12
month program.
Rich coach club, where we areall about growing and scaling
and mastering that privatecoaching side of your business
so that you can have this reallysimple and sustainable and
profitable and enjoyablebusiness.
(24:08):
while working 15 hours a week orless.
And then of course that canunlock so much for you for
what's next for your business.
I am actually hosting a livemasterclass on April 23rd that
is going to be all about how todo this.
Like, what does this actuallylook like?
How do you actually accomplishthis and like the schedule and
(24:29):
the offers and how does it allcome together?
And if you want to learn moreabout that, you can go to
simplify with Megan.
com forward slash registration.
And the link will be beneaththis episode as well.
You can sign up for this livefree masterclass happening on
April 23rd.
I will also be opening the doorsto rich coach club on that live
master class.
(24:49):
The doors to rich coach club areonly open twice this year.
This is one of them, and I'mplanning on opening them again
once before the end of the year,September, October ish,
probably.
Um, but the doors are like notopen in between then.
So if you are looking forSupport in this goal of growing
your coaching business and thisway that is sustainable and
(25:10):
simple, then, and you want acommunity who's doing it
alongside you, you want tomentor, who gets it, who's doing
it with you.
And you want access to, uh,exclusive trainings and
curriculum to help get youthere.
Then.
You want to come to thismasterclass and see what it's
all about and see if it's a goodfit for you.
So again, you can go tosimplifywithmegan.
com forward slash registrationand you can sign up to join us
(25:33):
live on the masterclass.
I hope I get to see you livewith me on April 23rd.
I'll see you then.
Hey, welcome back to thisepisode of the podcast.
I am really looking forward tothis topic because we are
digging into the idea of whetheryou should focus on private
coaching or group coachingfirst.
And this is kind of a juicytopic because I think this is
one of the things that there's alot of conflicting.
information on.
(00:20):
There's a lot of conflictingInstagram posts and podcast
episodes and YouTube videos andexperts out there telling you
one is better than the other.
Maybe you're an online coachsitting there trying to do both
at the same time, or kind ofstuck in analysis paralysis.
Wherever you're at, even ifyou're already coaching in one
of these containers, the stuffwe're going to talk about in
(00:41):
this is very foundational andmay help you make a choice in
your business that is not onlygoing to simplify your life, but
also save you time andultimately simplifying your,
your business in a way where youcan kind of take that deep
breath and say, this is what I'mfocused on.
(01:03):
Put the blinders on and not feelthis shiny object syndrome
constantly where you feel likeyou should be doing something
else.
So wherever you're at, I feellike you're going to get some
really great value of thisepisode.
And if you are an online coachin particular, who's trying to
make this choice, or you findyourself kind of like spiraling
in indecision.
(01:24):
you're really going to want totake action after this episode.
It's going to be great.
So let's, let's clarify thedifference between group
coaching and private coaching sothat we can dig into some of the
pros and cons of each of theseand ultimately what I recommend
you and what I recommend to allof my clients in terms of what
to focus on.
First, because I do think youshould pick one to focus on
(01:47):
first.
So when I'm talking about groupcoaching, this usually looks
like memberships or like a midticket group coaching program.
And it can also include thingslike masterminds.
When I'm talking about privatecoaching, I'm talking about
actual one on one coachingsessions, whether these are, you
know, video calls or maybeasynchronous coaching, I really
(02:11):
am talking as well.
To.
More of like signature privatecoaching where it's like a
couple of months, three months,six months.
Of course, there are other typesof private coaching, like
intensives and VIP days.
So absolutely those could applyhere as well.
But the lens that I'm speakingthrough is, is about, you know,
like three to six months of oneon one coaching sessions where
(02:31):
you're going really deep withone client and you're working
with individual clients.
Okay.
So let's talk about some of thepros and cons of group coaching.
First.
Because I think group coachinggets a lot of positive hype
because of this word, scalable.
Um, group coaching is absolutelytossed around as the idea that
(02:55):
this is the most scalable way tocoach.
We assume scalability is what weshould be striving for right out
of the gate.
And if it's not scalable, it'snot worth doing at all.
Group coaching also is veryappealing because you can
support more clients at onetime.
You could potentially price itmore excessively than private
coaching.
And again, we, we assume ascalable offer where you can
(03:18):
work with more people and youknow, an indefinite amount of
people without it increasing howmuch time you're spending on the
program.
We assume that that is better.
And if it's better, we shouldstart there.
There are some.
Really significant cons to groupcoaching, however, group
coaching does require somelaunching, whether you launch it
(03:39):
once and the doors are open andyou're perpetually filling it,
or you're like periodicallylaunching it and doing launch
events.
It does require.
Um, actual launching andpromotions because it is like a
group offer and requires largeramounts of leads and ultimately
(04:00):
group coaching programs, whetherit's an affordable membership or
a high ticket mastermind aregoing to be harder for you to
sell.
If you don't have solidexpertise and credentials and
testimonials and client results.
And another thing that peopleoften underestimate is group
coaching is actually.
Much heavier energetically.
(04:22):
It's harder to hold space for alot of people all at once in one
program.
I've worked behind the scenes ofbusinesses.
I've worked with clients.
I've done it myself.
And consistently when you'restarting to support 10, 15, 20,
50 plus people, it's a, it's abig thing to hold space for, and
it can be more energetically.
(04:44):
taxing than we expect if wearen't prepared for it.
And especially if we aren'treally solid in the foundational
parts of business, if we're notreally solid in how we help
people and who we help them andthe messaging and positioning of
this and the selling of it andtalking to them and attracting
them.
Like if we don't have the corefunctions of a solid business
(05:05):
down, then It's really hardenergetically to hold space in
this because you're going to beconstantly dealing with imposter
syndrome.
You're going to constantlywonder if people are happy or
not, we're getting results ornot.
And the sale, the selling isgoing to be more challenging
because not only do you nothave, you know, a solid list of
(05:25):
clients who've had results.
But you also don't have thosefoundational things figured out
yet.
You don't know how to reallyposition yourself in the market.
You don't know how to talk aboutwhat makes you and your offer
and your work different.
You don't have that deep masteryof your work and your genius
solid yet because you'restarting in this group program.
(05:46):
And it's much harder to getpeople results in a group.
scaled program than it is one onone.
When you are working withsomeone one on one, you can get
them results.
If you know what you're doingand you're talking to the right
person and you were doing theright thing, you can absolutely
get people results.
And so if you haven't gonethrough that experience of
supporting people one on one,getting them results and going
(06:09):
through that journey, whichwe'll talk about some of the
pros of that in a second, it'sreally challenging to try to
start doing that in a group.
when people aren't getting asmuch one on one support,
potentially no one on onesupport, depending on what type
of program you have.
And even if you do have, um,like a mastermind that has
elements of one on one, youknow, that's kind of putting
(06:31):
this in a different category ina lot of ways, but even so
that's still really tough tostart there energetically.
So group coaching absolutely hassome pros.
I think group coaching isincredible.
I have a group coaching program,rich coach club.
I love it, but ultimately it'snot where I think you should
start.
(06:51):
So let's talk about the pros andthe cons of private coaching.
And then I'll get deeper intowhere I feel like you should
focus your energy when it comesto private coaching.
There are a lot of pros, to behonest.
Um, not only Is this a great wayfor you to solidify your
expertise like we were justtalking about because you'll be
working with someone veryintimately and you will really
(07:13):
start to hone in on what makesyou different.
What makes your work different?
What is your ideal clientactually struggling with?
What are the actual thingsholding them up?
And this is incredible marketresearch.
So not only do you get tounderstand your unique genius
and your clients are feedingthat back to you being like, Oh
my gosh, this blew me away.
Wow.
I didn't know I could do it.
(07:33):
They're going to be reflectingback to you what makes you a
good coach.
And also you're gettingincredible paid market research
because you are getting a deepdive in your ideal client's
world in their head.
And where they're spending theirtime and where the hiccups are
and in what work truly helpsthem move towards their goals
faster than if they didn't haveyour support.
(07:56):
It also helps you get incredibleclient results and incredible
client testimonials when you aremastering your one on one
coaching, when you become areally good coach.
database that like library ofclient results and testimonials
is going to make the future ofyour business so much easier
because it's going to makeselling your private coaching
(08:17):
easier, but it's also going tomake it way easier when you do
launch scaled offers, whetherit's a membership, a mastermind,
a group program, a course,whatever it is, when you do go
to scalable offers, you havereal evidence and testimonials
of client results that are goingto make that selling process.
So much easier.
Private coaching is also greatbecause you requires way less
(08:40):
leads.
You just need like.
five to 10 people who know you,who you are to like start
getting clients.
Um, and it is ultimately wayeasier to sell private coaching
than something that's a groupprogram because people
inherently see the value in oneon one support and personalized
coaching and customized feedbackand advice.
(09:01):
Like you don't have to explainit to someone.
People see the inherent value inthat.
And it's much easier to sell oneon one access than it is to sell
Scaled access and group access.
You can also charge higherticket per client when we're
talking about private coaching.
And ultimately private coachingis an easier energetic load than
(09:23):
running a group program becauseyou have less clients that
you're focused on.
You're also very focused on themindividually.
You can control how many clientsyou're working with at one time.
Your confidence is going toaccelerate and grow.
really quickly in privatecoaching.
And, um, it's just easierbecause you actually know each
person.
If you're working with fiveclients at a time, 10 clients at
(09:45):
a time, you know exactly what'sgoing on with them.
You're not sitting therewondering if they're getting
results and wondering if they'rehappy and wondering things you,
you know, because you're in itwith them.
So it's actually way easierenergetically to support people
one on one than in a group.
Program, especially at first andprivate coaching is absolutely
(10:07):
the fastest way for you toestablish yourself as a true
expert in what you do and havethe proof to back it up.
Coming back to the clientresults here.
If you want to come out and saythat you are really good,
mindset coach, for example, butwe don't have any examples of
what that looks like to actualpeople that you've worked with.
It's a lot harder to establishthat you're really an expert.
(10:28):
Um, but if you have thesetestimonials of actual, like
tangible results, your clientshad in working with you, you are
an expert, like you already arethe expert.
And now it's easier to reallyshow up and establish yourself
as the expert.
And logistically, I didn't eventalk about this when it comes to
group coaching, but.
Private coaching is so mucheasier to run as a business
(10:52):
logistically.
It requires way less overhead,less technology.
No team is required, whereaswhen you're looking at a group
coaching program as it grows andeven just foundationally, it
requires more systems, moretech, and as it grows more team,
it's ultimately more complexthan private coaching and
private coaching.
(11:12):
You could literally just say,here's my stripe link and here's
a zoom link.
The end.
Like that's, that can be it.
You don't have to worry aboutcourse platforms and email
management software and all themillion other things.
You can really keep it supersimple and lightweight.
So if you're starting out,private coaching is logistically
(11:33):
so much easier.
There are of course, a couple ofcons when it comes to private
coaching.
Nothing is ever.
perfect and a hundred percentonly good.
And there's no compromises,right?
Everything has compromises, butwhen it comes to the cons and
the compromises of privatecoaching, I feel like they are
totally worth it when you arestarting out.
So of course you can't work withas many clients in private
(11:55):
coaching as you could in a groupsetting, but I think that's okay
because of the pricedifferentiation and how much
you're charging.
And again, all the pros and conswe already discussed.
The other con with privatecoaching is that you will
eventually, assuming you're goodat this, you will book out of
private coaching and hit yourmax client load pretty quickly.
(12:16):
And that can feel frustrating.
And in the moment it can feellike a bad thing, but ultimately
it's a good thing because it'sshowing.
that your expertise, like your,your messaging is working, who
you're targeting and how you'retargeting them and how you're
talking to them is working andyour clients are getting results
and you're getting booked out,which means your demand is
higher, which means it's timefor a price increase, right?
(12:38):
And so getting booked out canfeel like, Ooh, I'm booked out.
That's a bad thing, but actuallyit's an incredible thing and a
tool to help you go to the nextlevel.
with your business and toincrease your prices and to
continue to master selling asyour prices increase and
messaging as your pricesincrease.
So ultimately the cons ofprivate coaching are kind of
(13:00):
just about that scalabilityissue, which when you're just
starting out, it's actually somuch better to start with
private coaching and to trulyestablish yourself as an expert,
but also to master it and tomaster it.
Um, everything about a privatecoaching business, because if
you can master private coaching,when you transition into group
(13:22):
coaching and scalable offers,you're going to be so much
better.
Like you're going to be a waybetter business owner, a way
better marketer, a bettersalesperson, a better coach.
Your confidence is going to bethrough the roof.
Your rates can be far higherwith like actual reasons and
evidence for why.
And it's.
It's truly what can propel youand your business forward so
(13:44):
much faster in the long run.
If you're willing to do privatecoaching first, even if you
don't want to do privatecoaching forever, can there be a
season of your business whereyou do private coaching first
and you master it, you figureout who you're helping and
exactly how you help them andwhat makes you unique and why
you are the coach for yourpeople.
You master your process.
(14:05):
You master messaging andpositioning and Um, content
marketing and sales content andselling and coaching, actually
being a good coach and trackingresults and getting your clients
results consistently and justmastering private coaching in
all of its aspects, gettingbooked out, raising your rates,
(14:25):
and then mastering selling atyour new, your new rate, right?
Getting solid in your expertiseand truly just mastering this
type of business.
You can absolutely make sixfigures just focusing on private
coaching.
Um, by going in on privatecoaching exclusively by not
getting distracted by groupprograms and scalable offers and
(14:46):
courses and funnels and emailthings and yada, yada, yada.
If you can put your blinders onand say, I am going all in on
private coaching, I'm going toget my first client.
I'm going to get booked out andstart raising my rates.
I'm going to hit six figureswith private coaching.
You know, once you start hitting50 K a hundred K from private
coaching, you can absolutelywith confidence.
(15:07):
Either transition completelyinto group programs and stop
doing private coaching ortransition where you have much
higher private coaching ratesand you start doing some group
coaching and scaling both atthis, you know, scaling the
group coaching while you haveyour well oiled machine of
private coaching happening onthe side.
Um, and so you can absolutelytransition and leave private
(15:28):
coaching behind later if youwant.
But by going through this seasonof focusing on private coaching,
you are going to set yourself upfor so much more success and
ease going forward.
And again, simplicity.
If you're here listening to thispodcast, if you're my type of
person, you probably don't wantto spend infinite amounts of
time on your business.
(15:48):
You probably have a limitedamount of time.
Whether that's energy, physicaltime, mental time, like you
probably have very limitedresources to work on your
business.
And what you want your businessto be is something that's
fulfilling, that is profitableand brings financial security to
your family or financialfreedom, potentially extra
income to play with, who knows,depending on your situation and,
(16:12):
and you want the ability tostill focus on your life first.
My people, like the people youare, I know, I know you are, if
you're listening to this, likeyou want a business that allows
you to prioritize your life.
That isn't all about workingaround the clock 24 seven and
doing the, like doing everythingand just like burning out and
(16:33):
trying to be everywhere and beeverything to everyone all the
time.
Like that's not what we're doinghere.
When you focus on privatecoaching first and you close the
door to everything else, Youimmediately block out so much
noise and shiny object syndrometemptation because you were
like, this is it.
I'm going to be a really loudperson.
(16:55):
fucking good private coach.
I am going to master this.
I am going to figure out exactlywhat makes me different, exactly
how I help my clients.
I'm going to get these resultsfor them.
I'm going to raise my rates.
I'm going to be a really goodsalesperson.
I'm going to master this.
And when business is at itssimplest, like private coaching
businesses are the simplest yourbusiness will ever be.
And so you're going to masterbusiness while it's at its
(17:18):
simplest, while you don't needto worry about email sequences
and funnels.
And webinars and team members ordoing all the different things
like you really can just narrowyour focus to a couple of
things.
You can focus on creatingcontent that attracts your
(17:39):
dreamy clients.
You can really hone in onselling and you can hone in and
master coaching and like that'sall that matters.
You can really, really simplify.
You don't need to have all ofthese fancy things set up.
You just need these basics andyou need to master them.
And that's going to unlock somuch for you.
(18:00):
When you do then shift intoother aspects of your business,
you're going to be so much moreconfident.
Everything's going to be so mucheasier because your skills will
be so much stronger.
Like you will actually be askilled salesperson.
You will be a true skilledcoach.
You will be so, it'll be so mucheasier to create content.
to send emails, to do thingslike webinars and to create
(18:23):
courses and curriculum.
But when you allow it to just besimple and master the simple
version before you add in allthese layers of complexity, it's
going to save you so much time.
You're going to see.
So many results faster and likethis is just so much easier and
you may choose to stay inprivate coaching.
You can absolutely have a veryprofitable, very successful
(18:44):
business and all you do isprivate coaching and that is
okay.
You do not have to have scalableoffers.
You do not have to do anythingbut private coaching if you end
up loving it and not wanting toadd anything else to your plate.
It can be this simple forever oryou can start with this
simplicity and eventually add inscalable offers.
when this whole side of yourbusiness is locked and loaded
(19:07):
and mastered.
And you can just continue torefine and raise your rates and
work with potentially lessclients as your rates raise.
It's just like truly so simple.
If you're sitting there lookingat business and you're like, Oh,
I'm supposed to be on YouTubeand tech talk and I need to have
a free email course and I needto have a webinar training
(19:29):
funnel that leads to a tripwireoffer that leads to my course
that has an upgrade to work withme one on one and then that
upsells them into my privatecoaching.
And then over here I have a freeFacebook group.
And then over here I'm alsotrying to grow my tech talk and
Oh, I should be blogging andposting on Pinterest.
Like, Oh, I'm like, right, ah,I'm like, no, we don't, uh, we
(19:56):
don't need to do that.
You could just literally haveone offer.
You can have one way to workwith you and you can have one
result that you strive towardsmastering for your clients.
And you get really good aboutit.
You really understand your dreamperson and where they're at,
you're in their head.
(20:17):
So then creating content andspeaking to them is easy.
You have one platform, maybetwo, where you connect and get
in front of your dream clientsand you just refine that, master
that, master the selling, masterthe coaching.
Keep doing it.
Keep refining.
(20:37):
You can really tune out all thenoise.
You don't need to have anInstagram broadcast channel and
a million other things, right?
You can just really hone in.
There's a lot of power when yousay no.
There's a lot of power when yousimplify and you focus and you
(20:58):
May see a lot of opportunitiesfor other things.
And it's so hard sometimes tomute those out.
But when you've committed andchosen this path of focusing on
private coaching and this pathof simplicity, and you see the
benefits of that simplicity andthat mastery, it becomes easier
to say no.
And you're going to start to seethis momentum grow and your
(21:20):
revenue grow and yourfulfillment grow and the mastery
and your skills improve and it'sjust going to really start to
propel you forward and makeeverything so much easier and
ultimately more enjoyable.
This is why I recommend youstart with private coaching.
Now you are your own person andyou should feel totally
(21:40):
empowered to make choices thatfeel right to you.
But if any of this Just gave youthe biggest sigh of relief and
be like, Oh, that sounds good.
Then I really encourage you tofollow that thought.
And that may mean like closingsome of your group programs.
I did that.
I closed my membership and mymastermind at the very beginning
(22:00):
of 2024, because I realized Ineeded to narrow down my focus,
focus on Less offers and lessprograms and go through a season
of refinement again, even thoughI've done this before.
And so you may be at a placewhere you realize you need to
close down a group program orshift what you're working on to
(22:23):
focus on private coaching.
Or maybe you're sitting theresaying, this is all great, but
I'm not gonna do that.
That's fine.
Like I'm still here cheering youon either way.
But I do strongly believe thatif you want to grow a business
that can hit, you know, sixfigures, multi six figures,
seven figures one day, and youare a coach and you want it to
(22:44):
feel simple and you want to haveconfidence and you want to feel
like you've mastered all ofthese core principles of
business.
running a coaching businessbefore you have to hire a team
and things get super complex,then I really encourage you to
start with private coaching.
I've always started mybusinesses focusing on one on
one services first, whether thatwas graphic design or virtual
(23:05):
assistance or coaching, I'vealways started with one on one
work first.
And I stand by that being whereI recommend you start as well.
So if any of this is interestingto you and you want to actually.
focus on private coaching.
You want to grow your business,your private coaching business
to 50k, 100k.
(23:25):
Wow.
Um, working part time, like Iwork 12 hours a week or less and
that's on a good week.
And that's just the season oflife I'm in as a mom and I've
got maternity leave coming upand like this is very much a
life first business where I canstill show up and have
tremendous impact on my clients,have a very profitable business
(23:46):
and find a lot of personalfulfillment while keeping things
really simple.
And that's what I help myclients do as well in my 12
month program.
Rich coach club, where we areall about growing and scaling
and mastering that privatecoaching side of your business
so that you can have this reallysimple and sustainable and
profitable and enjoyablebusiness.
(24:08):
while working 15 hours a week orless.
And then of course that canunlock so much for you for
what's next for your business.
I am actually hosting a livemasterclass on April 23rd that
is going to be all about how todo this.
Like, what does this actuallylook like?
How do you actually accomplishthis and like the schedule and
(24:29):
the offers and how does it allcome together?
And if you want to learn moreabout that, you can go to
simplify with Megan.
com forward slash registration.
And the link will be beneaththis episode as well.
You can sign up for this livefree masterclass happening on
April 23rd.
I will also be opening the doorsto rich coach club on that live
master class.
(24:49):
The doors to rich coach club areonly open twice this year.
This is one of them, and I'mplanning on opening them again
once before the end of the year,September, October ish,
probably.
Um, but the doors are like notopen in between then.
So if you are looking forSupport in this goal of growing
your coaching business and thisway that is sustainable and
(25:10):
simple, then, and you want acommunity who's doing it
alongside you, you want tomentor, who gets it, who's doing
it with you.
And you want access to, uh,exclusive trainings and
curriculum to help get youthere.
Then.
You want to come to thismasterclass and see what it's
all about and see if it's a goodfit for you.
So again, you can go tosimplifywithmegan.
com forward slash registrationand you can sign up to join us
(25:33):
live on the masterclass.
I hope I get to see you livewith me on April 23rd.
I'll see you then.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.