Ep #100: How To Grow Your Coaching Business to Multiple 6 or 7 Figures in 3 Years or Less

You are listening to The Life Coach Business Podcast with Amanda Karlstad episode number 100.

Welcome to The Life Coach Business Podcast, a show for coaches who are ready to up-level their business and take their impact, leadership, and results to a whole new level. If you’re ready to start taking powerful action and become the leader your business needs in order to grow and thrive, this show is for you. I’m your host, Amanda Karlstad, certified life and business coach, and entrepreneurial leadership expert.  Now, let’s get down to business.

Hello and welcome everyone. I am so glad to have you here. You all, this is officially episode 100. Episode 100. This is a big milestone. I’m so glad you’re here. I have to tell you. I’ve been thinking about this episode for quite a while. It’s hard to believe that I’m already here 100 episodes in because the truth is to hit 100 episodes, 100 straight weeks of delivering content and sharing with you my teachings and my strategies and coaching that will help you take your business and your personal leadership to that next level. It’s truly an honor.

So I want to thank all of you who are loyal listeners. Thank you so much for tuning in each and every week. For all of you who have left amazing reviews of this show, for all of you who have shared this show with others. I know there’s been a lot of you. I truly, truly appreciate it. It is such an honor to deliver this show to you all each and every week. It’s one of the things that I am so, so proud of to have created this show, to talk with you all and to bring you as much high value content as I can that I know will help you grow and scale your business.

So I just want to thank you. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for tuning in. Here’s the thing. I’m looking forward to many, many more episodes with all of you. I have to tell you. I’ve got some amazing things planned. So something else that I want to mention before we dive in today is that if you are new to the show or if you’re a loyal listener, I want to remind you that enrollment is currently open for my mastermind program.

The mastermind is my six month business accelerator program, and it’s open. This program is really designed for coaches that are currently working towards either their first six figures in their business. They might already be on their way to that, but they know that they need to put some things in place in their business to really be able to scale. So this program is for you.

Again, if you are working towards your first six figures and you want to get there in the most accelerated way, I’ve designed this program to literally be everything you need in order to grow your business. To really prepare your business for scale in the most accelerated way. So if you’re in a place where you know that you want to grow a highly successful practice. The truth is, maybe you’ve even tried some things in the past. You know that you’re ready for the next level. I want to invite you to apply to this program.

One thing to keep in mind is that this program is only offered a couple of times per year. I do that because there is a very high level of support that I offer in this program. So I do cap the number of clients in these cohorts. Spaces are limited because of the very high level of support that’s offered.

So this is a comprehensive implementation style program where not only will we develop a highly customized business strategy for you that’s going to help you create success right now and really build momentum in your business. Almost more importantly we’re also building the foundation for your million dollar coaching practice. I don’t say that lightly. In fact, we’ve had several clients not only hit but well exceed their first six figures through this program, which has really allowed them to take things to the next level and scale their business to high six figures and ultimately seven.

So I hear regularly from clients in this program that this is the best investment that they’ve made in their business. You should know that these are typically clients that have tried all the things, right. So they’ve typically been in other programs. They’ve done many of the courses you’re probably familiar with. They’ve tried to DIY things. Hands down without a doubt the most consistent feedback and the testimonials that we get from this program is that it is the best and most comprehensive program for coaches that want to grow and ultimately scale a highly successful practice and become an example of what is possible.

So that is my goal for all of my clients is that we build their business in a way that is in the highest expression of them. That is in full alignment with them that allows them to scale and ultimately make a huge impact and huge revenues in the process. So for the clients who are all in on this process, who are all in on this program, who stay coachable and really transition into becoming the leader that their business truly needs. The sky is really the limit.

Typically these are also the clients that when we look at where they were and where they go throughout this program and what they’ve been able to achieve and who they become in this intense six month process. The fact is that they really do evolve into that highest version of themselves, which always translates into those tangible business results.

So from a financial perspective, this is one of the reasons that my clients are able to grow their businesses at such an extraordinary pace. So I’m talking about going from selling low price coaching packages from $400 all the way to consistent literally $50,000 plus even $75,000 plus months. Just through working through this process that I teach and implementing the method that I have really honed and developed over the last few years to really help coaches grow and scale their practices.

So for those of you who are in that position right now. You’re looking to go to that next level. For those of you that do desire to create and build a multi six figure and eventually seven figure practice, I want to invite you to apply as this is an application only program. As I mentioned, spaces are limited as there is an extremely high level of support in the program. Which is why the number of clients is capped. So that we can really ensure that not only can we maintain that level of support, but also the one on one coaching support that is part of the projects.

So not only is this a small group cohort, but you also receive one on one very personalized coaching from myself in this process. So, again, if you’re ready to move beyond where you’re at and you recognize that you need expert support, support that includes both mindset and real business strategy, then this is for you.

So I want you to go to amandakarlstadcoaching.com/themastermind, and you’ll see a short application there as well as the link to book in a time with me for us to talk about your business goals and whether or not it’s a fit. So we’ll link that up in the show notes for you, that application and that link. I would love to see you there.

I also want to mention that if this is something that you have been thinking about if this is something where you are feeling drawn to. If you are feeling the calling, I want you to know that now is the time as this is your opportunity to move into 2022 with momentum. It’s your opportunity to make 2022 and even 2021 your first six figure year.

All right. Let’s dive into today’s topic. I am really excited to talk to you all today. I have been thinking, as I mentioned, about today’s episode for the last several weeks, and thinking about what I wanted to talk with you all about on this 100^th episode that feels like such a major milestone. I wanted to really bring you a topic and really bring you a conversation today that is full of inspiration. That is something that’s also very tangible, that is something that I share with both clients in my mastermind program and in my high level mastermind program. I decided I wanted to share it with you today.

So I want to walk you through what I believe to be a very realistic and very achievable plan for you to grow your business to a multiple six and ultimately seven figure level in a relatively short amount of time. I believe for most coaches when they are all in on their business, when they are working towards certain benchmarks. I’m going to dive into what those are in this episode.

It’s very realistic for you to achieve, especially if you are all in on your business and you are fully committed to growing a highly successful practice. What I’m bringing you here today is something, again, I walk all of my clients through both in my Mastermind program and also in my High Level Mastermind program. Which is for my clients that are scaling their business to that multi six and ultimately seven figure level that really lays out the process and the plan for a coach no matter what type of niche you’re in. Really gives you a blueprint on how to take your business to that high multi six, to that seven figure level in three years or less.

Again, I want to reiterate that what I’ve found is that this is actually realistic for most coaches. I do want to say that obviously everyone’s journey does and will look a little bit different. There is different timing and different factors that are always going to be involved. I want you to really listen in today if you have a desire to grow your business to this level. Because I truly believe it’s possible for you no matter where you’re starting from. The truth is that I have many clients right now that are in this process.

Okay. So I want to start out by first framing today’s conversation by saying that what I’m about to share with you is really based on my own experience. It’s really what I’ve learned in the process of growing and scaling my own business and helping many coaches to grow and scale their businesses as well. So what I’m going to be sharing with you today is what I have really learned on this journey.

So if you’re like most of my clients, you are listening to this podcast because you desire to grow and scale a very successful practice. You’re likely coming from a career or a profession where you have already been very successful.

So I work with many MDs, PhDs, JDs, Master’s degrees, etcetera. So highly educated, highly successful, highly driven clients who are at a point where they’ve either left their careers and they’re no in their business full time and they want to grow it in the most accelerated way. Or they’re looking to leave their career and replace their income and move into their business full time. Again, either way they want to do it in the most accelerated way.

So I say this because I know so many of you either don’t want to waste your time anymore. You may be in a position where you feel like things are not moving fast enough. That you should be farther along, which I could argue there are some thoughts involved there that we could probably coach you through. The truth of the matter is that for a lot of my clients, the truth is that they’re really missing the tactical business strategy when it comes to growing their business. Obviously, the mindset piece of that is driving everything.

But what I find most often is that once we’re able to really work through and set the stage from a mindset perspective and really lay that foundation. Once we then start to implement some of the strategies that I teach, their business growth really accelerates quickly. So that might be you right now. You might be in this game or have been in this game some time. You’re at a point where you just don’t want to waste time anymore. I say that because I’ve also been there.

This is actually the reason why I created the coaching programs and offer the high level of programs and coaching that I offer today. So what I’m about to share with you, my goal and my intention is that this episode helps give you some really deep clarity when it comes to what it really takes to grow your business to that high six and seven figure level, which I know so many of you want to take your business to. I wanted to really help set the stage for that level of growth for you in your business.

So one of the things that I want you to know right off the bat is that when it comes to growing your business to this level, it’s important to understand that simplicity is key. For most of you the truth is that when you are in this process, when you are building your business. The truth is that most of you, you are going to complicate this process. I see it not only with my clients, but I see this happen time and time again for those of you who are in that process and trying to work to take your business to that next level. There tends to be so much over complication in this process.

So I want to talk to you all about this today. Because this point that I’m talking about here, this point alone about simplicity, truly has the potential to change everything for you and to change everything in your business. The reality is that for most of you and for most coaches that I work with is that unless you have a very high level of awareness to yourself and to your business, unless you really understand this. I’m not talking about an intellectual understanding, right. I’m talking about a real deep understanding from an experience level.

The truth is that in most cases, this is one of the biggest reasons that right now your business is likely not growing at the level you want it to. The reason for that is because you aren’t fully clear on the things that I’m about to lay out for you today. So when it comes to simplicity, I did an episode a few weeks ago. It was called The Power of One in Your Business. It was episode number 93. So I’d recommend you go back, and you listen to that episode.

So it’s really important that you are working to simplify and constrain things in your business, especially as you grow. I want to take a minute and explain why this is so important. So consider for a moment every program that you offer, okay. So every coaching package that you offer. There is a cost to offering that program, okay. There is a cost to offering that package. The cost I’m talking about here is not the obvious cost of the program. I’m talking about the cost to you in what it requires in terms of you building the program, in terms of you delivering the program, in terms of you marketing the program, in terms of you selling the program. Okay?

It’s something that is really, really important to understand. Because one of the things that I observe and coach my clients through very, very often is the importance of understanding and knowing the invisible costs to your business. What I mean by this are those intangible things. For example, your time, your energy. The costs to you as the business owner that although you might not recognize it on the surface, the truth is that there’s a real cost involved. Okay.

So whenever you have a program or whenever you have an offer, even if it might seem like on the surface, “This might be super easy for me to put together. This might be really easy for me to deliver.” I see this happen really, really often where I see coaches come up with all sorts of ideas for programs. While yes it might seem on the surface like this makes sense, the reality is that for most of these offers, unless you are building your business around this core offer they generally don’t make a lot of sense. They actually have a very high cost to you to deliver as the coach, and they have a very high cost to the growth of your business.

The reason for this is because as I mentioned, every offer that you have, every program that you decide to offer, there has to be an exchange for that offer. Both in your time to deliver that offer but most importantly in your time to market and fill that program which—and I’m going to get into this more in-depth in just a minute. In order to effectively market a program, in order to effectively market your business in these first few years especially as you are in growth mode, as you are in the build phase of your business.

The truth is that for most of you, for most coaches, this is where the majority of your time, where the majority of your effort will need to go. That is actually in getting your offer, getting your program in front of an audience, in front of potential clients that actually want what you’re selling and are willing to pay you for what you offer.

So I want you to really consider this because the more offers that you have, the more programs that you have, you have to understand that there’s a real consequence of time that’s required in order to launch a program successfully. In order to build a marketing ecosystem, which is one of the core pillars of my program. What I teach and coach all of my clients through is that you have to have a structure, you have to have a system that really supports the growth of that program for that program to be successful.

I think in almost every case with every client I’ve ever worked with, this process is very much underestimated in terms of the time that it requires, in terms of energy, and in terms of the resources. So this is why keeping things simple in your business is absolutely critical if you want to grow and scale.

So this is the first key. Making sure that you are constraining in your business. Making sure that you are building and refining just one signature program that you then build your marketing ecosystem around that supports the growth of that one program. Now along with that, there’s something else that’s very important for you to achieve if you want to get to that multiple six even seven figure success in your coaching business in the three year time frame that I’m talking about here.

That is working with and focusing on and serving one target market. I know that all of you have heard this before, but I want to offer you here something on an even deeper level. It’s really about knowing your ideal client so well that you know them on such a deep and intimate level. You know what their pains are, you know what their dreams are, you know what their challenges are on a daily basis so that you can speak directly to them as you interact with them. As you develop your marketing. As you create content, right?

So knowing your ideal client truly informs everything that you do in your business. It’s how you communicate. It’s what you create, the level of content you create. It’s literally everything. So, again, I know you’ve all heard this before, but I will tell you. Even if you’re saying, “Yeah, I know who my ideal client is.” I’m guaranteeing you that there is another level of awareness that you could have in terms of what I just mentioned, okay.

So this is something that I believe you have to be continually learning and listening and building your own level of awareness around. To the degree so that you know your ideal clients so well so that when you do create content, when you do talk to them, it’s as if—You’ll know that you’re doing this because you’ll get feedback from them. They will say things like, “Wow, you are talking right to me. What you said resonated so much.” Right? You want to know your most ideal clients to that level.

I have really found this, as I said, to be an ongoing process. This isn’t something where you just sit down and do one exercise of market research, and then you never look at it again. It’s something that you have to continually be looking at. You have to continually be listening to your clients and getting to know them on deeper levels. Okay. We’ve talked so far about the importance of simplicity in terms of your program and also in terms of your ideal client. 

So the next key where simplicity is so important if you want to grow a business to high six figure/seven figures and be able to do that in that three year time frame that I’m talking about is mastering your marketing. Now, this is a very hot topic. It’s something that I could literally talk to you all about for hours on end as I think there is a lot of misunderstanding in this industry when it comes to marketing. When it comes to how to truly and effectively market your coaching business.

Here’s what I want to offer to you. Your marketing and your ability to effectively reach and speak to and create awareness to your business with your ideal audience, it’s really the foundation to all of your success. Meaning if you don’t have an effective marketing strategy, which I’m going to just take a minute and pause right here. Because the truth is that most coaches do not.

Whenever I’m working with a new client in my programs, this is by far one of the biggest problems that they have in their business is that they don’t have an effective marketing strategy. That in many cases they aren’t even sure where to start. They might have some ideas, but the truth is it’s extremely scattered and it’s not a cohesive strategy. Usually it’s focused on the wrong things, okay. I’m just going to be real with you all.

It’s typically based on what I call shiny objects or more tactics. The reality is that’s not what’s going to build a long term sustainable business. So the truth is that until that is fixed, until that is addressed in your business, your business growth will be stalled. So this is very, very important. You must have an effective marketing strategy. When I say that, I mean one strategy. You must work to master that strategy in your business.

Again, this is something that with every client that I work with, it’s something that I don’t think there has literally ever been one client where we haven’t had to build out their marketing strategy, and work to implement that marketing strategy. So I want you to know that this is a must, okay. You have to have this, especially if you want to go to that high revenue level.

The other key with this is that you also must work to master the strategy, okay. So step one is having the strategy. Step one is understanding that strategy, and also having the ability to implement that strategy. The second part to all of this is that typically when you first roll out the strategy, when you first implement the strategy in your business, it’s probably not going to work perfectly, okay.

So being able to work to a level of mastery is really, really important. Because far too often I see coaches that don’t spend enough time, that don’t put enough effort into their strategy that will actually take them to the next level.

What happens instead is that whether it’s the first launch or it’s the first webinar or it’s the first whatever that is really at the core of their strategy when they go out and launch for instance.  So that first time when things don’t go as planned, which I do want you all to know, rarely things go exactly as planned in the beginning especially. What ends up happening is that very often they start to get frustrated. They start to second guess what they’re doing. In some cases, they tend to give up altogether.

The reality is that in order to build a long term effective marketing strategy, to implement an effective marketing strategy at a high level, it’s going to require time. It’s going to require refinement. It’s going to require a level of mastery that for most people typically takes months. In some cases, I’ve even seen this happen over the course of years.

So this is why for most seven and eight figure business owners. When you look at what they’re really doing, the truth is that they’re just switching up their strategies every couple of months, right? In fact, it’s the complete opposite. When you really start to peel back the curtain—By the way, I’ve had the good fortune to be able to do this especially with some of the biggest coaching businesses in the industry.

What really is happening behind the scenes is that those strategies, right. Those businesses that have now grown to that seven/eight figure level are still working from the same strategy that they implemented in some cases years ago. What they’re doing is they’re using that same core strategy whether it’s a launch strategy, whether it’s a certain funnel. They’ve been using that for many years. Yes, they’ve probably added to it. They’ve probably refined it many, many times. What they are not doing is jumping to different strategies month after month.

What I want you to take from this is that there’s a level of mastery when you’re playing at that level. There’s a level of mastery in knowing their ideal client. There’s a level of mastery in the program that they offer. So take a moment and think about this because this is really, really significant.

I think one of the best examples of this is one of my mentors, Brooke Castillo. I’m sure many of you know of her. She’s the founder of The Life Coach School. In fact, I’ve been trained by her and have had the opportunity to see behind the scenes in her business for the past several years and have been taught by her over the past several years. She has arguably one of the most successful businesses in the industry.

So for those of you who might not be familiar with her, currently she is generating about $50 million in her business annually. $50 million. So there’s some truth here y’all to what I’m saying here. If we just look at that model, for example, right. When you look at the fact that there are essentially two programs that she offers and she’s been offering, by the way, for the past several years. She’s not really created many new offers. One is her monthly coaching program. It’s called Self-Coaching Scholars. The other is her certification program where she trains life coaches.

So two programs, and she’s generating $50 million a year. She’s got an outstanding marketing ecosystem that supports that level of growth, okay. There’s no way that a $50 million a year business comes without a very solid marketing strategy and marketing ecosystem, as I call it, behind it supporting that. Okay.

So this kind of growth obviously doesn’t happen overnight. It’s happened over the course of years. Because I’ve known Brooke for so long and because I’ve been following her for so long and really in her community for so long. When I look back and really start to unpack how Brooke has grown these two programs to the level that they are, the truth is that the way that she has marketed them, it really hasn’t changed that much. Of course, yes, she’s created and refined different marketing messages and different approaches.

The truth is that the core strategy that she uses to grow her business that she’s worked very hard to master over the years. Because she’s been willing to be consistent with it and willing to do the work, because she stayed with it and didn’t jump strategies. She worked to get herself to a level of mastery, she now has one of the most successful life coaching businesses on the planet.

So I want you all to consider the power here of what I’m bringing you here today. I really don’t want you to underestimate this. I don’t want you to underestimate the importance of this for you and your business. Because honestly, these are the things that I see most coaches are not addressing in your business. It’s the reason in most cases why their businesses are not growing as fast as they want them to grow.

So this is why you will always hear me talk about growing a business in terms of a long game. You have to be in this for the long game. One of the most powerful things you can do for you and for your business is to work to master your marketing. Is to constrain yourself when it comes to the programs that you offer. To constrain yourself when it comes to your ideal client.

The next key that I want to offer to you is that you must have the ability to put your offer in front of an ideal audience. So let me explain what I mean by this. What I mean is ensuring that you are building awareness when it comes to your business, when it comes to your brand, when it comes to the service that you offer. Being able to have conversations with clients that you can actually help. What I’m not talking about here is driving around every week and attending every networking meeting that you can in your area, okay.

What I’m talking about being able to do here is to leverage the technology, is to leverage the tools, is to leverage the ability that you have to put your offer and to reach clients all over the world. So I’m talking here about leveraging your time and being smart with your time. Being smart about those invisible costs, right? Your energy. For most businesses, that means leveraging the technology, leveraging social media, leveraging paid advertising is very, very important. That’s really the truth.

If I look at my own business, because of technology, because of this podcast I am literally serving clients all over the world. When I think about it, it really blows my mind. That is the beauty of what is available today. That you can serve clients anywhere. That you can reach clients anywhere no matter where you are today.

So my approach when it comes to this is that the truth is I don’t know why you would ever not want to leverage technology in your business. If you’re growing a coaching business or any business for that matter in today’s day and age, I don’t know why you would ever not want to leverage technology in your business. It’s almost like saying, “I’m okay with not making money. I’m actually okay with not making the impact I want to make. I’m okay with not helping the clients that are actually out there waiting for me.”

Yes, I know I’m being a little bit facetious here, but I want you to really consider this. Because this was a statistic that I heard earlier this week that actually really caught me off guard and surprised me. I don’t remember the exact source as I heard this in passing. I was listening to something.

Basically the statistic was this. It said that consumer spending in the retail industry pre-COVID, it was something like 16% of overall spending, which actually surprised me a little bit. I actually thought it would be a bit higher. They were saying that before COVID only about 16% of consumer spending was online, okay.

Fast forward to today. So here we are today. It’s increased to, and again I don’t remember the exact source, but it increased exponentially. It was something like around 60%. So the point here is that it’s been a massive shift, right. It’s been a massive change in consumer spending. I know that we have all felt the effects of this.

So just like all the major retailers, anywhere you look—online purchases, online business, technology. It’s becoming even more important today than it was even just 18 months ago. Entire industries are evolving. Every business has been forced in this process in some way over these past 18ish months to really approach business in a different way.

So my point is this. If you’re not currently leveraging and utilizing the tools that are available to you, that are available to your business, you are literally leaving money on the table. I will guarantee that. So this is why this is something that I am really passionate about, and I teach in my program is building the systems. Building the technology to support the type of growth that you really want.

It’s why for the clients, again, that fully utilize the tools that I provide, that work to a level of mastery on the things that I coach them through, that I really work them through in the process. It’s why these clients are now able to enjoy consistent, as I’ve said, $50K/$75K plus months where they can go from selling literally $400 one on one packages to a fully scaled business in less than a year.

So this really brings me to my last point. At the beginning of this episode, I mentioned that I believe it’s very realistic for a coach who is all in on their business, right. Who truly does the work on the things that I’ve laid out for you here that has the potential to build their business to that level in a very short amount of time. Typically it’s around about three years is what I typically see. It’s why it’s a very realistic timeframe for you to build your business to that high six and even seven figure level. Okay?

This is great news for you all. I have a question for you. How would your life change if you knew that in three years if you really went all in on your business, if you really mastered the areas that I’ve laid out for you in this episode that you could be in a position where you’ve built your business to that high multiple six and even seven figure level? That’s what’s available to you, and I want to help you do that.

In fact, when it comes to growing and scaling businesses, I am an alchemist. Which means I help my client’s dreams come true. I truly help my clients become millionaire dollar coaches and build, grow, and scale their coaching businesses that are capable of going to that level and do go to that level. Help them to become examples of what is possible.

So if this is something that you desire, if this is your dream, I want to invite you to make the decision and go all in. Really go after it. Personally, I’d love to support you along the way. You are capable of it my friend. The first step is a committed decision and then taking that inspired action. I hope today’s show inspired you for what is possible. I’ll talk to you all again next week. Take care. Bye, bye.

Hey, if you’re ready for a real breakthrough in your business, and want to grow and scale your business to at least six figures or more in annual revenue, I invite you to apply for my exclusive program The Mastermind at amandakarlstad.com/the-mastermind. I look forward to seeing you there.

Thank you for listening to this episode of The Life Coach Business Podcast. If you want to learn more about how to build, grow, and scale your business and accelerate your results visit amandakarlstadcoaching.com.