Cathy Liska Once you have your foundation in place with your initial research and your coaching certification, it is time to build your coaching career.
If your plan is a job, create a powerful resume, research opportunities, network, ask for informational interviews, apply, prepare for interviews, and plan your job negotiation strategies.
If your plan is to add Coaching into an existing business portfolio, strategize how you will differentiate coaching from other services and plan how you will offer multiple services on one contract too.
Starting a part or full time coaching business involves business planning, budgeting, planning your marketing strategy, setting up your work environment, technology and tools, creating forms and other resources, organizing your work process, and the doing the work to make it happen. 
Creating Success
In coaching there are people who believe that once they earn their certification they are done. There are others that realize marketing yourself is part of the process. Common barriers to success in business include a lack of planning, financial limitations, lack of preparedness, fear of failure or fear of success, and hesitation in taking action.
A coaching business requires planning and follow through just as is true with other businesses. The level of planning or length of a business plan will vary based on your knowledge, skills, attitudes, and interest. Some people want a full blown, comprehensive plan. Others are good with a simple outline. Sometimes there is a paralysis by analysis and the planning gets in the way of the doing. Other times a lack of planning contributes to a level of ineffectiveness. Ask yourself:
- How much information is the right amount for you to move forward effectively?
- What is the risk of investing too much time in the research and planning?
- What is the risk of not investing enough time?
Schedule time to research and then schedule time to develop your business plan.
