Hi Brooke,

I am getting really excited about interviewing this month and starting coach training in May. My question relates to earning potential for year 1 and how one sets these goals. I have never run my own business before, and though my current practice model is one that is like a private medical practice, I am employed by a hospital system and essentially all the inner workings are ultimately determined by business managers. A small circle of people I have spoken to have said not to expect more than to break even the first year starting a coaching practice (or any business), but I truly believe that what I am offering will be of such value and that I can deliver my service in a way that I can achieve much more than to just break even. I know I will need help/coaching to get there though!

I remember you have many times said that it will be some balance of money and time invested that will determine the results of our coaching practices. Planning that I initially would have some, but not large amounts of money, to invest beyond coach training, my commitment is to give my full-time effort after 4 months of starting the business training (during the first 4 months, I will work my full-time job, and have already blocked one day per work week for dedicated coaching/developing the coaching business; I can put in some extra time on the weekends for this if needed too.)

I am currently working 55 hours per week as a physician and earn about $225,000 per year in a salaried position. When I leave my medical practice, I would be left with about $135,000 in medical student debt at the time I start my coaching practice. One of my goals in transitioning careers is to put in the effort from the beginning to have a very successful business, but also make more time for my own self-care, personal growth, and time with my young son and husband. I also want to earn enough to pay on my medical student debt and for childcare (this currently comes from my earnings.)

I think that if I were to work a 40-hour week in my coaching practice, I would be more than satisfied with the balance of time between work and personal life and could achieve what I wanted in both. I was thinking that I would aim to develop a practice where I would coach one-on-one for 5 hours per day for 4 days per week, and then have the remaining time during the week for business and content development (50/50 split.)

I have thought through various business models and would look forward to discussing these in the future, but am wondering if this is a reasonable way to think about dividing my time. I would also like to aim to earn $150-000 to 200,000 my first year. I have thought of ways of earning this between a combination of one-on-one coaching and group presentations (as I think I would have a lot of fun in this setting and it would be a great way to bring information to more people.)

At the same time, is this first-year income goal realistic from a business perspective? What kinds of help does one get from The Life Coach School with developing a specific business model, marketing strategy, etc?

Thank you so much!