Coaching Tools to help Coaches Get More Coaching Clients. Suzan Schmitt: The Coach Marketer

Today I start a blog!

July 7, 2008

So this is it…I am starting a blog.  I asked myself…self…why don’t you start a blog about all the things you are doing as you start to really market your coaching business.  Then before I knew it I had talked myself into this process.  So here we go and I have no idea what this ride will be like.

What is the First Thing I Should Do?

Get some business cards of course!  If you want to look like a legitimate business you have to have business cards, everyone knows that.  OK, good idea, so how the heck am I going to design a business card, where do I get it printed, and what will I call my company?  These questions could have stopped me for months pondering what would be the best name and "look" for my business.  After all, I was in advertising once and that means I should have some really cool looking and sounding stuff.  Most of all I have to have a really catchy name that makes everyone say oooohhhhh that’s clever, I can clearly see that she must have been a real advertising genius.

A Name?

This name thing caused me some stress because I had to really like the name as I would be stuck with it forever.  I wanted a name that represented my values and what my business was going to be about.  I thought about it and the name Full Life Coaching came to me.  I liked it.  Not too long, not to specific yet is said you would have a full life and that sounds appealing.  That’s it now I had a name!  YIPPEE, YEAH, YAHOO!!!!

Good I have a name to put on these business cards now I need all the other essential information, an address, a phone number, an email address, and a website.  Oh crap!!!!  I don’t have an address other than my home address, should I use my cell number, do I need a new email so my business stuff is separate from my other stuff, and a WEBSITE.  I don’t know the first thing about getting a website!!

OK, calm down…you can do this.  We will just take it one piece at a time so let’s start with the address that is easy.  I don’t have an office so I have to use my home address or get a P.O. box.  I don’t want to go get mail at a P.O. Box so for now I will use the home address.  Done.  Phone number that’s not too tough…I will use my cell phone so I can take calls anywhere anytime.  I can always get more minutes if I need to because the reason I will need to is because I will be doing so many coaching call and making so much money that the price of a few more minutes will seem trivial.  Cell phone it is!  I can’t handle many more critical decisions today so I will think about one more then I am done.  Email address…nope don’t want to mix business and personal so I need to get a new email address.  My 18 year old son is all over gmail and he says it is the best because it is fully functional anywhere on any computer and my current account is not.  Easy enough now all I have to do is figure out how to get a gmail account and name to use.  This is where I made a mistake because I used my name and I wish I would have used my company name.  Oh well, nobody is perfect and I suppose this is fine too.

What Did I Learn Today?

1)  Find a good name for the business.  One that is descriptive and inspirational.

2)  Decide on an address or P.O. Box.  The one good thing about a P.O. Box is that it doesn’t change if you move.

3)  Use a phone number where you can be contacted or where someone will answer the phone.

4)  An email address that matches your company name and identifies you is best.  It is important that you can retrieve and respond to email from any computer anywhere so choose a service that supports that.

Related posts:

1. Business cards and website
2. Coaching Business: Blog vs. Website
3. 5 Things You Can Do Right Now to Get Coaching Clients
4. Coach Marketing: Starting a Coaching Business Ready, Set, Go!!!!
5. Starting a Coaching Business: Start-Up and Client Attraction Phase

Filed under: Basic business decisions

Tags: coach marketing, getting coaching clients, marketing, selling coaching, starting a coaching business, suzan schmitt