| Entrepreneurship is an exciting adventure filled with distinct phases that every company goes through. While the journey looks different for every person, let’s explore the common stages you can expect on this path to success, so you can determine which one you are in currently and what your main focus needs to be: 1. Ideation and Planning: This is where the magic begins! You are still trying to identify your coaching niche, define your target audience, and craft your unique position in the industry. If you are here, you will want to lock in your vision, do market research and interviews, develop a solid business plan, and set ambitious goals that will get you excited and propel your online coaching business forward. 2. Setup and Preparation: Action time! This is where you should lay the groundwork for your online empire. Get a simple website up or landing page to capture leads and start building your audience, set up reliable payment gateways, integrate essential software and tools, and ensure compliance with legal requirements. (this is huge!) This phase sets the stage for a sustainable and legitimate business. 3. Content Creation: You’re the expert, so let your knowledge shine! Create high-quality and valuable content that speaks directly to your target audience. Craft compelling blog posts, record engaging videos, host informative training or webinars, create captivating lead magnets, and share engaging social media posts. Establish your expertise and credibility with consistent and valuable content. Continue to build your audience through your content and invite them onto your email list or to your virtual events. 4. Launch and Promotion: It’s time to make the moolah baby!! Execute a well-thought-out marketing strategy to introduce your services and offers to the world. Leverage social media platforms, harness the power of email marketing, optimize your online presence for search engines (SEO), and collaborate with partners to generate awareness and attract clients. * I work best with (and accelerate quickly) clients who are this phase or higher in their business. 5. Client Acquisition and Onboarding: Potential clients are excited for more from you. Now, it’s all about effective communication and building trust. Fall in love with sales and invite people to go deeper with you. Convert your fans and followers into customers. Once they’re on board, create a smooth onboarding experience, setting clear expectations and deliver the best service you can. The buck doesn’t stop here… it’s just starting. If you want repeat and lifelong clients who hand out referrals… you will want to dominate the next phase: 6. Service Delivery and Value Creation: Your clients are counting on you for transformation. Deliver products and services that are undeniably amazing! Don’t half ass this! Be the best! Show up as the best! Hold space for your clients and don’t overpromise and underdeliver. Provide immense value, utilize effective methodologies, offer tailored guidance, and maintain regular communication. Continuously refine your techniques to ensure your clients achieve their goals and experience the true value of your coaching. Getting support here in this phase is CRUCIAL if you want to maintain happy clients! 7. Scaling and Expansion: Your business is thriving, you have consistent clients and cash, you’ve made a name for yourself and things are going great. Now it’s time to level up! Scale your operations to accommodate more clients, more money and LESS WORK! Consider hiring additional team members to share the workload, automate repetitive tasks to boost efficiency, develop advanced coaching programs or products to keep clients longer, and explore new revenue streams that align with your expertise. Most people misuse the word scale. You are not in a position to “scale” if you don’t have something consistent, that is repeatable, that you know WORKS. Repeat steps 3-6 until you do. If you’re not there yet, do not pass go, do not collect $200- because you are NOT in the scale and expansion phase yet! 8. Adaptation and Innovation: The online world is constantly evolving- FAST- and so should your business. Stay ahead of the curve by paying attention to client feedback, staying updated on industry trends and developments, and refining your expert approach. Embrace innovation, leverage new tech (like AI and software), and diversify your offerings to meet the ever-changing needs of your clients and the expansion of your industry and where it’s going. 9. Reflection and Continuous Improvement: Take a moment to reflect on your journey. Assess your performance, your team, identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. Seek valuable feedback from your clients and make the necessary adjustments to enhance their experience. Keep investing in your professional development and mentorship to stay at the forefront of your industry. Don’t get too complacent- things can change on a dime. Continuously do better and get more creative in your space. Don’t rest on your laurels here… focus on being so undeniable that you are the best and most obvious solution for your potential clients. Remember, this entrepreneurial journey is not always linear, and you may find yourself revisiting certain stages as you grow and evolve… or even being in multiple phases at once! How long you stay in each phase is really dependent on you, how you work, what your vision and goals are, how focused you are and what kind of support and shortcuts you have. I’d love to know which phase(s) you’re currently in! Hit reply and let me know! |
Edition #13: The 9 Phases of Online Business (Which One Are You in?)
