Customer Reviews:
 Solid information March 20, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have not completed the book yet, but from the 1/3 of it I"ve read, it is the kind of beginners book I was looking for. It is very basic. There have been some editing weaknesses I have noticed but that is more a function of the publisher than the author.
 Oh my gosh! A great book that eloquently lays out how to prepare a stellar business plan for your coaching business. March 17, 2007
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
I love this book. It is written by a coach for someone who wants to create their own coaching business or improve their business plan for their existing coaching business. I just finished this book a few minutes ago, and I still can't believe what a wonderful book it is. I'm a SCORE counselor, one type of business coach, and I regularly counsel wanta-be entrepreneurs and small business owners on how to prepare business plans or modify existing plans. If a client came to me and wanted to start a coaching practice, then I would be giving the client the ISBN for this book right up front.
The author has her own successful coaching business. And this book includes her story about building her coaching business. She tells us what didn't work for her and what has worked for her. She gives us all kinds of insight into what to think about and do when starting your own coaching business.
Interestingly, she has a program she sells through her coaching business that goes something like this:
1. Describe what you want
2. Explore your options
3. Create your game plan
4. Implement your plan
5. Reach your goal
This program she sells is generic. It is the same program I use when I counsel people at SCORE as to how to start a business. I have my clients: (1) Describe the business they want to create, (2) Do market research, (3) Prepare their 25-35 page business plan, (4) Implement their plan, and (5) Meet their revenue targets timely.
This book tells the reader to do the above five things to start and run a coaching business. And then there is the wonderful list of resources at the end of the book on marketing, Web sites, newsletters, articles, ebooks, public speaking, networking, etc.
About the only thing missing seemed to be a discussion on Choice of Legal Entity. Should the coach form a Limited Liability Company (LLC) or a C Corporation?
If you run a coaching business or want to start one, then I highly recommend this book to you to help you in your work. I also think you will benefit greatly by reading the two following books as supplements to this book: Plug Your Book! (ISBN: 0977240614), by Steve Weber, and Aiming at Amazon (ISBN: 093849743X), by Aaron Shepard. 5 stars!
Complete Marketing Resource for Coaches October 4, 2005
28 out of 28 found this review helpful
*****
This book, though short, is succinct and very useful, very rich in content---a great guide for coaches who are wanting to begin marketing their practices. Marketing information is hard to organize, because as a coach, you really just want to know what you need to know to make your practice successful, and not a lot more than that. If you agree with me, this is the book for you.
There are lots of resources for coaches who want to delve deeper into any particular type of marketing---for example, running teleclasses---but enough basic information so that you can get started, along with time estimates, cost estimates, and estimates as to how long you would have to do any particular activity before it becomes profitable.
I really appreciated the Resource section in the back of the book covering Internet sites for sources from everything from headsets for the telephone, to e-book resources, to credit card merchants and alternatives like PayPal, etc. The Resource section is for the most part specific just to coaching, and the more general resources are useful, too, unlike some appendices.
There are assignments throughout the book for those people who enjoy exercises to assist you in actually DOING the things you need to do to market your practice. The assignments seemed good, but am using the book as a sourcebook to help me to brainstorm, so I just read over them for ideas. I cannot imagine anyone going through and doing these exercises, though, and by the end of the book NOT having a thriving practice.
This is definitely the best book I have ever read on marketing for coaches! I can't imagine how it could have been written any better or how it could have been any more helpful unless the author did the marketing FOR me :)
*****
The most important how-to book a coach can read. December 4, 2003
66 out of 68 found this review helpful
Coaching is a peculiarly difficult service to market! You're marketing yourself, and all sorts of emotions get in the way of direct action -"I musn't boast", "I can't promote myself","Am I good enough", "I don't want to be seen as pushy" are examples I've heard. Questions of self-worth abound. Many coaches need major coaching in this area! In fact, if you don't market your coaching services regularly and aggressively, you'll sooner or later stop coaching! This book meets that need head-on, with sections on Deciding Who You Want To Coach, Creating a Program Your Target Audience Will Pay For, Creating a Marketing Strategy, and Learning How To Sell. In addition, the largest chapter, Creating a Marketing Strategy, lays out all the marketing options, and, coachlike, offers assignments to the reader to get him/her moving. I found the section on Working With The Press particularly interesting, and challenging. That alone is worth the price of the book. I run a coaching chapter in New York City, and I've invited the author to come and present her book to our membership. If you're a coach, or planning to be one, I highly recommend this book. It is a marketing seminar all by itself. It gives a very clear, well-organized and concise outline of the steps you can take to make coaching a delight - not only because of what you can contribute to others, but also because you can make a very nice living doing so!
One Doable Step at a Time December 4, 2003
16 out of 18 found this review helpful
This book has accomplished the twin goals of "taking action": It's comprehensive in the variety of ways a coach can advance their practice. And yet, it breaks down each choice in easily doable steps; taking away the mystique or intimidating notions a new coach may have about what they must do to build their business. Additionally, it's packed from top to bottom with terrific resources for writing, web development, program/seminar development, and much more! It's one terrific resource for the back pocket of any ambitious coach!
|
