How to Start a Life Coaching Business in 7 Fun Steps

So you want to know how to start a life coaching business. Good timing! More people than EVER are investing in personal development, which means there's plenty of room for you.

Buuuuuut passion alone won't build a business. You need a solid foundation, a clear plan, and the right tools to create a profitable life coaching business that's FUN to run.

Here are 7 steps to get you there!

7 Steps to Starting a Successful Coaching Business

Whether you've been googling "how to start a life coaching business from home," "how to start a life coaching business online," or "how to start a successful life coaching business," you've probably noticed there's a LOT of advice out there. Some of it is helpful...but it can also be vague!

Here are 7 practical steps that will take you from idea to launch.

1. Define Your Niche

"Life coaching" is broad. VERY broad. And when you try to speak to everyone, you end up connecting with no one.

Niching down helps you stand out in a crowded market, attract clients, and position yourself as an expert in a specific area instead of a generalist competing with thousands of other coaches.

Think about what you're drawn to and what you have experience with. Maybe it's:

• Career transitions
• Confidence building
• Relationships
• Burnout recovery
• Parenting

Your niche should sit at the intersection of what you're passionate about, what you're skilled at, and what people are willing to pay for.

For many coaches, the best niche comes from personal experience. For example, if you went through a major career change and came out stronger, that's a story your ideal clients will relate to.

Your story is a HUGE part of why someone would choose you over another coach, so lean into it!

Once you've picked a niche, get detailed about who your ideal client is. What are they struggling with? What do they want their life to look like? The more clearly you can answer these questions, the easier everything else becomes, from your messaging to your offers to your marketing.

2. Get Certified

You don't legally need a certification to call yourself a life coach, but getting one is often a smart move. It gives you credibility and teaches you proven coaching frameworks, which can help you feel more confident when you start working with clients.

Look for programs accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), which is the most widely recognized body in the coaching industry.

There are different levels of certification depending on how deep you want to go, and many programs can be completed online!

3. Create Your Signature Offer

This is where you decide WHAT you're selling and HOW you're selling it.

Most new coaches start with one-on-one sessions, and that's a great way to build experience and get testimonials. But you should also be thinking ahead about what you want your business to look like six months or a year from now.

One-on-one coaching is valuable, but can be limited by your time. That's where Kajabi is handy because you can do 1:1 coaching, then add on group programs and other containers all on the one platform

There are only so many sessions you can fit into a week. So as you grow, consider adding group coaching programs, online courses, or hybrid models that combine live sessions with self-paced content. This lets you serve more people without burning out!

You can also create digital products like workbooks, templates, or mini-courses to sell alongside your coaching. These add extra revenue streams and give potential clients a lower-cost entry point to your work before they commit to a full coaching package.

4. Build Your Brand Identity

Your brand shapes how people perceive your coaching business.

The first step is picking a business name that feels aligned with your coaching philosophy and is easy to remember. Many coaches just use their own name, but you can also create a company name that speaks to your niche.

Then, you need to create your coaching branding.

This typically includes:

• Logo that represents your coaching style and feels professional
• Color palette that reflects the energy and tone of your work
• Typography (fonts) that match your brand personality
• Brand voice that defines how you communicate in writing and on social media
• Imagery style that's consistent across your website, socials, and marketing materials

The ONE thing is that I see life coaches get wrong all the time is that they focus on making things look pretty without thinking about strategy. Your branding should do more than look good! It should communicate who you help, what transformation you offer, and why someone should trust you.

This is something that I can help you with as a brand and website designer for coaches.

 

5. Choose the Right Platform for Your Business

This might be a hot take, but you need more than a social media page to run a coaching business. It's so important to build a system that lets you capture leads, nurture them, and convert them into paying clients. 

It all starts with choosing a platform that gives you all the tools in ONE place.

I recommend Kajabi as the BEST platform for life coaches.

I've worked with a lot of platforms as a website designer for coaches, and Kajabi is THE one that allows you to simplify and scale. When you subscribe, you get:

• A full website builder so you don't need a separate hosting platform
• Email marketing with automated sequences and broadcasts
• A course builder for creating and selling digital products
• Sales funnels to guide leads toward a purchase
• Scheduling and booking for coaching sessions
• Payment processing with flexible pricing options
• Community features for group programs
• A mobile app for both you and your clients

I LOVE the fact that 89% of Kajabi creators have fewer than 50,000 Instagram followers!

This tells you that you don't need to be an influencer to build a profitable coaching business on Kajabi. You just need the right system in place.

Take a look at these best Kajabi features that help coaches get more clients.

 

6. Build Your Website

Your website is the hub of your entire coaching business.

It's where people learn about you, explore your services, read your content, and book sessions or buy your programs. Social media is great for visibility, but your website is where conversions happen!

Every coaching website should include a few key pages:

• A homepage that communicates who you help and what you offer
• An about page that tells your story and builds trust
• Services page(s) that outline your coaching packages
• A contact page so potential clients can reach you easily.

If you're creating content (which you should!), add a blog. And if you have a freebie or lead magnet, it can be a smart move to build a landing page for it, depending on your funnel.

Another SUPER important thing is SEO.

It stands for "search engine optimization," and it helps your website rank on Google so that more people can find you and learn about your services!

If you're looking for inspiration, you'll love these life coach website examples.

 

7. Start Marketing!

You've got your niche, your offer, your brand, your platform, and your website. Now it's time to get visible! Here's how to do that:

• Show up on social media by posting valuable content consistently.
• Start a blog to answer the questions your ideal clients are already Googling, which builds trust and drives organic traffic to your website through SEO.
• Build an email list by offering a free resource (like a guide, checklist, or mini-course) and nurturing subscribers with regular, valuable emails.
• Go live on Instagram, YouTube, or inside free communities to let people experience your coaching style before they buy.
• Collaborate with others by guesting on podcasts or partnering with complementary brands to get in front of new audiences.
• Share client wins and testimonials (with permission) to build social proof and show potential clients what's possible when they work with you.

Naturally, building a strong marketing strategy is something that takes time, and you don't need to be on all marketing channels at once. Pick one or two, and once you master them, expand your presence.

Examples of Life Coaches Who Started Their Online Coaching Business on Kajabi

1. Amy Lee Westervelt

If you've been wondering how to start a spiritual life coaching business, Amy Lee is a great example of what that can look like. She's an intuitive coach specializing in consciousness activation, neuro-energetics reprogramming, and her own signature methods like Erogetics™ and Soul Vision™.

We designed a custom Kajabi site for her with earthy neutrals, crystal-inspired accents, and a layout that guides visitors toward her mentorship programs and opt-ins. Her site now reflects the depth of her work and gives her a professional home base to grow from.

2. Dávid Hanc

Dávid is a life mentor, speaker, and coach with over 13 years of experience helping people master their mindset and build more fulfilling lives. He needed a Kajabi website that matched his bold, artistic style and clearly showcased his offers and personal story.

We built him a clean, high-impact site with a rich blue and red color palette. As a web and graphic designer himself for 15 years, Dávid said we "over-delivered" and gave him a platform where who he truly is shines through.

3. Jasmine McLeod

Jasmine is the coach behind Beecoming and Bee-You. When she came to us, her DIY website wasn't generating leads, and her SEO was weak. We built her a fully custom Kajabi site with automated funnels, clear coaching package showcases, and a functional backend.

Within 30 days of launching, she was getting traffic, seeing strong conversion rates, and even made her first sale!

FAQs

Is Life Coaching a Profitable Business?

Yes, life coaching can be very profitable! The average hourly rate for life coaches is $234/hr, and that number goes up as you build your reputation and specialize in a niche. On top of one-on-one sessions, you can add group programs, online courses, and digital products to create multiple revenue streams from the same expertise. But like any business, it takes time to build momentum! If you invest in your brand and platform consistently, you're much more likely to see strong results.

Is Getting a Life Coach Certification Worth It?

For many life coaching businesses, yes! A certification from a recognized organization like the ICF gives you credibility and often makes potential clients feel confident about investing in your services. But you can also technically coach without one. There typically isn't a legal requirement to get certified.

Does a Life Coach Need a Website?

HECK YES! But if I'm being honest, you need more than “just”a website. You need a SYSTEM. You should have a platform where your website, email marketing, sales funnels, booking, payments, and content delivery all work together. That way, when someone finds you online, they can go from discovering your site to joining your email list to booking a session without you having to manually connect a bunch of different tools. That's something Kajabi is great for!

Get Your Life Coaching SYSTEM Built on Kajabi (Website and More!)

If you're ready to launch your life coaching business on Kajabi and want it done right, I'd love to help!

My signature service, the Kajabi Coach Accelerator, gives you everything you need to go live in just ONE month, including:

• Offer and product strategy coaching
• Brand design
• Website copywriting
• SEO strategy
• Custom Kajabi website design
• Client flow planning and automation setup
• A launch-with-ease gameplan.

You walk away with a complete and high-converting system for your life coaching business, not just a website!

Learn more about the Kajabi Coach Accelerator or book a call with me to chat about your project personally!