Kasia Wezowski - Taking the Leap: How to Build a World-Class Coaching Business

First published in 2017 by Nicholas Brealey Publishing

An imprint of John Murray Press

An Hachette company

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Copyright Kasia Wezowski 2017

The right of Kasia Wezowski to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017944260

ISBN 978-1-47365-749-6

US eBook ISBN 978-1-47365-751-9

UK eBook ISBN 978-1-47365-750-2

Printed in the United States of America

Nicholas Brealey Publishing policy is to use papers that are natural, renewable and recyclable products and made from wood grown in sustainable forests. The logging and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.

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KASIA WEZOWSKI

MARC STEINBERG

RELLY NADLER

DAVID TAYLOR-KLAUS

SAM MARKEWICH

BETH J. MASTERMAN

MELINDA FOUTS

KATHERINE MCINTOSH

JOANN LYSIAK

CLINTON CALLAHAN

MARK THOMPSON

PETER SAGE

KELVIN LIM

MARSHALL GOLDSMITH

MIRNA BACUN

PATRICK JINKS

KASIA WEZOWSKI

DR. JOHN DEMARTINI

HEATHER RAMSEY

KIERON SWEENEY

VISHEN LAKHIANI

JACK CANFIELD

ROBERTO RE

MELISSA TIETZ

PATRYK WEZOWSKI

KASIA WEZOWSKI

A ny list of the most successful coaches in the world must include Marshall Goldsmith. He was ranked by INC magazine as the No. 1 executive coach in America. The Economist called him one of the most credible thought leaders in the field of business. He counts a former CEO of Ford Motor Company and the twelfth president of the World Bank as friends and clients.

Most coaches, of course, are not as successful as Marshall. Some may struggle to make ends meet. They spend days on end working on marketing and sitting on social media when theyd rather be spending time with their clients. They charge less than they are worth because they dont have the confidence to recognize their own value.

When my husband, Patryk, and I asked Marshall why so many coaches are struggling, his answer was simple: Many of the people in the coaching profession are really good coaches, but they are awful businesspeople.

This book is about becoming both a good coach and a good businessperson. Its about ensuring that, as you help your clients thrive in their businesses, you are thriving, too! Its about helping you become a model of success for your clients, so they look at you not just for advice, but as an example of what happens when the attitudes and principles of coaching are successfully applied.

In our society, we naturally associate the value of any professional with how successful they have become. If you had to find a dentist and the first practitioner you visited had an empty waiting room and a snarling receptionist, youd be unlikely to have confidence in their professional skill. On the other hand, if you found a dentist with a packed waiting room, a smiling receptionist, and happy patients, youd likely conclude that this was a competent professional whom you could trust.

It could be that both dentists attended the same school, got the same grades, and have roughly the same level of skill. For whatever reason, however, one had become successful at the business of running a dental practice, and the other hadnt. As a patient, your trust immediately follows the trappings of success, and you feel more confident giving your business to the practitioner with the packed waiting room, smiling receptionist, and happy patients.

On some level, we are intuitively aware that the value of a dentist, a lawyer, or a banker isnt exclusively connected to the amount of training they have received, or even to their level of professional skill. Its about more than that. Its about how they have managed their business and their life to become holistically successful.

This distinction matters for every profession, but for coaches its even more important. Our value and credibility as coaches is directly linked to our own level of personal and financial satisfaction. You wouldnt trust a toothless dentist, and yet many coaches who are dissatisfied with their own lives or careers expect clients to come to them for advice.

As a coach, its not enough that you ask the right questions of your clients. Its not enough to care deeply about their problems and to wish them to succeed. You will not be the best coach you can be unless you find and recognize your own unique value and use this to create a level of success for yourself before you create it for your clients.

For those willing to develop themselves, now is a fantastic time to enter the coaching profession. The coaching industry around the world has grown 19 percent since 2011. In 2016, the total revenue of coaches around the world was US$2.35 billion. Once considered a luxury for the business elite, more and more people now realize the value of coaching.

Awareness of coaching is on the rise among young people, with two-thirds of 24- to 35-year-olds familiar with the industry. About 75 percent of coaches working today expect an increase of clients and revenue during the next 12 months. This means there are strong opportunities for new coaches to make their mark on the profession and for established coaches to have long and rewarding careers.

Today, the average annual income for coaches around the world is US$51,000.in the U.S. Its also much less than most coaches deserve. Coaches who can develop and hone a specialization, who have established strong reputations, and who have the business skills to capitalize on this are capable of earning six or even seven figures per year.

When you learn the business and personal development skills to build a thriving life for yourself, youll be able to shine as a coach and speak from a position of authority and confidence. This book sets out to help you achieve thisto become the kind of coach whose value is immediately obvious to everyone you meet, who attracts the right kind of clients, and who exudes success in everything you do.

Inside this book:

Youll learn how to quantify the impact of your coaching so that you can charge high fees with integrity, with both you and your clients confident that youre worth every cent.

Youll learn how to design your specialization so that you attract the right kind of clients, positively impact their lives or businesses, and become recognized locally or even internationally as