The internet is full of free resources, but let’s face it—most small business owners face unique challenges that generic advice can’t solve.
Online courses and books help to some extent, but they cannot provide the personalized guidance a coach can.
That’s where you come in.
If you’re considering getting into small business coaching, you’re in the right place. In this guide, we’ll explore how you can help entrepreneurs grow their companies.
What is Small Business Coaching?
This coaching specialty is all about providing personalized guidance and support to owners of small businesses.
Coaches in this niche use different goal-setting and analysis frameworks, coaching models, and accountability systems focused on entrepreneurial challenges. They help their clients achieve their business targets, overcome issues that hinder their growth, and improve their operations.
Business coaching helps entrepreneurs with these key areas:
- Business planning: Creating comprehensive business plans, defining objectives, and developing strategies to achieve them.
- Financial management: Understanding and managing finances, including budgeting, forecasting, and improving cash flow.
- Marketing and sales: Developing effective marketing strategies for customer acquisition to boost revenue.
- Operational efficiency: Streamlining operations, improving processes, and enhancing productivity.
- Leadership and management: Developing leadership skills and fostering a positive team culture.
- Problem-solving and decision-making: Identifying problems, analyzing options, and making informed decisions.
- Work-life balance: Balancing business demands with personal well-being to prevent burnout.
Although these areas are also relevant to large companies, coaching small businesses requires a different approach.
Smaller companies have fewer employees (if any) and limited resources. They need cost-effective solutions specifically tailored to them to grow and achieve stability. They don’t have to deal with the complexity big businesses do, but they may have difficulty building brand recognition and scalability.
That’s why coaches normally specialize in either small to medium or large companies in the business world, but rarely both.
Small Business Coaching vs Small Business Consulting
You may notice an overlap between the areas coaches and consultants help small business owners with. However, their approaches differ quite a bit.
While both aim to drive business success, coaching focuses on empowering clients to discover their own solutions and develop their skills. In contrast, consultants are experts who provide targeted advice and implement specific solutions to immediate business problems.
Here’s a summary of how small business coaching and consulting differ in key aspects.
| Small Business Coaching | Small Business Consulting | |
| Approach | Empowerment and self-discovery | Expert solutions and advice |
| Focus | Personal development and goal-setting | Problem-solving and implementation |
| Client Relationship | Collaborative and supportive | Advisory and directive |
| Engagement | Ongoing, long-term relationship | Project-based, often short-term |
| Tools | Coaching models (e.g., GROW), assessments | Diagnostic tools, strategic plans |
| Solutions | Client-driven solutions and insights | Consultant-provided solutions and recommendations |
| Implementation | Encourages client to implement strategies | Assists in executing solutions |
| Problem scope | Focuses on personal and business growth | Focuses on specific business problems |
| Interaction style | Reflective, interactive sessions | Data-driven analysis and recommendations |
| Outcome orientation | Personal empowerment and skill development | Practical, actionable outcomes |
5 Notable Small Business Coaches Making an Impact
Tara McMullin
Tara McMullin is known for her expertise in helping entrepreneurs create meaningful and profitable businesses.
She combines strategic thinking with understanding the personal side of business ownership.
Tara’s coaching is centered on helping clients align their business strategies with their personal values and goals.
Maya Elious
Maya Elious specializes in empowering small business owners through targeted coaching and mentorship.
She focuses on helping clients build and scale their businesses by developing effective marketing plans and leveraging their unique strengths. Her approach emphasizes authenticity and strategic growth.
Beverlee Rasmussen
Beverlee Rasmussen is a seasoned small business coach who focuses on helping clients enhance their business operations and achieve their growth objectives.
Her coaching style combines hands-on support with strategic insight, providing entrepreneurs with the tools to succeed in a competitive marketplace.
Emily Williams
Emily Williams is a small business coach who helps clients break through barriers and achieve significant business milestones.
Her coaching is designed to foster personal and professional growth, enabling entrepreneurs to build thriving businesses while maintaining a balanced life. Emily’s methods combine strategic planning with a focus on mindset and motivation.
Michael D. Morrison
Michael D. Morrison offers coaching services to small business owners who want to refine their operations and achieve their business goals.
His approach integrates business acumen with personal development, guiding clients through the complexities of scaling their businesses and improving their leadership skills.
Small Business Coaching Certifications
If you’re ready to dive into small business coaching, the first step is to get trained.
In our previous article, we covered general business coaching certifications. Now, let’s see the best options for small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) coaches.
Entrepreneurship and Business Life Coach Certification by Transformation Academy
Transformation Academy has CPD-accredited online coaching certifications that have been taken by 700,000 students globally. Their business coaching course is a great budget option at $197 to learn the basics.
It’s an 11-hour self-paced course taught by psychologist Joeel Rivera that covers topics like:
- Business clarity
- Action planning
- Overcoming mental roadblocks
- Creating revenue streams
- The psychology behind entrepreneurship
He also teaches a method called the Quantum Leap Business Model that can be useful for small businesses. While not as hands-on and in-depth as other programs, it’s great for learning foundational concepts in this niche.
Small Business Coaching Diploma by The Coach Academy
This Small Business Coaching Diploma is a comprehensive 42-hour program focusing on the essential skills to work with SMEs.
Its core modules include:
- Business diagnostics
- Customer focus
- Strategic planning
- The practicalities of being a business coach
They can be completed within three years. During this time, you’ll be a part of live online workshops every month, receive mentorship, and gain access to useful resources.
The diploma costs around $5,133, with optional payment plans and discounts for self-funding coaches.
Small Business Coach Certification by Systems Business Coach
Systems Business Coach has an 8-week foundational course and a 12-week follow-up certification course specifically designed for small business coaches.
The foundational course is divided into weekly 90-minute classes and can be taken in both a self-paced ($597) and an instructor-led ($797) format online. It covers topics like:
- Psychographics
- Contracting
- Financial management
- Cultivating healthy business cultures
- Target market strategies
- Building a successful coaching practice
You can earn 20.5 ICF Continuing Education Credits with this first course with the option to continue to the second one.
Their 12-week certification course is broken into weekly 2-hour classes grounded in neuroscience and business principles and live coaching labs. You’ll have practical assignments like developing a business plan and gaining client coaching experience.
This second program costs $3995 and you can access an extensive library of tools and resources, plus ongoing support.
Business Coach Certification by Mindvalley
Mindvalley’s Business Coach Certification Program offers a flexible but more comprehensive way to become a business coach in 16 weeks. Designed for busy professionals, its bite-sized lessons can be completed in three hours a week at your own pace.
The program includes weekly live sessions with seasoned Mindvalley facilitators and peer coaching labs to gain hands-on coaching experience. An interesting addition is the library of live session recordings with elite coaches who worked with Olympic athletes and Oscar-winning actors.
If you’re ICF-certified, you can earn 42 Continuous Coaching Education (CCE) units with this training to renew your credentials later. The program costs $5,999, and it’s tied to an application process.
How to Start a Small Business Coaching Practice
Let’s cut to the chase—here’s how you can set up your practice and start working with the small business owner of your choice.
1. Niche Down
Begin by defining your target market. Are you focusing on tech startups, retail businesses, or creative service providers? It is important to understand the needs and challenges of your ideal clients to help tailor your small business coaching services to them.
Run some research to find out their problems and how you can offer solutions. Surveys and interviews with potential clients are great ways to educate yourself about the audience you want to serve so you can be the right business coach for them.
2. Gain Some Skills
If you’re new to coaching, a comprehensive certification program can arm you with the coaching skills and credentials to jumpstart your career. If you’re already working as a coach and want to specialize in small businesses, you can consider one of the programs above to pick up the methodology for that.
You don’t necessarily have to be certified by ICF, EMCC, and the like, although certifications like these can give you credibility and demonstrate your commitment to professional standards. As you progress in your coaching career, you must invest in ongoing training to stay updated with business trends and expand your coaching toolkit.
3. Write a Business Plan
A solid business plan serves as a roadmap for your coaching business. It should outline your:
- Business goals
- Target market
- Business coaching services offered
- Pricing strategy
- Marketing plan
Have a basic idea about your unique selling proposition (USP) that differentiates you from other coaches and financial projections of your costs and revenue. This will be gold for decision-making when you face tough questions. Don’t worry; you can always update it with more detail as you go.
4. Set up a Business
To legally offer coaching services, you need to register your own business. You can choose between a sole proprietorship, which is simpler but comes with personal liability, and an LLC, which offers legal protection and lets you hire employees, though it’s more costly.
Next, draft a coaching contract outlining payment terms, refund policies, and liability waivers. Paperbell can store them for you and get them signed digitally. You can also consider insuring your business for added safety.
5. Establish a Brand Presence
A strong brand identity attracts the right clients and establishes credibility in the industry. Your visuals and copy assets should reflect your coaching philosophy and background.
Think about how you can differentiate yourself from other small business owners—or how you can emulate elements of their brands you admire. Once you’re clear on this, set up your online channels where your audience can discover you, like your website and social media handles.
6. Design Your First Package
Your small business coaching packages should clearly outline what you offer to clients. All you need to do is iron out these details:
- Pick a format: This could be one-on-one small business coaching sessions, group coaching, workshops, or a combination of these. They may be in person or online.
- Define your audience: Create different levels of packages, such as introductory sessions or a more comprehensive business coaching program with resources and ongoing accountability.
- Structure your services: Create detailed descriptions of what’s included in your packages, the duration of the coaching relationship, and the outcomes clients can expect.
- Set your pricing: Based on industry standards and the value you provide, set competitive pricing for your program.
Paperbell makes it easy to create custom packages and share them with your clients. Once your package is live, they can sign up on your automatically generated landing page, pay you, and book their first session in one go.
You can even set up flexible pricing options, including limited-time offers, payment plans, and subscriptions.
7. Market Your Business
Effective marketing strategies are crucial so potential clients can discover you and get all their questions answered about your services.
Your online marketing activities might include:
You can also promote your services locally at networking events, workshops, and speaking engagements. Use testimonials and case studies to gain trust and demonstrate your success.
Launch Your Coaching Business With Paperbell
You know that moment when you’re binge-watching your favorite show and suddenly, three hours have flown by?
Imagine if starting your coaching business felt just as effortless and enjoyable. You blinked and POOF—you had a stunning website, payment system, scheduling calendar, and client hub up and running.
Good news—Paperbell does exactly that for you. You can launch a fully functioning coaching business on it in the time it takes to catch up on a new episode.
See for yourself: Paperbell is free with your first client.
