"In one year, search results for business coaching increased over 2,200%! So, is it a good time to join the business coaching world? As long as you position yourself correctly."
The coaching industry is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing industries on the planet. In 2019 it was the 2nd fastest growing industry. This does include coaches beyond business coaches, but it still signals an increased trend toward people joining the industry as well as demand for it. With such an influx, we as business coaches must stay on top of the current trends that can bring substantial change, opportunity, and threats to our wonderful profession.
Let's discuss 2 areas I think are most vital for us business coaches in 2022: Industry Growth and Saturation, & Credibility.
As mentioned, coaching is growing, exponentially in fact. To give you a better idea of just how much growth and interest there's been as of late, take a look at the following infographic showing the search results from LinkedIn from 2020 compared to 2021:
You can read the article with the statistics here.
You read that right. In one year, search results for business coaching increased over 2,200%! So, is it a good time to join the business coaching world? As long as you position yourself correctly.
The influx of coaches has brought some challenges. Although this does potentially signal an increased demand for the service, it also dilutes the playing field. According to Michael Hyatt, a leading business, leadership, and coaching expert, approx. 80% of the business coaches today have never run payroll! Meaning the vast majority of coaches don't have any prior business experience:
"Here’s the dirty little secret of the coaching industry. Most coaches have never run a business. That’s true. They’ve never had to meet a payroll. They’ve never launched a product. They’ve never had the stress of the ongoing growth of a business. A lot of them have just gotten weekend coaching themselves, gotten certified in maybe a week-long program, and suddenly, they’re on the phone coaching people who are business owners, who are senior executives, and they’re really not qualified to do it. I would say probably 80 percent of the people out there doing coaching fall into that category."
This comes from a great podcast episode called "3 questions to ask when choosing a business coach." I recommend it.
What does this mean? It means the business coaching reputation could get tainted with the many coaches entering the industry without the experience to backup what they do. But it also means that us business coaches with experience (especially PBCA Coaches where business, leadership, and educational experience are a must) need to ensure we are leveraging this experience when marketing our services. If only 20% of us have business ownership experience, it's not that difficult to stand out from the crowd; we just need to make sure we do!
Bragging about yourself can be difficult for some. But this rise in business coaches boils down to the importance and realization that credibility for your practise is more critical than ever. Business owners need and want real results and lasting change. They want that from someone who has legitimate coaching training, tools, and experience while working with them and their team. They need someone that gets them. They need more than theory and regurgitated books. They need someone who's been there and can, at least in some way, empathize and understand their situation and therefore have that much more influence to guide them through the coaching process.
More than ever, we need to stand out in the following ways:
Building/gaining trust
Using our experience
Being authentic
Having a niche
And being accredited
The PBCA has the perfect system for ensuring you check all those boxes, and more. With the experience needed to join, the continuous training and support, the expansive library of tools available for both coaches and clients, and the genuine desire the association has to help business owners and leaders succeed, you do stand out from the crowd in a way most others simply can't. Just make sure your (potential) clients know!
The good news is that businesses and leaders need and want coaching more than they ever have. With changing economies, inflation, people and culture issues, and a million more things, owners are looking for ways to succeed and mitigate the risk on their doorstep. Let's continue to do our part in proving how great and useful this profession really is while ensuring it's good name.
Cody is a Certified Professional Business Coach, Extended DISC Facilitator, and the owner of NIELSEN Business Coaching & Development Ltd. in Alberta, Canada. Cody has the privilege of working with successful small business owners to get them out of the stress of the day-to-day, think more strategically, and provide them with tools and guidance to more fully enjoy business ownership.
He offers 1-on-1 coaching, strategic planning, DISC training and implementation, monthly book summaries, speaking engagements, and more, all to help small businesses and leaders succeed! Contact him for a free 90-min strategy session.
Website: www.NielsenCoaching.com
Phone: 403.915.4808
Email: info@NielsenCoaching.com
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Are you thinking of becoming a business coach? Do you want to be part of a larger community of highly experienced and trained professional business coaches? If you want more info on becoming a PBCA Certified Professional Business Coach, contact us here and get started!
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