How to Jump-Start Your Coaching Business
Most businesses spend months designing logos, polishing websites, rewriting bios, and perfecting programs no one has seen — all in the name of “getting ready.”
But business doesn’t reward readiness. It rewards speed.
The coaches who thrive aren’t the ones whose business looks perfect; they’re the ones who start where they are, with what they have.
They talk to real people, solve real problems, and let the truth shape their offers.
I call them the Minimum Viable Coach.
A Minimum Viable Coach (MVC) is someone who starts small, learns fast, and builds through proof.
They don’t wait for perfect systems or endless preparation — they talk to real people, test real ideas, and improve with every interaction.
Each client conversation refines the model; every small win compounds credibility, and every cycle of feedback deepens trust, sharpens value, and amplifies demand.
The MVC in Action
One coach who embodies this philosophy in the real world is Samir Selmanović, an ICF Professional Certified Coach who began his coaching journey after years spent as an engineer, psychologist, and organizational leader.
Samir didn’t launch with a grand plan — he began coaching a small circle of clients. No big launch, no funnel — just deep listening.
Instead of scaling prematurely, he leaned into iteration and started refining his approach based on lived experience, not theory.
Every session became data. Each conversation revealed something he could refine.
Soon clients began referring others — not because of his marketing, but because of transformation.
Over time, those tested insights evolved into frameworks that now anchor his leadership programs and retreats.
What makes Samir’s trajectory compelling is not scale but evolution.
Each phase — from one-on-one leadership coaching to organizational retreats — was born from what worked in the previous one.
Every improvement was validated through lived results, not theory.
Today, his firm, Wisdom Workroom, helps leaders build environments of awareness and trust.
But its foundations were built the same way every Minimum Viable Coach begins — through empathy, experimentation, and continuous improvement.
The Minimum Viable Transformation (MVT)
Every successful coaching brand begins with one simple question:
“What is the smallest real transformation I can deliver right now?”
Not a grand vision. Not a 12-week odyssey. Just a small, undeniable win.
That win becomes your Minimum Viable Transformation (MVT) — the smallest real result that validates you, your offer, and your client’s faith.
Once you can create one transformation reliably, you have proof.
And proof is the foundation of every thriving coaching business.
Because proof does what marketing can’t: it builds trust.
How to Jump Start your coaching business
Converse
Interview at least twenty ideal clients — people you already know who you believe are perfectly suited for you to serve. These can be friends, peers, or past colleagues who fit your ideal client profile.
Record the call (with permission) for future insights.Share your story, vision, offering and the problem you are solving with it — then ask:
“Tell me about the last time this problem showed up.”
“What did you do about it?”
“What worked or didn’t work?”
“What’s been the hardest part about it?”
“If it disappeared tomorrow, what would change for you?”
“What’s stopped you from fixing it until now?”
“How would you decide what’s worth paying for — and whom to trust?”
“What feels like a no-brainer investment?”
Draft
Analyze deeply and write a simple offer that directly addresses what you heard — not what you assume.Invite
Host a short Introductory Webinar (45–60 minutes) for everyone you interviewed and anyone in your network who resonates with the problem. Teach one useful framework, walk through a simple case/example, and take 10–15 minutes of Q&A. At the end, invite them to a small Founders Circle (4–8 week 1-on-1, group, or program) — a beta round at a heavily discounted (or free) rate. (You’re not chasing profit yet; you’re collecting proof.)Suggested agenda:
5 min: Your story reflecting why you do what you do
5 min: Why this problem matters now
15 min: Your simple framework to solve it
10 min: Live example or mini-coaching
10–15 min: Q&A
5 min: Invitation to the Founders Circle
Founders Circle pitch (read it verbatim if you like):
“You’re getting early access at a lower rate — and as a founding member, you’ll always receive exclusive benefits like significant discounts, early access to new offerings, free event entries, future updates, and more.”
CTA script (say & paste):
“If this resonates, you can join the Founders Circle here: [link]. We’re capping it at [X] people to keep it hands-on. Doors close on [date] or when we hit capacity.”
Deliver
Help them create a viable transformation, take feedback, testimonial and ask for referrals.Reflect
After every cycle, run an After-Action Report (AAR):
What went well? What didn’t? What can I improve next time?Iterate
Fix friction. Simplify what’s complex. Add one improvement.
Raise the price slightly and launch again.
Each loop will compound your clarity, authority, and cash flow.
You don’t need 100 clients to prove your model.
You need five people to say, “This changed my life.”
From Viable to Valuable
As a Minimum Viable Coach you are not a lesser version of a coach.
You’re the truest one — because you’ve learned to replace performance with presence, ego with empathy, and theory with traction.
You build small, learn fast, and serve deeply.
And while others chase perfection, you’re already creating transformation.
Once your offer starts to work at a small scale, the next evolution begins.
You start building systems that can hold the weight of your growth — documenting what works, automating what repeats, delegating what drains, and stripping away what no longer serves.
Eventually, the same loop that built your first ten clients — talk, test, refine, launch — becomes the engine that sustains your next hundred.
The only reason it works is because MVC mirrors how mastery actually forms: through repetition, observation, and continuous correction.
It’s not glamorous. It’s not instant.
And that’s exactly why most never do it.
The Call to Coaches
If you’ve been stuck in the loop of preparing, polishing, and waiting for perfection — this is your invitation to become a Minimum Viable Coach.
Forget the website. Forget the funnel. Forget the illusion of readiness.
Start where you are with what you have.
Scroll through your contacts. Open your Facebook friend list.
Reach out to a few people.
Ask real questions. Seek real problems.
Then build something viable that helps them transform.
Because perfection doesn’t come from preparation — it comes from iteration.
That’s how you build a profitable, purpose-driven coaching brand — one small step at a time.
All the best,
Shaan
