Hi Reader,

Over the years, I’ve switched business models a few times. Coaching is my preferred business model.

It’s the ideal vehicle for most creators who want to go from A (broke) to B (profitable business). I’ll show you why. But first, here are a few models I tried.

1. Freelancing

I freelanced as a tech journalist and copywriter in my 20s and early 30s.

I enjoyed this business model the least.

Freelance writers spend hours creating content for somebody else’s business.

That’s ok when you’re starting and need some money.

But it’s hard to scale a freelance writing business.

And freelancers often find themselves chasing clients at the end of the month for payment or more work.

And now, with ChatGPT and dozens of other AI tools spitting out generic content at scale, it’s a race to the bottom.

I met with a freelancer the other day.

He’s getting paid 3 cents per word.

That’s below the minimum wage in many countries.

2. Niche Websites

For a few years, I published 100s of articles each month with the help of a team of writers. My business earned money from display ads via Raptive.

A simple equation: More articles meant more traffic and more ad revenue.

It was a good business model for writers who enjoyed editing the work of other writers. Although you must be happy tracking numbers like traffic and subscriber counts in Google Sheets.

Building content websites is far harder today, thanks to AI and a brutal series of Google updates.

Those following this model rely more on social traffic than search. Facebook and Pinterest can both work, granted, with some risks.

3. Authorship

I’ve self-published nearly a dozen books in paperback, Kindle and audio. Writing a book is fun. And I love holding something I created in my hands. They’re a great credibility builder, too.

But it’s hard to earn a living from writing books alone. The profit margin on a $10 or $20 ebook means authors need to sell thousands of copies.

I did that with Amazon Ads for a while. That was until publishing companies discovered ads… and ad costs went up.

It’s hard to scale a single or even a few books into a full-time living. I’ve interviewed dozens of best-selling authors who write full-time. They all earn a living from a deep back catalog of books. They also use their books to sell a related service, like speaking or coaching (more on that in a moment).

4. Course Creation

I’ve sold thousands of dollars of online courses. The course model works well if you’ve traffic from the right sources.

However, selling online courses is harder than a few years ago. Most students don’t want another video to scrub through on x2, and course completion rates are low, too.

Instead, students and clients want access to the course creator through a cohort or community. That said, the course model pairs neatly with writing a popular book.

5. Coaching and Consulting

These days, coaching and consulting is my preferred business model.

I write in the mornings and coach in the afternoons. I work with a select group of clients who want to build their businesses.

If you’re an expert in a topic, you can easily coach someone in your niche.

You don’t even need to do sales calls. Many coaches earn a full-time living by selling their services with a simple Google Doc.

You can charge a weekly retainer for helping a small group of ideal clients and easily earn five figures.

Scaling Your Coaching Business

You need a car to help you take clients safely from A to B. Once they’re inside the car, shift gears.

The easiest gear to shift is pricing, for example, weekly, monthly, or yearly.

New clients like weekly pricing. They can cancel a Stripe subscription and leave at any time.

As a trade-off, the coach can charge these clients more than those willing to commit to a quarterly or annual plan. Shifting up pricing requires more commitment from clients and confidence in your offer.

Another lever you can shift is increasing levels of access. For example, you could charge $97 for a group workshop over Zoom. On the live workshop, teach a topic related to your core offer.

That model works nicely. I ran a workshop a few days ago about using AI to repurpose content. It’s a great way of getting paid to create content rather than creating content and hoping you get paid.

I can also spot potential clients, and they can learn more about working with me. Subscribers can purchase something affordable and helpful, too,

From there, a good coach can invite clients into their group for $150-300 weekly, depending on the niche or industry. That requires more time than a one-off workshop, but it’s more profitable for you and actionable for clients.

More experienced coaches can work one-on-one with clients for $300-500 weekly. Those rates depend on the industry, your skills, and the core promise of the offer. For example, a consultant in a B2B niche usually charges more than a coach in the health and fitness space.

The takeaway here? You charge for increasing levels of access to you. Some clients are happy with group coaching, whereas others prefer paying more for 1-to-1 support.

Using this lever appropriately will help you turn a $97 one-off workshop into a six-figure coaching business.

You can also shift the time frame of your core promise. Go from one month to 90 days to three or even six months. It depends on what you sell and your clients.

For example, in September, I hosted The AI Repurposer Workshop - Plan Your Next 90 Days of High-Performing Content in 90 Minutes for $97.

Workshops are a nice revenue bump. However, I prefer a longer time frame for a select group of clients. That gives me stability and clients time to get results.

It’s kind of like learning to drive.

Write on,

Bryan Collins

PS Later this week, I'm something exciting coming. Watch your inbox.