A Simple Framework For Building Your Coaching Business

Most advice about launching a membership or ongoing coaching program sounds great on paper and falls apart the second you try to actually build it. So I want to give you the simple framework for building a coaching company.

1. Create A 3-Tier Coaching or Membership Program

Working with a variety of clients who fit this business model, I've discovered that an effective coaching business involves three tiers. A high dollar tier, a middle dollar tier, and a low dollar tier.

The high-dollar option is going to generate a bulk of your income and also act as a price anchor for the other tiers. When I say high dollar, I'm speaking of something that is $10k-$100k per year. If you're a freelancer, this is most of your freelance work. 

The next tier is going to be in the $100-$10k per year range. This could be a group coaching program. It could be a community membership program. It could be a 6-week training and accountability program.

And the third tier is going to be $100 or less. It could be an ebook (or physical book), a course, or a bundle of targeted, result-oriented programs.

You could get away with two tiers, but you must have the high-level tier that would generate most of your income as a freelancer, coach, or consultant.

Pricing Starting Point

If the core group program is $200/month, reverse-engineer your income goal by deciding how many students you’d need (for example, 20 students to earn $4k/month from the program). Add a higher-end, more direct engagement option at around $2,000/month, which can increase over time and act both as a premium offer and a price anchor that makes the group option feel more affordable.

Consider a lower-cost option like $20/month for Discord access for those who don’t join the core group program but still want something, and use your book as a low-ticket item for people who stay in the free bucket but are open to buying.

Once you have your program designed with the value points for each tier, you need to promote it.

2. Build a Ready-to-Sell Landing Page

Create a dedicated landing page that hosts your main promo video alongside a written version of the same message. Include signup details and pricing directly on the page so people can immediately enroll without extra steps. The goal is to have everything “good to go” in one place, making it easy for visitors to understand the offer and take action. 

Do you have the three tiers listed? You can usually make the payment option available for the lower tiers. You may need to direct the highest tier towards a meeting or consultation to discuss the fit before they're ready to pay and move forward.

Ultimately, the goal here is to have a single place to direct people.

3. Run a Consistent Monthly Free Webinar

With the program design and a landing page created, you now need to promote the program. Create a workshop or webinar that acts as a bridge towards the program. 

Set this up as a recurring free webinar, workshop, or session at the same time every month (for example, the 2nd Tuesday of every month). This consistency makes it easier for you to promote and host it. The free session serves as a reliable, ongoing way to bring new people into your world. They register for your email list, and they get to experience working with you.

4. Use the Free Webinar as an On-Ramp to the Paid Program

Promote the free webinar as the first step into your ecosystem, and position it as the on-ramp to your paid program. During or after the webinar, invite attendees to join the paid offer, making the transition feel natural and logical. This creates a clear, low-friction path from free value to paid engagement.

If people are not moving forward, figure out why and how to improve the workshop and offering so that you get a better response.

5. Ongoing Promotion and Content From Your Program

Aggressively and regularly promote both the free webinar and the paid program through social posts, blogs, newsletters, videos, reels, and more. Use the sessions you run, plus the lessons inside those sessions, as ongoing content for your promotional efforts. This way, the program itself continually fuels your marketing, and people see real examples of what you do.

That's it. Take the feedback from your clients to continually make the program better. Refine and tweak and consistently do. Over time, you'll have an awesome, thriving coaching business.

And if you get big enough, you could launch an annual or semi-annual conference where people travel from around the country for an in-person event.

It's not easy, but the framework offers you the rough outline of how to make it happen.