Keith Strong is a proactive, no-nonsense leadership coach with a busy coaching practice in the United Kingdom (UK). If you are new to the coaching industry and want some insight into what it takes to run a successful practice, Keith is a coach worth keeping an eye on!

I recently interviewed Keith about how he got started in coaching and what advice he has for people starting new coaching businesses. Here is what he had to say…

 

Benay: How long have you been coaching?

Keith: I qualified as a life coach in 2004 and have been coaching since then.

Benay: Wow, that’s a long time in this industry!

 

Benay: Where are you based?

Keith: Canterbury in Kent, UK.

 

Benay: What did you do before you were a coach?

Keith: I came from an education and training background primarily in the field of sports therapy and injury rehabilitation. After several years of working in that particular field I decided that I had completed my journey developing the body and made the move to enhancing the spirit and mind.

 

Benay: What is your niche/specialty?

Keith: My niche is motivational leadership. This includes things like emotional intelligence training and business systems mentoring. You can check out my website to seethe full scope of what we offer.

 

Benay: How did you discover your niche?

Keith: I’ve always had a knack for leadership and have naturally gravitated towards leadership roles throughout my career. When it came to choosing a coaching niche, leadership just felt like the obvious choice.

 

Benay: Did you do any coaching training? If so, what is your view on coach training and whom did you train with?

Keith: Yes, I have a Life Coaching Diploma with the Life Coaching Institute.Personally, I would strongly recommend anyone thinking of taking up life coaching that they undergo training with this particularly good organization prior to setting up a new coaching business.

 

Benay: How many days a week do you work in your coaching business?

Keith: Four.

 

Benay: Do you have any other income streams besides one-on-one life coaching?

Keith: I most certainly do. Bar 1 to 1 coaching; I also work for a number of huge organizations providing holistic life coaching programs for their employees.  All of my programs are designed to compliment the specific objectives of each organization that I work with.  I currently provide services for AXA-PPP Healthcare, various educational establishments and the military, so my portfolio is pretty vast and varied.

Ideally, I would like to further develop the life coaching tools and resources that I have been using in my business in order to be able to sell them to other coaches for their own use but right now, I’m too busy coaching. Maybe I’ll get to it in the future.

 

Benay: What advice do you give to new coaches starting a coaching business?

Keith: Enjoy your coaching, get qualified, grow your client base and business, and believe in the coaching process with unending commitment and motivation.

 

Benay: What have you found to be the most effective way to get new clients?

Keith: To be a successful coach you need to have an attractive marketing mix that clearly provides basic information about your unique selling points and the service that you provide. Your marketing mix has to have a good variety of advertising material and literature to ensure that you do not undersell your services. Importantly, these materials have to be methodical in their approach and distribution.  The only place to start is to find a good business mentor to help you initially set up your business!

Benay: Can our readers get in touch with you if they are looking for a good business mentor?

Keith: Absolutely. My work as a business mentor is on an international basis and I have many clients across the globe that work with me to develop their business, build their reputation and grow their client base.

Even as established as I am, I have my own life coach and business mentor. I truly believe that coaching is essential to the success of anyone wishing to expand or grow in not only a professional but also a personal context.

 

Benay: What resources, tools, websites, and services have you used in your business that you would recommend to other coaches?

Keith: Without a doubt the Benay Wettle’s Pathfinder Program is an absolute must, complimented by my own life coaching tools and resources that supports the program.

Benay: Thanks for the plug! 😉

Keith: My pleasure I have use the program to great effect and changed many lives for the better since incorporating this in my practice, I do have a number of very clever supplementary tasks that I use to compliment the primary tasks in the booklet that have proved hugely successful and the feedback from my clients has been overwhelming.

Benay: Hey, maybe there’s a new coaching product in this…

 

Benay: If you were to start your business all over again what would you have done differently?

Keith: When I first started out I had a full time job,  so I started my business on a part time basis. However, knowing what I know now, I should have gone into it full time and let my business grow faster in the earlier years.

 

Benay: Do you think people starting new coaching businesses should have a contingency income?

Keith: There are two sides to this coin and one asked by many of my clients and mentees.  Firstly, it is great to have a supplementary income to relieve the financial stresses when setting up a new business, which is what I did in the beginning.  However, since cutting ties with all other income sources and relying on my business in its entirety it has motivated me to ensure that my business meets and sustains my financial needs.

 

Benay: What sort of income do you think new coaches just starting out should expect in their first year?

Keith: This is always a tough question and not one that I can answer in any direct
way for a number of reasons, such as your ability to market the services that you provide and the local and national economic climate. There is one thing for sure; your first year will not bring in a huge income, because you will be busy setting up the required business administration and processes. This means your client base tends to build later on.

 

Benay: If any of our readers would like to get in touch or get some business mentoring with you what is the best way to contact you?

Keith: Please feel free to contact me directly from my website, www.coach4life.org.uk.

 

---

Have a Story to Tell?

If you are a new or experienced life coach with a solid niche and a story that you would like to tell, I’d love to hear from you. Please tell us your niche and what you did before you started coaching in the comments section below.