There's a romantic version of how starting out as a coach works: you open up LinkedIn, publish one beautiful post, clients find you on their own, and three months later your calendar is full.
That version doesn't exist.
The real version is that your first 10 clients are the hardest. Not because your coaching is bad — because of a lack of social proof, a track record, and clarity about your niche. The next 100 are a consequence of the first 10.
This is the path I recommend to coaches who are just starting out, based on what I see working (and not working) in the market.
Before you start: define your niche
I don't mean "career coaching." That's a category, not a niche.
A niche is the answer to this question: what specific type of person, at what specific moment in their career, with what specific problem, do I help better than most?
Examples of a real niche:
- Women in tech returning from parental leave who feel they've lost traction
- Senior consulting professionals who want to move into product
- Expats in a new city who can't find work in their language
- Recent humanities graduates looking for their first corporate job
- Managers who want to step up to Director but don't know how to position themselves
Why it matters:
When you say "I'm a career coach," you're competing with 10,000 people. When you say "I help expats navigate the local job market in their new city," you're competing with five.
Your niche doesn't limit you. It makes you findable. And your first 10 clients are all going to come from the same niche — because you'll know where they are, what hurts, and how to speak to them.
Clients 1-3: your close circle (without feeling bad about using it)
The first reaction to this is usually: "I don't want to ask my people to hire me."
You're not asking them to hire you. You're offering real value, possibly at 50% of your future price, to people who already trust you.
How:
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Make a list of 20 people in your network who are: - In your target niche - At a moment of professional transition or frustration - Able to pay (even a reduced amount)
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Send them an honest and direct message:
"Hi [name], quick note. I'm launching my career coaching practice, focused on [your niche]. I know you're in a moment of [context you know about them]. I'm putting together a small group of pilot clients at a reduced rate — 3 sessions for $X in exchange for honest feedback at the end. Want me to tell you more?"
- Aim to close 3 pilot clients this way. Not 5. Not 10. 3.
Rules for this phase:
- Always charge. Even a little. Free coaching isn't valued — not by them and not by you.
- Define the scope (3 sessions, 4 weeks, whatever it is). Don't sell "unlimited coaching."
- Ask for a written testimonial at the end. This is worth more than what you charge.
Clients 4-7: content + DMs (the building phase)
With 3 pilot clients closed, you now have:
- Real cases to talk about (anonymized)
- 3 testimonials for your LinkedIn
- The confidence that you know how to do this
Now it's time to build presence.
Content on LinkedIn
1 post per week. No more, no less. Topics:
- Observations from your sessions (with permission or anonymized)
- Common mistakes you see in resumes / LinkedIn profiles / interviews (in your niche)
- Your take on career topics that people don't dare to say out loud
- Useful resources (templates, scripts, checklists)
The format that works: plain text, 4-8 short paragraphs, a strong first line. Not Canva carousels.
Strategic DMs
Every time someone comments on or reacts to one of your posts, check out their profile. If they're in your niche:
- Send them a message with no pitch, thanking them for the comment
- Ask them an open question about their situation
- If the conversation flows, at some point mention that you work with people in their situation
What NOT to do: send the same copy-paste message to 100 people. LinkedIn detects it. And so do humans.
Goal of this phase: 4-5 new clients in 60-90 days, now at your normal price (not pilot).
Clients 8-10: the first wave of referrals + collaborations
Once you've worked successfully with 7-8 clients, something starts to happen: your previous clients recommend you.
But don't wait for it to happen on its own. Ask for it actively.
The referral message
When wrapping up an engagement with a satisfied client:
"[Name], I've loved working with you. Before we wrap up I wanted to ask you something: if you know anyone in a situation similar to where you were 2 months ago, I'd really appreciate it if you told them about me. The people who come through referrals tend to be exactly the ones I do my best work with."
Simple. Direct. No pressure.
Cross-collaborations
Identify professionals who are adjacent to your work, not direct competitors:
- Coaches with a different niche (you work in tech, they work in finance, and you refer clients to each other)
- Personal branding / headshot photographers
- LinkedIn specialists who don't do coaching
- Career advisors at universities / business schools
- Professional communities (Slacks, Discords, associations)
How to open the conversation:
"Hi [name], I've been following you for a while and I find what you do with [topic] really interesting. I work with [your niche] from the coaching angle. Would you be up for a 20-minute call to see if there are synergies? I have several clients who at some point might need what you offer, and vice versa."
A single good strategic ally can generate 3-5 clients a year.
Mistakes I see all the time
1. Building before selling
"Once I finish my website/course/book/podcast, I'll start looking for clients."
No. Sell first. Build later, with real feedback.
2. Lowering your price when deals don't close
Someone who tells you "no" at your current price isn't going to say "yes" if you drop it 30%. Someone else will say "yes" — a different person, in a different situation. Hold your price. The exception is the initial pilots (your first 1-3 clients); after that, no.
3. Posting every day to "gain visibility"
LinkedIn rewards consistency, not volume. Posting 5 times a week for 1 month and then disappearing is worse than once a week for 6 months.
4. Waiting for clients to come on their own
80% of organic growth on LinkedIn doesn't come from your posts. It comes from your comments. 15 minutes a day commenting on posts from people in your niche does more than posting every day.
5. Selling the method, not the result
Clients don't buy "8 sessions of ontological coaching with a transformational methodology." They buy "landing a job where I don't feel this awful, in 90 days." Speak to them in their language, not yours.
The metric that matters in your first 6 months
It's not followers. It's not views. It's not comments.
It's qualified conversations per week.
A qualified conversation is: a person in your niche + expressed interest + an exchange of messages that goes beyond the first hello.
Aim for 2-3 qualified conversations a week. With that, in 3 months you close your first 10 clients. There's no magic. There's a system.
One last piece of advice
Your first 10 clients will teach you more about your own coaching than any training ever will. How you get frustrated, which types of clients you love and which you don't, which problems you solve fast and which ones cost you, what price feels right to defend.
Treat them with that care. They're the ones who will define you as a coach.