How to Make Your First $5K as a New Coach: A Step-by-Step Strategy That Actually Works

You've finished your coach training. You've logged your practice hours. You know you're good at what you do... your clients have told you so.

But when it comes to actually building a coaching business?

Where do I start? How do I find clients? What if no one wants to pay me? Am I even ready for this?

Here's the truth: Getting to your first $5K in coaching revenue doesn't require a massive social media following, a perfect website, or years of experience. What it does require is a solid strategy, genuine service, and the courage to start before you feel 100% ready.

We sat down with Luisa Zhou, a business strategist who has helped over 4,000 coaches build profitable practices over the past 11 years, to break down exactly how new coaches can land their first paying clients... without overwhelm, without sleazy sales tactics, and without waiting for everything to be perfect.

Start With Service, Not Strategy

When Luisa first started coaching 13+ years ago, the industry looked completely different. "When I told people I was a coach, they'd ask, 'What is that? What do you do?'" she remembers. Today, coaching is not only recognized, t's in demand.

But here's what hasn't changed: The most powerful entry point is connecting with people who need what you have to offer.

"In the beginning, don't think about your business as a business," Luisa says. "Just think about how do I connect with people who need what I have to offer? That pulls out what you have to share very naturally."

When she started, Luisa didn't have internet marketing skills, copywriting expertise, or sales training. She simply started sharing what she knew with people who needed help, from career coaching to Microsoft Excel tutorials. And that simple approach led to her first paying client.

You don't need to have everything figured out. You just need to start serving.

The Power of the "Free Taster"

One of the most effective strategies Luisa teaches is what she calls the "free taster"... a specific, tangible outcome you can deliver in 30 minutes to an hour that demonstrates the power of your coaching.

This concept was inspired by Rich Litvin's book The Prosperous Coach, where he describes coaching clients for two hours for free, creating such transformation that hiring him became a no-brainer.

"In the beginning, leading with free helps for so many reasons," Luisa explains. "Even though you know what you know, there's that question: Can I help others do it? Free gets you out there and builds your confidence that yes, you absolutely can."

What Makes a Great Free Taster?

Your free taster should:

• Address a specific pain point your ideal client is actively experiencing right now
• Deliver a tangible outcome in 30-60 minutes
• Naturally lead to how you can help them further through paid coaching
• Demonstrate your unique methodology in action

Examples of effective free tasters:

• Health coaches: Review someone's meals from the past day and identify the simplest improvement they can make to boost energy
• Mindset coaches: Help someone identify the root pattern causing their #1 block
• Relationship coaches: Uncover why they keep attracting the wrong partners (not just creating a user guide of who they want—that's the solution, not the pain point)
• Career coaches: Create a step-by-step plan for their next career move

The key is to speak to what they're feeling right now, not what you know they need. As Luisa puts it: "You have to pull them in with being the lighthouse for what they feel like they need. Once they trust you, then you can shine the flashlight on what they actually need."

Your Network Is Your Launchpad (Not Social Media)

Here's what most new coaches assume: "I need to start posting on social media to get clients."

While social media has its place, it's not the fastest path to your first $5K.

"That's a whole skill set of its own," Luisa cautions. "If you're starting from zero, you're going to be waiting quite a while until you build the skill and traction to consistently bring in clients from social alone."

Instead, start where you have existing access and credibility:

1. Your Personal Network

Luisa's first paying client came from someone she was already mentoring informally. She simply texted them: "Hey, I'm thinking of doing career coaching officially. I think it would really benefit you because [specific reasons]. Would you be interested? I want to charge a price so we're taking it seriously, but I'll give you a super no-brainer rate."

Within minutes, she had a yes.

Your turn: Think of 5-10 people in your network who could benefit from your coaching. Don't ask them to hire you, offer them your free taster and let the value speak for itself.

2. Online Communities

Facebook groups, Slack channels, Reddit communities—wherever your ideal clients gather and ask questions. Luisa landed one of her first clients by answering someone's questions in a Facebook group for free, then asking if she could do market research calls in exchange for more help.

"I helped her for two weeks via email," Luisa recalls. "Then she messaged me out of the blue and said, 'You've given me so much value for free. I know if I hire you, I'm going to get way more. How can I hire you?'"

3. Strategic Collaborations

Think: yoga studios, wellness centers, women's health facilities, corporate wellness programs, university career centers... anywhere that serves your ideal client but doesn't offer coaching.

The modern version of knocking on doors with paper folders? Reaching out with a specific offer: "I provide [specific outcome] coaching for [specific people]. I'd love to offer a free workshop/taster session for your community. They get value, and you get to offer something new. No cost to you."

You're not asking them to send you referrals (that feels awkward). You're offering to serve their community for free, making them look like a hero while getting in front of new potential clients.

Build Your Evidence Bank

Every time you do a peer coaching session or pro bono session, ask for feedback:

"Would you mind telling me three things you got out of our time together?"

Put these responses in a spreadsheet. Track patterns. Notice what people consistently say about your coaching.

This serves three purposes:

1. Builds your confidence by showing you the real impact you're creating
2. Gives you market research on what resonates with clients
3. Provides authentic testimonials you can use in your marketing

Pro tip from Luisa: "Use AI to analyze the patterns in your feedback. Pop your spreadsheet into ChatGPT and ask what the top themes are. Or even better—upload recordings of your coaching sessions (with permission) and ask it to identify your strengths."

The Transition from Free to Paid

So you've delivered an amazing free taster. Now what?

Be upfront from the beginning. At the start of your free session, say something like:

"You're going to get exactly what I promised for free... no bait and switch. And if you love what we cover today, I'd be happy to share how I could help you even further at the end."

This sets expectations without pressure. Then, after delivering value:

"Based on everything we discussed today, here's what I'm seeing [summarize insights]. And based on your bigger goal of [their desired outcome], I'd love to share how I can help you get there through my coaching. Would you be interested in hearing about that?"

You're asking permission. You're not pushing. You're simply letting them know you can help so they can decide if you're the right fit.

As Luisa beautifully puts it: "People want help. Your job is to just let them know you can help them so they can decide if you are the one they want help from."

Do You Need a Niche?

The million-dollar question: "I can coach anyone on anything. Do I need to niche down?"

Luisa's take? "Call me old school, but I believe in direct marketing best practices. You want to be top of mind for something, especially in the beginning."

The coaches with big personal brands who can say "I am the niche"? They didn't start there.

Instead, ask yourself:

• What lived experience do I have that positions me uniquely?
• What skills and strengths do I bring that others don't?
• What network or access do I have to a specific group?

"All of those things combined position you to do something for others better than almost anything else," Luisa explains. "Your job is to find that thing. Start there. You can grow anywhere from it, but you've got to get traction first."

The market will meet you halfway. Start with your best educated guess about who you serve and how. Then pay attention to who actually shows up, who you love working with, and what lights you up in session. Refine from there.

"You can't skip to the end and have perfect clarity," Luisa reminds us. "You have enough. You get feedback from the market. You grow a little bit more. It's a dance."

What You Wish You Knew (Wisdom from Someone Who's Been There)

Luisa's confession? It took her two years to get over her fear and make her first social media post as a coach.

So what got her through?

Two things she could believe without a doubt:

1. She would under-promise and over-deliver. She'd commit to something she knew she could absolutely provide.
2. She'd work her ass off to fill the gaps. She spent over three hours scripting her first coaching call because she was terrified of forgetting something important.

"I knew I'd take that work ethic and care for my clients as far as I needed until coaching became a natural skill I could count on," she says. "It wasn't that I told myself I was confident or a good coach. I knew I was good at this [under-promising], and I knew I'd work hard to fill the rest. That gave me enough confidence—not perfect, not amazing—enough to go out there and do it."

And her confidence grew from there.

The Beautiful Truth About Starting

What's so comforting about Luisa's journey is this: The energy, follow-through, strategy, and gap-filling she brought to her first clients? She still brings that to her clients today.

You are who you are. The talents you have now are the foundation for everything you'll build.

You don't need to be perfect. You don't need to have it all figured out. You just need to:

• Know what you can provide
• Offer it to people who need it
• Be willing to work hard to serve them well
• Trust that the market will meet you halfway

Your First $5K Roadmap

Let's make this concrete. Here's your action plan:

Week 1: Clarity

• Identify your unique combination of skills, experience, and network
• Create a free taster that addresses a specific pain point your ideal client is experiencing right now
• Practice your free taster offer language

Week 2: Outreach

• Make a list of 20 people who might benefit from or know someone who'd benefit from your free taster
• Reach out to 5-10 people directly (text, email, DM)
• Join 3-5 online communities where your ideal clients gather

Week 3: Service

• Deliver 5 free taster sessions
• Collect feedback after each one
• At the end of each session, offer to share how you can help further

Week 4: Convert

• Follow up with anyone who expressed interest
• Create a simple coaching package (3-month, 6-session, whatever feels right)
• Price it at a point that feels like a stretch but not impossible for you to ask for

Ongoing:

• Continue offering free tasters until you have 3-5 paying clients
• Refine your offer based on who shows up and what they need
• Build your evidence bank of client results and testimonials

Remember: You only need 1-10 solid prospects in the hopper to make your first $5K. That's it. Not thousands of social media followers. Not a fancy website. Just 1-10 people who need what you offer and trust you to deliver it.

The Market Is Ready. Are You?

There has never been a better time to build a coaching business. The industry has reached unprecedented recognition and demand. People want coaching. They understand its value. They're actively seeking guides to help them navigate complexity, create change, and build better lives.

Your job isn't to convince the world that coaching works. Your job is to show up, serve generously, and let people know you can help.

The world doesn't need you to be perfect. It needs you to start.

Ready to build the coaching practice you've been dreaming of? Lumia's ICF-accredited coach training gives you the skills, confidence, and community support to launch successfully. Our program combines evidence-based methodology, diverse expert instructors, and real-world business training to prepare you for the future of coaching. Book a call with our Admissions Team to learn more.

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