Starting a coaching or consulting business
Many experienced people go out on their own as consultants or coaches. The ones who succeed are clear about who they help, what result they deliver and how they price it. This guide covers packaging your expertise, pricing, agreements, finding clients and staying on the right side of consumer law.
In short
- Pick a clear niche - a type of client and a problem you solve - rather than offering "business advice" to everyone.
- Package your work into defined services with clear scope, deliverables and prices.
- Use a written agreement for every engagement covering scope, fees, payment terms, confidentiality and ending the work.
- Most clients come from your network, referrals and visible expertise, not cold advertising.
- Claims about results, qualifications and testimonials must be accurate. Some advice areas need a licence or registration.
Coaching or consulting?
The words overlap, but generally:
- Consultants use their expertise to analyse a problem and recommend or deliver a solution: a marketing strategy, an IT system, a process review, a safety plan.
- Coaches help a person or team improve their own performance, by asking questions, setting goals and holding them accountable: leadership, career, business or performance coaching.
Many people do both. What matters is being clear with clients about what you’ll do and what you won’t.
Step 1: Choose your niche
“I help businesses grow” is hard to sell. A niche makes you easier to find, remember and refer:
- Who: a type of client (tradies, allied health practices, not-for-profits, first-time managers).
- What problem: something they know they have and want solved (winning tenders, cutting admin, managing a growing team).
- Your proof: experience, qualifications and results that show you can help.
Test your niche by talking to potential clients about their problems. See Market research on a budget.
Step 2: Check licensing and the rules
Most coaching and general business consulting doesn’t need a licence. Some advice areas do, for example:
- Financial product advice and credit assistance need an Australian Financial Services licence or credit licence (or to work under one).
- Tax and BAS services for a fee need registration with the Tax Practitioners Board.
- Legal advice is for qualified lawyers.
- Migration advice needs registration.
- Health and psychology services are regulated professions.
If your work touches these areas, check what applies before you start. Use ABLIS on business.gov.au to find licences for your activities.
Step 3: Package your services
Clients buy outcomes, not hours. Turn what you know into defined offers:
| Package type | Example | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Diagnostic or audit | A fixed-price review with a written report | A low-risk first step for new clients |
| Project | A defined deliverable for a fixed fee | Clear, one-off problems |
| Retainer | Ongoing support for a monthly fee | Regular advice and implementation |
| Coaching program | A set number of sessions over a period | Individual or leadership development |
| Workshops and training | Half-day or full-day sessions | Teams; showing expertise to many people |
| Group programs | Coaching or training for several clients together | Scaling your time |
For each package, write down: who it’s for, what’s included, what’s not, how long it takes, and the price.
Step 4: Set your prices
Ways to price:
- Hourly or daily rate: simple, but caps your income and makes clients watch the clock.
- Fixed project fee: clients like certainty; you need to scope carefully.
- Monthly retainer: steady income; define what’s included each month.
- Value-based: priced on the value of the outcome to the client. Works when you can show results.
To set a minimum rate, work out what you need to earn in a year, add business costs, and divide by the hours you’ll realistically bill. Many consultants bill only half to two-thirds of their working hours; the rest goes on marketing, admin and learning. Talk to your accountant about your structure and what to put aside. See Sole trader, partnership, company or trust?.
Step 5: Use proposals and written agreements
A proposal confirms you understand the client’s problem and explains your approach, deliverables, timeline and fees.
An agreement (often a letter of engagement plus terms) should cover:
- Scope: what you’ll do, and what’s outside scope
- Deliverables and timeline
- Fees, expenses, invoicing and payment terms
- Changes to scope and how they’re priced
- Confidentiality, and how you’ll handle client information
- Ownership of materials and intellectual property
- Limits on your responsibility
- How either party can end the engagement
Have a lawyer check your template once, then reuse it. See Contracts and legal basics and Getting paid.
Client information: you’ll often see sensitive business and personal information. Keep it secure, and check whether the Privacy Act applies to you; the OAIC has a checklist for small business. See Cyber security and backups.
Step 6: Find clients
Most consultants and coaches win work through trust:
- Your network. Tell former colleagues, clients and contacts what you now do and who you help.
- Referrals. Ask happy clients, and build partnerships with accountants, lawyers and other advisers who serve the same clients. See Networking and referrals.
- Show your expertise. Write articles, post practical tips, speak at events, run workshops and webinars. See Content marketing and blogging and Events marketing.
- A clear website with your niche, services, case studies and an easy way to book a call.
- Professional profiles on LinkedIn and in relevant directories and associations.
- Tenders and panels for government and larger organisations, once you have a track record.
See Sales techniques that work for turning conversations into clients.
Make honest claims
Coaching and consulting are full of big promises. Under the Australian Consumer Law, claims about your services must be accurate and based on reasonable grounds:
- Results: don’t promise or imply outcomes you can’t back up (“double your revenue in 90 days”). If you share client results, make clear they aren’t typical unless they are.
- Qualifications and accreditations: describe them accurately, including who issued them.
- Testimonials and reviews must be genuine, from real clients, and not edited to change their meaning.
- Free sessions and offers: be clear about what’s included and any conditions.
Running the business
- Keep a simple CRM for leads and clients. See Choosing a CRM system.
- Track your time even on fixed-fee work, so you know if your prices are right.
- Set aside time each week for marketing, even when you’re busy. It prevents feast-and-famine cycles.
- Keep learning: industry associations, professional development and supervision or mentoring for coaches.
- Ask for feedback at the end of every engagement.