From $80,000 to $1.2 million per year as an Executive Coach
Written by:
Andrew Neitlich
Article Overview: This is a case study of an Executive Coach from a modest background who has hit the stratosphere, and how he has done it.
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Free Download - Eight Attributes of the Successful Business and Executive Coach By Andrew Neitlich
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From $80,000 to $1.2 million per year as an Executive Coach
I’ve been working with a coach for 6 years now and he has finally hit the stratosphere.
While I’ve promised not to reveal any confidential information, this individual was a private high school teacher 10 years ago and gradually made a transition into coaching top executives. Each year he saw his income double and this past year he tells me he earned $1.2 million!
Here are some keys to his success:
1. He took the skills he learned teaching drama and theater to his students and found a way to apply those skills to fill a need that many top executives have.
2. He talked about his coaching NOT in terms of what he did, but in terms of the results he gets.
3. He developed some truly innovative programs for executives that nobody else was, or is, doing.
4. He gave workshops at leading institutions, like Esalen, which increased his network of contacts and put him in touch with executives. Over time, he networked his way into the offices of some C-level executives.
5. He kept “talking his way” into meeting with top executives, showing them value, and getting more and more referrals. He is fearless at walking up to a C-level executive at a billion dollar company and starting a conversation.
6. He has no qualms about charging $30,000 or more for a weekend seminar/workshop or $10,000 minimum for a couple of months of coaching. Perhaps he came into coaching a bit naive, and so asking for amounts that many coaches consider to be unreasonable was not an issue for him.
As they say on diet commercials, “results not typical.” Still — it is so inspiring to have worked with him over these six years and see these remarkable results.
What are we working on now? Well, not marketing, that’s for sure! Now we are working on helping him scale his firm so that it can grow and still deliver top service.
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Related Forum Posts
$1000 and a stupid idea
- [quote="OmnivoreInk":8mkh1lv7]Bill and Heidi Dittmar: Executive Lifestyle
founders of a magazine called Executive Lifestyle. Started in 1991. Revenue has grown more than 200% since 2004. 4 full time, 3 part time employees
"We started off with $1,000 and a stupid idea." It began as This Month, a guide for tourists, and morphed into Executive Lifestyle.[/quote:8mkh1lv7]
Hi Barbara,
I find this story about Bill and Heidi Dittmar's success to be especially interesting! Would you happen to know what the catalyst or tipping point was for their change from a guide for tourists to an Executive Lifestyle magazine?
Thanks
What are you doing to grow your business Ladies?
- Hi Ladies,
I thought it might be great for us women to share what we are doing lately to develop our business(es).
I have now signed a lease on a new commercial space where my husband and I plan to open a Sport's Consignment and Cappuccino Bar. We're an active tourist destination and we also want to give back to our local community by offering discounted quality equipment. I'm doing lots of research and planning right now.
For my Coaching Business, I have signed up for a new coaching mentorship program by one of USA's top Executive Coach trainers, Drayton Boylston. He's sure to challenge me, offer continued professional development and keep me on track as I grow my Coaching business. I'm quite excited about the opportunity since you have to be invited to even participate in this group.
What are you doing lately or what are you planning in order to develop your business?
I'm hoping we can all encourage each other to keep our businesses growing.
Warm regards,
Tami
Re: Business Women Peer Mentoring Spotlight
- Hi Everyone,
Gosh, I REALLY appreciate your concrete feedback. This was far more than I expected and I'm glad you said what you thought straight out.
Each of you have shared something of value and I want to take some more time to think and really go over what each of you have said. However, I can see there are some things I need to change right away. What an interesting point about a NEW program perhaps making people think they are guinea pigs! This is NOT what I want to convey!
It's funny how we can see some things so clearly in others while not always seeing it for ourselves! I must admit there are a few things I've been meaning to change (like my bio which is very outdated). Obviously, these things need to be higher on my priority list. You caught me like the plumber who puts his clients first and doesn't get around to fixing his own tap!
As far as my target market, I do feel quite strongly about working with Women Leaders and doing Leadership Coaching with them. It's non-negotiable in my books. In my Executive Coaching training, the terms "Leaders" and "Executives" are interchangable. To me, an Executive is a Leader and so is the Business Woman or Entrepreneur who is CEO of her own business. I love working with decision makers!
What I did learn is that I need to avoid opening up the Leadership term beyond what I described above. I'm also wondering if there is a misunderstanding with the general public as to what Leadership Coaching really is.
Leadership Coaching is all about developing your leadership skills, both as a people manager and in more effectively running and growing the business. There is ALWAYS room for growth in some way. As well, sometimes, we just need a sounding board to clarify what our next BEST step is.
In fact, if a woman thinks she has nothing to work on, then we aren't a good Client/Coach fit anyway. How can she grow if she doesn't see the value of expressing ALL of the great ability within her? How can her company grow if she doesn't see the value of strategic planning for the next best level?
Thanks again to you all! I will go back to my website and really question whether I am conveying the right message.
I got more than I bargained for in this Spotlight... you generously offered way more than I was asking. I think we could be on to something great for the Forum.
Now it's time to let someone else have the spotlight. It would be great if everyone took a turn!
In gratitude,
Tami
5 Entrepreneur's success stories
- My local paper's business section profiled 5 successful entrepreneurs in the Jan 6, 2008 issue of the paper. Thought I'd share just a bit of it here.
Bill and Heidi Dittmar: Executive Lifestyle
Jeff Wassmer: Spectrum
Deloise Hawkins, Star Whitaker and Lenzy Hill: Touch of Elegance
Stephen Brosius: Advanced Door Systems
Pam Watson: Goodrich and Watson Insurers
Bill and Heidi Dittmar: Executive Lifestyle
founders of a magazine called Executive Lifestyle. Started in 1991. Revenue has grown more than 200% since 2004. 4 full time, 3 part time employees
"We started off with $1,000 and a stupid idea." It began as This Month, a guide for tourists, and morphed into Executive Lifestyle.
Jeff Wassmer: Spectrum
Company specializes in computer network security and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance. Wassmer was an 11-year Air Force guy, so he had "ins" in order to form this business.
Deloise Hawkins, Star Whitaker and Lenzy Hill: Touch of Elegance
Founded business in 1994. 12 employees. Their company designs and plans an average of 25 events each month in Hampton Roads and other parts of Virginia.
Stephen Brosius: Advanced Door Systems
Started company in 1995. 5 full-time employees, plus subcontractors. After having worked as a subcontractor for others in the construction business for 20 years, he decided to start his own business.
Pam Watson: Goodrich and Watson Insurers
At age 49, she was approached by an insurance colleague to buy out their employer's insurance division. They did so, and became employers themselves., witj 4 full-time people.
Re: If you had a million dollars...
- I don't know a million dollars would be enough startup capital for the sort of business I'd want to run, but I'll run with the idea as an example. In all honesty I'd probably save it and borrow against it to get the sort of capital I'd need.
[quote:2dgf1fi1]If I had a million dollars I'd start my own video game development company - we'd build next generation single player RPGs/ FPSes with rich story lines and original gameplay concepts.[/quote:2dgf1fi1]
The reason why I say "a million dollars might not be enough" is because computer game companies have severe cash flow issues - they turn out a new product roughly once every two or three years and make most of their revenue in the span of 12 months after initial release. I think it'd take me more than a million / year to run a video game development company.
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