A letter to new coaches from a former coach

The Economics of Sustainable Growth

Last year, I closed my coaching intake forms earlier than expected—not because of a lack of demand, but because I hit a fundamental constraint: emotional bandwidth. No matter how scalable a business model appears on paper, the reality is that coaching is a human capital-intensive endeavor. If you don’t manage your own capacity, you risk diminishing returns—not just for yourself, but for the clients who are investing in you.

The Burnout Externality

Think of your energy as working capital. If you continuously deploy without replenishing, you create a liquidity crisis—not in cash, but in compassion. And when your ability to care erodes, the quality of your service declines, triggering a self-perpetuating cycle of inefficiency: lower client outcomes, decreased satisfaction, and ultimately, reputational depreciation. Your clients are not just paying for knowledge; they’re paying for presence. That’s the asset you need to protect.

The Revenue vs. Value Dilemma

Early-stage coaches often fall into the classic service business trap: optimizing for short-term revenue instead of long-term value creation. The instinct is understandable—growth feels like acquiring more clients. But this is a false proxy for progress. If you measure success purely by top-line income, you risk building a transactional practice rather than a transformational one.

When I started, I scaled my coaching business to $300K in net profit in my first year—not by taking on more clients than I could handle, but by pricing based on value, designing structured offerings, and focusing on compounding impact rather than volume. That distinction made growth sustainable.

The paradox is that when you start viewing clients primarily as revenue streams, they will sense it. And when trust erodes, so does your business’s competitive advantage. The best investment you can make is in your own sustainability—by aligning pricing, workload, and emotional resilience in a way that ensures compounding value over time.

The Arbitrary Metric Trap

The best coaches aren’t optimizing for revenue; they’re optimizing for impact. Financial metrics are lagging indicators of effectiveness, not the primary goal. If you find yourself in a mindset where income dictates your decision-making, step back. The less you anchor to arbitrary financial targets, the more you’ll cultivate the kind of trust and authenticity that, paradoxically, leads to greater financial success.

The real inflection point in any coaching career is when you realize that sustainable service is not about maximizing volume—it’s about maximizing depth.

Remember why you started.