#3) Not filling up your calendar with activities that help build your business and grow your income: (i.e., writing books (make the time), speaking x-times per month/year, conducting webinars and tele-seminars, etc.). 

#4) Never get involved (emotionally/physically) with your clients. It seems obvious, and it should be. Don’t be alone in their house or your house if you can avoid it. Especially if you’re dealing with the opposite sex. If you do, be sure to sit in your own chair, and not on the same couch or bed with fluffy pillows. HEY, IT’S A CRAZY WORLD OUT THERE FILLED WITH SEX-STARVED SOULS LOOKING FOR LOVE IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES! Remember, you’re dealing with hearts, not just minds. People are lonely, desperate at times, and even lawsuit-happy!

#5) Not setting aside six (6) months worth of income in a savings account, just in case you get sick or want to take time off for holidays/vacation or can’t find clients for a period of time.

#6) Don’t wait until you get busy (i.e., a lot of clients) to put systems in place. Take advantage of the free time you have now only coaching those two clients to get your systems and such in place. Then, having spent a little money to do that, now you’re fired up to go recoup your investment by? MARKETING and finding new clients. THEN? You’ll have the systems in place to handle them and you won’t be overwhelmed trying to put those systems in place while juggling a multitude of clients at the same time. Systems include your website, eMail marketing setup, audio/video marketing, social media accounts ready, contracts, coaching client support/management software, etc. 

#7) Gossiping about your clients to other people. DO NOT - DO NOT - DO NOT talk about your clients with anyone. Confidentiality is key. If you have a loose mouth that talks about your clients to other people, it just might slip one day when you mistakenly say, “I was just talking to someone about you and your situation to a dear friend of mine ...” You have no idea how that client will respond. Assume the worst, they quit, and demand their money back because you touched on something very personal to them. 

#8) Not knowing, understanding, researching, and asking for legal advice and support for legal documents, terms and conditions, coaching contracts to have your back in case a client goes “wiggy on you.” (wants to sue you for monies paid or another reason). It’s up to you how you handle the situation, but do consider this mistake seriously. Don’t let it prevent you from starting and do keep it on the table for a closer review at some point soon in your coaching career. 

#9) Not being clear up front with what you expect from the client, and what they can expect from you. Explain to your clients what coaching is and what it is not. Coaching is about the client taking the necessary action to achieve his/her goal. The coach is only there to ask questions, help be a sounding board, share his/her experience, and what has worked with previous clients. 

#10) Not contacting or creating a community of coaches you can rely on for support when you need it. Other coaches need this as much as you. Reach out to them first. They’ll appreciate it. 

#11) Not hiring help (or a team of people) to support you as your business wants/needs grow. 

#12) Not paying close attention or learning how to run the business side of your new coaching business. Well, here it is in a nutshell: 1) Go make money, bring in the sales and count every penny as it’s deposited into your bank account, PayPal, etc., as gross income. 2) Do you have a business structure in place, such as a Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, LLC, etc.? You’ll need it for tax deduction purposes. 3) Do you have an accountant or someone to do your taxes? While this is nice, it can be expensive (not too much), but worth it. (4) If you don’t have an accountant, you can do your own taxes online with software. (5) You are now a business owner, entrepreneur and must operate your professional life as such. You must learn marketing, website terminology, etc. DO NOT ignore the business side. 

#13) Not planning their business the way it should be, with a real business plan. Business plans are exciting to create, because it’s like designing your own treasure map to the hidden treasure chest. Why run your business in the dark, when you can learn exactly what steps to take, what resources to pull from, what marketing tactics you’ll specifically implement, and so forth. Yes, new things will come up that you’ll need to add/subtract from the business plan, but that’s okay. The space shuttle is off course 90% of the time. They constantly have to make tiny adjustments constantly so it heads in the right direction and finally makes it back to Earth safely. Running a business is no different. Tiny adjustments can make a significant difference in the outcome of your efforts. 

#14) Not planning, no task lists. Being scattered. 

#15) Not refunding a client when they’re more trouble than they’re worth. Better to pay them their money back, even if you might be right and it’s a pinch in your pocket book. Trouble clients can bring MORE trouble than they’re worth. Lawsuits, bad-mouthing your reputation online, which could really cause damage to your coaching business. Take out a loan if you have to. Then, when you give them their money back, think carefully how it will be done. For example, if you charged their credit card for $1,000, don’t be so quick to refund their money via the credit card. That doesn’t look good to the merchant company. Instead, offer to send a certified check or money order drawn from your bank. Mail it, certified, so you have a receipt they received it. Keep your receipts. Best to do this at a bank, where you have a relationship with the manager, hopefully you do. How can you tell a client is going to be trouble? Simply, when they raise their voice, show any little sign of anger, and get really mad or irate. Those folks you just want to take care of with cash refunds AND a complimentary coaching session anytime. It’s all in the way you handle yourself and the refund. Better to hold your breath, bite your tongue and do what you know you must do. Chances are, after time goes by, the upset client may realize you were the better person and they ruined would could have been a great opportunity to work with you. For you, don’t take it personal. Some like sushi, some don’t. Some think the coffee is too hot, some not so. Humans, while some are harder to please than some, you can never really please them all. But, you can show each and every client who comes your way how professional you are and how you tried to help them. 

#16) Not staying organized with software and machines that help keep your office clutter-free. It’s called a paperless office, practically. Scan things in and keep clutter and paper off your desk, and tables, etc. Check out Neat.com. 

#17) Not tracking the money coming in, and going out. Do this daily/weekly, so at the end of the year you know exactly where to make adjustments and where to assign expense categories to and for tax deductions. 

#18) Not tracking your time. Not tracking how much time is wasted on trivial matters, and avoiding real tasks that can put money in your pocket, such as marketing and selling. 

#19) Seeing clients in your home. Hey, it’s up to you, but for privacy reasons, lawsuit reasons and other unforeseeable reasons, unless you have a close friendship with a particular client, it’s not wise to have any client visit your home. Better to rent a small office suite for $250-$500 a month and keep clients away from where you live. Just a thought. Some clients are not a problem. 

#20) Not trademarking your most popular coaching program names, workshops or packages. Not doing so could cost you recognition and money if others start using those names in their coaching business. It could really mess up your search engine results for one thing. This would require you to spend $300-$400 per trademark. Then, hunt those down who are using your trade name and send them a sweet letter from your attorney to cease and desist.