10 Mistakes You Might Be Making In Your Online Coaching Business

1.     You haven’t formed a legal business entity.

So what do I mean by that? Well, you probably haven’t formed a business entity yet because you’re not sure which each one means.  I get that. Furthermore, most people miss advantages (aka the pros and cons) each entity could potentially pose. I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about Sole Proprietorships, Partnerships, Limited Liability Companies and Corporations. (Yes, I know that is a lot but trust me, it’s good to know what ALL the entities mean.)

2.     Your personal income and business income are intermingled in the same account.

As an entrepreneur, it’s vital that you have a separate business account. This will affect your liability and your personal assets (more on this with taxes too). 

3.     The business that you’ve built isn’t insured.

 Anything can happen. You want to ensure that you have insurance in the event a situation arises. I’ll cover everything from personal insurance to business insurance and the difference between the two.

4.     Your business isn’t protected with the proper paperwork

You must protect your coin! You’re working hard for it! Did you know that your 78% more likely to receive payment from a client when there’s a contract in place?

5.     You’ve left yourself and the business vulnerable by not having terms and conditions on your website.

With so many data breaches and the selling of people’s information to marketers, it’s all about privacy and how you use the data that your website visitors leave you with.  The government doesn’t take this lightly and will slap your hand (and your bank account) with a fine.

6.     Your coaching business documentation isn’t copyrighted.

When the goal is to help hundreds of clients, that also means hundreds of people are going to have access to your work.  It is imperative that the materials you use with your clients have been registered with the copyright office before you make your program live.

7.     Your business name and logo aren’t Trademarked.

In conjunction with copyright protection, you want to ensure that no one can come in after you’ve built an amazing brand name and have created a killer logo.  There is nothing worse than having to hear “Sorry ‘they’ already own the Trademark to your logo and/or business name.” Have to protect yourself from “they.”

8.     You haven’t protected yourself in the event you do live workshops.

There are so many caveats that come with renting an event space, or even agreeing to do a speaking engagement.  You have to make sure that you’re always protected in the event those caveats creep up unannounced.

9.     You haven’t disclaimed any guarantee in results for your services.

Are you teaching people how to be happier, make more money or exercise more efficiently? You have to ensure that if people don’t follow your advice to the ‘T’ or if things just don’t work out that they don’t sue you.  

10.  You haven’t properly set up your taxes to make more money.

Did you know that depending on your tax election you could potentially keep more money each year in taxes? I’ve got you covered in the Legal ToolKit for Coaches.