Which Coaching Program Actually Fits Your Situation? (Real Talk from Someone Who’s Been There)
I’ve built three different coaching businesses over the past decade. The first one struggled for two years before I finally got traction. The second one scaled to six figures in eight months. The third one hit multiple six figures in year one.
What changed? Not my coaching skills—I was a solid coach from the start. What changed was understanding which business training I actually needed for the stage I was in.
Here’s what nobody tells you about coaching programs: They’re designed for different stages of business—but they don’t always make that clear in their marketing. So you end up buying advanced scaling strategies when you’re still trying to get your first client. Or you invest in foundational training when you really need advanced systems.
I’ve now reviewed dozens of coaching business programs and I want to save you the expensive mistakes I made. Let me walk you through which programs actually fit which situations—based on where you actually are, not where you wish you were.
Best for Scaling Group Programs: Scalable Coach Masterclass by Lucas Garvin and Jim Hohl
Where You Need to Be: You’ve coached one-on-one successfully. You’ve got results for clients. You’re tired of trading time for money and you’re ready to move into group coaching or group programs.
If that’s you, Scalable Coach Masterclass is what you need.
What Lucas and Jim Actually Teach: Their Hybrid Launch Method is specifically designed for coaches who want to move from one-on-one to group programs—and enroll 5-30+ clients in those programs. At 11.4GB, this is comprehensive training on their proven launch system.
Here’s what I appreciate about their approach—they don’t assume you have a massive audience. They don’t assume you’ve got endless money for ads. They teach you how to fill your program even if you’re starting from relatively small.
The Complete System: ✅ Hybrid Launch Method: Their specific system for launching group programs—it’s worked for hundreds of coaches now. ✅ Zero to Successful Launch: Starting from scratch and building a launch that enrolls clients—complete roadmap. ✅ Rapid Results Action Guides: Step-by-step guides that walk you through implementation—not just theory. ✅ High-Efficiency Tech Stack: They show you the tech you need for under $30/month. No expensive complicated funnels required. ✅ Fill Your Group Launch Plan: The specific strategies for enrolling multiple clients into group programs. ✅ High-Ticket Enrollment: How to enroll clients at $1,500-$10,000+ price points—different from selling low-ticket. ✅ Lucas and Jim’s Credibility: Named “Trainer of the Year” by DigitalMarketer. These guys know what they’re doing.
What You Should Know: ❌ Assumes One-on-One Experience: This isn’t for brand new coaches. You need one-on-one experience and results first. ❌ Launch Focus: This is about launches specifically—not evergreen funnels or other models.
Why This Is First: If you’re at the stage where you’re ready to scale beyond one-on-one, this is the most direct path. Group programs let you serve more people, make more money, and free up your time—but only if you can fill them. Lucas and Jim’s system fills them.
I’ve seen coaches struggle for years trying to figure out group programs on their own. This system gives you the roadmap that actually works.
View Scalable Coach Masterclass →
Best for Starting Your Practice: Coaching Practice Launcher by Mark Peysha
Where You Need to Be: You’re certified (or nearly certified) as a coach. You’ve got the coaching skills. But you have no idea how to actually build a business. You need to go from zero to consistent clients.
That’s exactly what Mark Peysha’s Coaching Practice Launcher is designed for.
What Mark Actually Teaches: At 21.13GB, this is comprehensive training on building a coaching practice from the ground up. Foundation setting, client acquisition, practice management, and initial scaling—everything you need for those first critical years.
I wish I’d had this when I started my first practice. I spent two years figuring out by trial and error what Mark teaches systematically.
The Complete Foundation: ✅ Foundation Building: Setting up your practice properly from the beginning—positioning, messaging, offers. ✅ Client Acquisition Systems: How to actually find and enroll clients when you’re starting from zero—proven strategies. ✅ Practice Management: Running your practice professionally—from onboarding clients to managing sessions to handling payments. ✅ Scaling Strategies: Once you’ve got consistent clients, how to start scaling revenue without burning out. ✅ Marketing Templates: Done-for-you templates you can adapt—speeds up implementation significantly. ✅ Sales Frameworks: Ethical sales conversations that enroll clients—essential skill for any coach.
Reality Check: ❌ For Newer Coaches: If you’re already at six figures, this might be too foundational—you need advanced strategies instead. ❌ Requires Implementation: A system only works if you implement it. This requires consistent action over months.
Why This Matters: Most certified coaches never build successful practices—not because they’re bad coaches, but because they don’t know how to build businesses. Mark’s program fixes that gap. If you’re starting out, this is your roadmap.
View Coaching Practice Launcher →
Best for Advanced Scaling: Elite Business Coaching Program by Dan Martell
Where You Need to Be: You’ve built a solid coaching business. You’re making good money. But you’re maxed out—you’re working too many hours, you’re the bottleneck, and you can’t scale further without burning out or hiring a team.
Dan Martell’s Elite Business Coaching Program is for coaches ready to build real businesses—not just successful practices.
Dan’s Approach: Dan built and sold multiple tech companies before focusing on coaching entrepreneurs. His program isn’t about getting your first clients—it’s about building coaching businesses that scale beyond you. Systems, teams, processes, operations.
This is business-level thinking for coaches who are ready to grow up.
The Advanced Framework: ✅ Business Systems: Building systems and processes so your business doesn’t depend entirely on you personally. ✅ Team Building: Hiring, training, and managing teams to support your growth—essential for real scaling. ✅ Operations Excellence: Running your coaching business like a real company—professional operations that support growth. ✅ Strategic Growth: Moving from hustling for clients to strategic business development and partnerships. ✅ Dan’s Background: He’s built and sold companies. This isn’t just coaching theory—it’s serious business strategy. ✅ High-Level Thinking: This pushes you to think like a CEO, not just a coach—the mindset shift that enables real scaling.
What to Know: ❌ Not for Beginners: If you’re not making consistent income yet, this is too advanced. Start with foundation first. ❌ Significant Investment: This is Dan’s premium program. It’s priced accordingly because it’s designed for established coaches.
When You Need This: When you’re successful but stuck. When you’re making good money but working too hard. When you’re ready to build a real business, not just a practice. That’s when Dan’s training becomes invaluable.
View Elite Business Coaching Program →
Best Certification Foundation: Mindvalley Coaching Career Mastery
Where You Need to Be: You’re interested in becoming a coach but you’re not certified yet. Or you’re certified but you want additional training in coaching methodologies and frameworks.
Mindvalley’s Coaching Career Mastery gives you both coaching skills and business training in one comprehensive program.
What Mindvalley Offers: This is certification-level training that combines coaching methodologies with business building. If you’re starting from scratch, this gives you both the coaching skills and the business foundations you need.
The Complete Training: ✅ Coaching Methodologies: Actual coaching frameworks and techniques—learning to coach effectively. ✅ Business Building: Not just coaching skills but how to build a coaching business—rare combination. ✅ Mindvalley’s Platform: You’re learning from a company that’s built a massive personal development business—they know what works. ✅ Comprehensive Curriculum: This covers both the inner game (coaching skills) and outer game (business strategy). ✅ Career Path Clarity: Understanding different coaching paths and which fits your goals and personality. ✅ Community Access: Connection with other coaches building their careers—valuable network.
Consider This: ❌ Broader Focus: This covers more than just business—if you’re already certified and only need business training, more focused programs might fit better. ❌ Certification Requirements: If you’re pursuing specific coaching certifications (ICF, etc.), check which credentials this provides.
Best For: People who want comprehensive training covering both coaching skills and business building. If you’re starting from scratch or you want to strengthen both your coaching and your business simultaneously, this is comprehensive.
View Mindvalley Coaching Career Mastery →
Best for Boutique Positioning: The Boutique Coaching Business by Becky Keen
Where You Need to Be: You don’t want a massive coaching empire. You want a boutique practice serving high-end clients at premium rates. You want selectivity, positioning, and premium pricing—not volume.
Becky Keen’s Boutique Coaching Business teaches exactly that approach.
Becky’s Philosophy: Not every coach needs to scale to seven figures or serve thousands of clients. Some of the most profitable coaching businesses are boutique—small number of premium clients, high touch service, exceptional results, premium pricing.
If that model appeals to you more than building a massive business, Becky’s approach is perfect.
The Boutique Framework: ✅ Premium Positioning: How to position yourself as the boutique choice—the premium option clients aspire to work with. ✅ High-End Client Attraction: Finding and attracting clients who value premium service and will pay accordingly. ✅ Selectivity as Strategy: Being selective about who you work with—how that actually increases demand and allows premium pricing. ✅ Exceptional Results: Delivering transformational results for fewer clients rather than adequate results for many. ✅ Lifestyle Business Design: Building a business that supports your ideal lifestyle—not forcing yourself into someone else’s model. ✅ Becky’s Success: She’s built multiple successful boutique businesses and teaches from experience.
Reality Check: ❌ Not for Volume: If you want to serve thousands of clients, this isn’t the model. This is intentionally small and high-touch. ❌ Requires Confidence: Premium positioning requires confidence in your value. If you’re not there yet, work on that first.
Perfect For: Coaches who want profitable, sustainable businesses serving premium clients—without building massive companies. If working deeply with select clients at high rates appeals to you more than scaling to volume, Becky’s model is ideal.
View The Boutique Coaching Business →
Best for New Coach Support: The Coaches Incubator by Kelsey Murphy
Where You Need to Be: You’re brand new to coaching. You’re figuring everything out. You need guidance, support, and a community of people going through the same journey.
The Coaches Incubator by Kelsey Murphy is designed exactly for that incubation period.
Kelsey’s Approach: The word “incubator” is intentional—this is about supporting new coaches through the vulnerable early stage of building their practices. You’re not expected to have it all figured out. You’re learning, experimenting, and growing.
The Incubator Experience: ✅ Early-Stage Focus: Specifically designed for coaches in their first 1-2 years—meets you where you actually are. ✅ Community Support: Other coaches going through the same challenges—the peer support matters enormously. ✅ Practical Implementation: Focus on implementing what you’re learning, not just consuming more content. ✅ Real Challenges Addressed: The actual problems new coaches face—finding clients, pricing, confidence, imposter syndrome. ✅ Ongoing Guidance: Not just a one-time course but ongoing support through the critical early period. ✅ Kelsey’s Understanding: She remembers what early-stage coaching is like and teaches accordingly—no unrealistic expectations.
What to Know: ❌ Early-Stage Focus: If you’re past the early stage, you need more advanced training—this is intentionally foundational. ❌ Community-Based: This works best if you engage with the community—not just consuming content alone.
Best For: Brand new coaches who need support and guidance through the early vulnerable stage. If you’re figuring everything out and need community plus practical guidance, this incubator approach is valuable.
Best for Transformational Coaching: Transformational Coaching Program (TCP) by Jim Fortin
Where You Need to Be: You don’t just want to help clients achieve goals—you want to facilitate profound transformation. You’re interested in deeper work: identity transformation, subconscious reprogramming, lasting change.
Jim Fortin’s Transformational Coaching Program teaches that level of coaching.
Jim’s Philosophy: Most coaching is tactical—helping people set and achieve goals. Transformational coaching works at a deeper level—changing how people see themselves and the world, which then changes everything they do.
If you’re drawn to deeper transformation work, Jim’s program is comprehensive.
The Transformational Approach: ✅ Identity-Level Change: Teaching transformation at the identity level—not just behavior modification. ✅ Subconscious Work: Understanding and working with the subconscious patterns that drive behavior—deeper than conscious goal-setting. ✅ Lasting Transformation: Creating changes that last because they’re rooted at deeper levels—not just surface tactics. ✅ Jim’s Background: He’s studied with hypnotherapists and shamans and brings depth to transformation work. ✅ Comprehensive Training: This is thorough training in transformation methodologies—not just surface techniques. ✅ Certification Path: This can lead to certification as a transformational coach using Jim’s methods.
Consider This: ❌ Deeper Focus: If you prefer tactical achievement coaching, this might be more depth-focused than you want. ❌ Requires Personal Work: You can’t facilitate transformation you haven’t experienced yourself—this requires your own inner work.
Right For: Coaches who are drawn to deeper transformation work—not just helping clients achieve goals but facilitating fundamental identity and consciousness shifts. If that’s your calling, Jim’s training is comprehensive.
View Transformational Coaching Program →
How to Choose Your Coaching Program
You’ve got seven solid options designed for different stages and different coaching models. Here’s my honest assessment of which you need:
Choose Scalable Coach Masterclass if: You’ve coached one-on-one successfully and you’re ready to move into group programs. Lucas and Jim’s Hybrid Launch Method fills groups.
Pick Coaching Practice Launcher if: You’re certified (or nearly) but you don’t know how to build a business. Mark’s program gives you the complete foundation for starting your practice.
Go with Elite Business Coaching if: You’ve built a successful practice but you’re maxed out and need to build real business systems to scale further. Dan’s program is business-level strategy.
Select Mindvalley Coaching Career Mastery if: You’re starting from scratch and want comprehensive training covering both coaching skills and business building in one program.
Try The Boutique Coaching Business if: You don’t want a massive business—you want a premium boutique practice serving high-end clients. Becky’s model is intentionally small and profitable.
Choose The Coaches Incubator if: You’re brand new and need community support plus practical guidance through the vulnerable early stage of building your practice.
Pick Transformational Coaching Program if: You’re drawn to deeper transformation work at the identity and subconscious level, not just tactical achievement coaching.
The truth is, your coaching business will likely need different training at different stages. Start with foundation (Practice Launcher or Coaches Incubator), add scaling strategies when you’re ready (Scalable Coach Masterclass), and bring in advanced business building when you need it (Elite Business Coaching).
Final Thoughts: Choose Based on Where You Actually Are
Here’s what I learned the expensive way: Buying advanced training when you need foundation is a waste of money. And staying in beginner programs when you’re ready to scale holds you back.
The best coaching program for you isn’t the most advanced or the most expensive or the one with the best marketing. It’s the one that matches where you actually are and gives you what you actually need next.
So be honest about your stage. If you’re brand new, start with foundation. If you’re successful but stuck, invest in advanced systems. If you’re scaling beyond one-on-one, learn group program strategies.
Match the training to your actual situation. Implement what you learn. Move to the next stage when you’re ready.
That’s how you build a coaching business that actually works—not by buying every program, but by choosing the right training at the right time.
And that’s my real talk, based on building three coaching businesses and learning what works when.
Your move.