How do you become a brand coach? 

You’re in the right place. Today, I’ll shows you exactly how to start a brand coaching business so that you can create an impactful business and flexible life that you love.

Ready? Let’s dive in.

What is a brand coach?

Brand coaches help their clients create memorable brands that stand out. You support your clients with things like messaging, developing their visual look, and storytelling. 

Just think of Apple, Nike, or McDonalds – some of the best-known brands in the world. People know their brand so well they buy just because of it. For example, 94% of the world population recognize Coca-Cola’s red and white logo.

As you can see, great branding is a key part of having a successful company. And that’s why businesses are willing to invest in branding coaches.

But what does this type of coach do exactly? Let’s talk about it in more detail.

What does a brand coach do?

As a brand coach, you help your clients set themselves apart from their competition by creating and developing a unique brand image.

How do you do that? 

You help your clients: 

• Identify their target audience 
• Develop a brand messaging strategy
• Understand their story
• Create a brand voice
• Promote their brand 

You don’t directly work on the brand yourself. Your job is to guide the process and offer support to reach your clients’ defined branding goals.

And it’s a win-win. You have a big impact – after all, a great brand can make all the difference for your clients. 

At the same time, you get to build a business that supports your life. A coaching business offers a lot of flexibility and freedom ­– and you can absolutely make a great income, too. 

But before we get into building your business, let’s look at the benefits of brand coaching.

Why is brand coaching important for businesses? 

According to a Lucidpress report, consistent branding can boost a company’s revenue by as much as 23%. 46% of consumers also say they would pay more to buy from a brand they trust.

Many well-known brands use branding extremely successfully. (And you know exactly what these businesses sell even if you’re not a customer.)

A few examples include: 

• Pampers
• Chanel
• IKEA
• Lululemon
• Starbucks 

As a coach, you help your clients create a strong brand and grow a lot faster than they otherwise would. You help your clients figure out things that might take them years to master – and at the fraction of the cost they’d pay to learn it on their own. 

However, should you call yourself a brand coach or a personal branding coach? Here’s the difference. 

What is the difference between a personal branding coach and a brand coach?

A personal brand coach helps build a brand image around a person rather than a physical product. 

So, a few examples of clients you could work with as a personal brand coach include: 

• Entrepreneurs
• Actors
• Leaders
• Other coaches

With personal branding, people are the brand. They need to hone their persona to attract their target audience – just like a company would do with a physical product.

My own business, LuisaZhou.com, is a personal brand. I’ve built my business around me and the things I talk about include things I love to do like binge watch Netflix series, go hiking with my dog Falco, or try new restaurants with my husband Steven.

I talk more about personal branding in this short video: 

The difference is that as a personal brand coach, you help people develop their personal brand. As a branding coach, you support businesses in developing a brand. 

But how do you become a brand coach? Let’s take a look. 

How do you become a brand coach? (3 steps)

What does it take to become a brand coach? Here’s how to know if YOU can become a brand coach, how much you can make, and much more.

Read on!

Are you qualified to be a brand coach?

Maybe you think you need to go back to school for an advanced degree or get a certification before you can start a brand coaching business.

You don’t.

What you do need, though, is enough experience in branding that you can help your clients. 

Remember: People want results. 

If you can offer results, the certifications or degrees you have (or don’t have) don’t matter.

But what if you don’t have any branding experience yet? 

In that case, make sure you start by learning enough that you can offer real value – before you start your coaching journey.

For example, before I became a coach, I first started several businesses myself. With that background, I was able to learn what worked and what didn’t to offer my students real support.

How much do brand coaches make?

According to ICF’s 2023 Global Coaching Study, US-based coaches earn an average of $67,800 for part-time work. (This income is based on 11.9 hours of coaching work/week.) 

But keep in mind that that’s the average.

In reality, there are plenty of coaches who scale their businesses to six- or seven-figures. I’ve personally helped coaches get there through my own coaching program.

In other words? 

There’s virtually no upper limit to how much you can earn.

For example, Jenna is one of my coaching students who grew her business to six-figures and beyond.

Now you know whether you can become a brand coach and how much you can make. Let’s go over the steps to starting your own brand coaching business. 

Step 1: Build a business that stands out from your competition 

How do you stand out from other brand coaching businesses?

The key to standing out from the crowd is to ask yourself these questions:

• What makes me unique? (Think of your unique background, skills, experience, or perspective that gives you an edge over your competition. Everyone has something that sets them apart.)
• What makes my strategy unique? (In other words, how is your approach to solving your clients’ problems different?)
• What makes my values/beliefs unique? (For example, are you passionate about helping a certain type of client as a branding coach, like entrepreneurs who are single moms?)
• What makes my target demographic unique? (Basically, who are you trying to appeal to?)
• What makes my coaching package unique? (Here, think about how you can offer better results, more support, and so on.)

For more, watch this short YouTube video where I share the three elements of a stand-out business: 

Next, let’s take a look at how you can create the best possible coaching offer that sells out. 

Step 2: Create a “no brainer” brand coaching package 

How much should you charge for a branding package?

Before determining how much you should charge for your coaching, keep in mind that there are three pricing options you could offer clients:

• Hourly
• Fixed price
• Per package

Let’s quickly go over these.

With hourly pricing, you get paid for every hour that you work.

The downside?

Clients don’t see the overall value of the service you’re providing because they end up paying for your time instead of results.

With a fixed retainer rate, you know how much you’ll get paid every month since it’s a lump sum. But if you’re not careful, it can be tough to maintain a good work-life balance with retainer pricing.

You might be tempted to work late at night or take calls on weekends, which can lead to burnout long-term.

The third option – charging for an entire package – makes the most sense. Why? Because clients will recognize that what they’re really paying for is what they ultimately want: Results.

So, if you’re just getting started as a coach and don’t know how much to charge, a good rate for three months of coaching is $1,500.

Want a step-by-step look at how to create an effective, high-end coaching offer? You can check out my guide on coaching packages here.

Step 3: Get your first paying clients

Finally, how do you get your first paying clients?

If getting your first clients as a new business branding coach feels intimidating, don’t worry – it doesn’t have to be. Here are a few ideas to get started.

Tap your network

You probably already know people who could use brand coaching, so this is the first place to go! Get the word out among your circle of friends, family members, and even colleagues – the responses you get might surprise you.

Here’s an easy script to use:

“Hey [name],

I recently started a [your niche] business and thought of you because [cite connection]. Space is limited, but if you know someone who could use my services, I’d be happy to help them out. Here’s my contact info: [your contact info].

Warmly,

[Your name]”

Speak on podcasts

Podcasts can be a great way to get your first few clients under your belt. If you choose the right ones, you’ll be speaking to a niche audience – people who are interested in what you have to say because they already know and trust the podcast host.

Use LinkedIn

LinkedIn is an ideal place to connect with other coaches and potential clients – in fact, that’s how many of my students land their first clients.

The key to using LinkedIn? Build your authority by building relationships (sharing value, replying to people’s comments, reaching out to them to connect, and so on). As you grow your following, more people will trust you and want to work with you.

I used this strategy to start my first online business, although on a different social media platform. The principles are the same, though, and by building relationships with my target audience, I grew my business to six figures in four months. 

Next steps

So, there you go! Now you know what brand coaching is and how you can become a brand coach yourself.

Ultimately, building an online business, like a coaching business, can help you build the life you want – with more freedom, flexibility, and fulfillment.

Want the step-by-step to building your business? 

Get my guide to growing your own six-figure coaching business. 

Read more:

Market Your Coaching Business

Get Coaching Clients

Hold Powerful Coaching Sessions