Leaving Academia: Becoming a Freelance Editor19 Maalis

How to Land Your First Coaching Client (When You Have No Idea What You're Doing)

He had no coaching packages. No clients. No idea how to run a sales call. And then, in week 5 of his BAE cohort, he signed his first client to a 6-month coaching contract. 🥳

In this episode, I'm walking you through one BAE student's journey—from "I have no idea what I'm doing" to landing a real, paying coaching client faster than he ever thought possible.

I'm calling him Michael to protect his privacy, but his story is real, and it's one that I know you'll find instructive.

Here's what you'll hear in this episode:

🎧 How Michael went from joining BAE to having a website, a LinkedIn profile, and a niche—all within the first month of his cohort

🎧 Why a referral from a former colleague turned into his first real client inquiry (and how he almost let fear talk him out of it)

🎧 What a discovery call looks like, and how it's different from a sales call

🎧 Why I pushed Michael to raise his prices—and why he was glad I did

🎧 How to handle the nerve-wracking gap between your client saying "I need to think about it" and "I'm in"

🎧 The mindset shift that separates academics who stay stuck from those who actually launch

I also share what's been happening in the current cohort with other BAE students—including someone who landed TWO dissertation editing clients in a single day, and two MORE just a few weeks later. 🤯

The big lesson running through all of this: you are never going to feel ready. The fear doesn't go away. But you CAN (and should!) do it scared—and that's exactly what growth looks like.

🎙️ Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss future episodes on life beyond academia, freelance editing and academic coaching, and building a business that brings you joy.

Want to end burnout and become an academic editor or coach? Go to AcadiaEditing.com/BecomeAnEditor

2:30 - Define Your Niche & Build Your Website

5:15 - How To Land Your First Coaching Client

8:00 - Master Discovery Calls For Clients

11:45 - Price Your Packages With Confidence

15:00 - How To Nail Your Sales Call

19:30 - Key Takeaways For Business Growth

23:00 - Join BAE Core Or Accelerator

30:00 - Why You Have To Do It Scared

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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