You finished your coaching certification. You updated your LinkedIn headline to say “Executive Coach.” You told your friends and family. And then you sat back and waited for clients to show up.
They didn’t.
This is the moment every new coach hits. Lukasz Kalinowski described it perfectly on a recent episode of Coach as Entrepreneur:
“Your thinking is, well, I got the qualification, I have a few hours of pro bono coaching already, so where the hell are all the clients? Why are they not knocking on my door saying, coach me, coach me?”
Lukasz spent 20+ years in the casino industry, rising from croupier to General Manager running operations worth over a hundred million. Before that, he was a military reconnaissance squad leader. So when he tells you that building a coaching business was harder than jumping out of a plane — and he’s done both, literally — he means it.
But the real lesson from his first year of full-time coaching isn’t about courage. It’s about what comes after the leap.
Why Don’t Coaching Clients Show Up After Certification?
Because certification trains you to coach — not to run a coaching business. The skills that make you a great coach (listening, questioning, creating space) are completely different from the skills that fill your calendar (marketing, positioning, sales conversations).
“You can have the best service, you can provide the best service, but it’s useless if you can’t market it. And it’s useless if you can’t sell it.”
Think about that ratio for a minute. If you spend 40 hours a week on your coaching business, maybe 10-15 of those hours are actual coaching sessions. The rest? Marketing, sales conversations, content creation, admin, networking, follow-ups, financial planning, platform management.
Most coaches spend years training to deliver exceptional sessions. They spend almost no time learning how to fill those sessions.
That’s the certification trap. You trained for the craft but not for the business. And now you’re sitting with a credential and an empty calendar.
What Should New Coaches Do in Their First Year?
Build four foundational pillars: a specific niche, a multi-channel visibility system, a client-centered sales approach, and a practice management platform. These four steps don’t require a massive budget or marketing degree — but they do require deliberate work that most certification programs never mention.
Step 1: How Do You Pick a Coaching Niche That Actually Works?
Choose the one problem you solve better than anyone based on your specific career experience — not what sounds impressive on a business card. Lukasz knew this instinctively from his corporate career, but it still took deliberate work to get right.
“Just becoming an executive coach — it’s so broad that it’s almost like you’re aiming at anyone. And because of that, you’re aiming at nobody.”
He chose resilience. Not “leadership development.” Not “executive coaching.” Resilience — specifically, building resilience for senior leaders and their teams. He built what he calls the “Resilience Blueprint,” a structured process spread across weeks or months that strengthens individuals and teams from a resilience perspective.
Why does a narrow niche work better than a broad one?
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Your content writes itself. Instead of generic “leadership tips,” every post comes from one focused lens. Lukasz pulls his most valuable points from his Resilience Blueprint and shares them on LinkedIn. He doesn’t have to brainstorm topics. They flow from his framework.
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You become findable. When someone searches “resilience coach for executives” on Google or LinkedIn, Lukasz shows up. If his headline said “Executive Coach | Helping Leaders Thrive,” he’d be invisible in a sea of 100,000 identical profiles.
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Referrals get specific. “You need to talk to Lukasz — he’s the resilience guy” carries weight. “I know a coach” does not.
Your action this week: Take 30 minutes and answer this question: What is the one problem I solve better than anyone, based on my specific career experience? Don’t pick something aspirational. Pick the thing that’s already baked into your history.
Step 2: What Visibility Channels Should Coaches Use Beyond LinkedIn?
Build a “Visibility Stack” — multiple reinforcing channels — instead of relying on a single social media platform. Most coaches post on LinkedIn and wonder why clients aren’t flowing in. Lukasz’s approach layers several channels that work together:
- LinkedIn posts (3-4x per week) — short, punchy insights from his resilience framework. This is his primary platform, treated with discipline.
- Magazine and publication contributions — Lukasz writes for Brands magazine. When a prospect Googles him and sees his name published in a recognized outlet, the trust conversation is already half-done.
- Local networking events — face-to-face conversations that turn into referral relationships. Coaches forget these people exist.
- Local radio stations — stations need to fill time slots and will happily interview you. Most now convert those segments into podcasts and post them online. Double exposure for one conversation.
- Having his own coach — Lukasz credits his coach with catching the blind spots he couldn’t see himself.
Lukasz’s own coach flagged the biggest gap:
“What about your local area? Why do you forget about these people?”
It’s easy to hide behind the screen. But here’s what Lukasz found: radio stations will happily interview you. Most now convert those interviews into podcasts and post them online. Double exposure for one conversation.
Networking events put you in a room with people who either become clients or connect you with someone who will.
“It’s very easy to fall into that — I’m gonna hide behind this computer screen. I wanna be a coach, I wanna speak to people… but let’s do it with a level of anonymity.”
The internet is a megaphone. But a handshake still closes deals.
Your action this week: Map every channel where a potential client could currently discover you. If the list is shorter than three, add one new channel this month. Start local — a business networking group, a community event, a radio station you’ve never considered.
Step 3: How Should Coaches Approach Sales Conversations?
Lead with the client’s problem in their language, not with your framework or certifications. This sounds simple. It is not.
Lukasz had a specific breakthrough on this:
“It’s not what I offer, it’s what they need. It’s not about talking the way I want to see it presented — it’s about how the people on the other end want to see it.”
When you lead with your methodology, your ICF credential, your coaching model — you’re speaking your language. When you lead with their specific problem, in their specific words, you’re speaking their language. That’s when they lean in.
The practical difference:
❌ “I offer a 12-week resilience coaching program using evidence-based methodologies.”
✅ “You’ve been promoted to a role where every decision feels heavier than the last, and there’s nobody you can be honest with about how isolating it is. That’s what we work through together.”
The first sentence describes your product. The second describes their 2 AM thought.
How to find the right client language:
Lukasz uses a behavioral assessment tool during intake sessions. Before any coaching begins, prospects complete a 30-minute assessment. The results become the foundation for the first real conversation — and give him the exact language his clients use to describe their own challenges.
You don’t need a fancy tool to start. Three free ways to get client language:
- Review your pro bono session notes. What problems did people describe in their own words?
- Read LinkedIn comments on posts about leadership challenges. Screenshot the phrases that keep appearing.
- Ask this in discovery calls: “How would you describe this problem to your partner at the end of a long day?” That casual framing gets the real language, not the corporate version.
Step 4: What Systems Do Coaches Need to Manage Their Practice?
At minimum, you need one platform that handles contracts, session notes, and goal tracking — so your admin doesn’t scale faster than your client base. Lukasz is deliberate about having a system that manages the entire coaching process:
“If you have everything there and you follow your processes… it becomes your routine. It helps you manage your time. It frees up time as well.”
When your systems are solid, prep time shrinks. Follow-ups become automatic. You stop losing track of where each client is in their journey.
Your action this week: If you’re using a patchwork of Google Docs, calendar reminders, and memory to manage coaching clients — stop. Pick one platform and consolidate. CRM tools like Paperbell, CoachAccountable, or Practice are built for coaches. Even a structured Notion workspace is better than scattered documents.
The goal isn’t perfection. It’s having one place where everything lives.
What’s the Real ROI of Coaching for Senior Leaders?
Coaching ROI often shows up in career-defining moments, not quarterly reports. Lukasz has a story that demonstrates this better than any statistic.
He got a message on a Saturday afternoon. A senior professional had applied for a COO position, passed the first round of interviews, and had the final interview on Monday.
Two days. That’s all the time they had.
Lukasz got on the phone. They spent hours together — preparation, mindset, confidence, clarity. By Monday, the candidate walked into that interview with a presence he didn’t have 48 hours earlier.
He got the job.
From that point forward, the relationship deepened. Lukasz coached him through onboarding, through a full company merger, through the daily weight of C-suite leadership.
“That was like a prime example. It’s not something that happens very often. But if you can do it, if you have a chance to do that — just get on the phone.”
That’s not a transaction. That’s what coaching looks like when it works.
Why Do Senior Leaders Actually Need Coaches?
Because leadership is isolating, and senior leaders carry decisions that nobody else in their organization can help them process. This was the biggest surprise from Lukasz’s first year — not the business side, but what he found behind the executive facade.
“When you start talking to them, you realize that actually the things they deal with are just very humane. They’re just very normal problems. And they have no one that they could speak to. It’s a very lonely job.”
They project strength because they have to. Their teams need certainty. Their boards expect decisiveness. But behind that image, they’re carrying decisions nobody else can share.
If you coach executives, this is your positioning: You’re not fixing something broken. You’re providing something missing.
That reframe changes everything — from how you market your coaching practice to how you price your services to how confident you feel making the offer.
The First Year Checklist: Where Are You Right Now?
| Milestone | Status | When To Do It |
|---|---|---|
| Chose a specific niche (not “executive coach”) | ☐ | Month 1 |
| Built or started a core framework/methodology | ☐ | Month 1-2 |
| Posting consistently on ONE primary platform | ☐ | Month 1 (ongoing) |
| Contributing to at least one external publication | ☐ | Month 2-3 |
| Attending local networking events regularly | ☐ | Month 2 (ongoing) |
| Explored local radio/podcast guest opportunities | ☐ | Month 3 |
| Flipped sales language from “I offer” to “You need” | ☐ | Month 1 (ongoing) |
| Using a real client management platform | ☐ | Month 1 |
| Have your own coach or accountability partner | ☐ | Month 1 |
| Completed 60+ pro bono hours (if still certifying) | ☐ | During certification |
Have Faith in Yourself
When I asked Lukasz for his one piece of advice for coaches just starting out, he didn’t talk about marketing funnels or sales scripts.
“Have faith in yourself. You are much stronger than you think. Set a goal, make a plan, and go for it.”
From a guy who led military reconnaissance missions, ran a casino operation with hundreds of staff, jumped out of a plane, and then made the harder leap into full-time coaching — those words carry weight.
The certification got you in the door. Now build the business behind it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to get coaching clients after certification?
Most coaches take 3-6 months to build a consistent pipeline after completing certification. The timeline depends on three factors: how specific your niche is, how systematically you build visibility, and whether you lead sales conversations with the client’s problem or your own credentials. Coaches who build all four pillars (niche, visibility stack, client-centered sales, practice management) typically see results faster than those who rely on posting alone.
What is the biggest mistake new coaches make when starting their business?
The biggest mistake is treating certification as the finish line instead of the starting line. Coaching skills and business-building skills are entirely separate competencies. Most new coaches underinvest in marketing, sales positioning, and practice management systems — then wonder why clients aren’t finding them. As Lukasz Kalinowski puts it: “You can have the best service, but it’s useless if you can’t market it.”
How do coaches find their niche in the first year?
Start with your career history, not your aspirations. The most effective coaching niches come from problems you’ve personally solved at a senior level. Lukasz Kalinowski drew on 20+ years of high-pressure casino operations and military leadership to build a resilience coaching practice. Your niche should be specific enough that someone can describe you in one sentence — “the resilience coach for executives” — not “a coach who helps people.”
Do executive coaches need to be on multiple social media platforms?
No. Most successful coaches in their first year focus on one primary digital platform (usually LinkedIn for executive coaches) combined with offline visibility channels. Lukasz Kalinowski posts 3-4 times a week on LinkedIn, contributes articles to publications, and attends local networking events. The combination of digital consistency and in-person presence creates more trust than being spread thin across five platforms.
How do you sell coaching without sounding pushy?
Flip the conversation from what you offer to what they need. Instead of listing your certifications and methodology, describe the specific problem your ideal client faces — in their own language. Use discovery calls and assessments to understand their situation before proposing a solution. When the client feels deeply understood, the sale becomes a natural next step, not a pitch.
🎙️ Listen to the full episode with Lukasz Kalinowski on Coach as Entrepreneur: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube
🌐 Connect with Lukasz: lukaszkalinowski.com | LinkedIn
Ready to build the systems behind your coaching practice?