The 10-Month Year for Coaches
After I retired from my business, the questions poured in about how I did it. It was a long process over 5 years but one key to making this happen is to start taking time off TODAY.
But is it really doable to take extended time off from a service business? (Without tanking your income?)
I’ve also gotten many comments and questions from people who see how this can be done in a software business, but not a service business. So today, I will address how you can start this process off taking significantly more time off in a service business — specifically, coaches and consultants.
Many service businesses think that extended time off is impossible for them, but the truth is its just a decision you make. The general strategy here will work for any kind of service business, though tweaks need to be made depending on what kind of service you’re delivering.
First, get out your yearly calendar and pick the two months you would take off in your DREAM scenario. No reality allowed.
I’m a believer we should always start by aiming for our absolute dream, ideal scenario then work backward from there. So, when would you loooove to take off?
Maybe it’s December when you just want cozy time with family. Maybe it’s May, your favorite time to visit your favorite travel destination! Maybe it’s July and August so you can just spend the summer playing with your kids.
How does your dream schedule compare to your real schedule?
Compare your dream months to the reality of your business. If you coach mall Santa Clauses to up their game (hey, ALL kinds of coaches are out there), December is probably not the best month for you. Or if you find you get a flood of new business every January, you should probably pick a different month.
So, now that you’ve compared your dream to your business realities, you know your two months.
Of course, two months is arbitrary. I picked that number because it’s a dream that many coaches have. But you can use this process for one month, four months, or taking a week off each month off all year long. Whatever floats your boat!
OK, but how do you take more time off without losing money?
Service businesses like coaches often struggle with taking time off because it’s essentially a “dollars for hours” model — the more time you coach, the more clients you have, the more money you make. So, taking time off can mean an unwelcome dip in income — but NOT if you plan ahead for it.
Let’s say you work 12 months per year and earn on average 4k per month. (By the way, most coaches do not earn the exact same amount every single month, so don’t stress if that’s you. This idea still works out, stick with me.)
4k/mo (on average!) x 12 months is $48,000/year.
So, if you want to earn 48k in 10 months (2 months not working), you must earn $4,800 per month. Going from working the full year to 10 months a year will always require a 20% increase in monthly earnings to work out the same.
So, what’s the easiest way to make 20% more? Raise prices by 20%.
That means if you charge $100 hr, charge $120. If you charge $25/hr, charge $30. Notice when you drill down to your hourly rate, this increase does not feel like that much. I’ve yet to meet a $75/hr client that cancels their contract when the price goes up to $90/hr.
It’s just not that big of a difference to your clients, but it can mean a huge change in lifestyle for you!
Of course, there are other ways to earn that 20% as well — opening an online course an additional time per year, doing another group program, etc. But that 20% increase is the simplest. And I LOVE a simple solution!
Don’t forget to account for this fluctuation in cash flow — if you charge hourly, you may be making zero money during your months off. As long as you plan ahead and put money aside, you’ll be fine — read the book Profit First, if you want to dig into the best way to do that!
Now let’s get into the logistics of making this real: telling your clients.
You want to let your clients know about your schedule as early as possible — this is another benefit to mapping out your entire year early. It lets both of you plan for the interruption in service. I’ve found that if you treat it as no big deal, your clients will follow your lead. People are used to their providers being off for vacations, illnesses, or various life events. This is just another version of that.
You’ll love how many people say, “Wow, that’s so cool, I want to do that too!” when you tell them you take two months fully off work every year. Let’s make this a thing!
Here’s an example of language you can use.
“Hi, Client! As we schedule our upcoming sessions, just a reminder that I take off the months of March and July.”
Seriously, don’t make it any more complicated than that.
Don’t ignore providing some kind of support for your clients while you’re away.
For most coaches, you don’t need to provide any kind of “fill in” service. They’ll simply be without you while you’re away. (Yes, they will survive.) If you want to get fancy, you could schedule check-in emails in advance they write back to. You can do this using the “schedule send” feature right in Gmail. Just make sure to manage expectations you will not be reviewing their replies until you’re back at work.
This can be a great way to be an “offline accountability coach” for your clients, even during your time off. For example, if you’re a business coach, you could schedule a simple what went well, what didn’t, what would you like to improve on email every Friday as an opportunity for your clients to reflect on their week.
If you have online courses, this could also be a good time to remind clients to lean on those. (And yes, you are completely allowed to be absent from your Facebook groups and online communities during your time off. Again, just clearly set the expectation ahead of time.)
If you feel you need someone to fill in for you, look for a coach with the same certification or training as you as they will likely use similar methodologies. You can either just refer your clients to them while you’re away or subcontract their services. (Meaning your client pays you, then you pay the coach a percentage of the hourly rate you were paid.)
A final word: don’t apologize.
When we do something bold for ourselves, it often makes us uncomfortable. Stand confident in your decision. Don’t start apologizing, bringing up how inconvenient you know this is or how difficult you think you are making their life.
AND watch out for a tendency to overcompensate! If you feel uncertain in your decision, you’ll try to throw in the farm for free — an extra session when you return, free access to a product you normally charge $500 for, you know the drill! Notice when you’re feeling this way, take a deep breath, and hit the pause button.
Ed note:
Hi! I’m launching a new business for coaches in 2020 — find out more right here.
