Become a Fashion Subject Coach and Earn Extra Income

If you've been following us for some time, you'll know by now that the work we do at We Teach Fashion is primarily focussed on helping you learn how to create and sell online courses. The objective being...for you to generate a second income from your expertise.

But your expertise can also be made to work for you in other ways that don't require you to learn about course creation.

One way is to coach. It's one of the most effective and efficient ways to create an additional revenue stream with minimal upfront costs.

You can offer more expensive private 1-on-1 coaching, small group, or as many people as you feel comfortable with supporting. And the technology of Internet chat, webinars, Skype, Zoom, Google Hangouts etc., makes coaching online simple and effective.

Every Market Has a Need

There will always be a percentage of people that want something more than an online course or book to teach them about certain aspects of your field. For example, let's say that you've over 15 years of experience as a freelance pattern cutter...think how much you could help advise other people entering pattern cutting for themselves.

Or perhaps you have several years of experience as a visual merchandiser, accessory designer, or retail sales manager for a large fashion brand. Your coaching is invaluable in helping others in these areas. 

They want the extra help, insights, and accountability that coaching provides. Something that will give them a more hands-on experience. And if it helps solve their issues, they'll be willing to pay you for it. 

A coaching experience has to deliver the results if it's effective, which largely depends upon you as the coach, your ability and willingness to help others and the coaching experience you have developed.

The coaching experience can consist of a combination of different elements, such as:

• Weekly/monthly coaching calls either 1:1 or in groups.
• Online discussion areas, e.g. a private Facebook group
• Email support
• Online course
• Support materials

Because of the nature of coaching, your deeper involvement and a more personalised experience for the coachee, coaching typically commands a higher price than an online course.

Your coachees can follow your coaching program either week by week based upon a predetermined agenda you have defined, or it can be tailored entirely based upon what they want to achieve as outcomes.

For example, My Fashion Business Coach, I have two coaching programs. One is designed around life-coaching and the other around business coaching. Both targeted people from the fashion sector. These are pre-built programs that help coachees transform their businesses or characteristics of their personal lives.

I could also enrol coachees that want coaching support around specific issues that they want to address. In which case, nothing is pre-defined, and we work directly on their topics. In these cases, your coachees are paying for your time and having coaching calls with you typically once or twice a month.

So if you like the idea of supplementing your income and serving people at a deeper level, coaching is a perfect solution.

Using this feature alongside a private Facebook Group and weekly calls helps create a personal experience and accelerate progress even faster.

Coaching Certification not Required

Having a formal coaching certificate isn't mandatory or practically required to coach. Many people, especially those in any management or supervisory position, coach their subordinates regularly.

Here are some other things to consider:

1. The most skilled and successful coaches I know aren't certified. And many that are make rotten coaches. Please think of the people you respect most in the personal and business development industry, and many of them you admire and don't have a coaching certification.
2. Your potential clients don't really care whether you are certified or not. I have never once been asked by a coachee whether I have a formal coaching certification. After all, they are more interested in how you can help them solve their problems, frustrations, and dreams.
3. Credibility comes in many forms. Credibility can come from your personal success story, your business results, your other qualifications and the people you 'borrow' credibility from because they are in your network. If you focus on developing confidence in your potential coachees that you understand their issues and have a proven approach to helping them progress, then you develop the highest level of credibility.
4. Training and certification are different. What's better to get trained in areas where you need strengths but have weaknesses, picking and choosing specifically targeted training inputs, or spending time on ensuring you are certified. One approach gives you skills and strengthens your reach, and the other gives you one approach to credibility. Focus on building your skills, not on gaining letters.
5. Certification helps distinguish you from non-coaches. Anyone can call themselves a coach. As more scandals arise about so-called coaches, authentic professional coaches are seeking reputable certifications as one way to assure their potential clients that they are genuine coaches. But getting excellent feedback from your own coachees can also make you stand out.
6. Many people look for certification as a stamp of approval from a trusted source without a good referral from a trusted friend. In this way, it helps them to make a choice about which coach to use.
7.  Coach certification helps set you up for success, and it represents coaching best practices. At the very least, if you don't become certified, then take time to develop your coaching skills and learn the basics before you start.

Take a look at two examples of what we're offering at myfashionbusinesscoach.com, and if you want to know more about becoming a fashion coach yourself, please enter your details below, and we'll send you further tips.

Fashion Coaching v Fashion Business Consulting

A small business coach works on bringing out the best that's already inside their clients. Our small business coaching service focuses on the "bigger picture" of what our coachees want to create for their business and lifestyle.

We talk about what will keep them motivated to move forward on their dreams, goals and tasks. As a coach, we encourage you, support you, celebrate and empathize with you.

Ultimately in small business coaching we create a fool-proof plan for moving forward, and your coach partners with you and supports you in bringing that that plan to completion and success.

So, where does consultancy come into play?

Consulting focuses on getting specific projects implemented that will lead to specific business improvements. Consultants will bring specific skills and knowledge to the business that can be applied and taught to strengthen your business and move it forward. 

I like this analogy to help illustrate the difference between coaching and consulting. Let's imagine you are looking to ride a horse.

• A coach will help you understand how and why you want to ride a horse, help you to determine what's holding you back from riding properly, and jog along next to you as you ride, giving you challenging and supporting you along the way. Encouraging you and asking you various questions to uncover further goals for riding and what's holding you back.
• A consultant will explain why one horse is better than another for you, teach you how to bridle the horse, explain how to keep it, and, if necessary, ride the horse and practice various horse husbandry aspects.

The fashion sector is enormous. It's undergoing rapid change, and there are vast areas underserved by the education sector and private training companies and coaches. People need your know-how and your experience. And people need coaching in all manner of areas that you have experience in.