Here’ s what most coaches are doing to find clients— and no judgment here, because I started out doing all of this, too: Blogging, posting on social media, going to networking events, trying to figure out SEO on their website … and the list goes on and on.

Sure, you can find clients using these strategies. But, here’ s the problem. Each of them takes time and requires your presence and effort. Sooner or later, you realize that your freedom-based business is anything but that because your calendar is jampacked with content creation, social media visibility, and running out to attend yet another coffee klatch.

Instead, you need some automated systems so that clients are coming to you, rather than you having to constantly chase them down. What I’ m talking about here is automating at least some of your traffic and implementing an effective sales funnel so you’ re consistently growing your list and qualified prospects are booking onto your calendar. Yes, it can take a little effort to set this system up on the front-end. But once it’ s in place, you’ ll be liberated from the daily grind of more and more“ stuff” you need to do to sign clients.

When you’ re first starting out, it can be tempting to want that perfect website, beautiful business cards, and professional headshots all in place before you launch. Yup, I did this and if I had to do it all over again I wouldn’ t worry about any of it. Why? Because no one is hiring you based on any of these things.

Your clients will hire you because they believe you’ re the right fit and you can help them achieve their desired results. Of course, ultimately you need a website, but stop worrying about it right now. Instead, get focused on what will make you money, which is honing your message and bringing what you have to offer to your market.

Do your market research. Take the time to look at what your competitors are doing and understand what your ideal clients are looking for in terms of results and outcomes. So many coaches skip over this step, then wonder why their calendar is empty.