How to Leave a Corporate Career to Become a Business Coach
Don Vanpool had an executive-level position at General Electric but knew he wanted something more. So he decided to leave a corporate career to start his own business and executive coaching firm, OptaProfit.
He knew he wanted to scale quickly, so he researched options and eventually decided on the Coaches’ Coach as the platform to help him become more profitable faster. I had a chance to interview Don about his experience becoming a business coach and choosing the Coaches’ Coach as his support team. Here’s what he had to say:
Eric Dombach: What made you originally consider partnering with Coaches’ Coach to help you become a business coach?
Don Vanpool: I wanted to accelerate my coaching business and become world-class as quickly as possible. I also needed a framework and system that complemented and supplemented my skillset as a former GE executive coming out of the corporate world. The Coaches’ Coach was a perfect fit for me.
ED: What obstacles did you encounter when you first decided to leave your corporate career at GE to become a business coach?
DV: Coming from the corporate world, I lacked knowledge of the marketplace for business coaching SMEs. I need to know what worked and what didn’t.
ED: What were you looking for in a business coaching system?
DV: I wanted a framework I could learn and implement quickly while leveraging my years of experience. I was worried about being aggressively sold into an overly-complicated and over-priced system that didn’t deliver. Thankfully, I didn’t experience any of that with the Coaches’ Coach.
ED: What advice would you have for others who are deciding if they should leave a corporate career to become a business coach?
DV: You don’t need an overpriced franchise system to be successful. Find a good system you can adapt to yourself, and then work to build your own brand and company.
You don't need an overpriced franchise system to be successful. Find a good system you can adapt to yourself, and then work to build your own brand and company.
ED: What kind of results have you had with the Coaches’ Coach system?
DV: I started getting clients quickly, beginning with a tiny little client doing about $60K a year — LOL! But within 90 days, I landed a client doing more than $1MM a year and it’s right in my sweet spot. I’ve added at least one client every month since. Recently, I became a director of the Business Network International chapter in my area. I already have several strategic partners in just the first few months of opening the business.
It’s really a no-risk proposition to explore the Coaches’ Coach. There’s a free trial, and you’re guaranteed to be coached by a Certified Coaches’ Coach who has been there, done that, and been successful.
ED: Thanks, Don! You’re doing great and we’re proud to be on your support team!
DV: You bet!
Are you ready to make the move from a corporate career to business coaching? For a step-by-step guide to making the transition, check out our FREE ebook, How to Become a Business Coach.
