Why Coaches Should Make a Ton of Money (And Why It's Selfish Not To)

I'm going to say something that might make you uncomfortable: if you're a good coach and you're not making great money, you're being selfish.

Not the other way around. Not "you're selfish for wanting money." You're selfish for not making it.

Because every dollar you don't earn is a person you don't reach. Every month you stay broke is a month you can't invest in ads, can't hire a team, can't create better programs, can't show up as the best version of yourself for your clients.

I know this is a hot take. I know some of you reading this have a deep-seated belief that money and impact are at odds with each other. That wanting to make money as a coach is somehow impure. That real coaches do it for the love of it, not the money.

I used to believe that too. And it nearly destroyed my business.

The Money Story That Almost Kept Me Broke

Let me take you back to where I started.

I grew up poor. Not "we had to budget carefully" poor — I mean poor. My background was in music. I was a musician scraping by, playing gigs, hoping something would break. And there was this narrative in my head — one that I picked up from church, from family, from culture — that said money was suspicious. That rich people were bad people. That wanting wealth was greedy.

So when I started my coaching business, I had this invisible ceiling over my head. I'd get close to making real money and then unconsciously sabotage myself. I'd lower my prices. I'd offer discounts nobody asked for. I'd give away free coaching sessions to people who could absolutely afford to pay.

Why? Because deep down, I didn't believe I deserved to make a lot of money.

It took years — and a lot of personal development, a lot of honest conversations with my wife Abigail, a lot of prayer — to rewire that belief. To understand that money isn't the opposite of impact. Money is the fuel for impact.

Today, I make multiple six figures per year from my coaching business. And you know what that allows me to do? Run better programs. Hire a team. Invest in ads that reach people who've never heard of me. Give generously to causes I care about. Take care of my family. And show up on every coaching call with energy and abundance instead of stress and scarcity.

None of that would be possible if I'd stayed broke out of some misguided idea that coaches shouldn't make money.

Why Cash Flow Changes Everything

Let me get practical for a minute, because I know some of you are still on the fence.

When your coaching business is generating consistent cash flow, here's what happens:

1. You can experiment without fear.

Right now, if your business is making $2K/month, every marketing dollar feels like a risk. You can't test new ads because you can't afford to lose $500 on a campaign that doesn't work. You can't try a new offer because what if nobody buys?

But when you're making $15K or $20K a month? You can run experiments. You can try that new ad creative. You can launch that new program idea. You can test without stress — because a failed experiment at $20K/month is a learning opportunity, not a catastrophe.

2. You can hire help.

Most coaches are doing everything themselves — content, ads, sales calls, client delivery, tech, admin. It's exhausting. And it caps your growth because there are only so many hours in a day.

Cash flow lets you hire. A virtual assistant. An ad manager. A content editor. Each person you bring on frees up your time to do what only you can do: coach. And that leverage is how you scale past the ceiling of doing it all yourself.

3. You can invest in quality.

When money is tight, you cut corners. You use a cheap landing page builder. You skip the professional branding. You don't invest in the course or coaching that would level up your skills.

When cash is flowing, you invest in excellence. Better tools. Better training. Better client experience. And that quality compounds — better experience leads to better results, which leads to better testimonials, which leads to more clients.

4. You think bigger.

This one is subtle but powerful. When you're in survival mode — worried about making rent, stressed about the next sale — your brain literally can't think strategically. The prefrontal cortex shuts down under financial stress. You make reactive decisions instead of proactive ones.

Financial security opens up your brain. You start thinking about where you want to be in 5 years instead of where next month's rent is coming from. You start dreaming about the empire you want to build instead of the bills you need to pay.

The Math That Changed My Perspective

Let me share some numbers that might shift how you think about money and coaching.

Inside WCA, our monthly membership is $197. If a member stays for 12 months, that's $2,364 in lifetime value.

If that member implements what I teach and goes from $0 to $5,000/month in coaching revenue — which happens regularly — they've generated $60,000 in their first year. In exchange for $2,364.

That's a 25x return on investment for them. And $2,364 in revenue for me that I can reinvest into reaching more people.

Now multiply that by 100 members. Or 200. Or 500.

Every dollar I make is a dollar I can put back into the business to help more coaches succeed. It's not extractive — it's generative. The more money I make, the more people I reach, the more lives I impact.

That's not greed. That's a business model that works.

"But I Don't Want to Be Salesy"

I hear this objection all the time. "Jeremiah, I want to make money, but I don't want to be one of those pushy, salesy coaches."

Good. I don't want you to be that either.

Here's what I've learned: selling isn't sleazy when you genuinely believe your product will change someone's life.

If you had a cure for a disease and someone you loved had that disease, would you hesitate to tell them about it? Would you worry about being "too salesy" when offering them the solution to their problem?

Of course not. You'd be passionate about it. You'd be urgent about it. Because you know it works.

That's exactly how you should feel about your coaching. If you genuinely help people — if you have real frameworks, real results, real transformations — then NOT selling is the selfish act. Because people need what you have. And they can't get it if you're too scared to offer it.

Sales, done right, is service. It's saying, "I see your problem. I have the solution. Here's how we can work together." There's nothing sleazy about that.

How to Start Making More Money as a Coach Today

Enough mindset talk. Let me give you the tactical playbook.

Step 1: Fix your pricing.

Most coaches undercharge. If you're charging $50-$100 per session, you need to raise your prices immediately. Package your coaching into programs — not hourly sessions — and price based on the transformation you deliver, not the time you spend. A 12-week program that helps someone build a $5K/month coaching business is worth $1,000-$3,000. Price it accordingly.

Step 2: Focus on cash flow first.

Before you build the perfect course, before you design the logo, before you optimize your Instagram bio for the 47th time — make a sale. Get someone on a call. Present your offer. Close the deal. Cash flow solves 90% of your business problems.

I tell my WCA members: the fastest path to $10K/month is not a better website. It's better sales calls. Get good at selling your transformation, and the money follows.

Step 3: Build multiple revenue streams.

A healthy coaching business has layers:

• Group coaching ($97-$297/month) — Your bread and butter. Recurring revenue that grows every month.

• VIP/premium coaching ($500-$900/month) — For clients who want more access and faster results.

• 1:1 consulting ($3,000-$15,000+/month) — For serious players. Highest margin, highest impact.

• Digital products (courses, templates, guides) — Passive income that works while you sleep.

You don't need all of these on day one. Start with one offer. Get it working. Then layer on the next one.

Step 4: Invest in marketing.

You cannot grow past a certain point with organic content alone. At some point, you need paid advertising — Facebook ads, Instagram ads, YouTube ads — to reach people who've never heard of you.

I spend thousands per month on ads. And the return is 5-8x. For every dollar I put in, I get $5-$8 back. That's not an expense — that's a money-printing machine.

But you need cash flow first to fund it. That's why Step 2 is so important.

Step 5: Set a goal that scares you.

Most coaches set income goals that are "realistic" — which is code for "I already know how to hit this number." That's not a goal. That's a forecast.

I want you to set a goal that makes your palms sweat. If you're at $3K/month, set a goal for $10K/month. If you're at $10K, aim for $30K. The number should feel slightly crazy — because that's the level of thinking that produces breakthrough results.

The Abundance Mindset Is Real (And It's Not Woo-Woo)

I want to address something that I know turns some people off: the concept of "abundance mindset."

I get it. It sounds fluffy. It sounds like something someone says while trying to sell you a crystal.

But here's the thing: it's backed by neuroscience. Your beliefs about money literally shape the decisions you make in your business. If you believe money is scarce, you'll make fear-based decisions. You'll undercharge. You'll over-deliver for free. You'll avoid sales calls because rejection feels like proof of your unworthiness.

If you believe money is abundant — that there's more than enough for everyone, that your skills are valuable, that people want to pay you — you'll make expansive decisions. You'll charge what you're worth. You'll sell with confidence. You'll invest in growth.

This is what I was talking about in my post on creating financial abundance. The mindset shift isn't just feel-good advice. It's the foundation that everything else is built on.

For me, this shift was deeply tied to my faith. I believe God created me with gifts and that using those gifts to prosper is not just allowed — it's encouraged. But whether you're a person of faith or not, the principle is the same: you were not put on this earth to struggle and stay small. You were meant to thrive.

Stop Apologizing for Wanting Wealth

Here's my final message to you: stop apologizing for wanting to make great money as a coach.

The world needs your gifts. The people you're meant to serve need your help. And you can't deliver that help at the highest level while you're worried about making rent.

Make the money. Build the business. Help the people. Give generously. Live abundantly.

Those things are not in conflict. They never were.

Ready to Build a Coaching Business That Actually Pays You?

Inside Wealthy Coach Academy, we help coaches go from scraping by to scaling up. From undercharging to premium pricing. From hoping for clients to generating them on demand.

$197/month. Weekly live coaching with me. A community of coaches who are building real businesses. And the strategies that took me from broke musician to multiple six figures.

The name says it all: Wealthy Coach Academy. Because you deserve to be wealthy. And I'll show you how.

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