Many coaches begin their journey believing the first year will be logical and linear.
They train.
They qualify.
They put themselves out there.
Clients appear.
Momentum builds.
It is a comforting idea. It suggests that effort leads neatly to outcome, and that following the steps will produce predictable results.
In practice, the early months of coaching rarely unfold this way.
What shows up instead is something far more human. A set of patterns that have little to do with competence or potential and everything to do with identity, conditioning, and the vulnerability of stepping into work that asks you to be fully present as yourself.
These patterns are not signs of failure. They are not indicators that someone is unsuited to coaching. They are part of the psychological and emotional shift that occurs when a person stops performing a role and begins practising a profession rooted in relationship, self-awareness, and responsibility.
Below are the seven patterns I see most consistently in new coaches.
Undercharging
New coaches almost never undercharge because they lack value.
More often, they are still separating their professional worth from who they are as a person. They price their work based on qualifications alone, without yet recognising the role that lived experience, emotional intelligence, and presence play in effective coaching.
For many, pricing is influenced by old narratives around money, legitimacy, or needing to earn the right to charge. These beliefs are often inherited from previous careers where hierarchy, tenure, or productivity defined value.
Learning to price with confidence requires more than a calculator. It requires integrating who you are, what you bring, and how you work into a coherent sense of professional identity.
Over-delivering
Over-delivering is often mistaken for excellence.
Sessions run longer than planned. Follow-up messages become extensive. Additional support is offered without agreement. Boundaries soften, then quietly dissolve.
This behaviour usually comes from a genuine desire to help, but it is also driven by a need to reassure both the client and the coach that the work is worthwhile. Over time, the relationship can become unbalanced, with the coach carrying more emotional and energetic weight than intended.
Sustainable coaching is not about doing more. It is about creating clear structures that allow both coach and client to take responsibility for the work. Clean agreements protect the relationship and support better outcomes.
Ignoring the Mailing List
Many new coaches focus almost exclusively on social media, believing it to be the primary route to visibility and growth.
What is often overlooked is the importance of having a space that is not subject to algorithms, trends, or constant output. A mailing list provides a more intentional way to connect with people who are genuinely interested in your thinking and your work.
This is not about aggressive marketing. It is about continuity, reflection, and building relationships over time. Without it, growth can feel unpredictable and fragile, even when engagement appears high.
Niching Too Early
Pressure to niche early is common in the coaching industry.
New coaches are encouraged to define a niche before they have enough experience to know where their strengths lie or which types of clients they work best with. This often leads to decisions that feel forced or restrictive.
A niche is not a branding exercise. It is an outcome of experience. It emerges through patterns observed across sessions, themes that repeat, and work that consistently feels meaningful and effective.
Allowing yourself time to explore builds far stronger foundations than committing prematurely to an identity that may not fit.
Avoiding Visibility
Avoiding visibility is rarely about fear of being seen.
More often, it is about fear of being seen without a familiar professional identity to hide behind. Many new coaches delay putting themselves forward because they do not yet feel confident enough, established enough, or expert enough.
What is often missed is that confidence is developed through action, not preparation. Visibility is not a reward for certainty. It is a practice that builds it.
Showing up as you are, rather than waiting to become someone else, is part of the work of becoming a coach.
Continually Learning Instead of Building
Learning is essential in coaching, but it can also become a form of avoidance.
New courses, workshops, and qualifications provide structure and reassurance. They offer a sense of progress without the discomfort of being visible or accountable. Over time, learning can replace building, keeping the work safely theoretical.
Coaching only becomes real when it is practised. Skills develop through use, reflection, and experience, not accumulation. At some point, learning must be accompanied by action for growth to occur.
Skipping Their Own Inner Work
This is the pattern that underpins all the others.
Many new coaches attempt to build a practice without fully addressing their own patterns, survival strategies, or professional masks. These identities may have been necessary in previous careers, but they can limit presence, authenticity, and connection in coaching.
When a coach has not done their own inner work, sessions can feel effortful and draining. When that work is ongoing, coaching becomes lighter, clearer, and more effective.
The quality of a coach’s presence is inseparable from the quality of their self-awareness.
A Note for New Coaches
If you recognise yourself in any of these patterns, it does not mean you are failing.
It means you are learning what it takes to step into this work with integrity.
Becoming a coach is not simply about acquiring tools or frameworks. It is about learning how to be with others without armour, how to hold responsibility without control, and how to trust yourself in the work.
The first year is not designed to be smooth.
It is designed to teach you who you are when the familiar roles fall away.
That learning is not a detour from the work.
It is the work.
