My first thought was I need to charge less because I don't have a lot of clients and that way I'll get more but I knew that was wrong ...I knew that really people buy value. Lowballing gets you tire kickers. In fact many people judge the value of your coaching by what you charge. So then I had to look at what is the value of what I'm delivering?; I mean if someone has a breakthrough it's priceless and I didn't have a lot of experience and lacked confidence. I got very stuck and as a coach I know that when we're stuck we need the help of another coach or maybe a therapist depending on the kind of stuckness. So in the end I went to a more experienced coach I was a acquainted with and talked to them about it. She told me I was never to charge less than x dollars which sounded a little high to me but not too high. She told me to practice asking for that amount until I felt comfortable with it. So the best advice I could give a new coach is ask for something more than you're comfortable with because after all, we are in the profession of helping people live with discomfort as they generate change in their own lives. If we're going to ask our clients to be comfortable with being uncomfortable as they make change in their lives we need to do the same.
Coming from the Marine Corps, I was wired to undercharge at first -- humility can work against you in business. What shifted my thinking was a conversation with a seller I'd helped avoid foreclosure; she told me the peace of mind was worth ten times what she'd expected to pay. That's when I realized new coaches often confuse their rate with their resume -- clients aren't paying for your years of experience, they're paying to skip the years of struggle you already went through so they don't have to.
When I first started coaching, I set my fee based on what I wished I'd paid for at the very beginning--a clear, simple system that could have accelerated my own journey. I charged what felt like a month's mortgage payment, because that's a tangible hurdle new investors face, and my coaching directly addressed how to overcome it. New coaches often misunderstand pricing by looking at what other coaches charge instead of focusing on the specific problem they solve; they're not selling coaching hours, they're selling a proven path to a result, like turning a first property into cash flow.
I set my initial fees by looking at the 'pain gap'--the financial and emotional cost of my client hiring a bad agent versus working with a top-performer who gets the job done right. New coaches often get stuck in the 'BS' of hourly rates, but they fail to realize that clients aren't buying your minutes; they are paying for the peace of mind and the shortcut that keeps them from ending up in a horror story of their own.
When I started coaching, I priced my sessions based on the return I knew my clients would see--not on how long we talked. For example, if I could help someone avoid a $10,000 mistake in their first flip, charging a few hundred dollars was a no-brainer for both of us. New coaches often miss that your price should reflect the transformation you deliver, not your insecurities about being new.
I've always priced my advisory work the same way I price a renovation: based on the end result, not just the raw materials. A new coach often misunderstands this; they sell their time by the hour, like a bag of nails, when they should be charging for the finished house--the complete, life-changing solution they are building for their client.
I based my initial rates on the actual cost of the mistakes I could help my students avoid; if I can save an investor from a $20,000 renovation blunder, charging a fraction of that for my time is a bargain. New coaches often misunderstand pricing by tying it to their time rather than the value of the 'door' they are helping the client open. It isn't about the hour you spend on the phone, but the decade of trial and error you're handing over to ensure their first flip or rental actually turns a profit.
Stoic Life Coach, Motivational Speaker, Podcast Host at Via Stoica
Answered 2 months ago
Deciding what to charge for a coaching product is always a difficult question. Especially when offering something like Stoic coaching, there is a bigger moral and ethical debate about it. You don't want to over-charge your clients, nor do you want to under-value your services. To determine my prices, I looked at the standard in the sector and who my target audience is. From then on, I've been working with the prices. I've had multiple coaching packages that I offered, but I reduced that to two options. 4-sessions or 12-sessions, which makes it easier for the client to decide.
I can't truly say "NOT AI" or act like many different, real coaches (although I did include several different examples of the types of coaching answers that real coaches can adapt to their own words) to illustrate how coaches generally define their pricing during the early stages. That is, they typically use fairly obvious anchors (based on how much clients currently pay someone else for somewhat similar services, what they want to deliver to individual clients over a period of time, and how to package sessions together so clients have an appropriate amount of time to achieve their expected outcomes). One common theme throughout all the examples reviewed is that at least some of the new coaches believe that pricing is based on hourly value only and not on the overall value of the service provided (i.e., client outcome, level of clarity, and level of momentum). The new coaches also have not thought about the fact that using an under-priced service to get a client interested in working with them could create a preconceived notion of being a low-commitment coach with low confidence and that pricing feedback is usually a reflection of an unclear offer rather than simply the dollar amount. Therefore, a simple way to try to move forward effectively with pricing is to have conversations with potential (or current) clients to determine the appropriate price level for their coaching service, create a definitive process for defining and providing that service, and after having defined the processes for both providing services and obtaining clients, periodically increase prices over time as they obtain additional clients who have committed to work with them.
I figured out my coaching rate by thinking back to when I was a mortgage banker--I'd see borrowers paying thousands in closing costs and interest because they didn't understand the process, so I priced my advisory work at what would have saved them a fraction of that pain. New coaches often misunderstand that pricing isn't about matching industry averages or feeling 'worthy'; it's about knowing the dollar value of the specific disaster you're helping someone avoid, whether that's a bad investment, a costly delay, or years spinning their wheels without traction.
When I first started teaching, I priced my mentorship like my company prices a distressed property--not based on the hours I put in, but on the value of a fast, simple, 'as-is' solution. We create a win-win deal that avoids costly delays and headaches for the seller. New coaches often get lost pricing their time; they should be pricing the outcome--the guaranteed, streamlined path to their client's goals that lets them bypass all the typical pitfalls.
Mousaab Khaldi Founder & Leadership Coach mousaabkhaldi.com When I initially began coaching, I followed the path of most novice coaches. I observed the fees others were setting, sensed that I lacked their level of establishment, and decided on a lower price. Much lower. I convinced myself it was a tactic. It was not. It was a lack of confidence with a business strategy linked to it. My initial price was essentially an expression of regret. Apologies for taking up your time. Apologies, I don't possess an extensive client list at this time. Here, enjoy a discount on my knowledge that was refined over a decade of genuine entrepreneurship — featuring a complete business failure and a year spent as a waiter. The issue with underpricing goes beyond just money. It's mental. When you set your fees too low, your clients do not view the work seriously. I observed it take place. Minimal investment means minimal commitment. The clients who paid me the least were the least prepared, canceled the most, and gained the least from the experience. That pattern educated me on pricing more than any course ever might. What new coaches often fail to grasp is that pricing serves as a positioning statement prior to being a revenue choice. The price you set indicates to the market which category you belong to. An inexpensive price doesn't draw in more customers — it brings in the wrong ones and drives away the right ones. As soon as I increased my prices considerably, a change occurred. Improved customers. More profound effort. Additional outcomes. And amusingly — greater appreciation for what I contributed. Evaluate the value of the transformation. Not what your confidence currently holds. Mousaab Khaldi mousaabkhaldi.com
Coming from three decades in non-profit operations, I initially underpriced because I was wired to measure success by community impact rather than revenue--I had to retrain myself to value the business guidance I was providing. What I learned, and what new coaches often misunderstand, is that your price creates a psychological commitment from your client; when people invest appropriately, they show up, do the work, and actually get results. Underpricing doesn't just hurt your income--it undermines the very transformation you're trying to deliver because clients don't have skin in the game.
When I first started coaching, my pricing strategy was one that sounds quite unscientific but which I think actually served me really well: I'd think of a number, and if saying it out loud made me cringe, I'd lower it slightly! When I landed on a price I felt comfortable and confident communicating to another person, whether that was a prospective client or a fellow coach, I trusted that signal. I repeated this process every few weeks in the early days of my practice as my comfort level grew, and adjusted my pricing accordingly. Essentially, what I was doing was using my nervous system to calibrate my pricing. Rather than beginning with the market rate and where I thought I logically measured up against it, I was relying on an embodied felt sense of who I was as a coach. That allowed me to show up to my early discovery calls authentically and without feeling like a fraud, and I think my clients could feel my comfort and congruence. I am now a coaching supervisor and coach trainer alongside my coaching practice, and I see lots of newer coaches who struggle with pricing in both directions. If you price too low, it can be easy to get stuck there; but on the other hand, pricing too high too soon can raise the pressure new coaches often place on themselves and limit your early client base. If you are charging a number that makes you uncomfortable, you can absolutely expect your prospective clients to pick up on that. Fortunately, the way out of both traps is the same: finding the number you can say out loud with real comfort and confidence.
When I first started coaching, I did not try to set a perfect price. I looked at two simple things. First, what people in my space were roughly charging. Second, what felt fair for the value and time I was giving. I started at a level that made it easy for people to say yes while I was still building trust and experience. In the beginning, the real goal was not maximizing income. It was getting real clients, learning from those conversations, and building proof that my coaching actually helped people. After working with a few clients and seeing real results, it became much easier to slowly raise the price. A big misunderstanding new coaches have is thinking price alone will position them as premium. Some people believe if they charge a very high fee, clients will automatically see them as more valuable. In reality people pay when they clearly understand the outcome they will get. For example, if a coach can explain how they help someone solve a real problem or reach a specific goal, clients are much more comfortable paying for that. But if the offer feels vague, even a low price can feel expensive. So the lesson is simple. Start with a price that feels reasonable, focus on helping people get results, and let the price grow naturally as your confidence and proof grow.
Determining pricing as a new coach can be difficult. Coaches should consider their experience, target market, and the value of their services. Researching market rates in their niche can help. A common misconception is that low prices attract clients, but this can suggest low value. New coaches often undervalue their services, overlooking the need to align pricing with the value they provide to clients.
When many coaches first start out, pricing often feels like a reflection of personal confidence rather than the real value of the transformation they provide, so the instinct is to charge cautiously in order to attract early clients. A more grounded approach is to evaluate the depth of the problem being solved, the time commitment required, and the tangible outcomes a client can reasonably expect from the coaching engagement. Early pricing decisions often come from observing market ranges, testing smaller packages, and gradually adjusting as demand and clarity around the coaching process develop. What new coaches frequently misunderstand is that extremely low pricing rarely builds momentum because it can unintentionally signal uncertainty and attract clients who are less committed to doing the work. "Pricing is not simply a number, it is a signal about the seriousness of the transformation being offered." As a coaching practice grows, many professionals realize that sustainable pricing must account not only for session time but also preparation, follow up support, business costs, and the long term impact the coaching relationship can have on a client's progress.
I'm reaching out on behalf of Steven Mitts from StevenMitts.com, a platform dedicated to business strategy, coaching, and mentorship. Steven is eager to contribute his professional perspective to your inquiry about how coaches determine their initial pricing and common misconceptions around coaching fees. From Steven's vantage point, deciding what to charge initially often involves balancing self-worth, market research, and understanding the value delivered to clients. A key insight Steven shares is that new coaches frequently underestimate the importance of aligning pricing with the transformation they provide, not just the time spent coaching. Steven believes transparent and authentic storytelling about pricing decisions can empower new coaches to set confident, strategic rates that sustain their growth and credibility. We would be happy to provide a personalized, original response written by Steven that thoughtfully addresses your questions by the deadline you've outlined. Please let us know if you would like to proceed or need any additional information.
When I first started coaching, pricing felt like one of the hardest decisions. I did not have years of experience yet, so I struggled with the idea of charging what established coaches were charging. At the same time, I knew that if I priced too low, people might assume the service was not valuable. I began by researching what other coaches in similar niches were charging and looked at the range rather than focusing on the highest numbers. That gave me a realistic starting point. I also considered the transformation I hoped to help clients achieve. Even as a newer coach, the conversations and support I offered had real value if they helped someone gain clarity, confidence, or direction. I set a price that felt respectful of my time while still being accessible for early clients. As I gained testimonials and experience, I adjusted my rates gradually. One thing many new coaches misunderstand about pricing is the belief that lower prices will automatically attract more clients. In reality, very low pricing can create the opposite effect. People often associate price with perceived value, especially in services that rely heavily on trust and expertise. Another misunderstanding is thinking that pricing should stay fixed until you feel completely confident. Confidence usually grows after you start working with clients, not before. Pricing is something you refine as you learn more about your audience, the outcomes you help create, and the demand for your work. Looking back, the most important step was simply choosing a starting point and allowing it to evolve with experience.