REALIFE Conversations for Christian Coaches · Teresa McCloy

EP. 374 - Can You Make Money As A Coach?

March 25, 2026·39 min·3 clips

Teresa and Erica tackle the blunt question every coach asks: can you really make money in this profession?

The question is plain. Coaches want to know if this work can become sustainable income, or if it has to stay beside another business. Teresa starts with her own practice. Her current model is not about stuffing the calendar with as many sessions as possible. Five clients can be plenty. For her, 20 sessions a month can be enough when paired with teaching in the network, calls, sales processes, content creation, speaking, training, workshops, and writing. Capacity changes. Five years earlier, she was probably working 35 to 40 hours, so the model has had to flex with the season. Erica brings a different path. Her work is spread across several kinds of clients rather than one narrow lane. She coaches inside the accelerator and serves certified coaches in the network, where ongoing training and CCE needs may matter for coaches in the ICF world. Team coaching is part of the mix too. She has served as an internal coach for businesses and coached teams from the top down in different seasons. Private clients still matter, and many of those relationships come through word-of-mouth referral. That kind of relational marketing fits her current life. Neither approach gets treated like the one right answer. The conversation keeps circling back to money, hours, season of life, and real capacity. Coaching can make money. The shape of that money depends on client mix, other revenue work, referrals, and honest limits.

As heard by us

A grounded look at coaching income, capacity, and what sustainable work can mean in practice.

Teresa McCloy and Erica Vinson frame a practical question with little fluff: whether coaching can hold up as a real source of income, or whether it works best as something built alongside other work.

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Why you'd press play

When you need a sane answer to whether coaching can really pay.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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