Success Story: How to Scale a Coaching Business to $1M+
Here are the top 10 key takeaways from Nathan Barry's interview with Tiffany Uman about scaling a coaching business to seven figures and beyond.
1. From zero to seven figures in four years
Tiffany Human built her coaching business from zero to $1.1 million in revenue over four years, which Nathan describes as "absolutely phenomenal." She started her business during her maternity leave from L'Oreal, giving herself that time as a runway to build traction before deciding not to return to her corporate position.
Her growth trajectory included reaching multiple six figures in the first two years, breaking through the seven-figure mark from a lifetime revenue standpoint in 2023, and then hitting $1.1 million in 2024. This rapid growth demonstrates what's possible for coaches who approach their business strategically.
2. The four pillars business model
Tiffany outlined four key pillars that have helped her scale her coaching business. The first pillar is coaching, which has been the primary revenue driver since the beginning. The second pillar is media content, including newsletters, LinkedIn content, and a new YouTube video podcast that positions her as an authority in her space.
The third pillar focuses on events and experiences, both online workshops and in-person events. The fourth pillar is B2B services, where she works inside companies to provide the same coaching she offers individuals. These four pillars create a flywheel effect that fuels business growth across all areas.
3. Shifting from coach to CEO mindset
One crucial breakthrough was Tiffany's transition from thinking like a coach to thinking like a CEO. As a coach, she focused primarily on delivery and client experience. As a CEO, she now thinks more strategically about elevating the experience, building the team, improving operations, and enhancing retention.
This mindset shift meant becoming more operational in identifying business constraints and making hard decisions instead of just doing what she enjoyed. She described it as "moving away from my coaching hat to the CEO hat" and focusing on "what does it really take to build the machine that builds the machine." This perspective change was essential for breaking through revenue plateaus.
4. Solving for constraints proactively
A major difference between the $300-400K mindset and the million-dollar mindset is proactively solving for constraints. Tiffany explained that she had to stop shying away from difficult problems and start tackling them head-on, noting that "once you solve one problem, another one comes up."
She gave an example of how they improved their client onboarding process after identifying it as a constraint. The improvements to those first 30 days of client experience became "a game changer" for client impressions, referrals, and renewals. This constraint-focused approach requires regularly stepping back to identify bottlenecks and limitations in the business.
5. Reducing keyman risk
A significant limiting belief Tiffany had to overcome was around keyman risk – the idea that the business depended too heavily on her personally. Initially, she believed clients specifically wanted her coaching, but she realized this dependency limited growth. She made tactical shifts to reduce this risk and scale beyond the keyman constraint.
These shifts included changing her content to focus on client stories rather than her own, highlighting her team of experts, and building trust in other coaches within her organization. She emphasized that reducing keyman risk doesn't devalue the offering but actually enhances it by providing clients with multiple perspectives and more specialized expertise.
6. Improving retention to avoid the "leaky bucket"
Tiffany identified that fixing retention was crucial for breaking through to seven figures. Without good retention, the business became a "leaky bucket" that constantly needed new clients to replace those who left. She made strategic improvements to the front-end, middle, and back-end of her client experience to enhance retention.
Her approach involved creating ongoing value for clients beyond their immediate needs. Rather than just helping people find a job (which has "built-in churn"), she focuses on teaching skills for long-term career success. This provides clients with reasons to stay engaged with the business over time, increasing lifetime value and reducing customer acquisition costs.
7. Building a flywheel through B2B services
The B2B component of Tiffany's business creates a powerful flywheel effect. By working with companies like Microsoft, she gains credibility, exposure to potential individual clients, and a way to demonstrate value without requiring initial investment. This approach brings her directly to audiences full of her ideal clients.
To accelerate this flywheel, she focuses on outreach to leaders, leveraging her network, and building relationships. Her media content supports this effort by establishing credibility when potential clients research her. The B2B services ultimately feed back into her coaching business, creating a self-reinforcing growth cycle.
8. Leveraging AI for operational efficiency
Tiffany is proactively incorporating AI into her business operations and client offerings. Rather than viewing AI as a threat, she sees it as a tool to elevate the work her team and clients do. This perspective aligns with the Goldman Sachs CEO's view that while AI automates many tasks, human expertise in the remaining 5% becomes even more valuable.
She uses AI tools like ChatGPT and Notebook LM to categorize leads, identify conversion patterns, and automate follow-up strategies. The business is also exploring tools like Lindy.ai for workflow automation. This strategic approach to AI helps her team focus on high-value work while improving efficiency in other areas.
9. Building a team that elevates the brand
Tiffany emphasizes the importance of building a team that enhances rather than diminishes the brand's value. She recommends hiring industry experts and consistently elevating their expertise to clients. This approach ensures clients feel they're getting an upgrade when working with team members rather than feeling handed off.
Nathan shared similar experiences from his company Kit, describing how he highlights team members' expertise through podcast episodes and demonstration videos. When these assets are shared with new clients, they transfer credibility to team members. This strategy makes scaling possible while maintaining or even increasing perceived value.
10. Thinking longer-term to break through plateaus
Breaking through revenue plateaus required Tiffany to shift from short-term thinking to long-term strategic planning. She challenged herself to envision where she wanted the business to be in one, two, and five years, then reverse-engineered what changes needed to happen to get there.
This longer-term perspective helped her make necessary operational improvements, build the right team, and develop new offerings that align with her vision. For coaches stuck at $500-700K in revenue who want to scale beyond that level, she recommends this forward-thinking approach combined with identifying key risks and constraints in the business.