Seven-Figure Life Fulfilment - Ken Steven

Running a coaching or consulting business should bring freedom, fulfilment, and financial stability. Yet for many, the reality is burnout, underpayment, and frustration. In this conversation between host Ken Steven and business coach Robin Waite on the Seven-Figure Life Fulfilment Podcast, we explore practical strategies to shift from overworked and underpaid to profitable and sustainable.

What We Discussed on Seven-Figure Life Fulfilment

1. Most coaches lack a plan: Over 75% of entrepreneurs score themselves poorly on business planning.
2. Capacity limits matter: A coach cannot realistically manage more than 20 one-to-one clients.
3. Hourly rates trap income: As efficiency improves, hourly billing reduces earnings instead of increasing them.
4. Packages shift focus to value: Clients buy transformations, not time; packaging services highlights outcomes.
5. Productisation creates expertise: Doing one thing well for a niche market positions you as the go-to expert.
6. Qualification prevents problems: Simple pre-screening ensures you work only with dream clients.
7. Confidence drives pricing: Incremental increases and emotional self-belief unlock higher revenue potential.

Why Coaches and Consultants Struggle Financially

Despite their expertise and passion, many coaches and consultants find themselves short of their revenue goals. Robin Waite highlights several common issues:

• Lack of planning: Most entrepreneurs leap into business without a solid plan. Robin’s research found that 76% rated their business plan 4/10 or below, and over 25% admitted they had no plan at all.
• Time-for-money trap: Selling hours or days at a fixed rate quickly leads to exhaustion. When you factor in admin, marketing, holidays, and personal responsibilities, the maths simply does not add up.
• Undervaluing services: Many professionals underestimate their worth, believing more time and effort equals more value. In reality, perceived transformation is what matters to clients.

The One-Page Business Plan

Robin introduces a simplified planning method that clarifies key business drivers:

• Revenue goals for the year
• The number of clients that can realistically be served
• Pricing aligned to both capacity and value
• Productisation of services

For example, if a coach wants to earn £100,000 and can manage 20 clients annually, each client package needs to be priced at £5,000. The focus then shifts from selling hours to designing a transformational offer that justifies that price point.

Shifting from Hours to Packages

Why Hourly Rates Don’t Work

• They cap your income potential.
• Efficiency improvements actually reduce your revenue.
• Clients expect unlimited access and drag projects out.

Benefits of Packaging Services

• You define scope and value clearly.
• Clients focus on outcomes, not hours.
• Packages allow for scalability with associates or subcontractors.

Robin calls this value-based pricing, charging based on the transformation rather than the time spent.

Productising Your Services

Robin shares a powerful case study of a virtual assistant who loved podcasts. Originally charging $25/hour for miscellaneous tasks, she transitioned into a Podcast Concierge Service:

• Created a package: placement on 10 quality podcasts for $1,000.
• Quadrupled her effective hourly rate.
• Built scalable systems in ClickUp to bring in associates profitably.
• Introduced client qualification via a pre-call quiz to avoid mismatched clients.

This illustrates the three pillars of productisation:

1. Market niche – who you serve.
2. Product niche – what you offer.
3. Pricing niche – how you charge.

Where all three overlap, you establish yourself as the go-to expert, and experts command higher fees.

Overcoming Capacity and Burnout

Robin also points out the importance of capacity management:

• Coaches: Maximum of 20 one-to-one clients.
• Consultants: Often fewer, around 5–10, due to heavier involvement.
• Scaling option: Introduce associate coaches/consultants with at least 50% margin.

Additionally, moving consultations online instead of in-person saved Robin 20 hours per week, reducing travel fatigue and increasing focus.

Pricing: The Head and the Heart

While planning and pricing are logical exercises, buying decisions are mostly emotional. Robin uses a pricing auction exercise with clients, gradually raising the proposed price until the client’s instinct reveals their true sense of worth.

Conclusion

Building a successful coaching or consulting business is not about working longer hours or serving more clients — it’s about working smarter. By productising services, setting clear capacity limits, and pricing based on value rather than time, professionals can double their revenue while cutting their workload in half. The real transformation comes when coaches stop undervaluing themselves and start designing businesses that deliver both impact and freedom.