If you’ve ever had people come to you with questions like:

“Hey, can you help me with my resume?” or

“How do you manage your time so well?”

You might not realize it yet, but you’re already seen as an authority in their eyes.

And that’s the foundation of a potential business.

Whether it’s finances, career advice, time management, or any other area of expertise, the fact that people are seeking your help shows there’s demand for your knowledge.

I’ve personally experienced this and turned it into a side hustle that got me my first paid customer,  and I want to show you how you can do the same.

A Real-Life Example: Turning Attention Into Income

A few weeks ago, I was having a coaching session with a client, Anthony, a mechanical engineer who works in the automotive industry.

We originally started talking about YouTube, as he wanted to grow his personal brand and needed help establishing a content strategy (what content to make, how to make content faster, etc.)

(BTW, if you are interested, I offer a limited number of coaching sessions. Book a video call here, if you are interested)

As we were chatting, he shared he also had an Instagram account, which was more engaged, where he shared day-in-the-life content, giving his followers insight into the automotive and racing world, and what it’s like to be an engineer in such an industry.

He has a great page, so check him out here if you are interested

His posts gained a lot of traction, and he got lots of questions from engineering students and engineers who wanted to break into the industry.

At first, he monetized this attention through affiliate marketing, promoting books, tools, and resources via the Amazon Associates program.

But he wasn’t too happy with the results.

If you don’t know how this works, affiliate marketing is a business model where you get a small commission to share products and services. If customers sign up or buy products with your link, you get a small commission.

Now, as someone who’s been doing affiliate marketing over the last year (which led my online business to generate its highest revenue year ever), I let him know the commissions were too small and “not juicy enough,” and he could do better.

Affiliate marketing on platforms like Amazon often requires high volume to make significant money, and a $100 book might only earn you $2–$3 in commission (and that’s being generous).

So I let him know about a different approach, an alternative business model that is a bit more time-consuming, but which can pay a lot more; an online coaching business.

My Own Experience: Proving the Model

Now before you start screaming bloody murder and thinking I’m just rehearsing words I’ve seen somewhere else, let me share with you this is a tried and tested business model.

I’ve provided online coaching myself. I’ve done it. Here’s my full story:

Now, when I first started making content on YouTube, I shared advice for entry-level engineers and students on landing internships and jobs in corporate America.

A couple of my clients landed jobs at Amazon, Northrop Grumman, and Government organizations.

Like Anthony, I was getting questions as a result of posting strategic and helpful content on social media (in my case, YouTube). I was getting questions about

• Writing resumes and cover letters
• Preparing for interviews
• Navigating job applications without industry connections

The idea of coaching didn’t come to me until I saw other engineers on YouTube providing this service, so I decided to try it myself.

Why not?

I decided to offer career coaching sessions for $100/hour to start, and promoted it through my YouTube channel.

Initially, I was nervous.

I was wondering “would anyone even sign up?”

And to my surprise, the answer was YES!

People were interested in what I had to offer, it led me to getting my first paid client, and the beginning of a beautiful phase in my business journey.

Here are some of the results and testimonials:

Alright, now that we established some credibility and actual results, let me share with you what I suggested to Anthony to help him monetize his skills and expertise.

How I Helped Him Create a Coaching Offer

Here’s the step-by-step process I shared with him:

Step 1: Identify there is demand for what you know

In Anthony’s case, there was proven demand because people were already asking him questions on how to break into his industry.

He was getting questions like:

• “How can I get into the automotive industry?”
• “What skills do I need to land a job like yours?”
• “What’s the best way to prepare for interviews?

If people are asking you similar questions repeatedly, it’s a clear sign there’s demand for your knowledge.

That’s GREAT!

Step 2: Crafting the offer itself.

A clear offer allows your clients to know exactly what they’re getting out of your services.

In other words, why should they give you money? What challenges are you helping them solve?

For him, this meant creating a career coaching package tailored to help engineering students and young professionals break into the automotive industry.

Here’s what I suggested he included:

• Resume and cover letter feedback
• Guidance on identifying the right companies to apply to
• Tips for preparing for interviews
• General career advice for navigating the industry

This is exactly what I provided in my own coaching services. The main difference is he would be focused on the automotive industry.

3. Set Up a Booking System and Make it EASY for Your Clients to Book a Call

To streamline the process, I introduced him to Calendly, a tool that lets you set your availability and charge for appointments

Here’s how it worked:

Calendly allows you to:

• Sync with your Google calendar
• Set availability for evenings and weekends (after his full-time job)
• Created a simple booking page with a clear description of his services
• Added a payment option directly through Calendly

That’s it.

Simple and straightforward.

Step 4: Price Your Services

When it comes to charging per hour, I suggested he started at a rate of $100/hour.

That’s what I did.

Why $100? It’s attainable for most professionals and filters out people who aren’t serious.

Over time, as he built his reputation and collected testimonials and his social proof increased, he could increase his rates to $150, $250, or even higher.

You want to make it easy and affordable for your target audience to be able to afford you.

5. Promote the Offer: Don’t keep quiet

Anthony already had a following and presence on Instagram, so I suggested he kept everything there.

I mentioned he could put his calendly link on his bio, and whenever he posted content, to let people know he had started offering coaching sessions to help people break into the automotive industry.

A simple call to action like this:

On his bio:

• Want to break into the automotive industry? Book a one-on-one coaching session with me INSERT LINK

On content::

• BTW, want to break into the automotive industry? Book a one-on-one coaching session with me. Link in bio

Simple calls to action like that will let people know you offer your services and that you have a business. People won’t buy if they don’t know what you offer.

Now, this approach isn’t limited to engineering.

Whatever your niche, if people are already coming to you for advice, you have an opportunity to create a coaching business.

For example:

• Finances: Helping others budget, save, or invest.
• Career: Writing resumes, preparing for interviews, or navigating career transitions.
• Time Management: Teaching busy professionals how to organize their schedules.
• Relationships: Offering advice on conflict resolution or improving communication.

One thing I’ve learned is to identify the recurring problems people come to you with and create a focused offer around solving those problems.

Those are the steps I suggested for Anthony and let him know that if he did those things, it would only be a matter of time until he saw results and started making money online.

It’s worked for me, I’ve seen others try this method as well, and I’m 100% it will work for him.

Your Action Guide to Start Your Coaching Business

Here’s how you can get started today:

1. Identify Your Niche

Ask yourself:

• What questions do people often ask me?
• What problems have I solved for myself that others struggle with?
• Where am I seen as an authority?
• What do I do for work that others would find useful?

Remember you don’t have to be a level 10 expert to help someone.

All you need to start is be a level 3 to help someone starting from zero.

Always keep this in mind.

2. Create a Clear Offer

Focus on a specific problem and how you’ll help people. If people don’t know how you can help them, you will only confuse them, and if you make your potential clients think too much, they just won’t buy.

Outline your services, such as:

• One-on-one coaching calls, or you could also package calls
• Actionable feedback (resumes, schedules, etc.)
• Step-by-step guidance for achieving their goals

Make this clear and simple. You could charge for one hour, two hours, or even 30 minutes.

I started with one hour because it’s simple.

3. Set Up Your Tools

Use calendly or other similar tools to get started. I like calendly simply because I’ve used it forever, but there are other competitors out there, which work just as well.

Then just go ahead and set your availability based on your schedule.

4. Start Promoting

When you make content to attract an audience, or if people come to you for questions, let them know about your services and share your links with them.

You can start making content on your favorite social media platform, join Facebook groups, etc.

Here’s the key: make targeted content, answering your target audience’s most pressing questions.

For example, if you start a career coaching business, make content like:

• How to write a resume that stands out
• How to get a job in corporate America with no connections
• The best certificate for project managers (and make more money)

This type of content is very targeted and it will attract the audience you are seeking.

This is what i did as well:

Now, here comes the spicy part:

When you make content, always have call to actions (CTA) to your social media profiles, and mention your coaching offers in your content.

If you are not letting people know about your service, don’t expect them to just know what you offer.

As an example, you can say:

“Hey guys, by the way, if you want to talk with me, I do offer 1:1 coaching sessions, where I can help you save time, avoid mistakes, and achieve X faster.”

5. Collect Testimonials

Start collecting testimonials as soon as you get your first client (you could even start coaching a few people for FREE, and collect their testimonials to boost your social proof).

Testimonials will help you build trust and credibility, and also charge more.

One of the entrepreneurs who does this best is Jeff Cavaliere from AthleanX. I’m sure you’ve heard about him.

He’s very good at leveraging his testimonials.

Alright, Here’s the Bottom Line

If people are already coming to you with questions, they see you as an authority.

By turning that attention into a coaching business, you can help others, share your knowledge, and earn extra income.

Don’t overthink it, start small, get feedback, and refine your offer over time.

If you’re ready to explore this further, let’s chat!

Book a free call with me here, I offer a limited number of consultations, where I’ll help you map out your first steps.