Building a Strong Coaching Brand with Stacey Gonzales
You’ve got your coaching certification — and then … crickets.
For many new coaches, the next step can feel overwhelming: where to advertise, how to find your first clients, and, perhaps most importantly, how to build your brand. Branding is a journey, and it’s one of the most crucial aspects of growing a successful coaching business.
To help you get your coaching business off the ground, we sat down with Stacey Gonzales, one of Nuumani’s founding coaches and the founder of Unlock, a personal branding agency for coaches. In this conversation, she shares her real-world advice and answers the 4 most important questions for beginner coaches and those just starting out.
In those early days, the simplest path to clients is letting people know what you do and why you do it.
Where should a coach who is just starting out begin with branding?
This is one of the best questions new coaches ask (and one many skip over).
Here’s the truth: when you’re starting out, you probably don’t have a formal “brand identity” yet — and that’s totally fine. The most powerful first step is to begin telling your story.
Start small: reach out to people you already know (friends, former colleagues, family) with a message like:
Why I became a coach
What makes me uniquely qualified
What I believe about transformation
How I work with clients and enroll them
How someone can learn more or explore working with me
Many people have heard of coaching but never considered it for themselves. When you open that door with clarity and vulnerability, you begin to build a personal brand rooted in human connection, not polished graphics or perfect taglines.
In those early days, the simplest path to clients is letting people know what you do and why you do it.
How can a coach stand out from others?
Standing out doesn’t come from copying what’s already working — it comes from owning your unique voice and results.
To begin:
Do excellent work with your early clients and deliver results. Someone once told me, “clients don’t pay for coaching, they pay for results.”
Ask them for referrals. When a client trusts you, they share you with others. Build trust and ask them to share you.
Ask them to write testimonials, ideally ones that include concrete, measurable outcomes they experienced.
Share your client wins on your social media and in your conversations.
Every coach carries a distinct perspective and energy. Once you have testimonials and outcomes, you can amplify what makes you different. From there, choose a platform that aligns naturally with you:
Start a podcast and talk to your ideal clients
Create consistent social media content
Speak at local events
Write a book or long-form content
Here’s what I typically help new coaches clarify first:
Your why
Key lived experiences
Professional credibility (background, training, results)
Your offer
Your enrollment process
Once those are clear, the positioning and digital assets follow through an iterative process.
How can a coach build a personal brand, and is having their own website important?
I always tell my clients this: your website is more for you than it is for your prospective clients.
Why? Because building a site forces you to make foundational decisions:
How will you tell your story?
Who is your ideal client?
What is your enrollment process?
What offers will you present?
These are not trivial questions, they are the backbone of a sustainable coaching business. Yes, a digital presence is helpful, but it’s secondary to:
Connecting (one-on-one, real conversations)
Knowing how to close (converting interest into clients)
Doing excellent work
Talking about branding, we’ve found this 4-minute interview about what brand isn’t.
A shiny website won’t bring clients by itself. But the clarity you gain from creating one will save you time, second-guessing, and costly pivots down the line.
What are the most common branding mistakes new coaches make and how can they avoid them?
Here are some pitfalls I see over and over, and how you can sidestep them:
1. Overinvesting in a digital branding that no one sees — Don’t dump major budget into a digital assets before you have clarity on who you help, how you help them, and the results you deliver.
2.Using AI to generate social content and wondering why no one is noticing it — This often creates bland, generic content. It’s better to lean into your voice, perspectives, and personality. People resonate with people. You are the brand. We don’t need more generic AI content adding to the noise.
3. Trying to reach everyone and ending up reaching no one — When you speak to everyone, you resonate with no one. Niching (even modestly) allows you to be more visible and magnetic to your people.
Focus on clarity, connection, and results. Tell your stories honestly and authentically. Let those be your foundation and the rest of your brand will build naturally from ther
As a new coach, you can always join our community of over 20 other coaches for support and connection. Take advantage of free resources and subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated with tips and insights that will help you grow and successfully build your coaching business.
As always,
Your Nuumani Team!
