Abigail Libers

Before launching our new coaching feature, we asked a few Teachable members to test it out. Here, we sit down with David Beckett of Best 3 Minutes to learn how coaching has helped him reach his business goals.

Before starting his business seven years ago, David Beckett had a corporate job working for Canon (the camera company) and even wrote a book about Amsterdam, where he lives. He’d always been passionate about start-ups and pitching and decided to turn that passion into a business. Today, he and his team teach companies—big and small—on how to successfully pitch and sell their ideas.

“We help people find their voice for their great idea,” Beckett explains. “Our goal is to help people shine when they need to. If they shine, so do we.” Here, Beckett shares how he’s grown his business and how coaching has played an integral role in his success.

Q: Tell us more about your business. What services do you provide?

A: People don’t have time to hear a 30 to 45-minute pitch anymore, so we show entrepreneurs a methodology that helps them make their pitch in three to five minutes. I originally created the methodology for startups but it’s relevant for convincing people of any idea.

Q: When and why did you join Teachable?

A: We discovered Teachable in 2018 and it made everything so much easier. Before joining Teachable, we did all of our workshops in person. We tried to create courses online but found it too difficult. We were able to shift from face-to-face training to online, which has been so crucial during COVID-19.

Q: How have you grown your business?

A: Our customers tend to find us on LinkedIn and YouTube. There’s one video in particular that’s been viewed over 350,000 times. People will watch a video and then reach out. Offering free content also helps us generate business. For example, we offer a free, one-page brainstorming tool called The Pitch Canvas, which gets downloaded 300 times per week.

Q: Have you always offered coaching services?

A: I’ve always done group coaching but I used to turn people away from 1:1 coaching because the whole process was so difficult—finding a time, booking the appointment, invoicing, etc. With Teachable, all of that is taken care of.

Q: How has Teachable’s new coaching feature helped with your business?

A: Because the whole process is so easy, it reduces the amount of work I have to do by 70 to 80 percent. When someone books a coaching session, they pay online and click a link to schedule it. That’s it. It adds value to my customers, and it’s an extra way for me to make money.

It also helps improve my branding. Being able to offer coaching through Teachable makes what I do feel more like a complete story. Instead of just saying we offer a workshop, we can say we also have an online academy and 1:1 coaching. It builds confidence in our customers and makes them feel like they’re in good hands.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about the coaching feature?

A: I like that coaching is a separate product, which means people can book a session with me (or someone on my team) without having to sign up for a course. Or, they can book a coaching session at a discounted rate when they sign up for a course. People quite often need additional coaching—usually just an hour to sharpen their pitch—and I’m happy to offer it at a discounted rate since they’re already a customer. I see it as a package and it helps me make sure they’re successful in the end.

Learn more about Teachable’s coaching feature and how you can use it to grow your business

We sit down with Abbi Perets of Successful Freelance Mom to learn how coaching has helped her reach her business goals.

Abbi Perets has been a freelance writer for over 20 years. After working in marketing at a boutique agency, she made the switch to freelance writing when she had her first baby. She realized she didn’t have time to work a regular schedule but she could squeeze in three or four hours of writing a day.

So she started building up her freelance clientele while continuing to have children—she now has five kids, one of whom has special needs. “Freelance writing has allowed me to have a career and be a mom,” says Perets. Now, she shows other women how they can do the same. Here, Perets shares how she grew her business and how coaching has played an integral role in her success.

Q: Tell us about your business. What services do you provide?

A: I teach moms how to become freelance writers so they can make money working from home and still have time to spend with their kids. I started teaching other moms at the end of 2016. I created my website and learned how to build courses

Q: When and why did you join Teachable?

A:. I discovered Teachable in 2017 and realized it would make me look more professional so I joined and have been using it to host my courses ever since. I keep adding content to my evergreen courses, and I’ve built a solid community on Facebook.

Q: How have you grown your business?

A: Facebook groups are a big way I get clients. I had joined some mom groups when my son with special needs got sick, and I realized there were a lot of moms like me who wanted to make money working from home. I started answering their questions about copywriting and content, in general, and realized I could turn all the stuff I was teaching them into a course.

Another way I’ve grown my business is through podcasts. They’re a great way to talk about your business and get your name in front of a lot of people. Plus, they’re a lot of fun! It’s always nice to connect with smart, like-minded people.

Q: Have you always offered coaching services?

A: In addition to my courses, I’ve always offered group coaching and 1:1 coaching. People could book 1:1 sessions with me as its own service or in addition to being enrolled in one of my courses.

Q: How has Teachable’s new coaching feature helped with your business?

A: It’s made it so much easier for my clients to book calls with me. I love that it’s so tightly integrated into my courses, and booking is streamlined so it doesn’t require as many tools. I can easily offer coaching calls at places in the program where I know people tend to get stuck. Being able to offer coaching on Teachable is a win-win for me and my clients—they get access to me if they need more help and I get an additional revenue stream.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about the coaching feature?

A: I love that I can build the upsell right into the course—it feels organic and not forced at all. My clients get a lot of value from the calls. They always tell me how much fun it is and ask if they can do it again.

Q: What’s the biggest benefit of coaching?

A: It gives me a chance to get up close and personal with my students. When we get on a call, we can talk through what’s holding them back and preventing progress. It also helps me look at my courses through their eyes and see what I can improve upon. But ultimately, coaching helps me build deeper, more intimate relationships with my students, which helps me serve them better in the long run. I get so much out of working with them—it really fills me up and excites me, which helps fuel my business.

Learn more about Teachable’s coaching feature and how you can use it to grow your business.