The 5 Identity Shifts You Need To Make To Grow Your Coaching Business In 2026

You can have the most beautiful, detailed plan in the world. Quarterly projects mapped out. Milestones set. Systems ready to go. But if you're not willing to show up as the version of yourself that your business actually needs? That plan is just pretty words on paper.

This is the part of planning everyone skips. We focus all our energy on the strategy - the what and the how - but we don't do the internal work of becoming the person who can actually execute that strategy.

The Uncomfortable Gap

Think about your vision for next year. What does your business look like at the end of 2026? What are you doing? How are you spending your days? Who are you working with? How do you feel?

Now here's the uncomfortable question: Is the version of you that exists right now capable of building that business?

I'm not asking if you're capable of wanting it. I know you want it. I'm asking if the way you're currently showing up, the habits you currently have, the decisions you're currently making, the boundaries you're currently setting or not setting - is that version of you going to build the business you just envisioned?

For most of us, the answer is no. And that's okay. That's actually the whole point.

There's a gap between who we are right now and who we need to become to create what we want to create. This gap is where most coaches get stuck.

The Identity Shifts That Changes Everything

Your identity is the story you tell yourself about who you are. And here's the thing about humans, we will always act in alignment with our identity. Always. Even when it works against us.

If you identify as someone who's "not good with money," you're going to make decisions that prove that identity true. If you identify as someone who's "not a natural marketer," you're going to avoid marketing or do it half-heartedly.

So if you want to build a different business next year, you need to consciously choose a different identity. You need to decide who you're becoming and then start making decisions from that place.
This isn't about pretending to be someone you're not. This is about growth. Real growth. It's about looking at who you are right now with compassion, and then consciously choosing to develop the qualities, the habits, the ways of thinking that will serve your vision.

Five Identity Shifts Every Coach Needs to Make

Based on thousands of conversations with ambitious women coaches, these are the five key identity shifts I've identified that make all the difference:

1. From Reactive to Intentional

Stop letting your inbox dictate your day. The intentional version of you has a plan and protects your time fiercely. She says no to things that aren't in her plan. She doesn't apologise for having boundaries. She understands that her attention is her most valuable resource and treats it that way.

2. From Perfectionist to Practitioner

How many brilliant ideas are you sitting on because they're not quite perfect yet? Your clients don't need you to be perfect. They need you to show up. They need your wisdom, your experience, your unique perspective. And they need it now, not in six months when you've finally decided it's good enough.

The practitioner version of you understands that done is better than perfect, and that you learn more from putting things out into the world than you ever will from keeping them in your head.

3. From People-Pleaser to Values-Led Leader

You cannot build a sustainable business if you're constantly betraying your own needs, your own values, your own boundaries in service of making other people comfortable.

The values-led leader version of you has clear criteria for who she works with and why. She communicates her boundaries clearly and kindly. She understands that saying yes to the wrong things prevents her from saying yes to the right things. She knows that being liked by everyone is neither possible nor desirable.

4. From Scarcity to Abundance

The scarcity version of you is always hustling, always anxious, always convinced that if you're not doing more, you're falling behind. She underprices because she's afraid no one will pay more. She says yes to things that aren't aligned because she's worried about the money.

The abundance version of you trusts your worth. She prices confidently. She's selective about who she works with. She invests in herself and her business because she believes in her ability to create returns on that investment.

Here's what's mad about this shift: it's not about having more money first. It's about thinking differently before the money shows up. The abundance mindset creates abundant results, not the other way around.

5. From Isolation to Connection

The isolated version of you thinks you need to have all the answers. She doesn't want to bother anyone. She sees other coaches as competition.

The connected version of you builds relationships intentionally. She asks for help when she needs it. She celebrates other people's wins. She understands that collaboration is more powerful than competition.

This is one of my core beliefs about marketing: relationships over algorithms. The connected version of you is building genuine relationships with potential clients, potential collaborators, and potential introducers. You're not just broadcasting content into the void.

The Daily Practice

So how do you actually make these shifts? The answer isn't sexy. It's not a hack. It's this: daily practice.

You make these shifts through small, consistent decisions that align with the identity you're choosing. Every single day, you have dozens of opportunities to choose the new identity over the old one.

When your inbox is overflowing and you want to spend your morning responding to everyone, you have a choice. When you're about to post something and that voice says "it's not good enough," you have a choice. When a potential client asks for a discount, you have a choice.

These tiny choices, made over and over again, create transformation. Not the big dramatic moments. The daily practice of choosing the new identity.

Start Today

Here's the truth: you don't become the person who builds that business and then build it. You build it by becoming that person. The transformation and the action happen simultaneously.

Your business is asking something of you. It's asking you to grow, to stretch, to step into a bigger version of yourself. That's uncomfortable. It's supposed to be uncomfortable. That discomfort is how you know you're growing.

So take that beautiful plan you created for 2026. And ask yourself:

Who do I need to become to build this?
Which of these five shifts is most important for me right now?
What's one daily practice I can implement to reinforce this new identity?

Then start making decisions from that future identity today. Not next week. Not in January. Today.

Because you're not someone who wants to sleepwalk into another year. You want to show up intentionally. You want to build something that matters.

And you can. You absolutely can.

Want support with making these shifts? That's exactly what my programs are designed for.

MASTERY is my 18 week business accelerator where we build the foundation together.

LEGACY is where we go deep together, 1:1, on the identity piece and build something that outlasts you.

Email me at [email protected] to explore what's right for you.