Under 1 year in
Almost everyone starts below their eventual rate, and most stay there longer than they planned.
Reaching 1 to 4 years moves the floor by about $20,000 a year. That gap is the real argument for raising your rate before you feel ready: the ladder is priced in steps, not in a smooth curve.
The whole ladder
- Under 1 year — you are hereFinding the first clientHourly$25 to $40/hrAnnual$20,000 to $30,000
- 1 to 4 yearsBuilding the practiceHourly$43 to $75/hrAnnual$40,000 to $65,000
- 5 to 9 yearsA full bookHourly$65 to $120/hrAnnual$65,000 to $100,000
- 10 to 19 yearsReferral-fedHourly$100 to $200/hrAnnual$90,000 to $180,000
- 20 years and upSelling judgementHourly$150 to $200+/hrAnnual$120,000 to $300,000+
What that looks like by niche
Experience sets the floor, but the niche sets the ceiling. These are the entry hourly bands for the niches the source data breaks out.
- Executive coachingThe boardroom rateHourly$150 to $250/hr
- Business coachingThe revenue rateHourly$100 to $200/hr
- Health and wellnessThe habit rateHourly$50 to $100/hr
- Career coachingThe next-job rateHourly$75 to $150/hr
- Life coachingThe starting rateHourly$50 to $100/hr
- Relationship coachingThe two-people rateHourly$75 to $125/hr