How to Build a Coaching Business While Working Full-Time (Without Burning Out)
I built a multi-six-figure coaching business while working full-time and homeschooling three kids.
And no, I don't work 18-hour days. I don't sacrifice sleep. I don't have a nanny or a full-time assistant.
I just have systems that work for my actual life.
If you've ever thought "I don't have time to build a business while working full-time," this post is going to challenge that belief.
Because here's the truth: You don't need 12 hours a day. You don't need to quit your job first. You just need to be strategic about how you spend your time.
Let me show you exactly how I do it.
The Launch Cycle That Almost Broke Me
A few years ago, I was stuck in what I call "the launch cycle."
I was launching a $1,000 program every single month. Same strategy. Same webinar. Same pitch. Same emails.
Month after month after month.
And at first, it was working. I was making money. I was helping people. Everything looked good from the outside.
But on the inside? I was exhausted.
It got to be really mundane and stressful. And I felt like I couldn't create anything else in my business because I thought I had to put everything into that one program.
I was trapped in this cycle of: Launch. Deliver. Launch again. Deliver again.
The Shift to Low-Ticket Offers
Then I started creating low-ticket offers. Things priced at $5, $27, $47.
And something shifted.
Not only was this something that I desired, but it was what my audience desired as well.
Instead of seeing a handful of sales come in once a month, I was seeing a handful of sales coming in every single day.
That was a game changer for:
My confidence
My momentum
My consistency
My income stability
Low-ticket offers brought more people into my world because they weren't shut down with the barrier of a $1,000 price tag. They could start with literally $5.
Low-ticket didn't replace my high-ticket work. It supported it.
I still work with high-ticket clients. But now I have consistent daily income PLUS the bigger influxes from client work.
That's the model that works for me.
What Passive Income Actually Means
Let's talk about passive income. Because I know some of you just rolled your eyes at that phrase.
The phrase "passive income" is old. We've heard it for over a decade.
And for a while, it felt like:
Affiliate income (not my thing)
"Set it and forget it" scams
Something that required a huge audience
But that's not what passive income actually means.
My Definition of Passive Income
As a mom who works full-time and homeschools three kids, passive income is a way for me to support the lifestyle my family needs and desires.
Passive income is ADDITIONAL income.
Not only are you bringing in income from clients, but you're bringing in income from digital offers.
You create something once. People can purchase it. It doesn't require any additional output from you because you've already created it.
That's passive income.
It's not fake. It's not a scam. It's just smart business.
How Passive Income Changes Everything
When I work with coaches who have a full roster of clients but are completely burned out, passive income changes their situation completely.
They get to:
Redesign their entire day and week
Feel in control of their time with family and business
Stop worrying about where the next client is coming from
Build an offer suite that serves them for years
Clients bring in bigger influxes of income. Low-ticket offers provide freedom and contentment.
If you bring in a handful of sales every single day, that adds up significantly over 30 days.
When clients see that this is possible for them, it unlocks a treasure trove of ideas for future offers.
They get their mornings back. Their afternoons back. They narrow down client call times. They eliminate discovery calls entirely.
They have more time with their family and more time to build their business.
We shouldn't only be sitting in front of the computer to go on client calls. We should also be creating and building new things.
My Actual Thursday Schedule
Let me walk you through my actual schedule on a typical Thursday (my client working day).
Morning Routine (1-1.5 hours)
Self-care first. I take care of myself before I touch my business.
Then I work through my business admin checklist:
Check on my ads
Review sales from the previous day
Calculate ROI (so I'm not flying blind)
Pull levers on ads (turn things up or down based on performance)
Check in with clients in Asana and Voxer
Clear and organize email
Clear social media notifications
Update bookkeeping
Peek at current projects (quick wins only)
All of that takes about an hour. Maybe an hour and a half max.
Work Day (8 hours)
Then I go to my full-time job and work a full eight hours.
Afternoon/Evening
After work, I:
Check in with my kids on their independent homeschool work
Help them individually if needed
Sometimes do activities together
On Thursdays specifically, I have client calls scheduled in the evening.
Then: Dinner (my husband usually cooks). Slow evening. Workout together. Bed early.
What I DON'T Do
I don't spend a ton of time on social media. It actually kind of irritates me.
I post what I need to and move on.
I've tried being more "present" on social media. I've done all the engagement tasks people recommend.
And I honestly haven't seen a huge influx of growth with different engagement strategies.
So I do what I can when I can. And that's enough.
The Truth About "Not Having Time"
When a coach tells me "I don't have time to build a business while working full-time," here's my response:
If you're waiting to have time to build a business, you'll be waiting forever.
People think building a business requires sitting in front of a computer 12 hours a day.
It doesn't.
I built my business while:
Raising three kids
Working full-time
Homeschooling
Giving it my all for a couple hours a day during nap times
Would my business have grown faster if I had 12 hours a day to dedicate? Maybe.
But that's not the plan God had for me. And honestly? I'm grateful for how it happened.
Because I learned to be efficient. I learned to prioritize. I learned what actually matters and what's just noise.
What 2015 Lindsay Needed to Hear
If I could go back and tell 2015 Lindsay one thing, it would be this:
You don't need to be online all the time.
You don't need to carry your laptop 24/7.
Working 8 hours at your job and then adding 7 more hours to your day doesn't make you productive. It makes you exhausted.
Once you prioritize what needs to get done daily, you can do it in an hour.
Just because you have the screen up doesn't mean you're being productive.
Also: Stop comparing someone's middle to your beginning.
That's a great way to crash and burn everything you've built.
Keep your eyes on what's important for your family. Not how everyone else is doing it.
Trust your gut when it comes to strategies and tools. Usually your gut is telling you the right thing.
The Color-Coded System That Changed Everything
Want to make progress in your business THIS WEEK without burning out?
Here's a system you can set up in 2 hours or less that will change how you manage your time.
Step 1: Write Down Your Non-Negotiables
List everything that needs to get done each week. Your non-negotiable tasks.
Step 2: Color Code Everything
Grab 5 different colored highlighters.
Color code each task:
Pink = Social media
Yellow = Email admin
Blue = Course creation / content
Orange = Learning / personal development
Green = Client work
Step 3: Assign Colors to Days
Take each color and assign it to a specific day:
Mondays = All pink tasks (social media)
Tuesdays = All blue tasks (creation)
Wednesdays = All yellow tasks (email)
Thursdays = All green tasks (clients)
Fridays = All orange tasks (learning)
Step 4: Execute
Now you're not tackling the mountain every single day. You're breaking it into daily themes.
You can actually check everything off each day and feel accomplished instead of disorganized.
I've been using this system for years and it keeps me sane.
When you have limited time - and we all do - you need systems that actually work.
Not complicated project management tools. Not fancy apps.
Just a simple color-coded system that tells you: Today is social media day. Tomorrow is creation day.
Final Thoughts
If you're working full-time and wondering if you can build a coaching business, the answer is yes. Absolutely yes.
But you have to be realistic about what it takes.
You have to:
Prioritize what actually matters
Let go of the idea that you need to be online 24/7
Build systems that work for your actual life (not someone else's)
Be okay with building slowly and sustainably
That's how you build something that lasts.
Your full-time job isn't stopping you from building a business. It's supporting you financially while you build.
Don't let it be your excuse. Let it be your foundation.