How to Start a Recovery Coaching Business: A 90-Day Plan
Here is how to start a recovery coaching business in eight steps: write down your scope and a referral list before anything else, choose one client group (people in early recovery, families, or people a year or more in), build two or three packages around daily support between sessions, price them from your income target, set up a simple legal base (entity, EIN, insurance, a coaching agreement), put booking, payments, check-ins and a website on one platform, win your first 10 clients through referral relationships, and keep clients with a structured program instead of loose weekly calls. The plan below fits the setup into about 30 days and aims for a first cohort of clients within 90.
This guide assumes you have already decided to coach. If you are still weighing training and certification, start with how to become a recovery coach and come back. Everything below is about the business: offers, money, paperwork, tools, clients and delivery.
A scope line before we start. Recovery coaching is not treatment. A recovery coach does not diagnose, detox, prescribe, or replace therapy, medical care or mutual-aid groups. You help a person set recovery goals, build routines, solve practical problems and stay connected to support. When someone needs clinical care, your job is to refer them, and this article treats that referral system as part of the business, not an afterthought.
What are the steps, and how long does each take?
The fastest path is about four weeks of setup followed by eight weeks of client-finding and delivery. Time and cost below are typical ranges for a solo coach in the US; your state, training and choices will change them.
| Step | Time | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Write your scope statement, crisis plan and referral list | 3 to 5 days | $0 |
| 2. Pick one client group and design two or three packages | 1 week | $0 |
| 3. Set prices from an income target (pricing math below) | 1 day | $0 |
| 4. Choose a structure and get an EIN | 1 to 2 weeks | Sole proprietorship $0; LLC state fee varies; EIN $0 from the IRS |
| 5. Get professional liability insurance | 3 to 7 days | Varies; get two or three quotes |
| 6. Write a coaching agreement and intake form | 3 to 5 days | $0 with your own draft; attorney review varies |
| 7. Set up your platform: website, booking, payments, check-ins | 1 to 3 days with a done-for-you build | One monthly subscription (see the stack table) |
| 8. Reach referral partners and book your first 10 clients | 4 to 8 weeks | $0 to a small ad test |
If you want a one-page version of this plan to keep beside you, the coaching business plan template has a filled-in example you can adapt.
Is recovery coaching a viable business niche?
Yes, if you sell something people can clearly picture: structured, daily support between clinical appointments and meetings, for a defined stretch of time. The role itself is established. Peer support specialists, the publicly funded cousin of private recovery coaches, help people set recovery goals, practise new skills, monitor progress and build recovery plans, and the US Department of Health and Human Services recognised peer support services as an evidence-based practice in 2007, according to Wikipedia's summary of the field. The same source notes that by 2016, 42 states, the District of Columbia and the Veterans Administration had adopted programs to train and certify peer support specialists.
Who pays for private recovery coaching?
- The person in recovery. Usually someone who has finished a treatment program or is in outpatient care and wants more structure and accountability than a weekly session gives them.
- Families. Parents, partners and adult children often pay for a loved one's coaching, or for their own coaching on boundaries, communication and how to support someone without carrying them.
- Professionals with something to protect. People in demanding jobs who want private, flexible support that fits around work.
- Organisations. Treatment centres, sober living houses and recovery community organisations sometimes contract coaches for alumni or residents. This is steadier income but often comes with the organisation's own certification and record-keeping requirements.
Do you need a credential to run the business?
For a private, client-paid practice in most places, coaching itself is not a licensed profession, but the answer depends on where you work and who pays. When peer support specialists work in publicly funded services, they must meet state certification requirements (per the same Wikipedia summary), so any contract with a treatment provider or a Medicaid-funded program will likely require a state peer or recovery certification. Private clients will also ask about your training. The full comparison of certification routes is in our guide to becoming a recovery coach, so we will not repeat it here. If you hold or are working toward an ICF credential, Coachful's ICF hour tracking counts your coaching hours and distinct clients against ACC, PCC and MCC thresholds as you go.
Where are the edges of your scope?
Write these into your agreement, your website and your intake form, and say them out loud on the first call:
- Refer to medical care for withdrawal symptoms, a plan to stop alcohol or certain medications suddenly, or any physical health concern. Withdrawal can be medically dangerous and is never a coaching task.
- Refer to crisis services for thoughts of suicide or self-harm, overdose risk, or danger at home. In the US, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline takes calls and texts at 988; include your country's equivalent and local emergency numbers in every client's welcome pack.
- Refer to licensed clinicians for trauma processing, co-occurring mental health conditions, eating disorders or anything that needs diagnosis.
- Keep mutual-aid and treatment in place. Coaching sits alongside meetings, therapy and medication, never as a replacement for them.
Your referral list should name at least one addiction medicine clinic, two or three therapists, a local crisis line, family support groups and a sober living contact. It is also your best marketing asset, as you will see in the client section.
Who is your client, and what will you sell?
Pick one group and sell a time-bound program with daily touchpoints. "Recovery coaching" on its own is too broad; "90 days of structure after residential treatment" or "coaching for parents of a young adult in recovery" tells the right person you are for them.
Common client groups for a new practice:
- Early recovery after treatment (the first 90 days after leaving a residential or intensive outpatient program).
- Family recovery (the people who love someone in or out of recovery).
- Sustained recovery and life rebuilding (a year or more in, working on career, relationships and purpose).
- Adjacent recovery niches such as burnout or divorce recovery, which use the same program shape. See the burnout recovery coaching framework and infidelity recovery coaching stages if that is your direction.
Three example packages
These are examples to adapt, not templates you must copy. Each one is built around what happens between calls, because that is where recovery coaching earns its fee.
- Foundations: 90 days after treatment. Weekly 50-minute calls, a morning check-in (plan for the day, energy, cravings on a 1 to 10 scale) and an evening check-in (what went well, what was hard), four to six daily habits such as a meeting, movement, a meal and a call to a support person, and a written relapse-prevention plan you build together in week two. Messaging between calls during set hours.
- Family Steady: 8 weeks for loved ones. Weekly calls with one or two family members, a short course on boundaries and communication, a weekly reflection check-in and a private group space with other families. Useful as a stand-alone offer and as a referral source for Foundations.
- Keep Going: monthly membership. Two calls a month, weekly check-ins, a monthly group call and community access, for clients who finish Foundations and want lighter ongoing support. This is the package that keeps revenue steady.
On Coachful each of these becomes an offer with its own checkout, so a client can buy Foundations and be enrolled in the program, the check-ins and the group automatically. The coaching packages page shows the options for one-time, subscription and payment-plan pricing.
How should you price recovery coaching packages?
Work backwards from the income you need, the costs you carry and the number of clients you can support well. Recovery clients need more contact than a typical life coaching client, so capacity is usually lower than you expect.
The table below is an illustrative example. The figures are made up to show the method; they are not market rates or a recommendation.
| Line (illustrative example) | Example figure | How to work out your own |
|---|---|---|
| Target take-home income for the year | $60,000 | What you need to live on, before income tax |
| Annual business costs | $6,000 | Software, insurance, training, marketing, accounting |
| Revenue needed before tax | $66,000 | Income target plus costs |
| Active clients you can support at once | 12 | Be honest: daily check-ins take time to read and answer |
| Months worked per year | 11 | Leave room for rest and your own recovery or self-care |
| Client-months available | 132 | Active clients times months worked |
| Price per client-month | $500 | Revenue needed divided by client-months |
| 90-day Foundations package | $1,500 (or three payments of $500) | Price per client-month times program length |
Two adjustments to make before you publish prices. First, self-employment tax: the IRS charges 15.3% self-employment tax (12.4% Social Security plus 2.9% Medicare) once net earnings reach $400, on top of income tax, so your take-home target needs that margin built in. Second, payment processing: whatever payment provider you use takes a percentage of each sale, so check its published rate for your country and include it in your costs.
Payment plans make a 90-day program much easier to say yes to, but they need clear terms. Our guide to running coaching payment plans without defaults covers the agreement wording and follow-up.
What legal setup does a recovery coaching business need?
At minimum: a business structure, an EIN if you need one, professional liability insurance, a signed coaching agreement for every client, and a clear rule for how you handle client information. Here is what the official sources say, and where it depends on your situation, check with an accountant or attorney.
| Item | What to do | Official source |
|---|---|---|
| Business structure | A sole proprietorship is automatic and suits low-risk testing, but you are personally liable for business debts. An LLC protects owners from personal liability "in most instances"; members still pay self-employment tax. | SBA: choose a business structure |
| EIN | Free and issued online in minutes by the IRS. Form your LLC with the state first. Online applications need a US principal place of business and an SSN or ITIN. | IRS: get an EIN |
| Licenses and permits | Check state, county and city requirements for your activity and location; some licenses expire and must be renewed. | SBA: licenses and permits |
| Insurance | Professional liability covers "malpractice, errors, and negligence" for service businesses. An LLC's protection "has limits", so insurance matters even with an entity. | SBA: business insurance |
| Income reporting | Sole proprietors report business income on Schedule C. | IRS: Schedule C |
| Estimated taxes | Generally required if you expect to owe $1,000 or more. The last 2026 payment is due January 15, 2027. | IRS: estimated taxes and Form 1040-ES (2026) |
When you buy professional liability insurance, tell the insurer exactly what you do and that you work with people in recovery from substance use. Ask in writing whether the policy covers recovery coaching and what it excludes. Policies written for general life coaching may not cover it.
What goes in a recovery coaching agreement?
- A plain scope statement: coaching is not therapy, medical care or treatment, and the client keeps their clinical care in place.
- Your crisis protocol: what you will do if the client is in danger, which numbers they should call, and that you are not an emergency service.
- Confidentiality and its limits: when you would contact emergency services or a named emergency contact, and any reporting duties that apply where you work (ask an attorney).
- What a lapse means for the coaching relationship. A relapse should not end coaching automatically; say how you will respond and when you would recommend a higher level of care.
- Contact hours, response times for messages, session cancellation rules, payment terms and refund policy.
- Consent for any session recording or AI note-taking, which the client can decline.
Coachful sends coaching agreements with e-signature before the first call and stores the signed copy on the client record, so you are never coaching someone who has not agreed to your scope.
How should you handle client data?
Collect the minimum, write notes about goals and actions rather than clinical detail, and know where your data sits. Be clear on this point: Coachful is not HIPAA-certified and does not sign a business associate agreement, so it is built for private coaching practices, not clinical record-keeping or insurance billing. If you work inside, or are contracted by, a treatment provider, ask them which privacy rules apply to your work and use their systems for any clinical records. Coachful is GDPR-ready and lets you export all of your client data as a ZIP file at any time.
What marketing rules apply?
Three FTC rules matter most for a recovery coach. Testimonials must be honest and reflect what clients generally achieve, or you must state the typical result, under the FTC's Endorsement Guides. Fake reviews and incentives tied to positive sentiment are banned by the Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule, in effect since October 21, 2024. And every marketing email needs a working opt-out honoured within 10 business days plus a physical postal address, under CAN-SPAM. In recovery work, add your own rule: never publish a testimonial or a first name without written permission, and default to anonymous.
What tech stack does a recovery coaching business need?
You need booking, payments, agreements, a client record, a way to deliver daily check-ins and habits, a group space, a website and email. Most new coaches assemble four to six tools to cover that. We make Coachful, and it is the home we recommend, because recovery coaching depends on the between-session work that scheduling and admin tools leave out.
What Coachful is. Coachful is a coaching platform where one subscription covers booking, payments, contracts, program delivery with habits and check-ins, courses, a community, a website with funnels and email, and an AI assistant. The coach has one login and the client gets one app with the coach's branding inside the Coachful app. It is built for coaches who deliver programs rather than only sessions, solo coaches growing into a small team, and coaches replacing several tools. What it does not do: it is not HIPAA-certified, it is not for clinical records or insurance billing, it does not take PayPal, and it has no permanent free plan. How to start: begin a free trial, then ask the team to build your site and first program with the free white-glove service.
| Option | What it covers | Monthly cost | What is missing for recovery coaching |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coachful | Booking, payments, agreements, client record, programs with daily check-ins and habits, courses, community, website, funnels, email, AI assistant | Solo: $49/month for up to 20 clients | No HIPAA or BAA; no PayPal; no wearable sync |
| Paperbell | Booking, packages, payments, contracts, client portal, simple website | $97/mo single plan, as listed in October 2026 | No courses, community, goal or habit tracking; no native mobile app |
| Practice Better | Scheduling, telehealth, charting, billing, programs, client portal for wellness practitioners | Starter $35/mo for 10 clients; Plus $99/mo unlimited, as listed in October 2026 | No website builder or funnel pages; portal branding starts on Plus |
| Calendly | Booking pages, reminders, paid bookings | Free plan; Standard $10/seat/mo billed annually, as listed in October 2026 | No client records, programs, habits, check-ins or contracts |
| Kit | Email newsletters, sequences, landing pages | Creator from $39/mo for 1,000 subscribers, as listed in October 2026 | No scheduling, client records or client check-ins |
| Kajabi | Courses, community, website, funnels, email | Basic $179/mo ($143/mo annual), as listed in October 2026 | No habit tracking, daily check-ins or per-client plans |
| Skool | Community, classroom and calendar in one group | Hobby $9/mo plus 10% + 30¢ per transaction, as listed in October 2026 | No 1:1 client records, intake forms, habits or check-ins |
A typical patchwork for a recovery coach, say Paperbell for admin, Kit for email and Skool for a group, already adds up to more than $140 a month at the prices listed in October 2026, before you have any way to send a daily check-in. On Coachful those pieces sit in one place (current plans: Lite: $29/month for up to 5 clients; Solo: $49/month for up to 20 clients; Pro: $99/month with unlimited clients; Studio: $199/month with unlimited clients), and you pay no Coachful platform fee on client payments, only Stripe or Razorpay processing. The longer breakdown of each piece is in online coaching business software: every piece you need.
What each part of Coachful replaces
- Scheduling tool: booking pages with availability rules, buffers, minimum notice and time-zone detection; two-way Google, Apple and Outlook calendar sync; built-in video or automatic Zoom, Meet or Teams links. See scheduling software.
- Payment and invoicing tool: your own Stripe or Razorpay account for one-time payments, subscriptions, payment plans, coupons, refunds, Apple Pay and Google Pay, with an invoice per transaction. See coaching payment software.
- Contract tool: agreements with e-signature, stored on the client record.
- Habit and accountability app: multi-week programs with daily tasks, habits, morning and evening check-ins, goals with progress bars and streaks. See coaching program software.
- Community platform: community feed, group chat, direct messages, video events, and cohort groups created automatically when a client enrols in a program. See group coaching software.
- Website builder and email tool: a section-based website with a blog and custom domain, booking and lead-magnet funnels, email lists, broadcasts and sequences. See coach website builder.
Michelle, the built-in AI assistant, works from your live practice data. It can draft a program, write emails, brief you before a session and summarise recorded sessions where your client has agreed to recording. Questions and planning are included in your Coachful membership; confirmed builds and changes use AI credits. There is also an AI Coach you can configure for selected clients to chat with between sessions. If you use it in recovery work, set it up with your crisis numbers and tell clients plainly that it is not a crisis service and not you.
For a working example of this setup, read how Margie Wilson runs Wounded to Warrior Recovery Coaching on Coachful.
Can someone build it for you?
Why Coachful stands out: a free white-glove service. On every plan, you can go to Create and choose "We'll build it for you · FREE", describe what you want, attach up to 8 reference links and up to 10 files such as your logo, photos or existing copy, and the Coachful team builds it inside your own account, usually within about 24 hours. A recovery coach could ask for a five-page website with a "book a free call" button on every page, the Foundations program with its check-ins and habits, a family-support funnel, or a welcome email sequence. Nothing gets invented: no fake credentials, testimonials or prices, and any gaps are left for you to fill. It does not include filming videos, logo design, ad management or ongoing marketing. For example, a menopause and midlife health coach starting from nothing got a five-page site in sage and cream with every button leading to a free 20-minute consultation. More in how Coachful's free white-glove service works.
How do you set up your website, booking and payments?
Build three things in this order: a booking page for a free 20 to 30 minute consultation, a website with one clear call to action, and checkout pages for each package. You can launch with a single page if it says who you help, how coaching differs from treatment, what each package includes and how to book.
The website
A recovery coaching site needs five sections: who you work with (in their words, not yours), what coaching is and is not, your packages, your story and training, and a booking button. Put your scope line and crisis numbers in the footer. Coachful's website builder has 30 designed homepage templates, a blog, SEO settings and a custom domain, or you can use the Import website option if you already have a site. Calm wellness templates suit this niche well.
Here is a short walkthrough of the website builder:
Booking
Set one free consultation type and one paid session type to start. Add intake questions on the booking form: what kind of support they are looking for, whether they are currently working with a clinician or program, and how they heard about you. Turn on email reminders, and once messaging is enabled, SMS reminders 24 hours before and WhatsApp reminders one hour before, which help clients whose days are still unpredictable.
Payments
Connect your own Stripe account (or Razorpay in India). Set Foundations as a one-time payment with a three-payment plan option, Family Steady as a one-time payment and Keep Going as a monthly subscription. Turn on Stripe Tax if you need to collect sales tax, and check with an accountant about whether your state taxes coaching services.
If technology is the part you dread, starting a coaching business when you're not tech-savvy walks through the same setup in plain steps.
How do you find your first 10 recovery coaching clients?
Through referral relationships, not ads. Clinicians, alumni coordinators and sober living managers already know people leaving their care who need more structure, and they need somewhere trustworthy to send them. Your referral list from step one is now your outreach list.
Channels that fit recovery coaching
- Treatment centre alumni coordinators and discharge planners. Offer to run a free alumni workshop on the first 30 days at home.
- Therapists and addiction counsellors in private practice. Position yourself as daily structure between their sessions, with the client's permission to coordinate.
- Sober living house managers. Residents preparing to move out are a natural fit for Foundations.
- Recovery community organisations and family support networks. Volunteer, speak or offer a free family workshop.
- Your own content. A weekly email or short posts about practical early-recovery routines, written for families as much as for clients.
- Former clients and their families, once you have them, with a simple referral request at the end of each program.
One ethical line: mutual-aid meetings exist for support, not selling. Many recovery coaches choose never to promote their services at meetings, and clients notice when you respect that.
Scripts you can adapt
Email to a therapist or counsellor:
Hi Dr. Lee, I'm a recovery coach in [city] working with adults in their first 90 days after treatment. I don't provide therapy; I help clients build daily routines, keep appointments and use their support network between your sessions, and I refer back to you whenever something is clinical. Would a 15-minute call next week be useful to see whether I'd be a good referral for any of your clients? My scope statement is attached.
Message to an alumni coordinator:
Hi Sam, I'd like to offer your alumni a free 45-minute online session on "The first 30 days at home: routines that hold." No sales pitch in the session; I'll share a one-page daily plan they can keep. Could I send you an outline?
Follow-up after a consultation call:
Thanks for talking today. As promised, here's the Foundations outline: weekly calls, morning and evening check-ins and the relapse-prevention plan we'd build in week two. If it feels right, you can book your first session here. If not, I've added the two referrals we discussed. Either way, I'm glad you reached out.
Track every lead and consultation in one place. Coachful's intakes view shows upcoming consultation calls and your conversion rate, and the prospects board shows every lead's stage.
In this plan, most of your first 10 clients come from a handful of referral partners. Once a funnel is ready (for example, a free "first 30 days" guide that leads to a consultation), you can add a small, carefully written ad test, but only after your referral system is running.
How do you deliver recovery coaching and keep clients?
Deliver a structured program with daily touchpoints and a visible record of progress, then offer a lighter membership at the end. Clients stay when they can see their own momentum and know someone is paying attention between calls.
Programs
Build Foundations as a 12-week program with weekly goals and daily tasks. Week one: welcome, safety plan, support contacts. Week two: relapse-prevention plan. Weeks three to eight: routines, triggers, relationships, work and money. Weeks nine to twelve: independence and a plan for after coaching. Coachful has more than 40 ready-to-film program templates if you want a starting structure, and the white-glove team can build the program for you from your outline.
Check-ins and habits
Morning and evening check-ins are the core of the service. Keep them short: three to five questions the client can answer in under two minutes. Habits sit alongside them, with streaks and progress that the client sees in their app.
This walkthrough shows how check-ins are set up and assigned:
Each client record brings together goals, check-ins, habits, notes, intake answers, payments and sessions, with a status of thriving, active, quiet or at risk. A client who goes quiet on check-ins is often the one who most needs a call, so review that status every morning. Set a rule for yourself in advance: a missed day gets a friendly message, two missed days get a call, and a client who tells you they are unsafe gets your crisis protocol.
Community
Isolation makes recovery harder for many people, so a small, moderated group is worth the effort. Coachful creates a cohort group automatically when clients enrol in a program, and you can run group calls and video events inside the same app. Set clear community rules about anonymity, no sharing of other members' stories outside the group, and where to go in a crisis.
Retention
Two weeks before Foundations ends, hold a review call: show the client their check-in history and habit streaks, agree on what they want next, and offer Keep Going. Review retention and revenue monthly using the six coaching business KPIs. Automating the welcome and onboarding steps also helps; see coaching client onboarding automation.
What does a 30/60/90-day launch plan look like?
Spend the first 30 days on foundations, the next 30 on outreach, and the last 30 on delivery and refinement. Each phase ends with something concrete you can check off.
| Phase | Focus | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| Days 1 to 30 | Scope, referral list, client group, packages, prices, business structure, EIN, insurance, agreement, platform and website | Your website is live, booking and checkout work, and a test client has signed the agreement and received a check-in |
| Days 31 to 60 | Contact 20 to 30 referral partners, run one free workshop, publish weekly content, hold consultations | At least five referral conversations held and your first three to five paying clients enrolled |
| Days 61 to 90 | Deliver Foundations, refine check-in questions, open the community, ask for feedback, launch Keep Going | Ten active or enrolled clients, a written review of what to change, and a referral request sent to every partner |
The broader version of this timeline, for any niche, is in how to start a coaching business in 2026.
How much does it cost to start a recovery coaching business?
Excluding training, a lean launch can stay in the low hundreds of dollars plus your monthly platform and insurance, while a comfortable launch with an LLC, an attorney-reviewed agreement and some marketing costs more. The figures below are illustrative examples for planning, except where an official source is given.
| Item | Lean launch | Comfortable launch |
|---|---|---|
| Coachful (website, booking, payments, agreements, programs, check-ins, community, email) | Lite: $29/month for up to 5 clients | Solo: $49/month for up to 20 clients |
| Business structure | $0 (sole proprietorship) | LLC state filing fee, which varies by state |
| EIN | $0 (IRS) | $0 (IRS) |
| Professional liability insurance | Quote-based | Quote-based, possibly with higher limits |
| Coaching agreement | $0 (your own draft) | Attorney review, priced by the attorney |
| Domain name | Example: about $15 a year | Example: about $15 a year |
| Marketing | Example: $0 (referral outreach and content) | Example: $100 to $300 a month for a small ad test |
| Accounting | Example: $0 (spreadsheet) | Example: an accountant at tax time |
| Training and certification | Varies widely; see the recovery coach guide | Varies widely; see the recovery coach guide |
For a line-by-line budget with more detail, see how much it costs to start a coaching business.
What mistakes should new recovery coaches avoid?
- Drifting into treatment. If you find yourself managing withdrawal, processing trauma or advising on medication, stop and refer.
- Having no crisis protocol. Decide in advance what you will do, write it down and share it with every client.
- Selling single sessions. Recovery needs continuity. A 90-day program with daily check-ins serves clients better and gives you steady revenue.
- Taking too many clients. Daily check-ins take time to review. Start with a capacity number and keep to it.
- Outcome promises. Never promise sobriety or a result. Under FTC rules, testimonials must reflect typical results, and in recovery an implied guarantee can also harm someone who lapses.
- Weak privacy habits. Use anonymous testimonials, write goal-focused notes and keep clinical records out of your coaching tools.
- Spreading clients across five apps. When booking, check-ins and messages live in different places, you miss the warning signs.
- Neglecting your own support. Many recovery coaches bring lived experience; have your own supervision, peer group or coach. The burnout recovery roadmap for coaches is a good check-in.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a certification to start a recovery coaching business?
For a private, client-paid practice, coaching is generally not a licensed profession, but clients and referral partners will expect training. Publicly funded peer support roles usually require state certification. Check your state's rules and see our recovery coach certification guide.
Can a recovery coach work with someone who is still using?
Some coaches do, but it needs a clear agreement and close links to medical and clinical care, because withdrawal and overdose risks are medical issues. Many new coaches start with people who have completed treatment or are in outpatient care. When in doubt, refer first.
What is the difference between a recovery coach and a counsellor?
A counsellor or therapist is licensed to assess and treat. A recovery coach helps with goals, routines, accountability and connection to support, and refers anything clinical. The two work well together when the client consents to coordination.
Should I form an LLC or stay a sole proprietor?
The SBA describes a sole proprietorship as a good choice for low-risk businesses and for testing an idea, while an LLC protects owners from personal liability in most instances. Because recovery work carries more risk than many niches, many coaches choose an LLC plus insurance. Check with an accountant or attorney for your state.
Is Coachful HIPAA-compliant?
No. Coachful is not HIPAA-certified and does not sign a business associate agreement. It is built for private coaching practices, not clinical records or insurance billing. If a treatment provider contracts you, use their systems for clinical records.
What is Coachful's free white-glove service?
On every plan, the Coachful team will build things like your website, a funnel, a program or an email sequence inside your account, usually within about 24 hours. You describe what you want and attach references and files. Nothing is invented, so gaps are left for you to fill. See how the white-glove service works.
How many clients can a recovery coach handle?
It depends on how much daily contact your packages include. Coaches who review morning and evening check-ins for every client usually set a lower cap than coaches offering weekly calls only. Work out your number with the pricing method above and protect it.
Can I run group recovery coaching?
Yes. A group program with weekly calls, shared check-ins and a moderated community can work well alongside one-to-one packages. Set firm rules on confidentiality and crisis support, and keep groups small at first.
How do I take payments from clients?
Connect your own Stripe account (or Razorpay) to Coachful and sell packages as one-time payments, payment plans or subscriptions. Coachful charges no platform fee on client payments; you pay only your payment provider's processing fees. PayPal is not supported.
How long does it take to start a recovery coaching business?
Setup takes about 30 days if you follow the plan above, and reaching your first 10 clients usually takes another four to eight weeks of referral outreach. Training time, if you still need it, comes before this.
Ready to build yours? Start a free trial, ask the team to build your website and Foundations program, and spend your first month talking to referral partners instead of wiring tools together.
