The following is taken from David’s interview with Earnest F. Oriente in 10 Super Coaches.

What words of advice would you give to a coach starting out?

Have fun in your business, enjoy the clients you’re working with, and quite frankly, be the very best coach that you can be, because people in your hands are giving you their lives and they’re asking for your help. So be very respectful, always, of the work you’re doing.

Be clear on your passion. Have a passion for the work you’re doing. Recognize you’re touching the lives of people that you’re working with. Be clear on the work that you’re doing, that it’s fun, that it’s joyful, that you love the particular clients that you’re working with.

But never lose sight – this is sort of Covey’s principle ‘focus with the end in mind’. As you look to the horizon what’s the next step?

If I were looking at the horizon, initially: I needed to replace my income from my corporate days. But really from there it was, number one: subscribers. Number two, more subscribers. Number three, now I want to be in the magazines, the same magazines read by those subscribers. That was the next step. Then the next step, I wanted to have some alliances and even more exposure, speak at upcoming conferences. And then there was the next step, writing a book to tie it all together. I’ve always been able to look over the horizon twelve, fifteen miles in front of me and say ‘what does the next parade look like?’.

So I would encourage those coaches who are thinking about their business to work both in their business, but don’t forget to work on your business. Have a vision for what the bigger game is. Have a vision for what the next parade is.