Here’s something we see all the time. Someone finds a coach’s website. They look at the home page for a few seconds. Then they do what almost everyone does. They click About.
They aren’t there to read a résumé. They’re asking one simple question: “Is this coach right for someone like me?”
The Nielsen Norman Group, a company that studies how people use websites, found the same thing. People go to the About page to decide whether they want to work with you. That’s the whole job. Your About page is where a visitor decides, “Yes. This is the right person for me.”
If your site came from Brave Thinking Institute, your About page already has a bio. It tells people what a certified [DreamBuilder Coach / Life Mastery Consultant] does, what a client can expect, and what Brave Thinking® makes possible. It’s clear. It’s warm. It was written by pros. Lots of coaches launch with it just the way it is, and that’s a good choice. A live site always beats a site that’s still waiting. So this is not a “fix your bio” article. Your bio doesn’t need fixing. This is an “add the part only you can add” article. Because the one thing nobody at any institute can put on your page is you.
Donald Miller, who wrote the book Building a StoryBrand, says it simply: your customer is the hero of the story. You are the guide. Read your About page with that in mind, and something relaxes.
The page isn’t where you prove you’re good enough. It’s where you show the reader you’ve been where they are, and you know the way out. You aren’t the star. You’re the one holding the map. That’s why a list of accomplishments, on its own, can leave a reader cold. It answers “is this person impressive?” The reader came in asking “does this person get me?”
Here’s what we’ve noticed. The About pages that bring in discovery calls usually have three things the starter bio can’t give you.
1. What put you on this path. The moment, or the slow stretch of time, that made you become a coach. For many coaches it was a hard chapter: a job that ended, a marriage that ended, a health scare, a year of asking “is this all there is?”
For others it was quieter: a friend who changed right in front of you, a mentor, a book you couldn’t put down. Both count. There’s no prize for drama.
One kind rule here. If telling the story still brings up a lot of emotion, it’s still healing, and that’s okay. Save it for later and share a different one for now. (Brené Brown says it this way: share that part of your story when you have no unmet need you’re trying to fill.)
2. What changed for you. This is the part most bios skip, and it’s the part readers trust most.
3. A little about you.
Your certification matters. So does the job you had before this. The move is to translate, not delete. After each thing you’ve done, add: “which means for you…”
We made these up to show the shape. The coaches aren’t real. The pattern is.
The HR leader who was done.
I ran HR for twenty-two years at companies you’ve heard of, which means I’ve sat across from hundreds of people at a turning point. My moment was noticing I was giving all of them advice I wasn’t taking myself. I did the coach training mostly to understand my own life. What changed: I stopped waiting for permission, and I left a job I’d outgrown years ago. I live in Tucson with two rescue dogs who think every walk is the first walk. If you’re really good at your job and quietly done with it, let’s talk.
The teacher with a quiet Tuesday.
Nothing dramatic happened to me. I had the house, the marriage, the classroom I’d taught in for thirty years, and one ordinary Tuesday I caught myself thinking, “Is this all there is?” A friend worked with a coach and came out lighter, so I got curious. Thirty years of teaching means I know how grown-ups really learn new habits, and it isn’t by being told what to do. What changed: I wrote the book I’d been “going to write” since 1998. I coach people who look fine on paper and feel restless underneath.
The business owner who watched his brother change.
I ran a landscaping company for eighteen years, which means I understand tired, busy, and “I’ll deal with it after this job.” I never planned to be a coach. I watched my brother work with one and turn back into someone who laughed. I wanted to know how that happened. What changed: I sold the business on my terms, not because I was worn out. Saturdays are pancakes with the grandkids. I work with men who take care of everyone and haven’t asked for help since high school.
Look at what each one does. It says who it’s for. It shares the turning point without reopening it. It turns the past into something the reader understands. And it’s short.
Many coaches tell us the personal bio is the item on the launch list that sits there the longest. Not because they have nothing to say. Because they have a whole life and one paragraph, and choosing feels impossible.
We get it. Writing about ourselves is harder than writing about anyone else, and we build websites for a living. So here’s the permission part. Launch with the bio you have. It’s good. Then, when you’re ready, add one new part. Then maybe another. A bio isn’t a test you pass once. It’s a page you get to grow.
Inspiration without action is merely entertainment. So here are three small moves. Three. Please don’t add a fourth.
Your About page has one job: help a visitor decide if you’re the right coach for them. The starter bio that comes with your site tells them what a coach does. The three things we just talked about, the ones only you can add, tell them you’re the right person to do it with.
And if you’ve already launched and would like a hand with this, text changes are yours to make anytime. You have login access to make edits on your site. However, for more advanced editing if you’d like to add new photos, a favorite quote, or a short video, or you’d just rather have us do it, we have a simple “About Me page update” for exactly that. It’s here whenever you’re ready.
Get Going.
