The “Collaborate” Stage of the COACH Model is where your coaching business grows beyond you and frees up your time!

After amplifying your reach and building momentum, this stage is about connection, expansion, and synergy. You begin to partner with others, build teams, and form alliances that multiply your visibility and impact. Collaboration transforms your business from a solo enterprise into a networked ecosystem... one that leverages shared audiences, skills, and opportunities for exponential growth. This is the stage where you step fully into leadership, positioning yourself as a peer among other thought leaders and as a mentor to those coming up behind you. You move from being a lone creator to being a conductor of collective brilliance.

You’re ready for the “Collaborate” stage if you already have consistent income, systems that run smoothly, and a message that’s reaching a wider audience but you’ve hit a natural ceiling of how much you can grow alone. You might find that your calendar is full, your programs are running well, and yet your next level requires more leverage. You’re ready to delegate, partner, or form strategic collaborations to reach new markets and audiences. This is often when coaches begin partnering with others, hiring virtual assistants, content or tech support, and enrolling affiliate partners. You’re no longer asking, “How can I do more?” but rather, “Who can I do it with?” That shift marks the entry into this phase.

The main focus in this stage is team, partnerships, and expansion through others. You’ll focus on building a small but mighty support team — people who can manage tech, operations, client care, or marketing — so you can stay in your zone of genius. You’ll also begin exploring collaborations such as joint ventures, summits, co-hosted programs, podcasts, or affiliate partnerships that allow you to share audiences and multiply exposure. Another key focus is leadership development; learning to communicate vision, manage relationships, and foster a culture of trust. You’re no longer just building a business; you’re cultivating a movement and community that extends beyond your individual capacity.

Collaboration is the bridge between personal achievement and legacy. Without it, your growth remains limited by your time, energy, and bandwidth. At this stage, you are mastering leadership, communication, delegation, and relationship management as well as partnership like joint ventures, affiliate programs, and strategic alliances.

You’ll also begin refining your systems to support others working within them: SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), onboarding manuals, and partnership guidelines. This stage requires a mindset shift from “me” to “we” — learning to trust others with your vision and recognizing that collaboration done well amplifies not just revenue, but reach, innovation, and fulfillment.

At this stage you'll put several key pieces in place: a core support team (even if small), clear systems for delegation and communication, at least one collaborative partnership and affiliates bringing in clients.

You should also have a sustainable rhythm... meaning your business can run smoothly even when you step away. Once these are in place, you're ready for “Harvest” — the stage where you reap the rewards of everything you’ve built.

Collaborate is the moment your business becomes a living system — alive, connected, living beyond you, and ready to flourish collectively.