From Jail to 7-Figures: How Brandon Forbes Built a $200K/Month Coaching Business in Just 2 Years

Meta Description: Discover how Brandon Forbes overcame multiple business failures to build a thriving coaching business without websites or pixels. Learn his 3-step system for attracting high-quality leads and scaling to $200K months.

Featured Snippet Summary

Brandon Forbes transformed from a troubled teen who went to jail at 17 to a successful coach earning $200K/month by developing a unique funnel system that doesn't require websites or pixels. His journey involved multiple business failures before discovering a God-inspired marketing approach that combines Instagram growth, YouTube content, and free School groups.

[00:00] Welcome to the podcast, where we dive into transformational business strategies with today's guest, Brandon Forbes.

From Rock Bottom to 7-Figures: The Surprising Journey of Brandon Forbes

Did you know that 95% of businesses fail within their first five years? Yet, some entrepreneurs manage to emerge from multiple failures to build wildly successful ventures. Brandon Forbes exemplifies this journey, having gone from jail at 17 to building a coaching business that generates $200,000 per month.

In this eye-opening podcast episode, Brandon shares his remarkable transformation and the exact funnel system that changed everything for him - a system that surprisingly doesn't require complex websites or pixel tracking.

Who Is Brandon Forbes?

Brandon's story begins far from success and business acumen. As he explains:

"Grew up in a super great house. Parents were pretty well off. Stepdad had a really good job. Messed his leg up when I was like 13, had some pretty gnarly surgeries, got addicted to pills. Both him and my mom lost their job, ended up going from, you know, drinking to smoking to cocaine all the way to meth."

This family breakdown led Brandon down a troubled path, eventually landing him in jail on homecoming night at age 17. It was a pivotal moment that would eventually lead to a profound transformation.

The Failed Business Marathon Before Success

[04:52] After a spiritual awakening, Brandon attended Bible college but soon felt called to entrepreneurship. What followed was a series of ventures - almost all of which failed:

• Pool cleaning company
• Guitar pedalboard company
• Lawn mowing service
• Drop shipping business
• Amazon selling

As Brandon bluntly puts it: "Literally everything you could think of. I tried and pretty much 95% of it failed."

Despite these setbacks, each failure became a learning opportunity. When he married his wife Sarah, Brandon had only $200 to his name after the wedding. Financial stability felt like a distant dream.

The Turning Point: From Shipping Boxes to Marketing Insight

[07:13] Brandon's career took an unexpected turn when he landed a job shipping boxes for Brooke Castillo's Life Coach School - a company doing approximately $50 million in annual revenue at the time. This exposure to a successful coaching business planted seeds for his future.

Eventually, Brandon started a marketing agency helping coaches with their social media, particularly editing videos with captions. But he noticed something interesting:

"Most people were asking me like how to make money, not how to edit videos."

This insight revealed a crucial market need that would later form the foundation of his coaching business.

The $40,000 Challenge That Changed Everything

[16:59] The real breakthrough came when Brandon and a partner decided to run what they called the "Kingdom Coach Challenge." With just $5,000 in ad spend ($2,500 each), they launched their first challenge:

"We had 12 people, think maybe live on the call, but we made $40,000 from the challenge."

This success was the validation Brandon needed. He quit his job to focus fully on coaching, and within two weeks, he conceived what he calls the "IG growth funnel" - a marketing approach that would become his signature system.

The 3-Step System for Scaling a Coaching Business Without Websites or Pixels

Brandon reveals a unique marketing approach that doesn't rely on traditional websites or pixel tracking:

1. The Instagram Growth Funnel

[14:30] Brandon's breakthrough came with his Instagram growth funnel:

"I boosted a reel at the time, reels had just came out. I clicked boost, followers started pouring in... If I said, 'Hey, are you an online coach struggling with marketing that wants to turn attention into money?' Right. If so, give me a follow here on Instagram, go through all my content where I show you guys how, you know, I did X, Y, and Z."

This approach generated thousands of followers at a low cost, creating a pool of potential clients without requiring complex website setups.

2. YouTube for High-Quality Leads

[19:25] While Instagram drives initial awareness, Brandon emphasizes that YouTube provides the highest quality leads:

"If you were like asking me, Brandon, you could have unlimited calls from like one source. What would it be? YouTube a million percent... the long form content is King. Like you can't beat it with short form. I kind of use short form as the top of the funnel to get them into the long form."

His content strategy includes:

• 1-2 YouTube videos weekly (all value or client interviews)
• 3-5 Instagram reels weekly
• Daily story CTAs featuring client wins
• Email nurture sequences pointing to YouTube content

3. The School Group Funnel

[19:25] Brandon's latest innovation combines the power of YouTube with free School groups:

"School is a close second because it kind of combines the Instagram chat features, being able to talk to people, Facebook, like posting... and YouTube because I literally just put my YouTube videos in my school group."

This funnel has generated nearly 13,000 free group members, creating a captive audience for his offers.

The Team Structure for a 7-Figure Coaching Business

[21:50] As his business grew, Brandon experimented with different team structures. His current team includes:

• Client success manager for the scale program
• Client success manager for the start program
• Two closers (sales professionals)
• Two setters (appointment schedulers)
• Video person (in-person)
• Video editor (remote)

Brandon emphasizes hiring in a specific order:

1. Appointment setter first (once you have traffic)
2. Client success manager second (to free up your time)
3. Closer third (once you're at capacity with calls)

5 Key Takeaways for Scaling Your Coaching Business

1. Niche Down to People Who Can Pay

"Niche down and target people that have money because it's lot easier to sell to people that have money, and collect a high ticket fee."

2. Create a Proven Process

"Create a proven process, whether you're a fitness coach, health coach, marketing coach, whatever, that gets people to the result."

3. Use Long-Form Content for Higher Quality Leads

"YouTube will say that school is a close second... but YouTube is untouchable. It's the best."

4. Start With Simple Marketing

"Marketing scares me. Like literally you could write down, are you a single dad struggling with your divorce on a cardboard piece of paper? And take that to Starbucks and just sit there until a dude walks up to you."

5. Hire in the Right Order

Focus first on booking appointments, then client success, then closing sales - allowing you to concentrate on your highest-value activities.

The Faith Factor in Business Growth

Throughout the podcast, Brandon attributes much of his success to divine inspiration and guidance:

"I'm not smart enough to think of this stuff, but I also have never learned a funnel from someone that actually worked. It's always been me throwing stuff at the wall and kind of figuring it out myself."

This perspective offers a unique angle on entrepreneurship - sometimes breakthrough innovations come from unexpected sources rather than conventional business strategies.

Implementing Brandon's System in Your Business

If you're a coach looking to scale your business, Brandon's approach offers several advantages:

1. Lower startup costs: No need for expensive websites or complex pixel tracking
2. Organic growth: His Instagram funnel builds followers while generating leads
3. Content leverage: Creating high-value long-form content on YouTube that converts
4. Community building: Using free School groups to nurture potential clients

The beauty of this system is its simplicity and accessibility. You don't need advanced technical skills or a large budget to implement it effectively.

Your Next Steps

Ready to transform your coaching business using Brandon's proven system?

1. Clarify your niche - Identify who you're called to serve and ensure they have the ability to pay
2. Build your proven process - Create a step-by-step system that consistently delivers results
3. Start content creation - Begin with YouTube videos that showcase your expertise
4. Implement the IG growth funnel - Use targeted Instagram ads to build your following
5. Create a free community - Consider School groups to nurture potential clients

Transform Your Business with Expert Guidance

If you're ready to implement these strategies but want personalized guidance, Nathan Newberry offers specialized consulting to help elite business owners implement AI in sales, marketing, systems, and models to build rapidly successful brands.

Book a FREE strategy call here: https://calendly.com/high-performance-accelerator/business-growth

Watch the full podcast episode: https://youtu.be/b0Yw9JUudoM

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About the Author: Nathan Newberry helps elite business owners implement AI in sales, marketing, systems, and models to build rapidly successful brands. He specializes in helping founders implement Sell By Chat strategy to buy back their time and double their revenue within 6 months using his Elite Sales Model.