If you coach individual members through BetterUp, you already know: the individual program is winding down as BetterUp focuses on enterprise, with the program ending January 31, 2027. That is a rational business decision, and it is also a real income line ending for the coaches who served that program. If you are thinking about building a private practice around this moment, this guide is the practical version: your timeline, your obligations, what to tell clients, and the setup, in order.
One thing before anything: none of this requires saying a critical word about BetterUp. Many coaches will keep working with BetterUp’s enterprise side, and the profession is small. Build toward your practice, not away from anyone.
Your Timeline
Working backward from BetterUp’s published dates:
Now to July 31, 2026. The last renewals happen July 31. Members who renew then have weeks or months of coaching left; members who cannot renew are already deciding what comes next. This is the window where being visibly set up matters most, because clients are asking their coaches “what happens after this?” and coaches with an answer keep the relationship warm.
August 2026 to January 2027. Subscriptions lapse one by one as terms run out. A practice that exists by early fall catches this wave; one that starts in December mostly watches it pass.
February 2027 onward. The program is fully closed. Whatever practice you built is what you have.
The setup itself takes days, not months. The pipeline takes longer, which is why the order below starts with paperwork you can finish this week.
Step 1: Read Your BetterUp Agreements First
Everything in our general guide on going from employed coach to your own practice applies here, and one section applies double: your agreements. Before you announce anything, know what you signed. Three clauses matter most:
Non-solicitation. You very likely cannot solicit members you served through the platform. Respect it fully, and not only because of the contract: this industry runs on reputation. The clean path is below in “What to Tell Clients.”
Non-disparagement. Another reason the zero-criticism rule is not just good manners.
Exclusivity and IP. Check whether outside coaching was restricted and what happens to materials you developed for platform work. Build your practice materials fresh, on your own tools, off the clock.
When in doubt, one hour with a lawyer is cheap against the alternative. This guide is educational, not legal advice.
Step 2: What to Tell Clients (the Clean Way)
You do not recruit your roster. You answer questions honestly when clients ask, and clients are asking.
The compliant pattern, in plain terms: BetterUp members own their own choices about future coaching. If a member asks you what happens after the program ends, you can tell them the facts: the program is ending, they should save their assessments, resources, and messages before their access ends (BetterUp itself encourages this), and you can share where your independent practice lives if they ask where to find you. Our transition guide for members covers exactly what they should save and how; it is written to be shareable when a client asks. Client-initiated continuation is their right; solicitation by you is a contract violation. The line is real, keep it bright.
Practical tool: a short continuity note you can hand any member who asks, covering how to save their record and how to reach you independently. (Vibly provides a ready-made Client Continuity Kit for exactly this; it keeps the process client-initiated and makes you look prepared rather than promotional.)
Download the Client Continuity Kit: the client kit (PDF) to hand any member who asks, and the one-page coach sheet on sharing it cleanly. Want it co-branded with your name and booking link? Ask here and mention “Continuity Kit.”
Step 3: The Business Basics, Compressed
The full walkthrough lives in the main guide; the BetterUp-specific summary:
Entity, insurance, bank account, client agreement. One week of admin, none of it requiring a single client. Do it while the platform income still flows.
Pricing: do not import your platform rate. Platform rates price your hour with clients handed to you. Independent rates must cover acquisition, admin, taxes, and unpaid hours. Sell packages with outcomes, not sessions; work backward from a revenue target.
Your stack. On the platform, scheduling, video, notes, and payments were handled. Independently, that infrastructure is yours to choose, and it is the difference between looking like a practice and looking like a hobby. Set it up before your first independent client.
Comparing platforms first? Our BetterUp alternatives guide maps the field for coaches, members, and organizations in one place.
Compliance. If your coaching touches health and wellness, your tools need to meet HIPAA requirements; our HIPAA guide for coaches covers when it applies and what to check.
Step 4: The First Ninety Days
The 90-day plan in the main guide applies as written: foundations in month one, first full-price clients in month two, rhythm and honest numbers in month three. The BetterUp-specific additions:
- Your warmest professional network is other coaches from your cohort going through the same transition; going solo alongside peers beats going solo alone
- Announce your practice publicly and let it be findable; visibility is not solicitation
- Expect the loneliness of running a business for the first time, and pick structures with built-in support over pure software
Where Vibly Fits
Vibly runs the whole practice in one place: scheduling, payments, video sessions, secure messaging, intake forms, and client records, for every kind of coaching practice, executive and leadership coaches very much included. When your work touches health information, compliance is built in with a BAA on every plan. For coaches leaving platform work, that means everything the platform handled, replaced in a day, plus the two things platform work never offered: ownership of your client relationships and of your record of the work.
For BetterUp coaches specifically, we are running a dedicated program: extended free platform time, migration done for you, and marketplace terms that keep clients you bring permanently yours. Joining also puts you in a community of coaches on Vibly, peers you can trade questions and referrals with while you build. Reach out here and mention you are a BetterUp coach; a 15-minute call with Dr. Diego Salinas is the whole first step.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take my BetterUp clients into my private practice?
You cannot solicit them; most platform agreements prohibit it. Clients who independently choose to continue with you after the program ends are making their own decision, which is their right. Answer questions honestly, share where your practice lives when asked, and let every continuation be client-initiated.
When should I start setting up my practice?
Now, while platform income still flows. The last individual renewals happen July 31, 2026, and subscriptions lapse through January 31, 2027. The setup takes days; the pipeline takes months, so the earlier the practice exists, the more of the transition window it catches.
Do I need a new certification to go independent?
Not as a hard requirement; coaching is largely unregulated, and your existing credentials and experience carry. We still highly recommend holding a recognized credential: some marketplaces and directories require board accreditation (ICF, NBC-HWC) for listing, and corporate partners often expect it, so check requirements where you plan to be visible.
What should I tell clients who ask what happens next?
The facts: the program ends January 31, 2027, they should save their assessments, resources, and coach messages before access ends, and, if they ask, where your independent practice can be found. BetterUp’s own help center encourages members to save their materials.
What does an independent practice need that the platform handled?
Scheduling, video, payments, messaging, intake, records, and the business layer: entity, insurance, contracts, pricing. All of it is standard and fast to set up; our guide on going from employed coach to your own practice covers each step.
