Instagram and TikTok are flooded with business coaches touting 7-figure businesses. It's created a risky, Wild West for first-time entrepreneurs paying thousands for services.

Rhapsodi Pierre-Jacques is one of the millions of Americans who started a business last year.

She'd spent 12 years in advertising and consulting, which included working at Deloitte, but harbored dreams of using her experience to start a career-coaching practice. As she grew dissatisfied with the lack of diversity within corporate leadership roles, that idea blossomed.

The country's racial reckoning after George Floyd's killing was the final nudge Pierre-Jacques, 33, needed to launch her business, Career Swag Co. LLC, which focuses on serving women of color. She has a master's degree in psychology from Columbia University and is working on getting her coaching certification but needed help with the business basics. 

"I've never started a business before," she told Insider, adding that she launched the company in September 2020. "I was looking for as much guidance as I could get." So she signed up for an online program called "Course from Scratch," taught by the business coach Danielle Leslie.

More and more entrepreneurs like Pierre-Jacques are turning to a growing movement of influencer coaches offering their services through social media. Women dominate the coaching industry. The International Coaching Federation, a nonprofit organization that provides coaching certifications, surveyed 22,457 coaching professionals and found that 75% of respondents in North America were women.

These business coaches, who are particularly popular on Instagram and TikTok, advertise that they make six and seven figures and can help others achieve the same success. But the field is unregulated, which leaves the vetting in the hands of the consumer.

Their posts are equal parts revenue-generating marketing strategies and self-love affirmations. On any given feed, you often see Louboutin heels, Chanel bags, and perfectly manicured nails alongside inspirational quotes. "It's vital for you to get rich," one says among photos of her with her dream car: a Mercedes-Benz 550 SUV. Another advertises her "Summit of Slay" conference between a video of her getting facial fillers and a quote saying, "You are destined for greatness." And another's post says "you are in alignment" alongside photos of her with a private jet. They promise if you attend their conferences, sign up for their online mastermind courses, and join their Facebook groups, you, too, can quit your corporate job and monetize your passion.

This market for business coaching is red hot and expected to get hotter. In 2019, business coaching was a $15 billion industry, according to the International Coaching Federation. While the market shrunk last year during pandemic-induced closures, it's expected to grow 5.8% in 2021, an IBISWorld report found.

A new generation of entrepreneurs, many of whom were laid off or quit low-paying and lackluster jobs, have decided to strike out on their own. In 2020, more than 4.3 million new businesses were created, and 2021 has exceeded that, coming in at 4.6 million as of November 9, according to US Census Bureau data. People turn to coaches to navigate these career switches and the daunting yet exciting prospect of running their own businesses.

The industry is set to gain more momentum in 2022, bolstered by a new class of online business coaches marketing to millennial and Gen Z entrepreneurs. 

"The industry has exploded for sure," Debbie Rebar, who has been a virtual assistant for 19 years to authors, speakers, and business coaches, said. "There are so many more people doing coaching nowadays and different kinds of coaching than early on."