After spending hours on the phone with a friend of yours discussing possible directions to his new career, when you hang up you ask yourself, "Why don't they pay me for this?" By the time you ended up on this page, you probably realized that you have a real chance for this to happen. In fact, life coaching is a very legitimate and growing field. The U. S. News and World Report cited this profession as the second largest consulting business there is. If you want to help others by becoming a life coach, here are the steps you need to follow.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Having the Right Qualifications
Step 1. Go to university
50 years ago, you could only have done a job with a high school diploma or a certificate from a similar institution, but times have now changed. On average, to practice this profession, you must have at least a first level degree. While you don't necessarily need it to become a life coach, you will find yourself competing with people who have masters or even doctoral degrees, so it's best to enroll in college.
Although there is no real life coaching degree course, you can start the process by enrolling in faculties such as Psychology or Education. However, just because there is no degree program, it doesn't mean that there are no targeted classes available. For example, if you study in the United States, Harvard, Yale, Duke, NYU, Georgetown, UC Berkeley, Penn State, the University of Texas at Dallas and George Washington, to name a few, all have coaching programs already well underway
Step 2. Take a coaching course through an accredited program
If you have already finished college and have no plans to return, the alternative is to take a life coaching course through a recognized school or program. For example, in the United States, the ICF (International Coaching Federation) and IAC (International Association of Coaching) have joined certain institutions and decided that the coaches they turn out deserve their own certification.
These two organizations are absolutely serious in the field of coaching. Make sure that whichever institution you attend works in partnership with these associations. If not, it's a scam, a waste of time and money, or both
Step 3. Get certified
Once you have completed the school's coaching program, you are eligible to become certified (both through the ICF and through the IAC, it depends on your school's association). With this title, you are basically ready to work. Instead of telling people you're a life coach and hoping they won't ask you about the details, you have a title that allows you to support your statements.
This will be your source of income. No life coach can truly be successful without working. If you are trained in the right way, you will have no obstacles. Just remember to write it on your business card
Step 4. Attend seminars
Since there is no life coaching course equivalent to a medical internship, seminars are super common. To stay up to date and stay in the field, get familiar with the big names and network - that's what coaches do, they take courses right, left and center. Your school should be able to give you basic information on when and where to find them in your area.
Use them to your advantage. Not only should you go home and try to really assimilate what you have heard (each seminar should be about a different topic), but you should also talk to those in attendance. Having mentors (or at least friendly faces in the field) will be infinitely helpful when you find obstacles in the way. Someone will have to teach you to do certain things
Part 2 of 4: Starting Your Own Business
Step 1. Keep your part-time job
Let's say things as they are right away and get rid of the thought: although there are not many costs associated with becoming a life coach (compared to 10 years of medical studies for example), there is a well-defined delay regarding the perception of an income.. Not only do you need something to support yourself while receiving training to become a professional, you will also need savings when you start working. After four months of classes, people aren't going to knock right on your door to pay you for your advice. These things take time.
It could take years to build a solid and steady customer base. This is not a get-rich-quick scheme. While some life coaches charge exorbitant amounts of money for just a short call, most aren't quite as lucky. With less experience, you will have to get paid less (as well as having fewer customers). And, probably, you'll have to start working for free, so it's not yet time to say hello to your boss and tell him everything you think about him
Step 2. Work for yourself
.. let's hope. While some are hired by businesses and companies that plan to improve retention rates for their employees, most life coaches work independently. This means that you will manage your documents and that you will have to be inundated from every point of view of the business, but it also means that you will be planning your agenda.
You will need to pay self-employment taxes as well as having to bill all clients yourself and establish payment methods and times (just to name a few of the assignments). If you're not sure about all the basics you need to cover, talk to another person working alone or other life coaches! This introduces the next step
Step 3. Let an established life coach mentor you
Just as psychotherapists receive hours of therapy during their training, new life coaches must be followed by experienced professionals to supplement their training. This can be done through group or one-to-one sessions over the phone if your school grants you this opportunity, or you may be looking for one yourself. You've been networking, right?
- The other side of this equation is needing to see what a life coach really does. You might think it's all a "You're ruining your life, do this instead", when in reality it's anything but that (of course if you're a good life coach). To better understand what you will actually be doing, you should have a life coach yourself.
- If your school doesn't have one for you (or doesn't even give you a list with the names of people to contact), find one through your friends / classmates / teachers or through a directory, just like future clients. they will find you.
Step 4. Include yourself in various coaching lists
Websites like noomii.com and lifecoach-directory.org.uk have lists that you can put yourself in; you can be found by those who, as they roam the internet, decide they would like some assistance in life. There are tons of people out there that you will never reach by word of mouth alone: putting yourself on the web is the only way to find them.
Most websites will charge you for entering your image and information. Make sure it's not a complete scam or a waste of time before you give anyone your credit card information or money. There are multiple scammers in the world, so proceed with lead feet
Step 5. Find your niche
Some life coaches specialize in guiding people to define visions for their lives and to find ways to improve them in general. Some professionals focus on helping clients choose and train for their careers, while others assist executives in running their businesses; still others help clients manage their interpersonal relationships. Decide in which area of life coaching you would like to specialize (hint: it should be about something you know firsthand). Here is a list of the possibilities to take inspiration from:
- Business coaching.
- Carbon coaching (helping others to reduce their ecological footprint).
- Career coaching.
- Coaching for the company.
- Executive coaching.
- Relationship coaching.
- Retirement Coaching.
- Spiritual and Christian Coaching.
- Time Management Coaching.
- Body Image and Weight Coaching.
- Coaching to balance work with private life.
Step 6. Promote yourself
Now that you have the title "Certified Life Coach" under your name, it's time to start distributing business cards, posting advertisements online, in newspapers and online pages and community magazines, and opening a page on Facebook, to tweet, and, why not, even to write your name on the side of your machine. The more your name is recognized, the better it will be. People can't go to you if they don't even know you exist!
- Consider selling yourself as a specialist. You have your niche, right? What might your prospective customers read, see or hear? If you want to reach business executives, you wouldn't post an ad at your city's daycare, but you would if your target were new mothers or women trying to balance career and family life.
- Studies have shown that coaching is very useful for both employees and employers. Companies that spend a dollar on their employees (be it for coaching, personal well-being, etc.) earn three dollars in savings for a decrease in employee turnover and related processes. If you are considering approaching a company and suggesting that they offer you as a coach (and if you weren't before, now you are), arm yourself with these facts.
Step 7. Look for guinea pig customers
When you're fresh off certification, you need some customers. However, with your zero experience, it's pretty hard for someone to look for you. In order to be able to say that you have experience working with real people, ask your friends and family members if you can work with them for free. You'll accumulate quite a few hours of experience and they'll get that much-coveted time all to themselves (and hopefully some good pointers and a dose of reality).
How many people to work with and for how long is up to you. The correct answer is "until you feel comfortable getting paid for your services and confident that you are truly capable of helping others enrich their lives." It could be weeks, months. Thankfully, there is no way to go wrong on this path
Step 8. Attract real customers
After a few months of working with your sister's colleague and the friend of the pizza delivery boy's friend, word of mouth will eventually do its job. You will receive the first call, which will make you jump to the ceiling for joy. Congratulations! You will finally pocket something!
How much? To be honest, you decide. Do you want to get paid at an hourly rate? Monthly? And how much is it? Consider the steepness of this individual's challenges, both for you and for him. What can you afford? What can you afford? What are the demographic variables under which the majority of your potential customers fall? If in doubt, find out about competitor prices
Part 3 of 4: Working with Customers
Step 1. Start with a deep interview
When it comes to life coaching, you can't judge a book by its cover. When a client comes to you, make sure the first session is a thorough interview and covers all their requests. What are you looking for? What part of his life is he trying to change? What are its goals?
Most people will come to you with an idea, a very specific idea (which is why most life coaches have specializations) of what they want to achieve. Whether it's losing weight, fully dedicating themselves to their thriving business, or dealing with the tough issues in their relationship, they know. Let them guide you at first and listen
Step 2. Be organized
Once you have a customer base, it will be easy to refer to one in your head with labels like "that-coffee-addicted-boy-who-suffers-from-narcolepsy". Do not do it. They wouldn't appreciate it if they knew. Keep portfolios dedicated to your clients, on which to write down all the details, and update them. If you are not organized, you will end up missing a phone call with customer Number 14, who will pick up the phone immediately afterwards, but to look for another life coach.
It is equally important to make everyone feel like they are your most important customer. Every little detail they tell you must be something you will remember and keep in mind when working with them. Not only will they be impressed and trust you more, you will be able to make more accurate decisions about what might help them while keeping your focus
Step 3. Determine a workable agenda
You'll soon figure out what's right for you, but most coaches say they work with each client about three times a month. Some clients will require more work, others less, but three times a month is the average. The length of each session depends on you and the client.
You don't necessarily have to conduct the sessions yourself, although these meetings are obviously the most intimate. You could also keep them on the phone or even on programs like Skype. If you are a coach who deals with business executives and other professionals of this type, you may realize that your clients travel often and telephone sessions are the only solution
Step 4. You don't just have to give instructions
Life coaches are not just expensive counselors. This would be terrible. Your profession is all about helping others explore their choices and understand what's best for them. It's just bad life coaches who give advice and then shut it down. You're actually working to change the customer's behavior, which is a billion times more valuable than just telling them what to do.
No one else needs another person (least of all a true stranger) to tell them what to do with their lives - we all get this advice from our in-laws, our brothers and sisters, and the occasional high school friends who think they know. everything. You have to respond to the how, not the what. You need to be able to give them the tools to go through the process
Step 5. Mark some homework
Up to a point, you are a teacher or a guide. When you end the phone call with a client, your work doesn't end there. You need to make sure he puts what you discussed together into action. You have to give him homework. Whether it's exploring different business plans or talking to your ex-husband, you need to assign them actions that lead to change. What would be best for them? And how do you make sure they do it?
You will have customers who will not cooperate. You will have clients who will disagree with you. You will have customers who think they are wasting their precious time. These things will happen. You have to accept the good and the bad and know when to admit your defeats. If a customer doesn't like your style, there's nothing you can do about it
Step 6. Help customers achieve their goals
Ultimately, that's your goal. We all struggle in this thing called life and a life coach is there to turn on the light for clients when they find themselves wandering through a dark and scary tunnel. If you have done your best to enable them to achieve their goals and have shown them the options, you have done your part. They'll be better off working with you.
Part 4 of 4: Developing Effective Coaching Skills
Step 1. Be a caring and empathetic person
Much of the work a life coach does is to help people set goals and encourage them to reach them. This requires someone who enjoys being in contact with people in a friendly way. If you are a negative, pessimistic or sad person, customers will run away from you in no time.
Face-to-face contact isn't always mandatory to be a life coach, as many work with clients over the phone. However, this has many advantages: it is less inhibiting and therefore it is easier to build trust. It is affordable because it is global and flexible
Step 2. Try to sincerely want the best for everyone
Some of us (read 99%) are not always kind and understanding. Even if we consider ourselves possessors of these qualities, we still have slips from time to time. And sometimes this can happen more with some people than with others. That really beautiful colleague might make the women in the office feel jealous or that really silly friend Joe just pisses us off so much that we get cold and aloof. Whether it's the intellect, the physical appearance or just the detestable laughter that gets on your nerves, you have to put all this aside and be willing to help everyone, to have the good will to do it.
You will likely have clients you wouldn't stop talking on the street to invite them to have coffee with you even in the next life. That is fine. We can't get along with everyone. But that's not a problem: you don't have to go for coffee with customers. All you have to do is help them. Help them and want them to be successful. While you may find their personalities similar to the sound of nails scratching on a chalkboard, you still need to have their best interest at heart
Step 3. Remember that you are not friends with your customers
Just as it was stated in the previous step, you don't have to make appointments to go for coffee with them. You will not go to order drinks during the aperitif before the game starts. You're there to push them, not just encourage them like friends usually do. It is important to keep this concept clear in order to have a professional relationship. When you become friends with them, they stop paying you.
When you cross the line and go from being a coach to being a friend, your clients will feel less encouraged to do what you suggest. You will also feel less inclined to tell the truth: one day you will have to be hard on them, and, if they are your friends, they will be offended because they will take it personally. Having clear boundaries is nothing more than a good and logical practice
Step 4. Be flexible
Our lives always take unexpected turns. You may receive a call at 9am on a Friday night from a customer who would like to book a session for the next day. If you can, work with him! He's not disrespecting you, he's practically surprised at least as much as you are. You will not have the most consistent work schedule there is, your standard will definitely not be that of a 9 to 5 office job.
In addition to being flexible with schedules, you need to be flexible in terms of mentality. What you consider suitable for this person may not be what is actually right for them. In the end, everything is relative. If she isn't willing to do something, you should respect her wishes. You always work with a unique individual. Provide customers with as specific a program as possible, but leave a small margin for improvement and modification
Step 5. Be creative
In order to help people reach their potential, you need to be able to think creatively. These people have probably already considered alternatives A and B, which didn't work for them (for one reason or another); you have to present alternatives C, D and E to them. They will not always be so obvious (or your client would have come up with it himself!); in order to be a successful life coach, you will need to be resourceful, original and with a lot of imagination.
This doesn't mean you don't have to be logical. Not at all, you have to combine both traits. Overall, you will need to focus on the path to success. A healthy balance of reality mixed with a "have you-ever-thought-about-the-situation-in-these-terms?" it will make you go far and earn customer appreciation. And, when they are happy, you are happy, and they might even tell their friends about it
Advice
- You may want to offer prospective clients a trial coaching session to see if your style fits their goals and other needs. And to pique their interest!
- Keep a list of satisfied customers to use as a reference for future potential clients.
Warnings
- A life coach should work as the client's partner and the client should be the one who determines the direction the partnership should go.
- At this time, there are no external regulatory bodies for life coaches as there are for psychiatrists and psychologists.
