Life coaches are individuals who work to make a professional career out of motivating and encouraging people to reach their goals.
Clients pay life coaches for services involving romantic interests or problems, health and diet, business development, or any other personal goal that the client feels they need help with. If you think this sounds like the career for you, here are the steps that you’ll need to take to make it happen.
1. Earn Your High School Diploma and Go to College
While there’s no straight path to life coaching, it’s hard to distinguish yourself as a professional without education. There are no life coaching majors out there, but you can always major in a related field that will help you as a professional. Marketing, public relations, psychology, business, and behavioral health are all good fields to think about majoring in if you want to become a life coach.
2. Take Coaching Classes
There are professional associations and seminars out there that offer life coaching classes at some universities and conferences. The International Coaching Federation (ICF) and the International Association for Coaching (IAC) are two accreditation professional organizations that offer classes and certifications for life coaches.
3. Get Certified
Schools that offer coaching classes through the ICF or IAC will typically have a program set up for you to take certain classes and become certified. There are many coaching program scams out there, so make sure you’re getting your certification through ICF or IAC.
4. Find a Mentor
Because anyone, if they want to, can call himself or herself a life coach, it’s important to establish yourself in a way that sets you apart. One way to do this is by learning from the best of the best. Having a mentor can help you acquire valuable skills.
5. Keep a Second Job Until You Build Your Business
You aren’t very likely to make the big bucks when you’re first starting out. If you want your life-coaching career to be serious, give yourself time to make it so, but make sure you have a way to support yourself in the meantime.
6. Build Clientele
The key to ensuring a successful career is to build up clientele. Start of by working through networks of family and friends, and their recommendations will help you find clients outside of your personal networks.
7. Find Your Specialization
Many life coaches find that it’s important to have a niche. Examples include eco coaching, business coaching, romantic coaching, health and weight loss coaching, career coaching, retirement coaching, spiritual coaching, and work/life balance coaching.
8. Market Yourself
Use the tools out there to market yourself effectively. Build a career network on social media sites like LinkedIn and Facebook. List yourself on Coaching Directories. Attend coaching conferences and seminars. Consider getting some advertising to build clientele. Treat your coaching career as you would a business.???????
9. Be Organized, Flexible, and Creative
Once your career is off and running, it’s important to keep the momentum going. Keep a personal schedule so that you separate when you’re on duty and when you’re not. Try to maintain a flexible schedule while giving your clients the attention they deserve. Remember to always stay positive, and get creative with the strategies and tools you use with your clients.
