“What can I expect to be my certified life coach salary?” is one of the first questions that you might ask. For that matter you also might ask: “Does a life coach make more or less than other types of coaches?” and “How much more if anything will I make if I become a certified coach?” In this post I will shed some light on the answers of each of these questions. But I want to start with the question “Do coaches typically make a salary?”

Do Coaches Earn Salaries?

Typically the answer is “No.” To earn a salary, a coach needs to work in an organization that provides coaching as an ancillary service to its clients. For example, using salary.com I could not find coaches, per say. However, I did find councilors, both in the education and healthcare fields. Councilors, in higher education in Northern California, earn an average of $61,000 per year. In Ames, Iowa the same position has an average salary of $41,000. Coaches typically earn a percentage of the fees that their clients pay for the coaching service. No clients. No income.

Then Just What Can a Certified Life Coach Earn?

What a certified life coach can earn really depends. If you bring in the clients, you will earn something for that. If you provide the coaching, you will earn more. The amount earned though always goes back to a percentage of the revenue or in some cases a percentage of the profits associated with the client. You might earn 20% of revenue for doing the coaching and another 20% if you brought in the client. If you are on your own, you get to keep the profits after you pay for marketing and other expenses.

Does Being Certified Make a Difference?

Being certified often adds credibility to your message, so it can make getting clients easier. But once you are working with a client, your earnings are more determined by the value you deliver though your life coaching. And since coaching is an unregulated industry, the earning power of being certified depends on the cache of the organization that is doing the certification.

So How Can a Life Coach Earn More?

There are several ways and here is where not having a fixed certified life coach salary can be a very good thing. First, you can create some products that you can sell to clients. Second, you can increase your value by increasing the value of your brand. And third, you can duplicate yourself by hiring other coaches who follow your methods, or coaching through group coaching sessions, conference calls and webinars.

How much can a certified life coach earn? As you can see, it all depends.

By the way… you’re invited to claim your FREE step-by-step “Life Coach Salary Secrets” video toolkit. Just go  HERE  now to get your Life Coach Salary Secrets.

Dave Iuppa
JTS Advisors Strategy and Accountability Coach