If you are thinking about become a coach, you may be asking: Do you need to be certified to be a life coach? You may be wondering if there are any specific rules, regulations, certifications, or licenses that are required when you decided to become a life coach.

Do You Need to be Certified to be a Life Coach?

No is the very short answer to the question: Do you need to be certified to be a life coach? But, the real answer is much more complex than that. The real answer is: Yes because…

Some coaches actually get started before they get certified. But, as the coaching industry continues to grow and mature, the sooner you get a certification, the better.

Do you need to be certified to be a life coaching expert? Of course not, some coaches are born with the talent and are able to pursue knowledge without the formal framework of a certified coaching program.

However, those wild, wild west days of coaching, when anyone could come riding into town and call themselves a coach are gradually disappearing.

Should You be Certified to be a Life Coach?

Now that you know you don’t need to be certified to be a life coach, it’s more relevant to ask about whether or not you should get certified. The answer to this one is an emphatic YES.

Yes – you can be a coach without certifications. As long as you get results for your clients, you don’t need any paper telling you what a great coach you are. However, in an increasingly competitive industry it will get harder and harder to attract clients without a certification or two.

4 Reasons You Should be Certified to be a Life Coach

We’ve answered the question: Do you need to be certified to be a life coach, and we’ve answered the question: Should you be certified to be a life coach, now here’s the long answer to why getting certified will give you more opportunities to be a successful coach.

• According to studies by Coaching Sherpa and other groups, coaches who are certified earn more money. Just this one reason is enough to motivate most people to seek out certification.
• Being certified separates you from coaches who are not certified. Though that group is getting smaller each year, as more coaches get certified, it is still an important distinction.
• Your clients want and expect you to be certified. You may be able to get results without a certification, but clients are beginning to want that piece of paper hanging on your wall.
• It will be easier to brand yourself as an expert in some segment or niche of the coaching industry. To boost your income, many coaches seek out additional streams of income, such as books, DVDs, personalized coaching programs, public speaking, and more. To really sell these additional products and make a name for yourself in the industry, certifications are quite helpful.

So, do you need to be certified to be a life coach? No, you don’t, but if you want to be a successful life coach, certification, along with getting results and intelligent marketing, is one of the most important factors in achieving that success.

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.

Fred Philips
Business Coach
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