How do you know what your life coach career outlook will be? Do you watch the economy like a hawk to see if people will purchase your coaching? What about your prospects? Do you hang on their every decision? Perhaps you wonder what your current clients will decide to do tomorrow? Will they re-up for another month?
The fact is that most of the things that life coaches think about, worry about, and stay up late thinking about, do not have any bearing on your life coach career outlook. Most of the things life coaches think about are short term in nature, and actually COST them the long term outlook.
Here are three little-known fixes that will shift your thinking from short term worries to long term success…
Start Coaching And Keep Coaching For Life
Start coaching as soon as possible when you begin your practice. This will help you get used to the act of coaching others and get an idea as to whether or not you really like to coach. You’ll also build confidence and skills much faster. You should be coaching at least 5 people every week. This alone will help improve your life coach career outlook.
After you’ve been coaching for a while, you need to keep doing it. Keep your coaching ‘chops’ together by mentoring people in your organization, doing seminars, trainings, or group coaching (if you haven’t the stomach to do one on one coaching any more!).
Get Clear on Your Niche And Your Expertise
Having a niche and expertise will double your fees and also make it half as challenging to gain clients. When people know that you’re a career expert in the area where they need help, they stop doubting you and they sign up for coaching. Get clear on a niche that needs your specific expertise (or, if needed, develop an expertise FOR a niche). This will double your income as a coach.
The Final Fix For Your Life Coach Career Outlook
Wait to get certified. Certification generally doesn’t help you get clients. It’s more for you and your confidence. The vast majority of coaches that get certified don’t do anything with their certification. Don’t just go to a certification training and think you’re going to get clients. Rather, learn to get clients and coach, go start making money doing it, and then get certified as you build your business. Practicing your coaching skills is much more important than certification.
Follow these three fixes for your life coaching practice and you’ll find things getting much easier (once the abundance kicks in). Just remember that it will take some sacrifices in the short term to receive these long term payoffs for your life coaching career outlook.
Would you like an endless stream of new coaching clients? Simply click the image to the right and email and I’ll send you free videos with step-by-step blueprints for generating a massive income from high paying coaching clients.
Jeffrey T. Sooey
CEO, JTS Advisors
Founder, Coaches Training Blog community
step- by -step blueprint to clients.
I must respectfully disagree with the last part of this post. I started training with iPEC in June. After completing my first module of training, I started coaching at a reduced rate. I had also reviewed the ICF’s Core Coaching Competencies and Code of Ethics. At that point, I had enough training to know the basics of how to coach.
At this point, I have completed three modules of training, along with peer coaching, teleclasses, mentor coaching, etc. All are part of iPEC’s coaching program, which is designed to ensure that its students have mastered coaching before getting certified as coaches.
I’m proud to say that I only need to complete a couple more steps before becoming a certified professional coach. I feel confident that I can serve my clients well. I will raise my fees to standard industry coaching fees as soon as I’ve received certification. The certification process is as important for the client as it is for the coach, and imho, I recommend that anyone who wants to become a life coach become certified.
Notice that there’s still no direct link between you getting certified and getting clients. Mainly you’re demonstrating a BELIEF that certification is important, and therefore you’re acting upon that belief and producing results. Take away your certification and nothing changes (the training was most likely important, but the certification is not).
Each statement of yours shows the real impact that certification had on you…
“I feel confident that I can serve my clients well.”
TRANSLATION: You needed confidence and used the certification to provide that. Fair enough.
“I’m proud to say”
TRANSLATION: My ego feels good that I’m getting certified. Okay… does that produce clients? If so, then, again, ok!
“I will raise my fees to standard industry coaching fees as soon as I’ve received certification.”
TRANSLATION: I feel I need permission to charge normal fees for coaching. This certification will provide that. Fair enough…
Your last statement shows that we’re most likely in more agreement than it may seem… you say the certification process is important. YES the PROCESS is important. The CERTIFICATE is NOT.
Yes, it is *definitely* the process that is important. The certification to me is proof for clients that I’ve undergone training that fits coaching standards. It’s not the certification itself that gives me confidence, it’s the training, which has been really wonderful!
So I guess we are in more agreement than I thought! I’m also starting to consider raising my rates now. I have the training and I just need to take a few steps before getting certified.
I will just add that I believe getting good training, and adhering to ICF’s code of ethics and its core coaching competencies is important.
I appreciate your thoughtful reply. And I’m very motivated now to check out your video. 🙂
Thank you!
Janet
Yeah, what I’m trying to outline here is more to the point of avoiding the ‘knee-jerk’ reaction that having that certificate is what it’s ‘about’. The process is what it’s about.
What is really alarming is seeing coaches ‘fall asleep’ after they get their certification as if their work is done! The reality? THE WORK HAS JUST BEGUN!
Jeff