Professionals often face this common decision – become a counseling  expert for themselves or hire a coach. If you are facing this choice, how about another solution – don’t hire a coach, become a coach!

Becoming a counseling expert on your own life is important if you want to push yourself to achieve goals. An unexamined life is not worth living, isn’t that what Socrates said eons ago?

Yes, you can guide yourself, examine your own life, create your own road map through the vicissitudes of life, and push yourself to reach the pinnacle of success. But, don’t forget the power of coaching. Life has become so complex now. If you are as old as me, you may remember when boys learned how to fix a car. However, cars have become so complicated and computerized that very few people possess the skills or the time to work on their own cars. That’s exactly how life is – complicated, and at times, difficult to fix.

Become a Counseling Expert and Become a Coach

Learning to coach yourself is a great step in the direction of success, but many people need something more, just a little extra. That extra is a coach! Because people are searching for a little help, coaching has become one of the hottest fields to enter. That’s right – if you are seeking a new career, a new beginning, or just something more rewarding than your current occupation, coaching may the answer.

Become a Coach in Five easy Steps

Easy doesn’t mean you don’t have to work. Coaching takes hard work, dedication, and a passion for helping others. In the last decade or so, the coaching profession has really taken off. People are looking for the tools that will help them reach their professional and personal goals…and coaches have those tools! So – once you have become a counseling expert for yourself, you can become a coaching expert for others. Follow these steps and you will be on your way to becoming a successful coach with a profitable coaching practice.

1. Learn all you can about the coaching profession. Do Internet research, talk with other coaches, and hire a coach for a few sessions to find out about the interaction between coach and client.
2. Choose your coach training wisely. Once again, research counts. Research coaching programs online, talk to other coaches, read testimonials, and call the programs and ask questions. Make sure the program is certified by the ICF ( International Coach Federation).
3. Learn the ICF coaching competencies. They are vital to your success, and it is important to completely understand them and make them a part of your business. You can find them on the ICF website.
4. Make sure you know what it takes to run a business. Though you get in to the profession to help people, you also have to help yourself, and that means you need to market and promote your business. When you become a counseling or coaching expert and make this your business, you can never forget that it is a business. You will need to consistently market, promote, and network to make your business a success.
5. The last thing you need to do is get out and coach. Establish yourself as a coach, find a niche in which to coach, work with a mentor coach, and remember to continue your education. Keeping up to date in the coaching profession and earning more certifications will help to establish yourself as a successful coach

As you become a counseling expert on your own career and life, you may want to think about becoming a coach and helping others reach their goals and dreams. While helping others, you may reach your own goals and dreams. Take that desire to become a counseling expert in personal matters and turn it into something special – be a coach!

Special Bonus – Learn 3 simple ways to become a life coach with the “30-Days to Become a Coach” video toolkit when you fill in the form at the top right and click the “Watch The Videos Now” button. You’ll learn how to change your client’s life in 45 minutes.

Fred Philips
Business Coach
Writing Team, Coaches Training Blog Community