If you are staring a life coach practice, you have made a good decision. You are entering a business in which you can help others while helping yourself.

Starting a life coach practice entails the usual steps for starting any business – licensing, business plans, office space, and other business related items. It also requires training, education, and coaching materials.

Starting a Life Coach Practice With Clients

The most important goal after starting a life coaching practice is to get clients. After all, what are you if you don’t have clients? A failed life coach! Without clients, you won’t be able to prove to the world what a great coach you are. There are two basic places to attract and obtain clients – online and offline. If you aren’t already online – get on what used to be called the information superhighway as fast as you can.

6 Tried and True Ways to Get Clients

Find Your Own Corner of the Web

Yes, you need a website. A coach without a website is like a day without…air. Humans need air to survive, coaches need a website to survive. Everyone is online and you need to have a destination for them to visit. A website shows you are an established player in the coaching world. It a great place to promote and inform.

Be Social on Social Networking

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest…you’ve heard of these sites, right? If not, it’s time to join the 21st century. Social media sites are a great way to build your brand, promote your services, and create and develop genuine business relationships. Starting a life coach practice without a presence on social media is like being the only store in the mall not on the directory.

Life is a Network

Networking is the best offline way to spread the way about your coaching practice. Networking is all about building relationships and contacts within the business and local communities. Attending local functions, peer group meetings, professional gatherings, and community events are great ways to meet people, hand out your business card, and establish relationships.

Advertising the Old fashioned Way

Print ads and print media aren’t as important as they used to be. However, don’t disregard them entirely. Business cards are still an important way to promote your services, and strategically placed ads can pay for themselves several times over. Print media will probably not make or break your business, but it can certainly add to it.

Speak and You Shall be Heard

One method that is not used by that many people who are starting a life coach practice is to speak at events. If you offer your time for free, and possess knowledge in specific areas, whether these topics are related to coaching or not, you can secure speaking engagements at various community and business functions. It’s a fairly easy way to let people know who you are and what you do.

Write Your Way to Success

One of the best ways to get your name out in cyberspace is to write articles and blogs online. You can create your own blog, guest write for others, or post your article on various online sites. Even if you fell asleep during writing class, you can still be an online writer. Forums are a great place to post your thoughts, comment on the thoughts of others, and to network with others interested in coaching. If you have ever read any online forums, it is obvious that there are very few Shakespeares on there – you don’t have to be a great writer to get people to notice you. Just be honest and reasonable in short sentences!

If you are starting a life coach practice and you use these six methods to attract clients and promote your business, you will be sprinting out of the starting gates faster than most. Taking advantage of each of the promotional methods won’t guarantee success, but it will put you in the fast lane to prosperity.

Give this strategy a try and see for yourself that it works. If you liked this coaching tip, leave a comment or use the handy bookmark buttons below to share it with others on Facebook, Twitter, Digg, etc. Thanks!

Fred Philips
Business Coach
Writing Team, Coaches Training Blog Community