What to do to become a life coach? What do you need to do to enter one of the most dynamic and rewarding fields?
Why Life Coaching?
Diagnosis is out and personal coaching is in. No one is running to a psychologist if their life is slightly imperfect. However, people are beginning to flock to life coaches when things are slightly askew. People are forking out plenty of hard-earned cash to change their lives – that’s why life coaching is a great field.
That’s why people everywhere are asking: What to do to become a life coach?
What to do to Become a Life Coach?
The first step – Get started! Do something! Some people get bogged down by the details. They see several steps ahead of them and get overwhelmed. A journey starts with the first step – so take it!
13 Steps to Becoming a Life Coach
You really want to know what to do to become a life coach? Follow these 14 steps, or follow at least most of them and you will become a life coach!
- Go to college. If that ship has sailed, you can certainly make it as a life coach without college.
- If you do go to college, degrees in psychology, social work, and counseling are the best.
- Take classes through an accredited coaching program. Don’t base your decision completely on price – look for convenience, specific classes, and mentor coaches. Talk to the school and look for reviews and testimonials before you sign up.
- Get certified. Certification through the ICF (International Coach Federation) is one of the best.
- Set up your business. Don’t quit your job right away. Create your business according to the laws of your city and state, create a business plan, and figure out how you are going to run your business (use an office, at home, part-time, etc.)
- Decide if you want to coach within a niche. Niches can be anything from specializing in single mothers to working with recent college graduates.
- Attend seminars. At seminars you can continue your education, learn new skills, meet other coaches, and perhaps rub shoulders and learn from the big-wigs in the industry.
- Get mentored. Even if you had some mentor coaching in your coaching program, it is important to continue with mentoring. You can do this individually or as part of a group.
- Learn as much as you can about coaching. You should buy as many books and DVDs you can afford. There is plenty of valuable information packed into the right books and DVDs.
- List yourself in various coaching directories. The more you spread your name around, the more you will get noticed. No list of items on what to do to become a life coach is complete without the importance of networking.
- Begin to market and promote. You will have to market yourself if you want to succeed in the business. If you hate marketing, get someone to do it for you. It is a necessary evil!
- Get some free clients. Yes, you may have to give your services away for free at first. Coach some family members, friends, or friends of friends for free. This gives you some experience and may generate some word-of-mouth advertising for your practice.
- Enjoy it! What to do to become a life coach has now become; “What to do now that you have become a life coach.” The answer – Enjoy it! You are in a great field with the chance to make good money while helping others lead a better life.
Hope you took some great value out of this post today! I’d love to hear your feedback, so make sure you leave a comment with your thoughts or questions. And also, you can click on the Twitter button below to retweet this article… Thank you!
Fred Philips
Business Coach
Writing Team, Coaches Training Blog Community
Great steps to take to lead one into the coaching field. Truly this new profession is worth entering.
These are truly very helpful tips for those who want to start a career in coaching. This post has not only given me tips but has also given me a feel of what and what not to expect in life coaching. Thanks for sharing.