A familiar question that lingers in the minds of many coaches is this: “How much money can I actually earn coaching and what’s the average salary for a life coach?”

Coaching is a billion dollar industry and the 2016 ICF Global Coaching Study showed that the estimated global total revenue from coaching in 2015 was $2.356 billion USD, representing a 19% increase over the 2011 estimate.

Average Salary for a Life Coach Worldwide

The 2015 average salaries for life coaches around the world, according to the ICF study are as follows:

Average Annual Salary for a Life Coach (in USD)

North America – $61,900

Latin America and the Caribbean – $27,100

Western Europe – $55,300

Eastern Europe – $18,400

Middle East and Africa – $35,900

Asia – $37,800

Oceania – $73,100

Global – $51,000

In the United States, coaching is a billion dollar industry that employs over 20,000 people every year. In the last few years, the industry has grown by around 10% and is expected to grow by about the same amount over the next few years.

A percentage of the population, usually the higher salary brackets use personal coaches for everything from self-confidence to learning to play tennis.

Why do People Hire Coaches?

There are a number of reasons that people hire coaches, but as an analogy, people hire coaches for the same reasons that some writers hire editors.

They need an objective person to take a look at what they are doing, point out any mistakes that they are making, keep them accountable and advise them on what to do to fix them and achieve their intended end result. In short, coaches provide a brand new and invaluable perspective.

Coaches can be a person that people can say things to that they might not be able to say to their family or friends. And they keep that completely confidential.

A life coach also provides a reflective surface for people to talk to. Sometimes, all people need is for someone to listen to them, and they can figure out the solution themselves. If not, a coach can come up with some ideas that they might not have thought of themselves.

Finally, a coach will be there when their clients succeed, to help them celebrate, and this also can be extremely motivating.

What Coaches Can Do For Their Clients

Here are some things that good coaches can do for their clients:

• Identify where the client actually is and how far they have to go to reach their goals. It takes an outside, objective perspective to allow them to see things clearly.
• Create a safe environment for them to reach their goals. Someone in their life may be keeping them from achieving success and working with a coach gives them a safe place to be themselves and do what they want.
• Give them permission to achieve their goals. Some people feel as if they are not supposed to achieve what they want, and feel guilty about pursuing it. But as a coach, if you tell them they are permitted to follow their dreams, they might just believe you and go ahead and do it.
• Set higher standards than they would have set for themselves. People who are afraid of failure will set lower expectations of themselves and having a coach to hold them to a higher standard can often be just what they need.
• Give them the support that they might be lacking. Sometimes, all it takes for someone to believe in themselves is for someone else to believe in them first. Your clients may not be getting the support they need from friends or family and that’s where a coach can be useful.
• Give them tools to make changes. Tools like spreadsheets to keep track of progress or journals are highly useful when it comes to setting and achieving goals and making life changes.

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.

Jeannie Cotter
Editor/Writer
Writer, Coaches Training Blog community