After spending hours with your friend on the phone discussing possible paths to a new career, you ended up wondering: Why don't I get paid for this? Since you are on this page, you are probably aware that you could. In fact, this is a very legitimate and growing field, U. S. magazine News and World Report has ranked life guidance as the second largest consultancy out there. If you want to help others by becoming a life coach, here are the steps you should take:
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Acquire the qualifications
Step 1. Go to college
Fifty years ago you could have gotten away with just a high school diploma or a general education developmental test, but times are changing. Typically, at least a college degree from a four-year college. While you don't need one to become a life coach, you will have to compete with people who have a master's degree or even a doctorate, so it's best to go to college.
While "life guidance" is not yet a career on its own, counseling and psychology are. Moreover, just because it is not a career, it does not mean that there are no classes available about it; Harvard, Yale, Duke, New York University, Georgetown, the University of California at Berkeley, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Texas at Dallas, and George Washington, to name a few, have all started orientation programs
Step 2. Take orientation classes through an accredited program
If you've already finished college and don't want to go back, the other path is to take life orientation classes through an accredited school or program. The International Coaching Federation (ICF) and the International Coaching Association (IAC) have partnered with certain schools and named coaches they deemed worthy of their certification.
These two organizations are almost as legitimate as is the field of life guidance. Make sure the college you attend works with one of these organizations. If you don't, it could be a scam, a waste of your time or money, or both
Step 3. Obtain the certificate
Once you complete your orientation program at school, you are eligible for certification (either through the ICF or the IAC, depending on which your school is associated with). With that certification, you are practically ready to go. Instead of telling people that you are a life coach and hoping they won't ask you for the details, you have an academic certificate to back you up.
This will be your daily bread. No life coach can truly be successful without this one. If you have education above all else, you will do much better. Just remember to include it on your business card
Step 4. Attend seminars
Since there is no life orientation program equivalent to medical school, seminars are very common. To stay viable in this field, get acquainted with all the big-name coaches who attend the seminars left and right, and also make connections. Your school should make you take the first step by explaining where and when to find them in your area.
Use them to your advantage. Not only should you go home and try to really take in what the seminar was about (each has a different topic) but you should also talk to the people there. Having mentors (or at least friendly faces in the area) will definitely come in handy when obstacles arise along the way. Someone has to teach you the trade
Part 2 of 4: Establish a Business
Step 1. Keep your part-time job
Let's get this straight up front: while there aren't a ton of expenses associated with becoming a life coach (compared to paying for a decade in medical school, for example), there is a definite lag in earnings. Not only do you need something to survive on while you train, but you will also need to save while you start. After four months of classes, people won't exactly knock on your door to pay for your advice. This can take time.
It could take years to build a stable and consistent customer base. This is not a get rich quick scheme. While some life coaches can charge exorbitant amounts of money just for a quick phone call, most of them aren't that lucky. With less experience, you will have to charge less money (in addition to having fewer clients). Plus, you'll probably have to start working for free, so don't show your boss the middle finger just yet
Step 2. Work on your own… probably
While some life coaches are hired by companies seeking to improve their staff retention rates, most life coaches are freelancers. This means that you will control your own documentation and you will have to immerse yourself in all the business aspect that it entails, but it also means that you will set your own hours.
You will have to pay taxes as a freelancer as well as issue invoices to all your clients on your own and establish payment methods and schedules (just to name a few). If you're not sure of all the bases you need to cover, talk to someone else who is independent, or other life coaches! What a good organization for the next step
Step 3. Have a dedicated life coach as your mentor
Just as therapists receive hours of coaching during their training, new life coaches must be mentored by experienced coaches to supplement their training. Counseling can be given in group sessions or with private coaches over the phone if your school provides one, or you can find one on your own. You've made contacts, haven't you?
- The other side of the coin is that you need to know what a life coach really does. You may believe that it is all, "that you are ruining your life and that you should do this instead", when it is anything but that (at least if you are a good life coach!). To better understand what you will actually do, you must have your own life coach.
- If your school doesn't provide you with a life coach (or at least gives you some names to go with one), find one through your friends, schoolmates, or teachers, or through a directory, something like the way in which your future customers will find you.
Step 4. Get included in various life guidance directories
There are many online directories in which you can include yourself so that people who roam the Internet can find you if they decide to have a little assistance in their life. There are many people out there that you will never reach by word of mouth, so placing yourself on the Internet is the only way they will find you.
Almost all websites charge a fee for placing your image and information. Make sure it's not a waste of time or a hoax before giving your credit card information or money to someone. There are a lot of scammers out there, so don't rush
Step 5. Find your niche
Some life coaches specialize in guiding people to define visions for their lives and look for ways to improve overall. Some coaches focus on helping clients choose and train for professional careers, while others guide executives in how to run their businesses, and there are still others who guide their clients in managing their interpersonal relationships. Decide what area of life guidance you want to specialize in (hint: it should be something you know personally). Here's a list of possibilities to get you started:
- Business orientation
- Carbon reduction guidance (helping others reduce their carbon footprint)
- Vocational orientation
- Business orientation
- Executive Orientation
- Orientation in relationships
- Retirement guidance
- Spiritual and Christian orientation
- Orientation in time management
- Orientation in body image and weight
- Guidance to find the balance between personal and work life
Step 6. Promote yourself
Now that you have the title of "Certified Life Coach" behind your name, it's time to start handing out business cards, posting ads online, in newspapers, community pages and newspapers, set up a Facebook page, use a lot. Twitter and even cover the side of your car with your name. The more recognized your name is, the better. People won't be able to reach you if they don't know you exist.
- Consider promoting yourself as a specialist. You have your market, don't you? What could your prospects read, see, or hear? If you want to reach executives, you shouldn't post an ad in your local nursery; however, you could do that if you want to reach out to new moms or women who want to balance their professional and family life.
- Studies have shown that orientation is just as good for both employees and employers. Businesses that spend $ 1 on their employees (whether through orientation, personal wellness, etc.) save $ 3 on decreased business volume and all the processes that go along with it. If you consider going into a business and suggesting they introduce you as a life coach (and if you weren't, you are now), lean on these facts.
Step 7. Get some clients like guinea pigs
After you finish receiving your certificate, you will need some clients. However, without any experience under your belt, it is very difficult for them to go with you. In an exchange so that you can say that you have experience working with people who live and breathe, ask your friends and family if you can work with them for free. You'll get your hours and they'll get some much-needed time to themselves (and hopefully some great advice and a dose of reality).
How many times and for how long you do it is up to you. The correct answer is "until you feel comfortable charging for your services and are confident that you can really help others enrich their lives." It could take weeks or months. Fortunately, there is no wrong way to do it. However, waiting until you feel completely "ready" will delay the job of actually helping people, especially if you are a perfectionist. At some point, you will have to act and make the decision to run a real business
Step 8. Get some real customers
After a few months of working with your sister's coworker and your friend's friend's pizza delivery boy, word of mouth will do its job in the end. You will receive that first phone call that will make you jump to the ceiling. Congratulations! It's time to make money - DON'T rely on word of mouth. You must learn to promote your business and develop a plan, do not wait for others to talk about you. Get a business coach if you really want to run a business and not have a part-time hobby that rarely makes you money.
… But how much? Very frankly, that is up to you. Do you want to charge a daily or monthly rate? And what is that fee? Consider how pronounced the challenges are for this person, both for you and for them. What can they pay for? What can you pay? What demographic will the majority of your potential customers be in? When in doubt, ask around about the competition! You have to learn to charge by results, not by the hour or day. Worrying about what the competition is charging and trying to undermine them is the reason few coaches make money. You will have to hire a business coach to learn the correct way to provide services and price them so that you can earn a good salary and eventually quit your day job. It is also important to develop long-term programs and not just meet with a client once or let them hire you on a monthly basis
Part 3 of 4: Work with clients
Step 1. Start with a thorough interview
When it comes to life orientation, books are not to be judged by their cover. When a client comes to you, make the first session a thorough interview and cover all the bases. What do they want from you? What part of your life do you want to change? What are your goals?
Almost everyone will come up with an idea, a very specific one (hence why almost all coaches have specialties) of what they want to achieve. Whether it's losing weight, understanding your burgeoning business, or dealing with your love issues, they know. Let them guide you to the beginning and listen
Step 2. Stay organized
Once you build a portfolio of clients, it will be easy to refer to one in your mind as "that guy who has a coffee addiction and still has narcolepsy." Do not do it. He will not like it. Save the portfolios of all your clients, do not go into details and keep them clear. If you don't stay organized, you will end up missing a call with customer number 14 who will abandon you the next day.
It's also important to make them feel like they are your most important customer. Every little detail they tell you should be something that you remember and take into account when working with them. Not only will they be more impressed and trust you, but you can make better decisions about what might help them by keeping the facts clear
Step 3. Establish a workable schedule
You will soon find what works best for you, but almost all life coaches will say that they work with each client about 3 times a month. Some clients will require more work and others less, but three times a month is an average. The duration of each session depends on you and the client.
You don't need to do the sessions in person, although those are definitely the most personal. You could also do them over the phone or even through programs like Skype. If you are a business or executive coach, you may find that your clients travel a lot and that the session on the phone is the only option. If you really want to be successful, you will have to open your business to clients from all over the world. Skype is a bad option in many countries and areas where people cut off frequently. Learn to use other systems like Google Hangouts where you can meet face to face without getting frustrated by bad technology like with Skype
Step 4. Don't just give directions
Life coaches aren't just expensive counselors. That would be terrible. It's about helping others explore their options and determine which one is best for them. It's only bad life coaches who give advice and hang up. You actually work to change behavior, which is a million times more valuable than simply telling a customer what to do.
Nobody needs another person (much less a virtual stranger) to tell them what to do with their life, for that we all have our in-laws, siblings and the sporadic friend from high school who think they know everything. You answer the "how", not the "what". You can give them the process
Step 5. Leave homework
To some extent, you are a teacher or guide. When you hang up the phone on a customer, your work doesn't just end there. You have to make sure you put what you both discussed into action. You need to leave homework for them. Whether they are exploring different business plans or talking about their ex-husband, you need to give them actions that will lead to change. What will be the best for them? And how will you make sure they do?
You will have clients who do not cooperate. You will have clients who disagree with you. You will have customers who think you are wasting their valuable time. This will happen. You have to accept the good with the bad and know when to cut your losses. If a client doesn't like your style, then it could be resistance and fear that arise. Do not take care of a client with whom you do not get along, and then you will not have these problems. As you work with more clients, you will know in your discovery session if they will get along. If you don't know how to do a discovery session (it is NOT an orientation session), then you will need to learn how to do one right away. Ask your group or your business coach for help
Step 6. Help them reach their goals
Ultimately, this is what it is all about. We all fight against that thing called life and a life coach is there to turn on the light for us in that gloomy and dark tunnel through which we all wander. If you've done everything you can to reach their goals and have shown them the options, you've done your part. They will be better for having worked with you.
Part 4 of 4: Develop Effective Counseling Skills
Step 1. Be a loving and empathetic person
Much of the job a life coach does is helping people set goals and encouraging them to achieve them. This requires being someone who likes to be in contact with people in a friendly way. If you are a negative, depressing or sad person, your clients will be running out in the blink of an eye.
Face-to-face contact is not always necessary to be a life coach, as many coaches work with clients on the phone. However, it has many advantages: it is less inhibitory and therefore easier to instill confidence. It is convenient as it is global and flexible
Step 2. You really want the best for everyone
Some of us (read: 99% of us) are not always kind and understanding. Even if we think of ourselves as possessing these qualities, we still have sporadic mistakes. And sometimes it happens with a certain type of people than with another. That really pretty coworker makes us envious or that very silly friend of Joe just irritates us so much that we become cold and distant. Whether it's intelligence, looks, or just that obnoxious laugh he gives you, you should put all of that aside and be willing and eager to help everyone.
You probably have clients that you wouldn't walk down the street to have a cup of coffee for 5 minutes with in another life. It's okay. We can't get along with everyone. But that's okay, you don't need to have coffee with those people. All you have to do is help them. Help them and want them to be successful. Even if you find their personalities as irritating as scratching a chalkboard, you must still want their own good
Step 3. Keep in mind that you are not your client's friend
Just as mentioned in the previous step, you don't have coffee dates with these people. You don't have drinks during "happy hour" before the game starts. You are there to pressure them, not to allow them to do something like friends often do. It is important to keep this point clear in order to have a professional relationship. When you become their friend, your customers will stop paying you.
When you go from being a coach to a friend, your clients will feel less pressure to do what you suggest they do. You will also feel less willing to be authentic with them, as one day you will need to be tough on them and they will be personally offended if they are friends. It is just general and logical good practice to keep the boundaries clear
Step 4. Be flexible
Our lives often take unexpected turns. You are likely to receive a call at 9 on a Friday night from a client who would love to schedule a session for the next day. If you can, work with them! They are not disrespectful, they are practically as surprised as you. You will not have the most consistent work schedule, but it will definitely not be a common job behind a 9 to 5 desk. You need to make appointments with your clients in advance, do not let them wait until the last minute like in this case. Only by helping them plan for the long term will they begin to better organize their lives and make lasting decisions. By letting them schedule appointments or make last-minute decisions, you only allow their bad behaviors and that does not lead to the achievement of positive results. Emergencies are one thing, but otherwise a good coach will have 2-4 weeks of calls scheduled in advance for each client.
In addition to being flexible with the hours, be flexible in terms of being open-minded. What you see working for this person may not be something they actually do. After all, everything is relative. If they don't like something, you may have to respect their wishes. You will always work with a unique person. Give them a program that is as specific as possible, but a little flexible to make any improvements
Step 5. Be creative
To help people reach their potential, you have to think outside the box. Most likely they have considered path A and B, and these were not good enough (for one reason or another), so you have to offer them path C, D and E. These will not always be so obvious (Or your client would have thought them!); To be a successful life coach, you must be resourceful, creative, and imaginative.
That does not mean that you are not logical. No, you have to be both. In general, you have to be concentrating on the path to success. Having a healthy balance between reality combined with a “have you thought of this this way” attitude will take you a long way in the eyes of your customers. And when they are happy, you will be happy; And they could tell their friends too
Advice
- Keep a list of satisfied customers to use as a reference for potential customers in the future.
- You may want to offer your prospects a sample orientation session to see if your type of orientation matches their goals and other needs. And to interest them!
Warnings
- Currently, there are no external regulatory agencies for life coaches as there are for psychiatrists and psychologists.
- A life coach must work as a partner for the client, and the client must be the one determining the direction the association should take.