Becoming a Life Coach

As a life coach of some years standing, I am frequently emailed by people with queries about becoming a life coach, so I have recently put together a regular newsletter with information about the kinds of considerations which I believe you should take into account before you try to launch yourself into a coaching career. This article gives an introduction to some of the preliminary issues that it may be worth you bearing in mind if you are thinking of being a personal coach.

My first tip would be that you think about your motivation for wanting to become a coach. Some of the promotional material provided by life coach training courses and other organisations can give the impression that coaching is a career where it is easy to establish yourself and make a lot of money in a short space of time. Well, my experience and that of most coaches I know is that you can make a reasonable living from it, but like any other business becoming a life coach takes time, effort and perseverance. So if your primary motivation is to make money easily then I would wish you good luck but suggest that you find yourself an alternative career!

On the other hand, if your primary motivation is to help people to make changes in their life or to deal with specific stresses or anxieties or difficulties in career or relationships, then I would encourage you to explore further. For most coaches the greatest rewards are in providing a helpful supportive service to people and seeing the benefits that coaching can bring. The personal satisfaction in being able to help people achieve and set personal goals is what makes coaching worthwhile.

My second tip is to give careful thought to the training that is appropriate for you. There are a great number of coach training providers offering courses out there for people wanting to be life coaches. Some of these are extremely professional and good courses, others less so, so you need to check them out. Bear in mind also that different individuals will require different levels of training. If you have experience already in a related professional area, such as counselling or psychology, then you are likely to have different training needs from someone who is completely new to this kind of work.

Make a list of what you want and need to get out of a coach training course (or any other course in a specialist coaching field that you feel is relevant to you). Look at a range of different possible options. If possible, get feedback from people who have attended the courses as to their good and bad points and seek recommendations from anyone you know and trust who is already a life coach or has reliable information about the options.

My third tip is for those who are intending to set up their own life coaching practice rather than to work as an employee for an organisation. If you don't have experience of creating your own business then this may well be an area that you need to focus as much time on as learning specific coaching skills. Do you have ideas about how you are going to market your coaching business successfully? Have you worked out how many clients you will need and what rates you will charge for coaching sessions in order to make the profit you require to support a reasonable lifestyle? Are you familiar with any legal requirements about running a business, submitting tax returns etc? If you are not yet sure about these and other aspects of a business then either check that the coach training courses you are considering teach these skills and areas of knowledge or else work out another plan for how you will learn about them.

If you would like further information and ideas about becoming a life coach and what it involves, please feel free to check out any of the websites in my biography.