Become a Life Coach This Week
By Steve Gillman
You might be surprised to learn that you can become a life
coach by the end of this week. That's right, this profession
does not require a college degree. In fact, there are no formal
requirements, although certification is a good idea. Fortunately
you can get certified quickly by a number of organizations.
(Flickr photo by Charles Shinaver, Ph.D.)
The "job," also called professional coach or success
coach, is more often a business since most coaches are self-employed.
Your work consists of helping people. More specifically, you
will be coaching them toward success, or helping them set goals,
overcome obstacles, and so on. If you are the one that your friends
turn to for good advice, you are probably suited for this work.
Even if you don't feel that you are the best coach material,
it is a skill set that can be learned.
What Does it Cost to Get Started?
If you have experience coaching people you can could just
call yourself a life coach and start promoting yourself through
social media. In other words, you can start for nothing. But
it probably better to get certified. There are a number of programs
for this. For example, if you want to keep the cost down and
take your time getting going, you can do a self-study program
through the Universal Coaching Institute. It will take a
couple months, but the $297 tuition (as of 2014) is one of the
most affordable you'll find.
If you want to get started by the end of this week, as the
title of this article promises, that's possible too. One option
is the "fast track" program from the Coach Training Academy, which is offered as
a two-day teleconference classes or webinar. This one gets you
International Coach Federation (ICF) certification, and
costs $797 as of 2014. A payment plan is offered.
Within the general designation of life coach there are numerous
specialties that you can choose from. For example, you might
be a career coach and help people find the right job for them.
You could specialize in helping people create and follow a budget,
or eliminate their debt. A life purpose coach guides clients
toward discovery of what is most important to them. Other specialties
include spiritual life, stress management, health and fitness,
and parent coaching.
One of the best things about this profession is that you can
work entirely from home. It is common now to do professional
coaching sessions by telephone or online. In fact, you can set
it up so you only coach through the internet, which would allow
you to travel or live where you want while working. Email, chat
rooms, and Skype (telephone over the internet) are all the tools
necessary for providing your service.
How Much Can You Make?
This is a quickly growing and evolving industry, so reliable
figures are hard to come by. How much you make depends on how
much you charge, how many clients you have, and how frequently
you have coaching sessions scheduled. In general you will charge
at least $40 to $50 per hour. Some in the profession advise that
you aim to make that $100 once you have a couple years of experience.
I found this in Forbes Magazine;
About 20% of the 10,000 registered coaches earn six figure
incomes, according to estimates from industry veterans. No special
degree or training is required. And while some provide specific
expertise, such as those hired by large companies to train a
sales staff, others rake in money from those looking for little
more than a cheerleader as they open a business or try their
hand at writing a book.
Simply Hired claims that the average annual
salary for life coaches is $115,000, but this seems to be an
average taken from high-end job listings. There are probably
many thousands of people struggling with their coaching businesses
and dragging down the true average.
Related Opportunities
There are numerous related opportunities. For example, you
can be a public speaker, either for pay, or as a way to promote
your coaching business. You can write a book based on the "system"
you develop for helping people. You can sell other author's books
to clients.
Are You Qualified?
As mentioned, there are no legal requirements to call yourself
a life coach. You could hang a sign out right now. But to be
taken seriously you should get certified. But since most clients
will not have a clue about the quality of the various certifying
organizations, the most important element of your professionalism
will not be the certificate you get, but the way you do business.
Offer quality help and coaching and (at this point in history
anyhow) almost any certification will be sufficient.
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