It goes without saying the best way to secure clients is through positive word of mouth. This is difficult, but not impossible, if you’re a new life coach without clients. As such, many life coaches take initial clients as ‘Pro bono’ to secure referrals. In itself this isn’t always enough; however, its an amazing first step to a successful career.

As you start your life coach career you will want to spread positive word of mouth quickly and effectively. You can do this

through social networking, personal networking, online directories or through your own website. If you chose to offer initial Pro bono services you’ll secure your career as a coach who emphasizes your client’s well-being above your own financial gain. Keep in mind your long-term goals. It’s not that you don’t seek financial independence and security, much like your many clients, but sometimes a new life coach must sacrifice in the present to reap future success.

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Word of Mouth

Not everything in life is free, but until you have a few clients under your belt helping you spread positive word of mouth — your services are more valuable as NO CHARGE — FREE. If you secured start-up funding, then money often does the talking, but ‘word-of-mouth’ is still vital. Many people are hesitant to offer Pro bono sessions, as perceptually it devalues your service and skills. It doesn’t. It does the opposite — it establishes your name, allows you to obtain awesome testimonials, and your client’s results will illustrate your value. In turn, your clients have friends and they have friends. Freebies can sometimes be invaluable.

Online Directories

Life Coach HQ offers a directory of certified and non-certified life coaches. Obviously, you can use our services but you can also take advantage of:

• Craigslist;
• Coaches and Mentor;
• Click A Life Coach
• The Coaching Directory
• The Life Coach Directory

Any of the above resources can assist you with listing your services. Given they each appear on the front page of Google and are the first directories many people use when seeking coaching services, it could pay off to list with each of them.

Networking – Personal and Social

All successful businesses and services require social networking. If you don’t already have a Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, and FourSquare account, prepare to establish your online presence. You can do these all yourself OR you can outsource the social media management to companies like FlutterHub. Through these social networks you will work to engage clients, post positive and shareable information, and watch your followers and subscribers grow. As you gain clients you will also need to enhance your Yelp and FourSquare reviews, which also go the distance to increase positive ‘word-of-mouth” when managed correctly.

While everything has gone social in online marketing it’s vital to enhance your professional network too. Reach out to licensed therapists, attend conferences, search for local meetups, and even use the grocery store bulletin board. Get your name out any way possible. You never know who will refer you, as such don’t forget to develop a professional website and business cards. You need something to mark your physical presence and legitimacy in this fast-paced industry.

At the end of the day, securing clients is ultimately your chosen method. A few life coaches start with funds to do a proper marketing campaign, HOWEVER, you don’t have to start with upfront capital. Of all the methods listed above, and there are many more that are not, choose the one that is best for you. For many people social networking is their best friend — even more so when they combine online coaching sessions. For others, they prefer the physical leg work, directory listings and Pro bono work. These people tend to have a lot of free time and are social butterflies by nature. Do what comes natural, think outside the box and keep success in mind!

…and with that you decide you have the passion it takes to help others succeed. Awesome! Next you need to determine if you have the skills necessary to coach someone to personal success. Consider this an evaluation or tutorial covering the steps you are about to embark on while preparing the launch of YOUR successful life coaching practice. This adventure might take a little money (but not necessarily a lot), but its positively going to take a little of your time. Luckily, time management is a skill in your arsenal, right!

First a quick note: you notice I said — “might take a little money.” I need to tell you, while certifications, tools, programs, endorsements and skills can go a long way in this industry, so do personality, passion, commitment, networking and honesty. With that said, there are many life coaches who spend a fortune and build a thriving practice, but there also those who spend vary little and are extremely successful. Rule of thumb — don’t spend what you don’t have! Life coaching is very engaging and lucrative career, but not at the cost of your financial stability. You know what’s best for you!

The first readiness measure in becoming a life coach is preparation of your own mental alignment with your goals.

Coaching the Coach – Preparing

A life coach’s primary purpose is to help his or her clients to define and achieve their goals. If you feel ambivalent about the way your own life choices, then this might be your largest challenge. This is why I am addressing this first, as it is needs to be thought about at during the initial development of your life coach career. In fact, it is something that may reprise itself all the way through your career, as you continuously refine and amplify your self-image and ideals. Many life coaches, have their own life coaches in the beginning for this very reason — training the trainer so to way, but necessary if you need mentoring to achieve your career dreams.

There are benefits to doing this — first, life coaches are excellent sources at making you feel good. You MUST feel good about your goals and choices to make progress. Second, working with someone already in the industry is like performing research, and accelerates motivations for goal achievement. In turn, this helps shape and transform your life coaching career. This also allows you to perform a proper assessment of the industry before jumping head first without understanding the nuances. In life coaching, there isn’t just a single category that covers it all. In fact, there are a hundreds of different focal areas including:

• healing coaching;
• management coaching;
• wellness coaching;
• motivational coaching;
• goal-setting, time management and career coaching;
• focus and concentration or ADHD coaching;
• relationship coaching;
• personal coaching;
• conflict-resolution management;
• transformational or spiritual coaching;
• …just to name a few.

Working with your own life coach in your focal area helps you understand the trade, and gives you key insight into what to expect when you have clients of your own. For instance, never underestimate the intimidation factor that arises the first few times you meet with a new a client. It’s almost like the first date jitters, with the possibility of awkward silences and the session ending with both thinking, “I hope she liked me.” Having someone to bounce the intimidating feelings off of is exactly what life coaches need. I know it seems weird, but it is a well known fact most psychologists even have their own therapists for the same reason — they serve as a sounding board, self-development expert and emotional support. Your personal life coach will do the same for you during the start of your career.

Of course, you may be ready to bust out the gates and go it alone. There is nothing wrong with that. Just stay positive, and realize success is waiting for you in the end!

Education, Certification or Self-Endorsed

Now that you pinpointed what type of coaching you will specialize in its important to know the tools available to boost your credibility. When it comes to education and certification, life coaching is not regulated by any regulatory or licensing bodies in the United States. So do you even need certification or education, if you have the experience and passion? The answer: Yes and No.

There are three paths you can take to becoming a life coach:

1. Obviously a Master’s Degree In Counseling helps, but if you have this what prevents you from just charging more and calling yourself a psychologist? This option arms you with practical and theoretical experience. The thing to remember when taking this path is therapy and life coaching are similar, but not synonymous. Therapy focuses more on healing from the past; whereas, life coaching works toward enhancing and clarifying the goals amidst the muck. As such, a counseling degree doesn’t teach this, usually, and you’ll still find yourself partaking in a life coach certification program. A Masters Degree in Counseling is upwards of $50,000, which is a lot given you’ll still not be equipped with all the tools necessary to be a life coach.
2. Becoming certified as a life coach is your second option, and most feasible for the average person beginning a career as a life coach. In fact, you most likely already have a variety of life experiences supporting your decision to become a life coach, and those experiences go toward supporting your certification program.
3. The third path is often the most affordable opportunity, and find it more affordable to apprentice with another life coach in the industry. Many life coaches offer mentoring programs, and even if they don’t this is where hiring your own comes in to play. Even if you don’t take this route, there is abundant information online (such as this article) designed to give you the basic information to get you on your way — even without spending a time towards certification. Let’s face it, you might have the skill and passion necessary to do it, you’ve helped numerous friends and acquaintances overcome and develop life skills, and that is all you need — the skill, the passion, the drive…after that its all about marketing yourself.

If you chose to pursue certification certification, ensure its from an accredited organization for professional life coaches. You can verify this by contacting the International Coach Federation, The International Association of Coaching, and the Association of Coach Training Organizations. Unfortunately, there are many scam-based training programs eagerly waiting to steal your money in exchange for motivational babble. This is one of the downfalls of the industry lacking licensing requirements. Do your research and go with your intuition.

Your next step in becoming a life coach, no matter the path you chose, is marketing yourself as the best choice and match who is able to assist your clients in setting their goals and enhancing their life.

Read LifeCoachHQ’s article, Marketing for Life Coaches 101, to further understand the road ahead of you as you venture out into building your brand as THE Life Coach that produces RESULTS!

Rather seeking the services of, or training to become a one, you must first understand “what a life coach is.” The term ‘coaching’ refers to the practice of supporting an individual, usually a client, through the process of achieving a specific personal or professional result.

Life coaching is a practice that helps people identify and achieve personal goals. Life coaches help clients set and reach goals using a variety of tools and techniques.

Life coaches are not therapists nor consultants; in fact, psychological intervention is outside the scope of their work.

In short, a life coach is a resource for personal, private and positive experiences designed to assist clients in establishing healthy boundaries, goal setting, career changes, relationship development, time management, business motivation, weight loss, self-understanding, and stress management. Typically, life coaches are hired to assist their clients toward leading well-balanced and healthy lives.

Life Coach Vs. Therapist

Critics argue that life coaching is psychotherapy minus the restrictions and governing regulations. However, a life coach differs from a therapist, as sessions typically resolve around the present or future. The past is not ignored, as those traumas and events influence our present path of self development; however, life coaches tend to not dwell on the emotions and patterns of the past — instead focusing on “where to go from here.”

Coaching is not appropriate if you are depressed or in need of a professional therapist. However, many people do have both a therapist and a life coach. In these situations, the life coach supports the client in moving forward, while not dwelling in the past. It’s always important to remember your present and future goals, even more so during times of intense personal and therapeutic work.

Choosing Your Life Coach

The fundamentals of life coaching center on trust. Therefore, it’s vital you choose a coach that makes you feel comfortable. The first one you encounter may not be the “perfect” life coach for you. The importance of finding the perfect match cannot be stressed enough. Life coaches are limited, as they cannot do anything for a client unless the client trusts them and is ready to take action. In stating this, when you find your ‘perfect’ life coach, he or she will become a sounding board for your ideas, goals and struggles, but the final work is up to you.

The Cost of A Life Coach

Life coaches range from extremely expensive to extremely cost-effective. In fact, many operate off sliding scales based on your income. Therefore, don’t ever rule the idea of a life coach out due to perceived cost. The first one you find might charge $1,000 per hour because they were the life coach of Kim Kardashian, whereas, the next one you contact may only charge $50 per hour. In terms of average cost, professional life coaches charge approximately $150 (USD) for a 60-minute face-to-face session, with a minimum session commitment required.

An added convenience in is that most life coaches offer online (Skype Coaching) and over-the phone coaching. In many instances, this type of coaching is cheaper and less schedule intensive. Hiring a life coach is a valuable alternative if your seeking that extra push and motivation moving forward, provided it doesn’t create a financial strain — even then, most life coaches seek to alleviate the strain and work with you to create sessions and programs to fit YOUR budget.

Before you begin your life coach training, it’s smart to first understand the job description, required tasks and skill requirements necessary to become a life coach.

The job description for personal coaching varies based on the life skills you wish to emphasize with clients, but generally conforms to the following:

A personal, private and positive experience designed to assist clients in changing careers, relationship

development, business motivation, weight loss, self-understanding,  and stress management.  Life coaches may also assist clients with developing healthy boundaries, time management skills, goal setting and overall skills for healthy, balanced lives.

A life coach is different from a therapist, as the focus of the sessions center on the present and future.  The past is not ignored, given that past traumas and events often lead to our present path of self development.  Instead, goals and behaviors that change the present and future are front-and-center, versus dwelling on emotions and emotional patterns.

Life coaching is on the rise, not only due to affordability, but people are seeking them out because the relationship of power between the life coach and the client is typically more equal, friendly and balanced than that of a client/therapist relationship. If you want more information on what a life coach does, read our article on “What Is A Life Coach?”.

Knowledge Before Becoming A Life Coach

Life coaching offers many challenges, but amidst the challenges are many rewards. People need positive outlets for change to occur. The world needs a lot of these outlets, and now is a great time to start training to become a life coach. Of course, you probably already knew that and are at least interested in this career path.

Life coaches come from everywhere — business executives, human resources, corporate trainers, accredited therapists, consulting, non-profit counseling, and community outreach programs.  However, before you consider training and building your credentials ask yourself these questions:

• Do you manage your own life effectively;
• Do you see the best in everyone, and wish them success?
• Are you an effective communicator?
• Are you authentic, empathetic, or apathetic?
• Do you actively listen and engage people?
• Have you been told you are inspirational?

If your answer is yes to most of the above, then life coach training might be your next step toward a successful career.  Now that you know the job description and that you have the personality to achieve success as a life coach, what about the personal benefits?

• Helping others achieve their dreams.
• Sharing in the success stories of others.
• Ability to design your own schedule.
• Unlimited earnings based on personal work.

A life coach must help and motivate others to achieve their personal goals and become successful in life. If you chose to start your own private business as a life coach, then you will also be responsible for maintaining the business records and operational aspects of owning a business. The alternative is working for an association of life coaches, a training institute, a private form or a large corporation.

If you are choosing to pursue a career as a corporate life coach or as part of a larger practice, certification or accreditation could be a requirement.  In the end, the main job description is the willingness to help people maintain their lives, and have success in motivating them to do so.  Certification and business models are simply add nuances and credibility to the job description of a life coach.