So You Want To Be A Life Coach

If you’ve heard about the field of coaching, you’re probably were equally intrigued with being a coach as hiring the services of a coach. If it sounds to you like the ideal profession, many would agree with you!

The field of life coaching developed because it filled a void in services and amenities for the good life. Existing fields offered needed assistance and advice. But you may want to know how to handle a difficult boss without getting into psychodynamics and therapy. (He’s the problem, not you.) You may need information on caring for your parent’s increasing dementia without needing a social worker. (It’s not time for that yet.) You may want advice on your love life without your friend’s jaded viewpoint on the opposite sex in general. (They’re well-meaning, but they aren’t objective.) You may want a sounding board for ideas and strategies outside your own environment and a fresh viewpoint. (Who else but a coach?)

If you have a natural ability to work with people and a desire to help them, coaching may be the field for you. It is ideal for retirees, for people with background in management, training, therapy or social work, for people who are tired of the commute, and for people -- like you, perhaps – who have been doing it for years anyway. It just didn’t have a name or a paycheck attached to it. It’s also a natural outgrowth to want to coach when you’ve mastered a field or fields, and have accumulated a store of life experiences.

Advantages? Coaching has repeatedly been named a growth profession. It offers to many the ideal work environment. You are your own boss. You can choose your clients, your schedule and your method of delivery. You do not have to consult with someone else about your strategy and goals so can go at your own pace.

The startup costs are low, and the overhead can be as low as a cell phone, computer, website and some business cards. You can work from your home, avoiding the daily commute. The hours are flexible, according to your preferences and the schedules of yours clients. This means when a cheap cruise pops up in the email, you can take advantage of it. You work in a positive and exciting field where you get to know interesting people all over the world. It is never boring. There is always something new to learn, and you are justified (though there’s no one you need justify TO), in pursuing virtually any interest areas, and keeping yourself on your own growing edge. You don’t need to pigeon-hole yourself!

Equally important, coaching is a field where age is an advantage and you can’t be fired. If you don’t really want to retire, and few do these days, moving over into coaching is a natural for you.

So how do you prepare to be a coach? A good training and certification program can give you the tools and information you need. It is important in a field not yet licensed.

What do you look for in a coach certification program? When you choose a program look at the ratings. The program director should be able to supply this. A site that rates certification programs with responses from actual participants is helpful. No one’s going to tell you they don’t have a good program.

Look for a program that is individualized. This is important because people enter coaching from various backgrounds. You don’t want to be slowed down by having to listen to someone on a teleconference call who doesn’t ‘get’ something you’ve been doing for 10 years. You also don’t want to be ignored because the leader does not consider your specific question “relevant” to the group. Coaching is a user-friendly service profession and you should look for the same in your coach certification program provider. Are they available for email or phone questions and conferences as needed? Do they supply other resources? Are they passionate about their field and generous with their time? Are they outline-bound or are they willing to teach the fundamentals as well as what you specifically need to know?

The coach certification program should be general enough to allow you to attract and coach a wide-range of clients, whatever your niche. It is effective marketing to have a niche -- life coach, career coach, Internet dating coach, ADD coach, etc. – but to deliver the services you need broad training. For instance you’ll learn with your first “business” client that they will have a host of relevant issues that aren’t particularly “business” related. My first emotional intelligence client really wanted to know how to start a business, and my first career client ended up working on his divorce. Such is life.

The program should also include emotional intelligence, because every issue any client brings to you will have elements that cannot be solved by a fact sheet, outline or diagram. Consider, for instance, the problem of someone who wants to learn how to “de-clutter,” like someone I recently coached. There are a plethora of organizational systems out there. She in fact knew of many of them. Why wasn’t she using one? Well, therein lies the coaching. No system works if you don’t work it. Motivation is not a “thinking” word.

The certification program should include empirical research. This is particularly important in selling your program to people who like to have facts and data. It is also important to motivation. When I work in emotional intelligence and anger management, it may persuade the by-definition angry client to know that 5 minutes of anger suppresses your immune system for up to 8 hours. Motivation generally is about “what’s in this for me”.

Lastly, the coach certification program should include marketing. After all, you don’t want to be a coach, you want to be a successful coach. A program that includes how to market traditionally and on the Internet will equip you to have a viable practice, which is what you are after.

Coaching involves asking the important questions. When you search for a coach certification program, ask the important questions. Coaching also involves the “fit,” so look for someone you know you would enjoy working with.

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