You have been on the hunt for a career change. You have looked at the options and you have decided you want to become a life coach.
You love the idea of helping others. Plus, life coaching is a very fulfilling and rewarding career choice. Most often, when a person decides they want to become a life coach, they already have a life they love and appreciate, or they have at least made the moves toward the life they want and want to share that with other people. You have learned valuable lessons and want to show others that they too, can get the life they want.
In this article you will learn:
- What is a life coach?
- How to become a life coach in 5 steps
- Are there alternatives to becoming a life coach?
This article outlines all the information you need on how to become a life coach and what life coaching as a career entails.
What is a Life Coach?
The life coach definition outlined by Tony Robbins states that a life coach “helps you identify your goals and develop an actionable plan to achieve them.”
So, what does a life coach do exactly? Ideally, other people hire you to help them achieve set goals or projects. A life coach helps their clients work on behavioral modifications and personal growth to accomplish these goals and take back control of their life and future. Ultimately, becoming a life coach requires life experience, enthusiasm, and an objective perspective.
Typically, a life coach works with their clients one-on-one. Each session frequently lasts anywhere from five minutes to a couple of hours. These appointments usually involve:
- Asking the client questions regarding their wants, needs, and desires.
- Giving feedback, where appropriate.
- Listening
- Raising your client’s confidence through encouragement and support.
- Helping them identify their limiting beliefs and overcome them.
- Providing valuable tools, skills and methods to handle their emotions and build resilience.
An average a life coach salary is between $25,000 and $200,000. This wide range is mostly due to the fact that most life coaches set their own rate and their own schedule. It does take time and perseverance to get your business off the ground. In the beginning, it can be all about getting new clients and making your current clients happy. This is discussed in more detail in the following sections.
How to Become a Life Coach in 5 Steps
You are ready for big changes, but how do you become a certified life coach? Follow the 5 steps below to get your new career off the ground.
STEP 1: Niche Down
Life coaching is a huge field. With over 7 billion people in the world, it is not surprising that a lot of people have very unique goals – and you may struggle to solve them all – unless you niche down.
By finding your niche, you can help a very specific group of people. It also helps attract clients to you, since you become an expert in the topic or field you choose. This means you will be able to find life coach jobs easier.
Common life coaching niches include:
- Relationships
- Careers
- Business
- Aging
- Weight Loss
- Work-Life Balance
- General Health and Wellbeing
But do not simply choose a niche based on the status quo. Think about your past experiences and your interests, then decide on your niche from there. It will help you determine a more direct path.
STEP 2: Enroll and Complete a Life Coach Training Program
Helping others plan out their life or switch careers is a fairly big undertaking. It could also prove very difficult to do without proper training.
Through a life coach training program, you will learn how to conduct initial client intake and assessment, as well as communication and goal-setting skills, to help guide your clients toward their wants and needs.
A typical life coach training program requires 16-100 hours. There are various online options for this, as well as face-to-face programs and courses.
When looking for the best life coaching certification program, search for programs accredited by the International Coach Federation. When backed by the International Coach Federation, the course is internationally recognized and also held to certain standards. Usually, programs cost between $1500 to $8000. As such, always ensure you do your due diligence and research any program before enrolling.
Life Coach Requirements
The exciting part about obtaining life coach certification is that there are no prerequisites. Life coaching programs accept individuals from all kinds of backgrounds and with all kinds of experiences. This makes it an ideal choice for those opting to make a career change, without undergoing a 4-year or longer university or college program.
STEP 3: Plan and Set Up Your Life Coaching Business
After you have obtained your life coaching certificate, you will want to determine a plan of attack. How are you going to get clients? How long will each session last and how much will you charge for your coaching services? What administrative tasks should you be aware of and track?
First and foremost, you will likely want to register your business. This varies depending on where you live and your residency. You might also want to:
- set up a website
- create a core marketing message
- determine a way to gather emails
- set up an email list
- look into liability insurance
- order business cards or other marketing materials.
Building a business takes time. You might not jump into your new career as a full-timer straight away. It may take many months or even years to build a full list of clients, as well as a system to ensure you have new ones coming in.
STEP 4: Build Your Online Presence
Building your online presence expands your reach and offers a way for you to provide social proof. The internet is a great place for public reviews, for you to explain what you do and why, and also for you to connect with potential as well as existing clients. It is a place people can look you up from anywhere at any time.
You can start with creating and sharing free content on platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook to spread your message and knowledge among the wider audience. You can also support these efforts by creating ads to grow your following. Building a community around your message and brand can help you massively scale your business further down the road.
STEP 5: Start Your Rewarding Career Path
Once you’ve completed your life coach certification program and solidified your offer, it’s time to start looking for clients. Not sure where to start? Sometimes, remote work sites such as freelancer.com, upwork.com, or fiverr.com are a great place to begin. You can also post ads in your local town or city. Letting your friends and family know about your new career change does not hurt either.
Soon, you will be helping others reach their full potential, which is so exciting. You are not only about to change your life, but possibly many others too.
Are There Alternatives to Becoming a Life Coach?
Perhaps you are not entirely sold on becoming a life coach. While taking on life coaching as a career is a fulfilling path, there are a variety of other careers that help people and offer similar rewards. Have you considered all your options?
Rapid Transformation Therapy ® (RTT®), is a popular option to consider if you are thinking about becoming a life coach. RTT incorporates key aspects of cognitive-behavioral therapy, hypnotherapy, psychotherapy, NLP, and neuroscience. Through this pioneering therapeutic method, a Rapid Transformational therapist is able to help clients achieve their goals in the most effective and efficient way possible, often providing lasting results in only one to three sessions.
Developed by world-renowned therapist, speaker and bestselling author, Marisa Peer, over the last three decades, RTT is a highly effective modern approach to therapy and personalized coaching. It can help individuals quit their bad habits, as well as guide them toward their ultimate goals.
Similarly to a life coaching certification, the RTT certification program does not have any education pre-requirement and can be done in person as well as online. During the RTT training program, you will learn not only potent skills for therapy and coaching to help your clients solve their biggest issues, but also receive marketing and business training and guidance on how to choose your niche and set up your practice to get your first clients.
As part of the training course, Marisa Peer is also offering live training elements, where you get the chance to meet her in person and practice your skills with the help of her expert training team. This hypnotherapy training is available at a variety of locations, including London, Florida, and California.
Want to learn more? Download the free RTT Course Prospectus and find out how the Rapid Transformational Therapy® method will help you become an in-demand therapist capable of transforming clients.
You can also book a session with a therapist and try out the RTT® method on yourself to find out if RTT is right for you.
