Life Coach Career: Start Here Tips
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How Do I Become a Life Coach?
Becoming a life coach is one of the most fulfilling achievements you'll experience. Now that you've decided to follow this career path and make a difference in the lives of your future clients, it's wise to know the steps involved in preparing for your new career. Set yourself up for a future that's as rewarding for you as it will be for the people you work with by understanding what's involved in the process of becoming a life coach.
Steps to Take to Become a Life Coach
1. Enroll in an accredited life coach training program. Training and certification through a life coach program that's accredited by the International Coaching Federation is essential for starting your new career. A variety of programs make it easy for you to find one that suits your schedule and learning style.
2. Work with instructors on coaching practices. Take advantage of your instructor's wisdom and experience to learn practical coaching applications you can use for your clients' benefit.
3. Learn about the business end of life coaching. There's more to being a life coach than working with clients. You'll want to also learn about marketing your business and maintaining good records so all aspects of your business run smoothly.
4. Build your client base. Promoting and advertising your new coaching business is important to gaining clients. Understanding business-building techniques will help you attract clients and grow your coaching business.
Jumpstart Your Life Coaching Career
Becoming a life coach is a straightforward process. A strong desire to help others is probably one of your motivating factors, but life coaching will positively impact your life, too. Get started in an accredited training and certification program, so you can start making a difference in the lives of others.
What Type of People Make Good Life Coaches?
A life coach career might not be for everybody, but it may just be the perfect career for you. Choosing a career path that you're well-suited for makes a tremendous difference in the type of fulfillment you receive from doing your job. In fact, if you're the type of person who'd make a good life coach, working with clients won't feel like work at all. Read on to determine if a life coach career is for you.
Characteristics of a Good Life Coach Candidate
1. You're service-minded. A passion for helping others has always been part of who you are; you yearn to make a difference.
2. You see beyond the obvious. An ability to look beyond the surface gives you insight into the challenges others face and enables you to find effective solutions.
3. You have a passion for living life to the fullest. A strong belief in living life to the fullest makes you want to help others get the most out of their lives too.
4. Integrity is important in your own life. Honesty, genuineness and a life of integrity is important to you because you want to be the best example possible for future clients.
5. You possess excellent communication skills. Beyond the ability to express yourself with clarity, you possess excellent listening skills and an understanding of body language.
Are You Ready to Begin Your Career?
Do you possess the above characteristics? If so, it's time to get started on building your life coach career. Enroll in an accredited training program so you can learn to build upon the natural skills and abilities you already possess. As someone who's well-suited for coaching, you have a lot to offer future clients.
What is Life Coach Training Like?
Life coaching is a relatively new field, and at this time, there are few regulations in place. Because of this, just about anyone who wants to be a life coach can do so at their own discretion. Some use the experience they've had in a previous career as the basis for their life coaching ability; others may take trainings, classes or seminars to become a life coach in a specified field.
Life coach training can be formal or informal, stringent or casual. Life coach training can be offered online, at a school/institute, or one on one from another coach. Life coach training is often comprised of some or all of the following elements:
• Teleclasses/teleseminars
• Self-study assignments
• Mentor coaching
• Required reading
• Face-to-face intensives
• Weekend workshops
• Peer coaching/peer groups
• Niche specialty programs
• Certification exams
• Practice development training
The length of a life coach training program can vary from about 30 hours to 320 for higher levels of certification. Again, it is entirely up to the discretion of the would-be coach as to how much training they choose to take -- or if they seek out any formal training at all. While credentials and certifications are seen by some clients as a selling point and factor heavily into whether or not they choose to work with a coach, for others, experience, testimonials and track record are the bigger factors.
Regardless of whether a coach chooses formal training or not, results are the bottom line. If a coach builds a strong enough reputation through results and word of mouth, no additional training is needed. If, however, a would-be coach is unsure of their abilities and wishes to build skills and confidence, life coach training is an excellent idea for them.
How Long Does it Take to Become a Life Coach?
Becoming a life coach means connecting with a fulfilling occupation that allows you to help others. Perhaps you're already a "magnet" for people who are trying to improve themselves and achieve goals? Specialties in life coaching can range from the career and business-related to more personal matters like relationships, parenting, fitness and spirituality. The pay is quite good, with an overall average of about $200 per hour in North America in 2012. The majority of coaching relationships last about four to six months according to the International Coach Federation, the industry’s main credentialing body.
Becoming a Life Coach
At this time, life coaching is largely a self-regulated industry. While the leading industry organizations (such as the International Coach Federation) have been striving to hold coaches to ever-higher standards, at this time you can work as a life coach just by deciding to be one. However, there are programs available to assist you in becoming certified as a professional should you decide that's the best path for you.
A Sound Investment
The International Coach Federation's basic training program requires 60 hours of coach training and 10 hours of training with a mentor. You'll also need 100 hours of coaching experience with actual clients to complete your certification. Advanced ICF certifications require 200 or more hours of coach-specific instruction. A number of other training programs require a longer time commitment; for example, the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching requires over 320 hours of training.
Becoming a life coach requires only that you decide to be one; however, those who don't seek professional training are usually already established experts in their field. While not required, there are distinct benefits to coaching certification. The International Coach Federation reports that the majority of life coaching clients (84% in 2010) prefer that their coaches have certification of some kind.
Life Coach Courses
Life coach courses are an important part of your preparation before embarking on your coaching career. To become fully equipped to help clients work toward their goals, you must go through training to become a certified life coach. Find out more about the training process and how enrolling in a program can help you build a strong foundation for your life coaching career.
Life Coach Courses
Practical Knowledge. The training program you enroll in should impart to you practical knowledge that you can use to guide clients through challenges and toward goal-achievement.
Useful Tools You Can Use. You'll learn practical applications that can be customized according to your clients' needs and learning styles. During training, it's important to practice what you learn as often as possible.
Available Support. Take advantage of access to instructors and other support staff involved in your training courses. There's much to be learned through the experience of other coaches.
Choose the Right Program for You
Online Training Program. An online life coach training program is the ideal choice for you if you need to be able to fit your training in between other obligations.In-Class Training Program. Opt for a classroom setting if you prefer to work in-person with your coach and other students.
Get Started with Life Coach Training
Enrolling in life coach courses is an exciting step, leading to the realization of an important goal. You'll soon be prepared to help others make important life changes, and your training will be instrumental in helping you guide your clients. Take advantage of every learning opportunity available to you as you work through your training courses. The experience and knowledge you gain will directly benefit your clients and your life coaching business.
Different Types of Life Coaching Certificates
If you've decided to pursue life coach certification, you'll have a world of options available to you when you're ready to start your coaching business. As you embark on training and work toward earning your certification, it's important to know about the various certificates available. Choosing the type of life coach certification that's in line with your passions and interests will make your new career even more rewarding for you and beneficial for your clients.
Types of Life Coaching Certificates
Business Coach. Works with business owners to overcome obstacles preventing them from success.
Career Coach. Guides people in making the right choices for careers or career changes.
Executive Coach. Provides focused guidance to executives wishing to achieve the next success level.
Nutrition Coach. Helps clients deal with health or sports performance issues by addressing nutrition.
Health Coach. Develops plans and guides clients through health-improving steps.
Fitness Coach. Works with clients wishing to maintain or lose weight, or increase sports performance.
Parenting Coach. Guides parents and families through challenging times to strengthen familial bond.
Relationship Coach. Assists clients in improving communication other skills to positively impact relationships.
Spiritual Coach. Facilitates spiritual growth and the discovery of one's true purpose in life.
Christian Coach. Provides coaching in a variety of areas based on God's word and purpose.
Tech Coach. Helps clients with tech education, empowering them to use technology to their benefit.
Preparing for Your New Career
You may choose to pursue multiple certificates that go together -- such as health and fitness certificates -- or focus on one area of life coach certification. Invest yourself fully in the training process to become equipped and ready to guide clients toward their goals. Use the above information to help you make the choice that's right for you and your future coaching clients.
Do I Need to be Certified to be a Life Coach?
Life coaching seems to be all the rage these days. Many individuals and executives are now using life coaching to help overcome blockages, catapult their careers, start new businesses, get healthier, enjoy better relationships and lead more fulfilling lives. This surge in life coaches has made many people stop and wonder -- what type of training have these coaches had? Do life coaches need a life coach degree to practice?
The International Coach Federation
The International Coach Federation (ICF) is making strides in creating standards and practices for the life coaching field. It is the leading coaching organization and professional association in the world. While the ICF does offer a number of credentialing programs and certificates, a life coach degree or credentials are not required to work as a life coach. The ICF defines life coaching as the partnering of client and coach in a creative, thought-provoking process that helps the client to maximize their professional and personal potential; they offer these three credentialing options:
• Associate Certified Coach (ACC)
• Professional Certified Coach (PCC)
• Master Certified Coach (MCC)
While credentials or a life coach degree are not required to work as a life coach, ICF research has shown that there are a number of ways that life coaches can benefit from having credentials. Their 2012 ICF Global Coaching Study revealed that credentialed coaches tend to have higher-than-average income compared with non-credentialed-coaches. A 2010 Global Consumer Awareness Study done by ICF showed that clients who worked with a credentialed coach were more often satisfied with their experience and would recommend life coaching to others. In this study, 84% of coaching clients reported that they felt it was important their life coach held a credential.
While not a requirement, life coaching certification clearly offers benefits for a life coaching career. There are also several other credentialing programs such as through the International Association of Coaching (IAC) and boutique coaching schools. Identify your goals and do your research to figure out which path is right for you.
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| Patricia Walters-Fischer |
