Becoming a life coach

[Froztwolf]

Hia.
What would I have to learn and do to become a life coach?
I know the field is unregulated but surely there are some things that every good life coach has to know. I can see focusing on helping people figure out what they want and to help them set up a structure to help them get it.

Can anyone recommend some resources/training programs?

[Eric Revelin]

It's unregulated but you can become accredited. There's an organization called the International Coaching Federation that currently sets the bar and, while it's debatable how much their accreditation helps, it wouldn't hurt to use a program that has their approval.

I would suggest you begin here:

Become A Coach.com
International Coach Federation

[ndpistonfan]

Eric,

Thanks for the reply. I posted something on this exact topic a few weeks ago and didn't garner a reply. My dream job is to become a Life Coach eventually. Thank you for letting us know. Have you been a Life Coach for very long? What is your primary way of promoting yourself and attracting potential clients?

[Eric Revelin]

I'm afraid I'm not a life coach, I'm just interested in the field.

It looks like there are many courses that will include information on how to market yourself and build your client base. Nearly all ICF-approved programs that I've looked at allot time for you to work 1-on-1 with a coach so it's likely you can inquire about the business end of it then. Be sure to ask about that before you commit to a program.

[DayInTheLife]

I would hire a few life coaches and see how they do things. Figure out what you needed that they didn't provide, what they did that worked, etc.

[ssandra]

You can also check out some NLP programs (NeuroLinguisticProgramming).

They usually have great courses and it makes a lot of sense what they say.

[ndpistonfan]

It's funny you mention NLP, as I studied that for a while back in the 90's. More dabbling than anything, really. I am, in fact, a certified handwriting analyst (graphologist) and would incorporate that into my Life Coaching practice. I guess that right there would give me a niche. I'm definitely open to hiring someone to get their advice and see the methods to their madness as well. Good advice all around everybody.

[Froztwolf]

Thanks everyone.
Definitely good advice all around

[PetergwAction]

Hi,

One thought you may want to consider is business coaching. Yes, we focus on helping business people, and so it is different than life coaching in that respect. However, it is all about helping people, and believe me, there are a LOT of business owners out there that need help!!!

Full disclosure - I am part of the ActionCOACH organization. I fully believe in and support life coaching - it's a great field. I just want to offer that there is another dimension of coaching out there if you want to explore it. It's certainly not for everyone, but is very rewarding to those that love it.

Best,

Peter

[smartile]

Originally Posted by Froztwolf

What would I have to learn and do to become a life coach?

Hi Froztwolf,

I'm a Life Coach. Here are a few things you may not know about coaching.

Most Common Mistakes:

• You declare yourself to be a coach without any training

• You worry too much about credentials, when it's more important to focus on providing value.

• You don't have a curriculum - human beings are content driven; provide your own curriculum; think of how you might lead a seminar.

• You don't have a marketing system or lead generation process. It's like selling without selling. Let people come to you.

As far as training, there are many different avenues to take. I did some of my training with Landmark Education and in Neuro-Linguistics Programming. Like some of the other members mentioned, the coaching industry is not regulated, so don't get too hung up with having letters behind your name.

[Eric Roosevelt]

Originally Posted by smartile

Here are a few things you may not know about coaching.

Most Common Mistakes:

• You declare yourself to be a coach without any training

Yeah, I've understood that this is very common. There seem to be a lot of "life coaches" out there who could really benefit from coaching themselves a little bit first.

[smartile]

Hey Eric,

You make a really great point.

The really powerful coaches, coach from personal experience and not from theory. That means choosing your niche to coach people based on your own personal and professional experience. Everyone has had experience in "something" - so that's where to start.

As far as training goes, it helps to have training in a program where you've been taught how to coach - by getting the experience coaching others using specific tools and a structure that creates results.