Becoming a life coach is a life changing experience. You will grow, help people, and be able to experience the abundance and freedom that it can provide.

“I want to learn how to do what you do” is nearly an inevitable thing I hear from clients.  They see how deeply coaching is improving their lives, they see how much satisfaction it brings me and frankly despite the hard stuff, we have a lot of fun. But, I also like to think that they can see themselves doing it.  At least the way I coach it looks so simple, and it is!  They realize that they could learn how to do it, and simple can be incredibly powerful.

To become a great life coach you need three things:

1. A solid understanding of the business of life coaching.
2. Developing your self confidence and self-worth, doing your own work.
3. The life coaching skills that actually help people

In regard to the business aspect of coaching it is a very simple and direct business that you can learn very quickly, just find someone who is a successful coach and is willing to share.  The biggest part of the business that is required to be successful is to share what you are doing with a lot of people and invite them to join you.

You will have to be willing to talk to people about what you do.  Most of your clients, at least at the beginning, will come from 1:1 interactions.  It is kind of like dating.  The more times you ask, the more clients (dates)  you will have.  Not everyone will be a match for you, but the people who are looking for you will get so much from you and continue to support you for a long time. You can increase the percentage of yes’s by getting good at talking about what you do and who you are.  Even more yeses will come your way as you develop your self-confidence. 

In support of this, you must make sure you have a good business plan so you know what to do when they say yes!  A business plan is not complex.  You just have to be clear about how much you will charge (I will have to write another blog about that subject that seems to make people nervous!).  How you will offer your services.  How you will collect money, etc…

You can develop your self confidence and self-worth by getting coached by skilled life coaches and by developing your coaching skills.  Find the best life coach you can find, and be willing to pay for the privilege! It truly makes no sense to offer coaching if you don’t value it enough to get coached yourself.  Identify your weakest points, everything is learnable, and find someone who has mastered that area, learning from someone else's experience and wisdom will give you a huge boost.  Where could you be better, business, self-worth, coaching skills, carrying past trauma…?  Getting coached by an expert will give you lots of ideas and techniques for your own coaching practice.

Find the best training you can find and start learning! As you get more comfortable in yourself and confident in your coaching, talking to people about what you do gets easier and more fluid.  You still have to be willing to step through your natural resistance to approaching people, but there is a kind of momentum to it once you get going.

Getting some solid coaching skills and learning a framework for coaching will give you confidence. As you recognize the impact you can have on people you will become more excited about your work and want to share it with people, so finding a life coaching methodology that inspires you will be key, as well as working with people you resonate with.

For some people getting a life coaching certificate boosts their confidence but understand that it is not necessary, there is no requirement for certification.  It is who you are that will enroll clients and how you have prepared yourself.

“Who am I to be a coach?” I hear you cry.  Who are you not to be?  The best life coaching is really about inquiry and encouragement.  So many times I hear from clients,” it is so nice to be listened to”.  It is so rare that someone really listens to us (even in the coaching industry), when you really listen to someone there is a magic that makes everything clear.  Throw some encouragement into it and you can really make a huge difference in someone's life.  “Ask what your client wants to do and encourage them to do it”, is my basic policy, if you can do that well you can be a great coach, honestly!

Just like anything it takes some courage to start on the journey, there will be a point where you doubt yourself and your choice, everyone who is now coaching people and enjoying this amazing work and lifestyle has been willing to move through that doubt, you might call it the price of entry.

So here are your assignments; find a great coach and dive into yourself, find a coaching model you resonate with and sign up for training, and start seeing yourself as a coach, the only person you really need to convince is yourself!

As you are shopping around, check out Life Coaching Academy.  We offer life coach certification.  I have been coaching and teaching for 25 years, I have trained 100’s of people in this method.  You will learn the best business practices, I will teach you my Inquiry Method of life coaching, and you will get coached by me.  All of the above in one package.  It is all much more simple than you think, let us teach you to be the best life coach you can be.

Wishing you the best, Kyle