So You Want To Be A Personal Life Coach?
Life coaching is a uniquely American occupation – only our sports-obsessed culture could have taken the concept of an authority figure who dictates your every action off of the gridiron and into the home. But the process of pursuing a career as a personal life coach isn’t as easy as buying a whistle and bossing people around. To really find success in this increasingly competitive industry, you need to be able to distinguish yourself from the competition.
Right off the bat, there are no educational requirements for becoming a life coach. There is no master licensing agency or professional union, although the International Coach Federation (ICF) does offer life coach accreditation to some training services. The good aspect of that is that it makes the industry easy for a newcomer to get started in. The bad aspect is that it has opened the field up to people who are unscrupulous. Many life coaches are justifiably regarded as scam artists, collecting large fees while not really making a difference in the lives of their clients. I’m not going to advise you on how to become that sort of life coach – this article assumes that you want to pursue the calling to help people.
The best way to get acquainted with the job is to book yourself sessions with one or several life coaches. Many coaches choose to specialize in a specific aspect of existence – whether it be relationships, finances or nutrition. In your consultations with life coaches, pay close attention to how they phrase advice and gather information. The job is equal parts listening and talking – discovering the blocks to your client’s happiness and giving them the tools to remove those blocks. There are a number of self-help books in the marketplace that can give a prospective life coach a platform to build their program around. These books offer organizing principles that you can use to reinforce your lessons to your clients. Having a physical reference that they can use even when you’re not around can be a very effective teaching tool.
If you are serious about becoming a life coach, it is recommended that you pursue at least one course at ICF-accredited life coaching schools such as the Institute for Life Coach Training. These courses can take over 100 hours of training, but at the end of them you will have a much stronger grasp on the tools that coaching requires. Of course, it is not mandatory to take any kind of educational training before embarking on your new career as a life skills coach, but having an ICF-accredited diploma will make it significantly easier to develop a client base and land well paying life coaching jobs.
Being a life coach offers a lot of flexibility with regards to how you serve your clients. You can work with local clients in person and at the same time, expand your base to an online life coach service or telephone.
Life coaching is a difficult job, with many pitfalls. Most notably, the life coach has to always seem to be in a position of authority – if you don’t have your life together, you won’t be able to help others with theirs. It’s not a job for those who lack confidence or the ability to connect with people. As with any new business, developing a client base will be difficult at first, but your customers will be your best advertisements – really help them, using all the tools at your disposal, and they’ll appreciate it for the rest of their lives.
© 2010, Personal Life CoachFREE information about Online Life Coaching
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Life Coaching Jobs
Deciding to pursue a career in life coaching can be as rewarding for you as it is for your clients. You’ll need a strong sense of yourself in order to be a successful life skills coach, as well as patience and compassion. If you want to find life coaching jobs and clients, there are several methods which you could try. Keep in mind if you are new to the field of personal life coaching, it might take a little time to get your first client.
Seek clients online:
Online life coaching is becoming more popular so follow your target clientèle online. Become a regular member at online help and support groups and forums. Fill out your profile with information about your life coaching services and add a link in your signature.
Finding clients offline:
As far as the offline techniques are concerned, take notice if there are volunteer service in your community. Ask your friends or colleagues for recommendations. Do you belong to any associations and groups? Give an introductory session lasting 15 to 30 minutes to showcase your knowledge. This helps attract people who want to see what you offer without obligation on their part.
Once you get your first client, do what you can to help them get to know you better. People usually prefer doing business with those they feel a connection with and this is especially true for a life skills coach. This will make them open to the advice and approach you offer. Make sure to let your philosophy and personality shine through in every lecture, tele-class, interview or every article you write.
It should be easy to do business with you. In order to let this happen, have a few products and services for clients to test. If you make it possible to make the potential client comfortable in working with you, it is likely that they will.
You must know the client and their needs thoroughly. Knowing your client well helps you to deliver your best to ensure that they are successful. Becoming a life coach is a wonderful career opportunity! To your success!
PS: Your first step is to register for courses and/or go for your life coach certification.
FREE information about Online Life Coaching
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Life Coach Jobs
Being a life coach is an extremely rewarding job. You not only get to help other people, you also get to help yourself by helping other people. Athletes like Michael Jackson and Tiger Woods have been using life coaches to improve their career ever since. If you want to be a life coach, you don’t have to be limited to athletics or personal training. You can look for life coach jobs where you assist your clients to achieve goals in all areas of their life such as personal, business and work, family and spiritual.
In becoming a life coach, you should be a real person who lives what he preaches and is successful in most areas of life. You should be a good communicator and sincerely wish the best for most people. Life coach jobs are good for people who are able to handle their own life’s hardships and they should have a passion for living. Being a life coach means putting your client’s needs before yours. You have to be sure to be there to support and guide your client through their life.
As a life coach, you are hired to provide encouragement, life options, new perspectives and are expected to be objective. If you think you have the attributes of an effective life coach, here are some benefits to help you decide on choosing life coaching as a career. Being a life coach is an extremely intellectual role. As a life coach, you get to work closely with your clients. You also get to be flexible with the time you spend working. And life coaches tend to live an enviable lifestyle. Also, decide if you want to offer onlinelife coaching, in person, telephone services or a combination of all three.
Now that you have decided to follow this career path, here are three ways to get started.
1. First, you can enroll in life coaching classes. Life coaching may be an unheard of career so in order to ensure potential clients that your legit, you have to take life coaching classes. You can get life coaching certification through lessons. Life coaching schools will also help you by giving you resources on how to start your life coaching business. You can choose from any course depending on your visions on how you want to be as a life coach.
2. Second, you can just call yourself a life coach. This is the quickest way to be a life coach but also the hardest way to prove your life coaching abilities. It might take you at least five years to prove your life coaching abilities. Remember though that the best life coaches are people who are great teachers, good friends, amazing mentors and many more. An academic certification does not guarantee your success as a life coach.
3. Third, hire your own life coach. You can learn through your life coach. By experiencing being coached, it will be easier for you to understand how to work with your client. If this is your chosen career, be sure to be selfless and think first of the needs of your clients before yourself.
You can find life coaching jobs through many avenues such as placing a small ad in your local newspaper, putting flyers on community bulletin boards and just telling others that you are available for work.
FREE information about Online Life Coaching