How to Become a Life Coach

Are you ready to learn how to become a life coach? If you enjoy working with people and also want to be self-employed with your own thriving business, life coaching as a career can be an amazing option for you. Here we will discuss the different paths that you can take to becoming a life coach.

There are different routes to this goal and you’ll need to decide which one is the best for you. Your decision will probably come down to how much money you have available for training and how fast you want to be up and running as a life coach.

Note that currently there are no specific requirements or credentials for practicing life coaching in the U.S., but you should check for any requirements or regulations in your own state/country.

How do I Become a Life Coach by Hiring a Life Coach as My Mentor?

One way you can get started in the coaching business yourself is to hire a personal coach with the main goal being that he or she will mentor you in getting started with your own life coaching business. If you already have a great coach, start here. Most coaches would be pleased at the opportunity to help someone else get started in a business that they probably love themselves.

Your coach will help you to decide on what your goals are and together you can map out a plan of action for your journey to becoming a life coach. This will probably include a lot of research and soul searching to determine if you want to specialize in a certain area of coaching or do something more general. You may also map out a good business plan and the various tools and people that you’ll need to consult with when it comes to the business aspects of your own coaching practice.

Your own coach may even offer to help get you started by doing some initial coaching with his or her own contacts. It is well worth giving a percentage of what you will earn in your early days to your mentor, so this may be something you might want to think about putting on the table.

How do You Become a Life Coach by Simply Calling Yourself a Coach – Just Get Started!

We are not suggesting here that you should begin a coaching business if you don’t really know much about coaching. This option might be good for people who have been involved in the coaching process for a long time themselves. This type of person would have a very good understanding of the coaching business and everything that they will have to go through as they start their own business.

Of course you may have some moments of panic as is often the case with any new endeavor, but sometimes it is truly just a matter of taking that plunge. Begin by getting your first client and going from there. This business, like many, is based on client referrals for a large part of the contact base, so you’ll want to keep this in mind at all times. Ask your current clients for testimonials and contact referrals. If you are great at what you do, your coaching business will be thriving in no time.

Do You Need Life Coaching Certification to Learn How to be a Life Coach?

Firstly, we can’t talk about certification without recognizing the ICF or International Coach Federation as the leading worldwide body to advancing the profession of life coaching. It was founded in 1995 and exists to support and advance the practice and procedures of professional coaching. The organization is based in Kentucky and has worked to provide a huge network of professional coaches worldwide.

Many people that choose a path that includes coaching training or an online school will want to choose an program that has the ICF seal of approval. A little research online will turn up many options and we’ll speak more to this below.

Within the International Coach Federation certification options, there are 3 different credentials to choose from. They are the ACC (Associate Certified Coach), PCC (Professional Certified Coach) and MCC (Master Certified Coach). Each certification has a certain number of required hours associated with it. To read more about the specifics of each credential, see our article on life coaching certification. You can also click the link above, to visit the ICF website directly.

How to Become a Life Coach by Enrolling in a Specialized Life Coaching Training Program

One of the greatest signs of the times is the incredible opportunity of being able to attend classes and receive your life coaching certification online. There are literally hundreds of online schools to choose from. In fact, if you know that you want to receive a credential that is ICF approved you can search for particular schools that will satisfy the requirements for the certification right from the ICF website.

It is also worth mentioning that some people who have been on a university track for their education, might opt to go for a Masters degree in counseling or something similar to this. A degree in Psychology or Counseling certainly would not hurt someone who wanted to pursue the business of life coaching, but if you’re not college bound or have no interest in devoting that much time to your degree, it’s not really necessary for this type of profession. In fact, many people would choose to get specialized training to be a life coach just because it will offer so many specific courses that would help you to get started with coaching.

In this article, you’ve been given the basic options for learning how to become a life coach. It will be up to you to determine which will be the best strategy for you. Of course a lot will depend on the amount of money you have for a training or certification investment along with the amount of time that you want to take getting started.