Therapists are not life coaches. Traditional therapist’s help patients work through their emotions and treat their mental health. Life coaches assist clients in asking essential questions and making long-term plans. Good life coaches are listeners, but life coaching is much more than just listening to people’s problems.As a life coach, you are more than just a consultant. You’re a business owner, marketer, and salesperson.
Developing the skills necessary to become a competent life coach is the first step toward a career in life coaching. Making a living as a life coach is another crucial step. Some people may find employment as life coaches. However, due to the industry’s nature, most people will start their businesses.
Another way a life coach may work for someone else is to work under the guise of another job. The very first thing to understand is that there are plenty of jobs in society that do not have the title “life coach” but that use life coaching skills or provide a similar service. Related jobs can occasionally evolve into something that is, for all intents and purposes, life coaching. As an example:
Developing the skills necessary to become a competent life coach is the first step toward a career in life coaching.
- Consider a teacher who demonstrates empathy with students and may be asked to serve as a student counsellor or career advisor.
- Consider a therapist dealing with clients with fitness issues, eating disorders, financial difficulties, and other difficulties. Over time, a counsellor’s knowledge and expertise may broaden, and they may find themselves, out of necessity, assisting people with issues other than psychological issues.
- Employment consultants may use life coaching skills when working with clients to help them find work.
- A youth worker or mental health worker may help clients develop life skills, goal setting, healthy living and interpersonal skills.
- · A hairdresser may find themselves conversing with their clients about their lives and the problems they are experiencing. The conversations may resemble a life coaching course, with the hairdresser actively listening and possibly assisting the client in structuring their thoughts, gaining a new perspective, setting goals, and so on.
To become a life coach, you should first acquire the necessary skill set. Most people will begin by enrolling in a Life Coaching short course, certificate, or diploma program to learn perspectives and techniques for working with clients. Your personal life experiences and skills will shape your life coaching practice, so start by specializing in areas where you already have expertise, qualifications, or experience.
Using your existing skills and networks to launch your life coaching business can be a powerful way to get started. One way to start a life coaching practice is to offer coaching services in an area where you have experience, target existing clients, and leverage your existing reputation. You may initially provide a narrower range of services related to your specialty and then gradually broaden the services to offer a comprehensive life coaching service.
You will likely find it easier to launch your business by capitalizing on your existing strengths. Consider how you might use your current knowledge and experience to get started toward a career in life coaching if you have a degree, certificate, or work experience in something. Numerous professions will help you develop skills for life coaching.