Becoming a Life Coach 2021
So, you're interested in becoming a life coach? Maybe you're even considering starting a coaching business. You're in the right place. And, I’m excited as hell for you!
I'm going to show you everything it takes to become a life coach. I'll provide you with the details and insights you need to become a certified life coach, start a life coaching business, and even provide a few extra resources.
What is Life Coaching?
If you enjoy helping people, Life Coaching is an excellent career for you. As a life coach, you'll work one-on-one with clients to make positive changes in their life, overcome challenges, and seize opportunities.
What Does a Life Coach Do
As a life coach, you'll use the coaching process to help your clients discover their values and what's truly important to them. Through life coaching, you'll help clients make changes they have difficulty making on their own.
Your life coaching clients will likely come to you with specific goals. However, since you're a damn good life coach, you'll detach yourself from the end result because your client ultimately owns the result.
You don't have the answers. Life coaching empowers people to discover their own answers and solutions.
Understand the Difference: Life Coach Vs. Therapist
Life coaches and therapists work with clients on related issues but have different qualifications and processes.
A therapist is a licensed mental health professional. They have an advanced degree and are classified as a psychologist or counselor. Therapists diagnose specific illnesses so that patients can be clinically treated.
A Life Coach is not a mental health professional. Let me repeat, as a Life Coach, you are not a mental health professional. Life coaches do not hold a license and do not diagnose mental health issues. If you want to be an outstanding Life Coach, you'll go through a training and certification program accredited through the International Coaching Federation (IFC).
A successful life coaching experience can be measured by the client's ability to obtain the desired goals. Life coaching clients sign a coaching agreement for a specific timeframe, 3-6 months, while a client seeking therapy typically seeks a more extended contract.
Last, as a Life Coach, you'll start where your clients are today and help them move forward. Therapists use therapy sessions to work on a client's past traumas and prescribe treatments for mental health issues.
Careers for Life Coaches
There are several different career paths you can take when you become a life coach.
Become an entrepreneur by starting a life coaching business.
Start a side-hustle — become a parallel-preneur — by starting a life coaching business while continuing to work at your current job.
Apply your life coaching skills as an internal coach or leader within an organization.
Work for an established organization that offers life coaching to external clients as a full-time employee or contractor.
How Do Life Coaches Make Money
Life Coaches make money from well … coaching clients. However, once you become a certified life coach, you can use your skills to generate income from several sources.
So, below I'll let you know how to make money as a life coach:
Traditional Life Coaching
One-on-One Coaching: Coach individual life coaching clients in-person or online. Those clients pay you for your life coaching services.
Group Coaching: Coach a group of clients in-person or online. That group of clients pays you for the group coaching services.
Services-Based Life Coaching
Motivational Speaking: Develop a speaking program based on your knowledge. People pay you to attend your speaking programs.
Training Program: Build a training program and sell it to companies or organizations
Product-Base Life Coaching
Webinar Series: Market a series of live webinars to help your clients with specific issues
Audio Course: Sell an audio course helping your life coaching clients
Online Course: Develop and sell an online course to automate your life coaching services
Email Course: Automate and sell an email course to help your life coaching client overcome a challenge or seize an opportunity
E-Book: Write an e-book on a specific life coaching topic, and your client pay to download the book
Workbook: Develop a workbook that supports your life coaching clients work through a challenge or opportunity
Membership Site: Create an online membership site with exclusive content for paying subscribers
Marketing Affiliate Programs
Affiliate Marketing: Become an affiliate for other companies and get paid a commission to promote their products
How Much Do Life Coaches Make
So, how much money do life coaches make? Great question!
Your life coach salary depends on one thing.
YOU!
How much you can make as a Life Coach depends on how you price your coaching services. It depends on the life coaching products you develop and the services you offer.
Once you become a life coach, your earning potential is unlimited.
However, I'll provide you with some general numbers on how much you can make as a life coach.
The International Coach Federation (IFC) conducted a study and found that a life coach's salary range is between $27,000 to $211,000 per year.
The ICF found that the average salary of a life coach is $62,000 per year. Not bad for an average!
According to PayScale, the life coach salary per hour is $31 to $98. Just remember, this is a salary per hour calculation, not a price you should charge for your services.
You won't be coaching clients every hour of the workday.
Again, how much you can make as a life coach depends on you, your life coaching brand, marketing skills, pricing, products, and services.
How to Become a Certified Life Coach
Being a Life Coach is a fantastic experience! It feels so good when you help your client change their life. But, you want to be the best damn possible coach on the market.
That's why you're here reading "How to Become a Life Coach." Let's walk through the exact steps to becoming a certified life coach.
Life Coach Qualifications
First, there's no specific set of Life Coach qualifications. Anyone can become a life coach. But, you're not just anyone.
There are a few things for you to consider as you start your life coaching business.
Life Coach Training: Are you required to have specific life coach training?
No.
Life Coaching Certification: Do you need a life coach certification?
No.
Should you get life coach training and become a certified life coach?
Hell. Freaking. YES!
Like seriously, get training as soon as possible. I'll talk more about training and certification below.
How Much Does It Cost to Become a Life Coach
The cost to become a life coach is zero. You can start coaching today. But, let's be real. You came here to get a realistic perspective on becoming a coach. So, that's what I'll do.
Below are the three most basic costs to become a coach:
Training and Certification Program: $500-$15000 - Quite the range. You can find online life coach training programs for less than $500, but inexpensive life coaching training programs most likely won't be accredited by the International Coach Federation (ICF). And, you want that accreditation.
Incorporating Your Business: $79-$349 on Legal Zoom. Some Life Coaches don't incorporate their businesses. Don't be this coach. Incorporating your business reduces financial risk and legitimizes your business.
Website: $6 to $26 per month on Weebly. On Wix $14 to $39 per month. We'll go into more information in the websites section below. But, this gives you a general idea for now. Learn more about Weebly by clicking here.
Realistically, the cost to become a life coach with training from a good program is around $3000-$5000. But, it helps to think about this as an investment.
Here's why…
Let's say you spend $5000 to become a Life Coach. You might be thinking that's a lot of money. However, let's again say you start your coaching business and charge $1200 for a 12 session life coaching package.
That means you pay off the full cost of becoming a life coach in 4.17 clients. Seriously!
All you need to do is coach five clients, and you've already made a profit as a Life Coach.
How freaking awesome is that!
Become a Certified Life Coach
Let's get started on how to become a certified life coach. First, you need to find the life coach training program best for you. If you haven't started searching for coaching programs, I must warn you … don't get caught in the weeds.
There are hundreds of coach training programs out there. Luckily, the International Coach Federation (IFC) has a Training Program Search Service (TPSS). You can use the TPSS service to look up ICF accredited training programs.
Use the search options to narrow down the programs based on your goals. You can find the TPSS by clicking here.
After months of searching, I attended the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC). iPEC, flat out, has one of the most comprehensive ICF accredited coach training programs out there. It's also one of the most respected Life Coach Training programs on the market.
iPEC's Energy Leadership Index assessment was ranked as one of the best leadership assessments by the Harvard Business Review.
Yes, iPEC is expensive, costing between $10,000 to $11,000, but I highly recommend this program. You can't go wrong!
If you're interested in learning more about the program, contact me, and I'll give you more details, make introductions, and help you along the way — Contact Me.
Another program I respect is Coach Training Alliance — Learn More. Coach Training Alliance (CTA) is a leading coach training organization. CTA offers an exclusive training model that enables you to experience coaching while you learn.
CTA trains you on the life coaching process and provides training on essential marketing and business skills. The extra business training is something you won't find with most training programs, but you'll need this training unless you're a business guru.
Coach Training Alliance is ICF accredited and offers three core programs:
Certified Coach Program - Become a Certified Coach - (Learn More)
Coach Training Accelerator - Join 10000+ Other Coaches - (Learn More)
Yoga2Life – A Unique Yoga Life Coaching Program - (Learn More)
I'd highly recommend you click the links above to check out CTA. You can also read my Exclusive and In-Depth Review of Coach Training Alliance by clicking here.
Take the time to review the certified coach training programs provided by the ICF TPSS and check out the two recommendations I offered. But don't get stuck.
Seriously, find a program that looks good and get your training done! Like anything, you'll get out of your training what you put into your training.
Pick a training program, get trained, get your coaching certification, and become a life coach!!!
Starting a Life Coaching Business in 7 Steps
Step 1: Incorporate Your Life Coaching Business
To be a life coach, do you need to incorporate your business? No.
Should you incorporate your business? Yes.
Here's why: In many cases, incorporating your business will protect your personal assets from claims against your company, including lawsuits.
Speak with a lawyer about your options or consider using Legal Zoom to form an LLC.
Step 2: Get a Business Banking Account
Once you've incorporated your coaching business, set up a business banking account. As a business owner and Life Coach, you need to separate your business funds from your personal funds.
Having a business banking account separate your funds helps protect you from liability if someone sues your company.
The fees to open a business banking account differ. Shop around to find the best option. You can open an account at any of the following:
Credit Unions
Community Banks
Online Banks
Institutional Banks
Once you start coaching clients, you'll need to accept credit cards and online payments. Sign up for online payment processing providers. Sure, they all charge a small fee, but that's a part of running your Life Coaching business... A few good options are:
PayPal
GPay
Stripe
Square
Step 3: Purchase Insurance for Life Coaches
We live in a litigious society. People sue anyone for anything. If you don't have business insurance, you're putting yourself at risk.
Insurance for Life Coaches won't be that different from any other business. At the least, you should purchase liability insurance. But, speak with an insurance provider and decide what's best for your business.
Step 4: Purchase a Domain Name
First, purchase a domain name. Your domain name should be an exact match of your business name, or, like me, you can use your first and name for the domain.
Try to find a .com instead of a .co, .org, or dot or other ending.
You can join two million+ people and use Namecheap to purchase your domain. Namecheap has an advanced domain name generator to help you find the perfect domain for your Life Coaching business. (Learn More)
Step 5: Build a Life Coaching Website
Don't start a life coaching business without a website. Think about it this way, when you check out a company, what's one of the first things you do?
You search for the business online. You check out the company's website. If a business doesn't have a website, you think it's less legitimate. Right?
Here are your options:
DIY Website: With a DIY Website, you don't know how to code. These websites come with templates and "drag and drop" functions. Plus, there are tons of YouTube tutorial videos to get you started.
Use Weebly - You can find customizable templates and easy-to-use tools for any type of website (Learn More)
WordPress Website: Building a WordPress website is a little more complicated, but not as difficult as it used to be. WordPress websites typically perform better with search engine optimization. Also, you'll have more options when it comes to adding custom plug-ins. Plus, there are tons of videos and online tutorials to help you build a website. If you're good with putting in a little more effort, I'd highly recommend using WordPress for your life coaching website. Two great options for hosting your WordPress site include:
BlueHost is one of the most recommended and largest website hosting providers. They power millions of websites across the world. (Learn More)
CloudWays is a managed cloud hosting platform that helps you avoid all the web hosting hassles. (Learn More)
6. Purchase Business Cards
You know what feels really good? When you're starting a life coaching business, and you finally get your business cards in the mail. I mean, once you open that package, the blood starts pumping, and you just KNOW … it's official. You're a business owner.
If you want to design your own business cards, use Canva.
Canva has tons of creative business card templates for Life Coaches. (Learn More)
If you'd prefer someone else create your business card design, use Fiverr. With Fiverr, you can find a good but low-cost designer. Just make sure you effectively communicate your design needs and conduct a video interview with your designer. (Learn More).
Once you have your business card design, use VistaPrint's online printing services. You can print 100 cards starting around $15. (Learn More)
Step 7: Start Coaching & Get Your First Paying Client
Yep. That’s right. Start coaching. The only “legitimate” difference between a being a Life Coach and a personal that gives advice…ONE SINGLE PAYING CLIENT.
That’s it. Get one client to pay you for life coaching and YOU. ARE. A. LIFE. COACH.
HELL YES!
Guess what …
If you’ve completed the steps above … boom! You. Are. Done!
Congrats! You’ve become a life coach and just started a coaching business. Now all you have to do is get your first paid life coaching client.
I have no doubt you’re going to crush it!
I hope this article helps you understand how to become a life coach. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.
But wait … Don’t leave yet, I have a few other resources for you to check out. Give them a look below.
Other Life Coaching Resources
How Much Should You Charge for Coaching: Dowload a Free Calculator to determine your life coach pricing - Click Here
Client Scheduling: Acuity Scheduling. Easy to set up with a great user interface.
Social Media Scheduling: Social Pilot and SemRush are two highly recommended “all-in-one” social media and content marketing platforms.
Customer Relationship Management: I recommend HubSpot’s CRM. They have a free CRM for Small Businesses that is simple set up.
Graphic Design: Canva is impressive! It’s easy to design and create any type of marketing materials you need. They have ready-made templates and photos for you to use. Check out Canva by clicking here. PicMonkey is another great option for graphic design. They have tons of templates and resources to fit your needs. Learn more about PicMonkey by clicking here.
Email Marketing: I use ConvertKit. This email marketing service comes with powerful tools to grow your list and is easy to use. You can quickly create landing pages to capture your audience’s contact information, then build a email nurturing sequence to turn your contacts into new coaching clients. Or, simply use ConvertKit as your go-to newsletter provider. Click here to learn more about ConvertKit.
Keyword Research: For Ubersuggest! It’s free and amazing!!! You can also add Keywords Everywhere as a Chrome or Firefox browser add-on.
Typeable/Editable PDFs: I’m sure you create PDFs, but don’t want to spend a bunch of money to get Adobe Pro. Your solution: PDFescape. Create a PDF, upload it to PDFescape, and then select the areas you want to be typeable. Done!
Transcription: I use Rev for my transcription needs. Rev’s speech-to-text services combines the world’s best A.I. with the fine-tuning of the human ear to produce top not transcriptions. Think about it, now you can repurpose a video or podcast episode into a blog post. You double your marketing efforts in no time at all. To start transcribing your audio Click here.
Security: For extra security, you should consider using a VPN. You can never be too safe. VyperVPN is a good option. Right now they’re offering 80% off - Learn more.
Audio/Video Conferencing: Zoom. I’ve tried them all, but haven’t found anything that’s as good as Zoom for the price and options.
Some links in this article may contain affiliate links. I only recommend products and services that I've used or have researched. If you decide to use the services I recommend, I may receive a small commission.