Do you dream of becoming a life coach? For some, it’s the perfect career that brings huge levels of job satisfaction. A number of people are just born to be life coaches, and perhaps you’re one of them.
Do you have what it takes?
Can you answer a resounding ‘yes’ to these questions? If so, it’s likely that you’ll excel as a life coach…
- Do you love to help others?
- Do friends and family come to you for help?
- Do people find you easy to talk with and open up to?
- Is your advice appreciated? Do people thank you for your help and follow your advice?
- Are you good at thinking outside the box?
- Can you see several solutions for every problem?
- Are you a good listener?
- Are you able to easily empathize with others and imagine yourself in their shoes?
- Do you want to be your own boss, in charge of your own destiny?
You do? Well, that’s just great. But, we need to be realistic. While becoming a life coach is a wonderful dream, there are bills to pay. You’ve got rent to cover and you need to eat.
When it comes down to it, life coaching has to pay. You need it to be your career, not a hobby or a vanity project. So you need to get serious, create a professional business, and make life coaching a career that will make you good money.
Can it be done? With your natural talents, motivation and going the extra mile with training and good marketing… YES!
Becoming a life coach is a dream that can come true, and we’re here to tell you how to make sure this happens…
Our top tips for a life coaching career that pays
When your mind is set on achieving your goals, you can do anything, but there are some paths you can take that will help fast-track your life coaching career, and make it profitable sooner…
Take training and become certified
Life coaching is an unregulated profession.
This means you don’t need any specific qualifications in order to set up a business as a life coach. Because it’s so easy, literally anyone can call themselves a life coach and start selling their services.
This can make people very wary when choosing a life coach. Of course, everyone wants a life coach who is highly knowledgeable and professional, not someone who set up in business last week because they thought it would be a fun hobby.
So you need to make your business stand out from the crowd. You need to prove to potential clients that you know what you’re doing and you’re a serious, legitimate business.
This is where training becomes invaluable. Taking a life coaching course will not only ensure that you’re fully prepared to offer the very best help and advice across a wide range of subjects, but if you choose a course that rewards its students with certification, you’ll also have the perfect proof of your credentials.
Your certified status will certainly give you the professional edge you’re looking for, a way to show you’re dedicated to your chosen profession, and that you’ve taken the time to invest in your career.
You can display your certified credentials on your website and other marketing materials, putting your business head and shoulders above that of any other non-certified life coaches in your area.
Ensure you have a professional and informative website
Every life coach will benefit from having a website, but if it doesn’t look professional, people may doubt the quality of your services.
While it may be tempting to press a few buttons on a free website creator and generate a website, unless you have excellent design skills, the results may look generic and unprofessional.
Your website needs to speak for you. It should be stylish, and easy to navigate, with a distinctive logo and branding that represents you and your business.
You need people to remember this site and find it useful. Hiring a web design agency to create your online presence could be well worth the investment, especially in the early days when you’re still developing your company branding.
Errors can creep in anywhere, so be sure to check your online content several times before it is published.
ou need to look out for spelling and grammar mistakes, but also anything you may have overlooked, like forgetting to put your phone number on the site, or mentioning which areas you are available to work in.
Be active on social media
To make money, you need clients, and to get clients, you need to get your name out there.
When your life coaching business is in its infancy, you won’t have the luxury of many word-of-mouth recommendations, so you need to focus on advertising.
Social media is an excellent marketing vehicle for life coaches when used well. You should of course have a presence on all the most popular social media channels, in order to reach the widest audience, but you also need to pay attention to the actual content you’re posting.
Think about how often you’re posting, keep it regular, but not so frequent that people feel overwhelmed and unsubscribe from your posts.
Consider your content. Does it bring value to the reader or is it all just a sales pitch?
Put some thought into the type of posts you can make that will benefit your followers. Could you offer career tips, advice on how to build self-confidence or a fun personality test?
Make it engaging and encourage interaction.
Ask for reviews and testimonials
People will be happier to pay for a service that has been recommended, so once you have clients, never miss an opportunity to encourage them to spread the word.
When you’ve successfully helped a client, and they’re reaping the rewards of your excellent advice, strike while the iron is hot and politely ask them to leave a review or write a testimonial that you can showcase on your website and across your social media channels.
You could also give them some of your business cards so they can hand them out to anyone they know who may also be interested in the services you offer.
Don’t rush in – be sure you can offer a high-quality service every time
With the potential for reviews and recommendations in mind, don’t start taking on paying clients until you’re sure you are ready.
Of course, you’re keen to start making your new career pay, but if you don’t deliver the ultimate life coaching service, you risk negative feedback.
One bad review in the early days of your life coaching career can have huge repercussions.
So, take it steady. Take a training course, get certified, and learn everything you need to offer a life coaching service that’s second to none.
Don’t undersell your services
Setting prices can be daunting when you’re first starting out in business.
While of course, you need your prices to be competitive, there’s no need to undercut every other life coaching business just because you’re new to the industry.
You don’t want to be so cheap people wonder why your rates are so low and doubt the quality of your services! You know you’re good at this. You’ve invested time in training, and you’ve earned your life coaching certificate. Your help and advice are so valuable, that no one will begrudge paying for it.
