Could a Life Coaching Career be Your Path to the End of the Rainbow?

By Olivia Rahim | August 19, 2019

Choosing a career feels daunting because it feels so finite. This is not exactly the case. You can always take on new careers as time moves on. Some careers take years to achieve while others do not.

The key is to find a path you love. Those who love to support, encourage, and challenge others may be considering all sorts of careers, such as counseling, but the right career could be life coaching.

Is This Really Your Path?

Before you dive into it and learn how to become a life coach, it is important to figure out if this career is really for you. The following are a few questions you should ask yourself before you begin this journey:

What are Your Additional Qualifications?

A good life coach brings additional experiences that are quite helpful to others. For example, some life coaches start off as sports trainers.

Potential customers are going to see this as a plus, especially those who respond to physical motivation as much as life advice. You could bring your experience as an entrepreneur, a real estate agent, teacher, nutritionist, or whatever else you did.

Could You Listen and Bring Joy?

A life coach loves to bring joy to others. If that is you, then you are definitely a good candidate for this job. You also need to be quite receptive.

You need to be the kind of person who can listen to other people’s concerns and offer real solutions based on each person. Giving people the opportunity to speak freely is a beautiful thing and a required skill for life coaches.

Could You Deal With the Business Aspect?

Life coaching is a business, and this is something you have to keep in mind. You will need to deal with this aspect of the career because you will need to run your own website or office space.

You are probably going to have to set your prices, and be responsible for invoices or deal with the occasional bad customer. At the beginning, when you do not have a lot of help, you may have to take on new skills to accomplish some of these tasks, such as learning how to use blogging software as an example. Learning many skills may seem overwhelming, but this can still be helpful.

What Life Coaching Offers

Some people are drawn to this career because it does not take too long to be certified. The minimum training program is usually about 60 hours, and that is just coach training. You will also need to work with a mentor for about 10 hours. It should also be pointed out that 100 hours of client-coach experience is also needed before you are a certified life coach.

People are drawn to this because most have other things to take care of in their lives as they pursue this career choice, such as family or work.

The following are other things that draw people:

Client-Led

A coach and counselor have some things in common, except a counselor may have to deal with people who aren’t ready to take charge. Some of these individuals could be going through emotional turmoil and are simply not ready to take action.

A life coach usually works with people who are hungry to move forward and are ready for suggestions. You will be there to help challenge this person and hold them accountable, rather than pulling them from an emotional black hole.

Flexibility is Here

It should be pointed out that a life coach has a lot of flexibility, especially nowadays. A coach can help clients anywhere using things like live chat software, instant messaging, or through email.

This means a client can go on vacation and continue to receive your advice.

The services of a life coach do not have to be constant, so it gives you a little more freedom. You should also keep in mind that you have the power to change your schedule however you see fit.

Hopefully, these pointers help you see why this career may be the right choice for you. There are similar careers to consider if you are the kind of person who wants to help others, like a counselor, psychiatrist, massage therapist, and many more. Be honest with yourself, and follow your heart.