How To Start A Life Coach Business

How To Start A Life Coach Business - Background Info:

Sometimes it's good to just get away and be able to talk to someone who you don't have a personal connection with. By talking to someone about your problems, your goals, your hopes, and your dreams, you can often get a new perspective on life.

People use life coaches for the same reason that they use sports coaches: they want someone to work with them, to encourage them, to push them.

Coaches have "clients" instead of "patients." Instead of telling clients what they should do, you will act as a facilitator to help them figure out solutions for themselves. As a life coach, your job is to listen, to ask questions, and to give honest feedback.

You can see things in a way you might not have seen before and you can figure out new ideas and directions for your life.

Many people see a professional psychiatrist for this, although sometimes you can get the best advice from someone who simply has a sound head on their shoulders. This is what a life coach is for.

If you decide to get started in the life coaching business, you will want to first decide how to let people know that you are available.

A good tactic is to waive your life coaching fees for a first session for any client. This allows them to come in and get to know you, talk about their goals and issues, and listen to any feedback you may have to give them.

After they leave feeling relieved, they will be more likely to come back to you and become repeat clients.

How To Start A Life Coach Business - Tasks And Skills Needed:

Business Specific Tasks:

If you are planning to do all the business tasks or hiring or subcontracting tasks, here's a list of tasks that need to be attended to when it comes to the business side of running a Life Coach business:

Bookkeeping

Recordkeeping

Appointment setting

General office

Industry Specific Tasks:

Same as above if you plan to do everything yourself or get help, here are some of the tasks necessary to operate a Life Coach business:

Attend training courses on a regular basis

Read pertinent articles and publications on life skills consistently

Counsel others with their business and personal goals

Give presentations

Lead motivation classes

How To Start A Life Coach Business - Approximate Daily Hours Needed:

General Hours of Operation: - When your business is open - When starting your life coaching business, you should decide what hours work best for your schedule and for your prospective clients.

Not everyone may be able to take time off from work who wants to use your services, so having hours at different points of the day may be helpful.

Hours Needed to Prepare - Before Opening and After Hours Activities - As you begin to grow a more regular client base, you may also want to stay in touch with more clients and have the ability to talk with them when they might need it, making your hours more flexible around the lives of your clients.

Number of Employees Needed To Run This Business:

Minimum Number of Employees -During the Start Up Phase: You can start this business yourself on a full-time basis.

Number of Employees - Once Your Business is Up and Running Successfully:

Website maintenance

Record/Bookkeeping

General office

Customer Service

Life coaches

Skill Requirements for This Business:

Great communication skills

Love of people

Willingness to want to help others

Ability to listen and counsel without bias

Ability to not judge others

Licenses:

No special licensing is required to start a life coaching business unless you want to open up a private office. Then you will need whatever special permits are required locally for renting office space.

Approximate Minimum Start up Cost:

Bare essential: - If you start your life coaching business from home, you do not need a start-up cost. You would do well to turn a separate room into an office space where your clients would feel more comfortable, so you may want to spend money redecorating that room into a more professional, yet relaxed setting. This is not needed to be a life coach, however.

Minimal exposure - There are several ways to advertise for free, but business cards and brochures left at businesses are best.

Necessary Equipment to Run this Business:

Necessary Start-Up Equipment & Supplies:

Computer

Printer

Cell phone

Website

All that you need is some comfortable seating which helps people relax. You may want to have candles or other soothing elements around the room, although you do not want anyone to become too relaxed.

You are only simply trying to make people comfortable. Other than this, a professional means of dressing yourself is important to show your clients that you mean business when you talk with them.

Supplementary Equipment: - Equipment or helpful products that you can acquire to once your business is off and running:

Life Coach Software

Office

Office furniture

Answering service

Message recording

Monthly Expenses To Consider:

Wages
Phone/cell phone
Internet access
Permits
Advertising/Marketing
Electricity
Water

Special Requirements and Considerations For This Business:

Find out all you can about the trends in the industry. Know your competition, in particular, their strengths and weaknesses. This will help you identify your competitive advantage. In other words, this will help you figure out what you can give your customers that they're not getting from the other businesses. And keep from emulating the competition's strategy. Instead, make the most of your own advantage points.

As a life coach you may decide to assist anyone who wants coaching, or choose to specialize in coaching people in a specific area, such as:

business

careers

environmental impact

family

leadership

mid-life

relationships

retirement

spirituality

self-awareness

time management

wellness

weight management

work/life balance

Pros And Cons of Opening A Life Coach Business:

The Pros of Running a Life Coach Business:

If you start a life coaching business, you will get to spend your days talking with people, listening to their stories, and encouraging them to be the best that they can be.

This can be a very positive way to spend your time because your bestow positive energy on your clients and help them to find their own inner strength.

The Cons of Running a Life Coach Business:

You may run into opposition from people who feel that because you may not have a degree in counseling as a licensed psychiatrist, that you are simply not qualified to be doing your job.

People do not realize that you are providing a service to your clients which helps them find their own paths.

Type of Customers You Need to Attract:

Many people who hire life coaches are already successful, but want to achieve more. Senior executives, for example, often want the unbiased feedback a coach will give them through executive coaching.

Other people want a life coach to assist them in achieving a more rewarding job, better relationships, more free time, or to improve some other life area. They may have difficulty setting goals or finding the courage to do what they want instead of what others expect of them.

Life Coach Business Statistics:

Check Business.com or the U.S. Department of Labor for current statistics.

Revenue:

Successful companies (such as Kodak, IBM and Marriott) hire corporate coaches to help employees achieve greater success in a variety of areas. In addition to executive coaching, many corporate coaches get paid thousands of dollars a day for leading training programs to help employees reduce burnout, improve customer service, get along with co-workers, and maximize performance.

Life Coach Business Resources:

Industry-Specific Websites:

Solution Box

Life And Business Coaching

Bill Baren

Transformational Life Coach

Coaching for Success

Darren Barr-Engstrom

Courses:

Life Coaching Resource

Life Coaching And Wellness Education Programs

Equipment and Supplies:

Hertz

Forums:

The Coaching Forums

Life Coach Information Forum

Click a Life Coach

Life Coach Institute Forum

Life Coaching Forum

Franchises:

Action Coach

The Growth Coach

Graduate School of Business Coaching

MindStream

Associations:

Coach Federation

IAC

U.S. Life Coach Association

Books:

Get Paid to Help People Achieve Success

The Definitive Guidebook for Starting Your Own Highly Successful Life Coaching Business

Software:

Blast Station

LIFE ALIGNER PRO 2010

Businesses To Related to a Life Coach Business:

Psychology
Career counseling
Mediation
Business Motivation/Training