A complete guide on how to become a life coach including accredited schools costs, average salary, & requirements to becoming certified:
About life coaches
Life Coaching can be referred to as a process which occurs in a solid and mutual relationship between a professional coach and an individual who strives to realize his/her aspiration, in order to make a dream become a reality or find a way to improve him/herself. In order for the process to be effective, it requires the personal effort from the client and also the life coaching work, which is why it is termed a relationship.
A Life Coach is an individual who has been professionally trained to help clients to make the most of their potentials and realize their expected results by asking them the right questions, empowering them with the best tools, and offering guidance. In order to achieve this, in addition to their education, life coaches also strive to constantly better themselves so as to accomplish more significant results with their clients.
Certified Life Coaches employ varieties of tools to encourage their clients to make a turnaround and better improve their lives. All these were learnt in specialized schools that have to maintain a high standard of practice in order to be deemed qualified to train professional life coaches.
The schools make provisions for the necessary tools and equip their students with the required skills. These students are emphatic human beings who possess the quality of being able to effectively communicate with people at a high level and they employ this quality to help individuals live a happier and accomplished life.
How do life coaches help their clients?
Life Coaches act as advisers, motivators and guides to their clients, to help them through various personal and professional matters. Some of the reasons why the service of Life Coaches are sought after by individuals include life changes, definite professional projects, emotional independence, relationship issues, improved physical and financial health, and spiritual evolution.
The coaching process essentially involves evaluation of the client’s precise issue, determining and surmounting the likely challenges and based on the client’s preferences, design a plan that will enable them to realize their goal and make the necessary changes that can transform their lives.
Most times, clients approach these professionals with no idea of what aspect of their lives needed changes, all they have is a feeling of dissatisfaction. It’s now left to the Coach (by working with the client) to determine the aspect, their wants and needs.
Some situations may even occur where an individual holds a belief that he/she cannot be happy or whole without being in a romantic relationship. Furthermore, it is the duty of the life coach to employ their knowledge and expertise to make adjustments to the goals as required. In such situation, it all depends on the life coach to make the individual understand that before they proceed to form a healthy relationship with someone, they have to first of all need to be happy and fulfilled.
The coaching process is also (and specifically) a process of introspection and self-discovery. It is the job of the Coach to motivate their clients to examine themselves, contemplate their innermost desires and gain knowledge about their root and purpose. Clients are equipped by this process, and it also enhances their self-esteem and self-love, which grants them the strength, the necessary power to realize excellent outcomes with the aid of Coaching and in life.
How much does a life coach make?
It is very obvious that the Coaching industry is growing exponentially. In 2012 alone, up to 47,500 professional coaches who were on the market made an aggregate revenue of $2 billion. The market prosperity may be attributed to the insecurity which stems from the state of the economy in recent times or the increasingly high demand for individuals who are focused on achieving their life purposes, but what matters is that at last, the profession is gaining more prestige.
Coaches are self-employed professionals, which implies that their business is owned by them, and they get to make a unitary decision on their service fee. The amount for the fee can constantly fluctuate based on some certain factors such as field of specialization, skills, additional services rendered and experience.
The next step after making the decision to enter the coaching industry is to find out which sub-area do they wish to specialize in. So as to avoid losing out on potential clientele, the majority choose to be generalists, whereas clients search for seasoned professionals who have a good understanding of their present particular context and phase of life.
There are three areas of practice which comprises the coaching industry. They are executive coaching, business coaching and life coaching. A professional is placed in the position of an expert if they choose a particular specialty, giving them an advantage over their competitors, thereby, assuring a higher income. Furthermore, any individual who wants to make a huge profit in the coaching industry has to ensure they variegate their income. Some of the ways one can make money as a Coach includes giving lectures and seminars, offering training, creating online programs, writing books, and leveraging social networks. In terms of the average salary of these professionals, a coach can make between $25 – $300+ per hour, based on their level of experience and abilities. Coaches who have completed their life coach certification program usually charge between $100 – $150 per hour. On a monthly basis, they can earn $200 – $10,000, depending on services provided by them. Speaking at an event can earn them between $0 – $15,000+.
As a matter of fact, the aforementioned figures depend on the coach’s experience, ability, skill, expertise and level of patronage. In order to be successful in the coaching industry, it’s necessary to have talent, acquire professional training, have the confidence to market yourself, constantly search for new strategies to market and sell your services, and obtain the required skills to grow and thrive as an entrepreneur.
Legal requirements of a life coach
There are people who choose to focus on Life Coaching as their only profession, while there are some who are very knowledgeable in other fields. For instance, it’s quite common to find some coaches who have experience in mental health or counseling. One does not have to meet certain legal standards to be a life coach, which is unlike other professions, but one will still need to obtain the certification issued by the International Coach Federation.
There are three levels of coach credentials issued by the ICF. The first level is the Associate Certified Coach, and one needs to have at least 60 hours of training and 100 hours of Coaching experience to obtain it. Professional Certified Coach is the second level and one needs to have at least 125 hours of training and 500 hours of Coaching experience to be eligible for it. The third level which is the Master Certified Coach can only be obtained by those who can boast of 200 hours of training and 2500 hours of Coaching experience. These certifications issued by the International Coach Federation are not only limited to Life Coaches, they are also offered to any interested professional. As at now, the ICF offers over 150 Accredited Coach Training Programs worldwide.
But the reality still remains that the coaching industry has inadequate regulations despite its huge strides. Although formal education is not a criterion to be a Life Coach, the coaches that are accredited already have huge value on the market.
How to become an accredited life coach
Over the years, whenever the coaching profession is mentioned, it’s either people who have no knowledge of what it means or they understand a life coach as an arcane individual involved in mystical and mysterious activities. Hardly did anyone really understood what the work of Life Coach is truly about.
As time went by, more people began to have a clear idea of the work being done as people such as Tony Robbins have made it more accessible in the mainstream, the number of coaches increased, and the profession is now viewed as a serious and prominent field. A majority of people now have a good idea of what this profession entails and almost everybody has heard of it.
What has been the setback for the profession is that due to the astronomical economic growth the Life Coaching industry is experiencing, many people have suddenly decided to join the industry and call themselves Life Coaches because they are empathic and possess good listening skills, strong interpersonal intelligence, leadership skills and can offer good advice. This is no different from waking up one day and then decide to practice medicine simply because you have experience in dressing wounds.
The profession does not yet have regulations that prevent anyone from practicing without having been certified by a licensed school. But presently, there are no restrictions placed on anyone from practicing Life Coaching and unlicensed Life Coaches can easily be hired by potential clients.
Certainly, there are some unlicensed coaches who have studied wide on the subject and possesses the required skills and tools, thereby mightily empowered to be of help to clients. But the issue is that coaches who have attended licensed school programs have great and well-versed knowledge of this profession, making them more professionally knowledgeable than those who are self-taught or certified by non-accredited schools.
Why are licensed schools special?
The International Coach Federation certification sets Life Coaches apart. ICF is the leading global organization in the field, its mission is to lead the global advancement of the coaching profession, and facilitate the communities of Life Coaches. The knowledge and support that coaches require are provided by the organization, and they also set the standards for accreditation of life coaching schools.
In order for schools to be certified as an Accredited Coach Training Program (ACTP), they must meet the strict and inflexible standards required by the International Coach Federation. The guidelines for accreditation set by the ICF includes:
- Provision of at least 125 hours of coach skills training
- Training on competency and code of ethics
- Six observation sessions where professionals coach clients while being supervised by an experienced coach
- At least 6 observed-coaching sessions with an experienced coach
- A comprehensive final exam
- The school must have ICF certified trainers
- This is the reason why professionals who passed through accredited schools are set apart from others.
- How much does it cost to become a life coach?
- What can you do with a life coach certification?
How much does it cost to become a life coach?
On the average, the Accredited Coach Training Program fee ranges from $1,500 to $10,000, and sometimes, it may even be more than that. This fee only covers tuition, excluding books, supplies, and other training materials. The amount for this fee tends to vary, depending on factors such as location (online or in person), training duration and the area of specialization upon which the program is based on.
Though to graduate as a Life Coach will cost you a huge sum of money, the investment will worth your while as a life coach stands to make up to and more than $100,000 per annum. All it requires from you is to be certain of the professional line you want to venture into and the wisdom to make a proper investigation on the Life Coach School that will reap maximum benefits for you.
What can you do once you become certified?
As you won’t have your knee surgery done by a quack doctor or have your teeth checked by an unqualified dentist, so also applies to the coaching profession as more and more potential clients are only willing to hire certified coaches.
Some years back, consulting with unaccredited coaches was a normal thing as the accredited ones were inaccessible. As the Coaching profession has grown and become more evolved with increased regulations, more knowledgeable clients are beginning to seek the service of accredited coaches due to their understanding that these professionals are adequately trained to help with their problems.
Enrolling in an ICF-accredited program will provide you with the necessary tools, knowledge and expertise to obtain the maximum expected results with your clients. You will be well equipped to handle each client’s personality and overcome the obstacles they pose. Furthermore, your credibility in the market will improve as a result of your credentials, thereby, attracting more clients who are interested in your work.
An important benefit of obtaining a life coach certification is that it will grant you a permanent status as a member of the International Coach Federation, providing you with full access to publications and research, discounts on events and conferences, and also connect you with other professionals in the field. These fosters partnerships and pave ways for many opportunities.
The main purpose of a life coach is first and foremost to positively impact lives and enable them to grow and flourish. Being certified by a prominent accredited school provides you with the assurance that you have obtained the highest level of training required , which is much more than that what diploma, status or any benefit can give you. This enables you to practice your profession fully aware of your value, possessing the knowledge needed to change many people’s lives for the better.
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