Starting A Life Coaching Practice

If you are wanting to start a coaching practice my bottom-line suggestions are:

  • Find a qualified mentor coach you can relate to and enjoy working with.
  • Experience great coaching.
  • Have your coach guide you through the various training options and alternatives. (Very important!)
  • Have your coach, help you set up your practice and find the marketing approach that will work the best for you. (Here it will pay off to ensure your coach has a strong background in marketing.)

If you have the interest and aptitude, and are committed to do what it takes, a good mentor coach can help you start up a successful coaching practice in 6 months to a year. Be cautions of the claims of instant riches some schools put forth. Like many businesses or professions, 20% of the practitioners do 80% of the business. Make every effort to do what it takes to get into the top 20%. In the end, the responsibility for your success is all up to you.

Choosing A Great Mentor Coach

If you are looking to become a coach, having access to an experienced professional coach (mentor coach) can really shorten your learning curve and be of invaluable assistance. Here are some suggestions to help you choose a great coach:

  • Talk to several coaches and find one you have a rapport with.
  • Make sure you feel that the coach has a genuine interest in you. (Check out your intuition on this one.)
  • Ensure your coach is a member of the International Coach Federation and is thus governed by professional practice and ethics guidelines. 
  • Ensure your coach has completed advanced training, and become certified, at one or more ICF accredited schools. And that their training included numerous supervisions by more senior coaches. 
  • Ensure your coach has sufficient experience.
  • Ask potential coaches about their philosophy and approach to coaching.  (Do they help you find answers right for you, or just give advice that was right for them?)
  • Have potential coaches spell out what services they deliver, and what the total cost of those services will be.

Do Your Homework

Coaching is a fairly new profession and it is evolving quickly. I support new coaches working with clients during their training. (That is one of the ways you learn.) However, if you are looking for a mentor coach, I recommend you pick a well-trained and experienced one.

Currently there are at least 20,000 people in the world that call themselves coaches. By my estimate, less than 1 in 5 has completed advanced training at an ICF accredited school and become credentialed by the International Coach Federation.

So if you want to experience good coaching, be sure to check out your coach's background.

Starting a Life Coaching Practice?
- Let's Chat

I love to work with new coaches, and would be happy to talk to you. Please check out a few other coaches and then contact me at steve@acoach4u.com or 604 538 8318.

 

ICF Life and Business Coach Master Certified Coach ICF Life and Business Coach past president Certified Professional Coach Better Business Bureau recommended Business Coach