Do you have a knack for understanding why some people succeed and some people fail? Do you look for ways to help friends and loved ones set goals and meet them? Have you ever wondered how to make money doing what you love?

A career as a life coach could be exactly what you’re looking for. If you’re ready to join the more than 53,000 life coaches around the world, read on. We’ll explain how to become a life coach and why it’s such a satisfying profession.

What Is A Life Coach?

A life coach is a business mentor, a cheerleader and a problem solver all rolled into one. Life coaches help their clients articulate exactly what they want to accomplish and then help them develop a plan to get there.

As a life coach, you’ll help your clients figure out what the obstacles are to their success and then decide how to overcome them. You won’t do the work for them. You’ll empower them to do the work for themselves.

Find Your Specialty

You can’t be all things to all people all the time. That’s especially true in the field of life coaching. The first step in becoming a life coach is figuring out what your area of expertise is.

The beauty of life coaching is that there are no limits to what you can focus on. There is an almost endless number of niches. Here’s just a small list of focus areas:

• Business
• Career development
• Relationships
• Spirituality
• Weight loss
• Nutrition

Deciding on a coaching field will also help you market your new business to a specific audience. We’ll talk more about that shortly.

Enroll in Training Programs

You aren’t required to undergo any training to become a life coach. It’s not like becoming a doctor or an engineer.

However, taking classes will help you accomplish a couple of things. You’ll be able to learn from people who have been doing this for years. You’ll also establish yourself as a credible life coach because you have the training to back you up.

The International Coaching Federation (ICF) can help you find a training program in your area. You can expect to pay up to $5,000 but consider it an investment in your education.

Get Certified

You aren’t required to be certified to work as a life coach. However, a life coach certification is another tool you’ll have to demonstrate your abilities and skills to potential clients.

This is especially important when you’re just getting started. A potential client will want to know why he should pay you instead of someone else. Having a certification will help you establish yourself as an expert.

How to Become a Life Coach by Marketing Yourself

Once you’ve gone through training and got yourself certified, it’s time to promote your business. The best place to start is with a professionally designed website.

This will be one of the first places potential clients will go to learn more about you. You can include a personal profile and explain why you’re a coach and how you can help.

Social media is the easiest and most cost-effective way to promote your business when you’re getting started. You can place ads on Facebook and Twitter for less than $100 and reach a very specific audience.

A Life Coach Is Not a Therapist

It’s important that you and your clients understand the difference between a life coach and a therapist. The easiest way to explain it is a therapist explores your past to help heal your present. A life coach explores your present to help affect your future.

Now that you know how to become a life coach, you can start a business that will create income and opportunity for the rest of your life.

Please browse our other articles for other career-related advice and information.