Life Coaches - Why this path and what are the pros and cons?

[LoveandPurpose]

Your experiences would be very helpful because I'm considering this path myself!

[aurum]

23 hours ago, LoveandPurpose said:

Your experiences would be very helpful because I'm considering this path myself!

Pros: very fulfilling and social job that really allows you to connect with people and help them. Also a well paying career if you get high end clients.

 

Cons: everybody wants to be a life coach, so you better have your marketing and business skills down. 

[LoveandPurpose]

@aurum Yeah that's what I'm also thinking, the market is flooded.

Was it difficult to get started and what is the minimum age in your opinion to become one? You know, few people will hire a 20 year old I think.

[aurum]

43 minutes ago, LoveandPurpose said:

@aurum Yeah that's what I'm also thinking, the market is flooded.

Was it difficult to get started and what is the minimum age in your opinion to become one? You know, few people will hire a 20 year old I think.

I asked my friend Cameron Gallagher (successful coach) what his one regret was. He said “listening to my mom when I was 21 and she told me I couldn’t start as a life coach”.

I’m not saying some people won’t hire you because you’re young. That will happen.

But if you’re good you can still make it work. By the time you are only 30 you’ll have 10 years of coaching experience under your belt. That’s crazy valuable.

Also, realize that even though a lot of people want to be coaches, the majority of them suck hard at marketing.

My not so humble prediction is that I’m going to be way more successful than 99% of coaches simply for that reason. I won’t nessesarily be better than them, but my marketing will be.

You can do the same.

[Emerald]

4 hours ago, aurum said:

I asked my friend Cameron Gallagher (successful coach) what his one regret was. He said “listening to my mom when I was 21 and she told me I couldn’t start as a life coach”.

I’m not saying some people won’t hire you because you’re young. That will happen.

But if you’re good you can still make it work. By the time you are only 30 you’ll have 10 years of coaching experience under your belt. That’s crazy valuable.

Also, realize that even though a lot of people want to be coaches, the majority of them suck hard at marketing.

My not so humble prediction is that I’m going to be way more successful than 99% of coaches simply for that reason. I won’t nessesarily be better than them, but my marketing will be.

You can do the same.

What do you do for marketing? Do you get your clients through your channel like I do or through some other venue?

[d0ornokey]

8 hours ago, aurum said:

My not so humble prediction is that I’m going to be way more successful than 99% of coaches simply for that reason. I won’t nessesarily be better than them, but my marketing will be.

 

I know some DJs that are so amazing at DJing but have no marketing ability

[LoveandPurpose]

@aurum Very helpful, thank you!

[aurum]

4 hours ago, LoveandPurpose said:

@aurum Very helpful, thank you!

You're welcome.

14 hours ago, d0ornokey said:

I know some DJs that are so amazing at DJing but have no marketing ability

Yup it's a completely different skill. The DJs who actually are successful are the ones who are good at it.

17 hours ago, Emerald said:

What do you do for marketing? Do you get your clients through your channel like I do or through some other venue?

I mostly get them through social media (IG, Linkedin, YT, etc) and through people I know.

[LoveandPurpose]

@aurum If I may ask you some more questions 

What is the road to becoming a life coach? I heard you need a certificate.

And who would you advise against becoming one? What are some traits one should have?

[aurum]

11 minutes ago, LoveandPurpose said:

@aurum If I may ask you some more questions 

What is the road to becoming a life coach? I heard you need a certificate.

And who would you advise against becoming one? What are some traits one should have?

I actually have a book coming out soon that will answer all those questions.

The general gist is that you don't need a certificate. There are no legal requirements to becoming a coach right, you just have to crown yourself worthy.

That being said, certification programs can be useful if you're looking for training. I'm taking one right now and will continue to take more in the future.

A good coach knows how to turn off their "self" and focus completely on the client.

For instance, if your client brings up a story about how they were eating ice cream, you wouldn't start sharing your opinions on ice cream. That's about "you".

Instead, you'd ask questions and make it about them. What kind of ice cream? What did you like about it? Why are you sharing with me this story? What did you learn?

So the more you get out of your own agenda, the better of a coach you'll be.

[LoveandPurpose]

@aurum Oh when will the book be published? I will consider buying it. 

Do you also give spiritual advice, tackeling problems through that approach?

[aurum]

2 hours ago, LoveandPurpose said:

Oh when will the book be published? I will consider buying it

Still some time from now, if you follow me on Instagram (@akourakin) you'll be able to see when it comes out.

2 hours ago, LoveandPurpose said:

Do you also give spiritual advice, tackeling problems through that approach?

What do you mean exactly?

[LoveandPurpose]

@aurum When a client says he has some emotional problems, do you sometimes approach this with spiritual truths, e.g. you're not your thoughts etc.

Or do I have a wrong image about what life coaches do?  

[aurum]

5 hours ago, LoveandPurpose said:

@aurum When a client says he has some emotional problems, do you sometimes approach this with spiritual truths, e.g. you're not your thoughts etc.

Or do I have a wrong image about what life coaches do?  

I might. But the difference with coaching is that I'm often not offering advice. It's kind of the opposite of what I do here, where I just share my beliefs on things.

[LoveandPurpose]

@aurum If you're not offering advice, what then?  

[aurum]

19 hours ago, LoveandPurpose said:

@aurum If you're not offering advice, what then?  

Guidance.

For instance, yesterday I was working with a client who runs a startup. She was stuck between two decisions she was trying to make for her business and it was really bothering her.

The reality is I didn't know what she should do either. I didn't have all the technical details and knowledge that would have been necessary to make that decision.

But that was okay because I knew that wasn't my job. I knew that she was capable of figuring it out on her own, and my role was to help guide her in the process.

So I just asked questions and helped her walk through the thinking process. And by the end, she knew exactly what she wanted to do and was happy she resolved the problem.

That's the power of coaching.

I don't have to be the smartest guy. In fact I don't need to know much at all.

Rather, I put my faith in the idea that there's something more intelligent than both of us at work here, and my job is to help allow that to come through.

[LoveandPurpose]

@aurum Ah okay, now I have a more clear picture of life coaching. Thank you for taking your time!