August 19

You’re a Certified Life Coach. Now What?

You’ve completed a Life Coach Certification Program and are now a Certified Life Coach. You have a detailed marketing strategy to follow. What now? How does your life look now? Have you thought ahead to what your days as life coach will be like?

Phase One: Implementation

Most people are employed with other responsibilities so begin by working several nights a week and Saturday mornings. Others quit their job and have savings to support them.  A major focus becomes implementing your marketing strategy and setting up your business.  Starting your coaching practice may begin by reserving a name, creating a website and social media presence, setting up meetings with referrals, networking, or a variety of other activities. You create a filing system, get all handouts together, and decide on whether to be a sole proprietor, L.L.C., or corporation.  Clients have been referred to you by the practice clients you’ve worked with, through people you know, and because of your new marketing approaches. The business continues to grow. You then decide if you want to keep coaching on the side with few clients, or if you want to build your coaching practice into a full time endeavor.

Phase Two: Part -Time Life Coach Practice

Be grateful that now your practice has grown into a part time endeavor. You may have been doing coaching one or two nights, a Saturday morning here and there, but now you’re getting busy and you really want to do coaching part time. This might mean starting to working part time in your current day job.  Or you may quit that job and get another part time job.  Better yet, you may work per diem or get contract work.

Part of the day is then coaching and part of your day is spent marketing.  Keep putting out the word about what you do. Maybe you start handing out free sessions. Or you go out and meet more people.  At this stage, some coaches start a group as this could potentially generate more money in a shorter period of time than doing individual sessions. Enjoy your new found freedom and flexible schedule that allows you to do what you love.

Phase Three: New Lifestyle and Transition to Full-Time

With a flexible schedule, you may go to that yoga class or take another class you’ve been thinking of. Part of the week might be spent at home when your child is off from school. Other days you might sleep in late when you’re off from your part time job. You’re determined to build the practice into full time since you love this lifestyle so much! You hustle even more talking to people about coaching whenever you can. Depending on this marketing strategy you do more marketing-book more speeches, get more referral sources, network, do more on social media, give away more sessions, or whatever activities you laid out in your original strategy. You also spend more time corresponding with clients or potential clients, pulling out the materials you need for your client’s next session, writing notes for yourself, and keeping your accounting straight.

Phase Four: Full-Time Life Coach Practice

At last! You’re getting referrals from past clients. Finally, you see that you are creating income consistently and know you can do this full time.  You decide to go full steam ahead.  Full time for coaches is considered 15 clients (plus administrative tasks) and go up to as many hours as you want to work. You set up a schedule for yourself based on your personal preference.  You’re excited about this opportunity to have your own business and at the same time you have more flexible time so you get to do other things in life you’ve been wanting to do. You’re learning how to have fun and balance, and spend time with family and friends, and still put a lot of attention into building and maintaining your business.

Phase Five: Adjustment 

For some people it’s an adjustment to be self-reliant and independent as they’re no longer being supervised by a boss and told what to do. Reaching out for support at the school you graduated from or from other coaches or self-employed people may be helpful. Now you are finally helping people and hear wonderful things about what they’re creating for themselves. Over time, you’ll get better at your craft. Having a practice gets easier and easier. More referrals come in the longer you’re in business and you end up spending less time marketing.

Most full time coaches still take steps to market and grow their practice to maintain or increase their income. They look at other ways to generate income-products, workshops, groups, seminars, and special packages. Successful coaches believe in walking their talk and having a life they love. Once this begins, you start working on other life goals that you’ve been wanting to achieve, change, or improve upon. A lot times, coaches hire a coach to keep them on track with their business and to maintain a great life.

You feel peaceful and content, and so fulfilled.  You did it!  

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked

{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}

Tags

certification, certified, coaching, happy, higher purpose, life coach, life purpose, opportunity, professional, self-employed, serving others


Page [tcb_pagination_current_page] of [tcb_pagination_total_pages]