How do I know if I should become a coach?

In most cases you probably already are! Most common thing to hear is someone say they feel like they have been coaching all of their life but they just found out they could actually get paid for it. If you’re the person people turn to for support, encouragement and as a sounding board, then you’re a natural coach!
The most important thing is that you want to help other people improve their lives. Its all about your attitude.

Do I have the skills to be a coach?

If you are none judgemental, a good listener and you have empathy, then you have what it takes to be a coach. The other skills can be taught.

As a coach you are not giving advice and its the client that has the answers to their own problems so you don’t need to be an expert in any particular area.

As a coach your job is to be 100% present for that person for the entire coaching session. How many of us can say that we have someone’s undivided attention for an hour where there is no hidden agenda and where the person is focusing on you and what you are saying? That alone is of value to the client as you are a sounding board to clarify ideas, feelings, issues and solutions.

As a coach you are there as an accountability structure for the client. If they say they are going to do something, they are more likely to do it if they have to report back the next session than if they have no structure so being there to remind the client of their stated goals and actions is also powerful.

These are skills you possibly already have but have not thought about in a coaching context. You will then learn through training and lots of coaching practice how to support your client to clarify their issue, problem or goal and how to guild them towards an outcome.

Can I make a living as a coach?

Absolutely; as an example, life coaches in the USA can charge between $350 USD and $400 USD a month for four weekly sessions. If you work in a niche, for example executive coaching, fees can often be $800 USD+, a month. As a coach, you can work full-time, or part-time, the choice is yours. Our Business Coach module will give you all the knowledge and skills you need to develop a successful, profitable coaching practice.

Do I need to train to be a coach and get accreditation?

Yes you should definitely train to become a coach if you want to be taken seriously and if you want to provide a quality service. There is a range of views on the merits of accreditation. Ranging from “essential” to a “waste of time and money”. At ICA we believe that firstly any discussion about accreditation has to be industry specific. In other words, we think it is difficult to support blanket statements about accreditation due to the unique nature of programs and professions. So in the context of the growing profession called coaching, ICA supports accreditation for the following reasons:

It fosters excellence.
It encourages improvement through continuous self-evaluation and planning

It assures the educational community, students, the general public and other interested agencies or organizations, that an institution:

– has clearly defined and appropriate objectives;
– maintains conditions under which their achievement can be reasonably expected;
– appears in fact to be accomplishing them; and can be expected to continue to do s

Yes, but does it actually matter? Do I need it to be a qualified coach?

Yes, accreditation matters. You are about to commit a significant amount of time, effort, and perhaps money to further your education and consequently your career as a coach. Accreditation will give you some guarantee that your money will not be wasted and a plus for attracting potential clients.

You may also be interested in changing or advancing your career which makes completing the requirements necessary to become a certified coach (ACC, PCC or MCC) with the International Coaching Federation a great advantage. Practically speaking, attending an accredited school means you can bypass the lengthy requirements of the portfolio track and apply directly for certification.

How do I identify and develop and coaching niche?

Working in a niche is becoming more important for coaches. It allows you to specialise in an area of coaching that you are passionate about; it can also help you to build up your coaching practice quickly and easily, and to charge higher fees. The good news is that for many coaches, niches evolve from the work they do with their clients.

By coaching as many clients as possible from the very beginning, a coach can develop a good sense of who they work
well with and who they do not want to coach at all. Examples of coaching niches include: health & wellness coach,parent coach, relationship coach, woman’s coach and sales coach.

How do I make the transition from my current job to becoming a coach?

First, we would suggest that you keep your existing job for now and ease into it. Train and learn as you go and build a clientele through referrals and networking. If you are in a related profession, like consulting or therapy for instance, you may find that the transition is even easier, given that you already have a network; it’s just a case of letting that network know that you’re now providing coaching as an addition to the services you offer. You can start my coaching people in your workplace and friends and build your practice over time and transition as full time coach over time.