#Investing in YOU: Consider Coaching
Mindy Jo, M.B.A. & M.Ed.
Certified life coach & founder of worryaboutYOUtoday.com
Life coaching. What is it? What is it NOT? Life coaching can have many meanings based on the type of coaching that is being offered, such as: personal and professional goal setting, holistic, health and wellness, fitness, trauma recovery, business, and-of course-there’s relationship coaching…another in-depth topic for another day and for another article. A useful rule of thumb is this—if you are going into the field of life coaching it should truly be for the love of life coaching. So, if YOU do enjoy helping others become the best versions of themselves, consider coaching and #investing in YOU.
How Difficult Is It Really to Become a Life Coach Today?
The heart of the matter is—life coaching is not yet a regulated field in our world. Training, although helpful, is not required; certification is not mandatory. If you choose to become a life coach, there are only a few steps needed to accomplish this goal. When answering the posed question, “How difficult is it really to become a life coach today?”, the answer is simple—becoming a life coach is fairly easy.” The key is in how effective you would like to be as a life coach, and a few factors will play into this description.
Life Coaching Is More about Brand Than Reputation
Gasp. Did a certified life coach really just write that? Yes-I did. Yesss-I went there!
Life coaching is about brand and reputation. The responsibilities with the role are tremendous, as you are encouraging and guiding others on their journey toward their desired results. It is imperative you take the time to educate yourself-either through formal training or independent research-on how to support each of your clients as individuals. That being mentioned, a life coaching business model is based on brand because there are many competitors in the industry. A life coach should stand out from their crowd of competitors, find their niche, and build their brand. The brand should be well-planned and unique as a means to catch the attention of potential clients. Once clients begin using a specific life coach, that life coach must demonstrate competence and deliver results. This will support referrals from current and prior clients, as well.
Online Communication Is a Key to Success
Online communication is a key to success in our current state of the world. COVID-19 precautions, extreme workloads, technology savvy consumers, the human desire for work-life balance…and so on equals virtual meetings. Life coaches should consider maintaining a blog, posting to multiple social media outlets, and advertising through social media outlets for added exposure. There are online lead resources, like Bark and Noomii, who supply life coaches with a pool of possible clientele. The more online exposure for the life coaching professional, the better.
The Magic Formula Is to Treat Life Coaching as a Business
There are certain steps to be taken to become a life coach. There is no magic formula unless you view it as: the magic formula is to treat life coaching as a business. When you are passionate about something, like becoming a life coach, it is easy to become overwhelmed from the vision. You must move the vision from the impractical to the practical.
5 Steps to Become a Life Coach NOW
Here are 5 steps that can be taken to become a life coach NOW.
1. Online certification. Search for a reputable online testing organization to complete your certification. You will likely be subject to taking a timed test. If the thought of testing brings you immediate anxiety, it would be wise to study any life coaching industry resources first. For example, you may want to review standard form templates used in the industry. Or study the various stages involved in the life coaching process before registering for and taking the test.
2. Website or blog creation. Create a website, or for an even better use of your time, a blog. Even if you would consider yourself a novice at developing a website or blog, there are both hosts and user-friendly open-source content management systems (CMS) available at reasonable annual rates. Another method to find these resources is to search online with questions, such as: “How to start a blog?” Or “What are the best hosts for websites or blogs?” It could also prove beneficial to research passive income when maintaining a blog. Passive income includes but is not limited to: affiliate marketing and other advertisement opportunities.
3. Brainstorm your brand & content. What is your life coaching niche-holistic, health and wellness, fitness, goal-oriented-and how will you present it to your potential clientele? Are you planning to use a slogan or tagline to market your brand? What content will you include on the pages of your website or blog? These are questions to reflect on and answer as you brainstorm your brand & content. Be certain to include your vision statement for your life coaching brand and business. Choose at least 2 to 4 core values. & then—WRITE away!
4. Social Media Presence. Once you have added your basic foundation to the blog or website—which should include no less than your life coaching brand’s niche, vision, values. At least 2 paragraphs about you and why you were drawn to the field of life coaching, contact information, and services offered—you are ready for social media. Unless you currently have 5,000 friends on Facebook or 10,000 followers on Twitter, building your social media presence takes time and patience. It should be-at the minimum-a daily posting process. You may also need to set aside an advertising budget to promote your best social media posts on Facebook and/or Twitter. The advertisements are relatively inexpensive (less than $50 to see results) and can be targeted in your city, state, country, etc.
5. Think Outside the Box to Add Value. There are other ways to get your brand and business out to the masses. Regular posts to Pinterest to add value. Guest author posts to credible publications to add value. Partnerships with other coaches to engage in podcasts and co-author opportunities to add value. The bottom line is to think outside of the box to add value to others and build your brand & biz.
Pursuing Any Passion is Contagious
When others can feel your passion for life coaching, it becomes contagious. In fact, simply pursuing any passion is contagious. Positivity and encouragement go a long way with others and tends to be well-received by the masses. As a life coach, you are guiding-without your own bias or baggage-your clients to take a deeper dive into themselves. Life coaching is a rewarding role and should pursued purely for the love of coaching while building your brand.
BIO
Mindy Jo is a certified life coach, female entrepreneur, and the founder of worryaboutYOUtoday.com; she is also a mother, a middle school teacher, and an introspective social butterfly. In addition to her passion pursuit of education & M.Ed. from Antioch University Midwest, Mindy Jo has over a decade of leadership experience in corporate management and previously earned her M.B.A. from Franklin University. Her mission is to spread as much positivity to as many people as possible while on this planet. She encourages others to proactively manage their mental health while becoming the best versions of themselves. Connect with Mindy Jo live every Wednesday at 10pm ET, 7pm PT on the Franze and Friends’ Coach’s Corner podcast via her Facebook (link goes here-https://www.facebook.com/wayt2020).
