Sometimes it’s nice to be able to talk to someone with whom you don’t have a personal connection. By talking to someone about your problems, your goals, your hopes, and your dreams, you can often gain a new perspective on life.
Life Coach Business Overview
People use personal trainers for the same reason sports trainers use: they want someone to work with them, to encourage and guide them. Coaches have “clients” instead of “patients.” Rather than telling clients what to do, you will act as a facilitator to help them find solutions for themselves. The work of a coach is listening, asking questions, and giving honest feedback. With help, your clients can see things in ways they may not have seen before and can find new ideas and directions for their life.
Many people see a professional psychiatrist for this, although sometimes you can get the best advice from someone who simply has a sound head on their shoulders. If you decide to get started, you will first want to decide how to let people know that you are available. A good tactic is to waive your first session fee for any client. This allows them to come in and get to know you, talk about their goals and problems, and listen to any feedback you have to give them.
Skill set
- Human behavior and communication skills
- Excellent listening skills
- Excellent questioning skills
- Relationship building skills
- Excellent people skills
- List of common business skills
Approximate daily hours needed
- When starting out, you must decide which hours work best for your schedule and for your potential clients. Not all people can take time off from work they want to use your services, therefore having hours at different times of the day can be helpful.
Approximate minimum start-up cost
- Essential nude: If you start from home, you don’t necessarily need any startup costs. You would do well to convert a separate room into an office space where your clients feel most comfortable, so you may want to spend money redecorating that room in a professional yet relaxed environment.
Considerations
As a personal coach, you can decide to help anyone who wants to train, or choose to specialize in training people in a specific area, such as:
- Business
- Professional careers
- Environmental impact
- Family
- Leadership
- Middle age
- Sort relationships
- Retirement
- Spirituality
- Self-awareness
- Time management
- Wellness
- Weight control
- Work / life balance
Advantages and disadvantages of working as a Personal Trainer:
Advantage
- You will be able to spend your days talking to people, listening to their stories and encouraging them to be the best that they can be.
Disadvantages
- You may encounter opposition from people who think that because you do not have a counseling degree or are a licensed psychiatrist, you are simply not qualified.
Customer type
Many people who use a coach are already successful, but want to achieve more. Top executives, for example, often want the unbiased feedback that a coach will give them through executive coaching.
Other people want a coach to help them get a more rewarding job, better relationships, more free time, or to improve some other area of life. They may have a hard time setting goals or finding the courage to do what they want rather than what others expect of them.
Income
Successful companies (such as Kodak, IBM, and Marriott) hire corporate trainers to help employees achieve greater success in a variety of areas.
In addition to executive coaching, many corporate coaches are paid thousands of dollars a day to lead training programs to help employees reduce burnout, improve customer service, get along with co-workers, and maximize performance.