There are 5 key things that nobody told me when I decided on becoming a life coach.

I love being a heart centered business coach and life coach. I honestly think I have the most amazing clients and I sometimes wonder what I ever did to deserve being able to coach such beautiful and amazing women.

I know how awesome they are because I used to work in retail and many of the customers were…how shall we say…less than awesome. Some girls tried clothes on and left them in a pile on the dressing room floor, or worse tried on the entire freaking store just to model for her boyfriend and trot out without buying a darn thing with not so much as a thank you (if this is you cut it out!)…but I digress.

One of the very best things about being a coach is the clients.

My favorite clients are women who are into self-actualization, are lifelong learners, givers, and care about animals.

I knew the clients would be amazing.

 

But here are a 5 things you might not know about becoming a life coach.

1. You do actual coaching less than 20% of the time.

Coaching clients is only a small fraction of what you will be doing. Sooo much of your time will be spent defining your brand, creating content such as blog posts, instagram photos, website pages, Pinterest posts, YouTube videos, online courses, podcasts, ebooks, etc. Like any online business, most of your time is spent trying to find your ideal clients, and serve them with awesome, quality information. Coaches are idea sharers, content creators and online marketers. It’s the way it is.

2. You have to know some tech.

Many new coaches have no clue how important it is to be able to manage your own website. I mean, you could conceivably pay someone to manage your site for you, but you are going to have to be able to create your own posts and pages in WordPress or Squarespace, or Leadpages. I know how desperately resistant and foreign it can feel to be confronted with the fact that you are going to have to, at the minimum, create autoresponders in Mailchimp. Knowing tech basics is part of the territory.

3. Anyone can call themselves a coach.

Coaching is one of those fields that unfortunately is filled with randoms who can call themselves a coach. Fortunately this is changing and the formally trained, heart centered coaches that have their client’s best interests in mind tend to stand out. One of my favorite promises that cheesy coaches say are “Make 6 figures in a few months.” I’m sure it’s possible, but building a coaching business is a long game and your reputation as a service provider takes a little while to build.

4. Coaching is about knowing how to ask questions that help your clients have insights and get into action.

You don’t have to know everything and be a wizened guru. You do have to be a great listener who asks powerful questions. You have to have awesome boundaries too. It’s all part of being a giver. As a coach you help your client, no matter what your niche is, to identify where they are, where they want to go, and how they want to get there.

5. You will experience personal growth too.

Coaching is one of those synergystic experiences in which you learn from your clients and together the best parts of each of you come into play. Curious listening and humble inquiry is the backbone of helping professions. When you allow your client to shine, guess what…you shine too! Honestly it rules.

 

If you are a new coach, or want to become a life coach it’s good to know these things up front. It’s also good to reach out to other coaches for support. It’s important to find your tribe. Find the network that resonates, makes you feel accepted and inspired and you can’t go wrong.