So, You Want To Become A Coach

You've taken the first step and made the decision to become a coach. Having made that decision you're now ready to move forward. But what do you need to do next? There are so many possible steps you could take and I've outlined here what I feel to be the most important ones.

1. Train as a coach

Being trained as a coach will set you up to coach people effectively. You'll learn the core competencies and skills required to be a proficient coach.
The training will give you more confidence in your ability to coach and a proven process to work within.

There are many coach training companies and to be sure that you train with a reputable one that provides all the necessary training and maintains high standards, I suggest you choose a training company that's accredited by the International Coach Federation. You'll find these coach training companies at www.coach-federation.org

I encourage you to set aside some time and research the various training companies. I suggest you first ask yourself, "What do I most need from the training?" and "What's important to me about the training?" After you've read some information about the various training companies ask yourself, "How will their style of training fit with my style of learning?"

Next, I'd suggest that you speak with some coaches and students about their training. Prepare yourself first with some specific questions so that you can find out what you most need and make the most effective use of your time when speaking with them.

2. Read these useful coach resources.

www.coachville.com is a great resource for everything related to coaching and offers a lot of wonderful information. It's free to join and there's plenty to immerse yourself in. Be aware, there is a lot of information and it can get overwhelming.

A couple of coaching books that make useful reading are:
Co-Active Coaching: New Skills for Coaching People Toward Success in Work and Life by Laura Whitworth

Coaching for Performance: Growing People, Performance and Purpose by John Whitmore

3. Develop the business aspect of coaching.

Learning to coach well is important and just as important is building this into a profitable and sustainable business. This is one area that many coaches fall down on. They become excellent coaches but have no clients. I suggest that from day one you approach your coaching with the mindset of a business person. As a business person you'll need to ensure that you're enrolling enough clients. To do this you'll need to get to grips with marketing. My free ebook 'Marketing Your Business Effectively' is available here

At some point while developing your business, you may consider getting a website. For this I highly recommend Site Build It. Their free intensive 10-day course on building a Web site that attracts potential new clients is available here

There may be many aspects that you need to learn about running a business. Think about the skills and strengths you already have and how you'll put these to use in your business. Also think about the skills you'll need to learn. Take this one step at a time.

Look at your finances and work out a plan that will enable you to get your business up and running without any financial strain. This may mean you need to keep your day job or find some additional work to supplement your income while your business is growing. I encourage you to do what feels most right for you.

Think about the areas that you most want to work in when coaching. Coaching is a huge umbrella term with loads of different possibilities. This can be exciting and at the same time overwhelming.

4. Hire your own coach.

A coach who is experienced in coaching and building a coaching business will move you forward much quicker. They'll work with you to develop your coaching skills and support the coaching you're doing with other people. They'll know what it takes to build a coaching business. This will shorten your learning curve and you'll discover ways to build your business that fit for you personally.

When you experience being coached for yourself, you'll find it much easier to identify what coaching offers and the benefits of it to then share when speaking with potential clients. Anyway, if you truly believe in the power of coaching why wouldn't you want it for yourself?

5. Have fun and enjoy yourself.

You have a choice about how you approach the transition to becoming a coach. I invite you to look at it as a journey and one that you're going to have fun and enjoy along the way. It's a great learning and growth opportunity, so enjoy and make the most of it. There will probably be tough times and I encourage you to keep going.

If you're interested in working with me to get your coaching business up and running, I will challenge, support and inspire you, and most importantly get you to take consistent actions. I'm not a marketing expert, so won't be telling you what to do. My skill and experience lies in bringing out your own answers, insights, thoughts and ideas to market your business effectively. You will benefit from my experience, wisdom and insights from nearly 20 years in business to shorten your learning curve.

One of my strengths is being a strategist, so I'll cut through to the heart of what you need. You'll see the wood for the trees and know the most important actions to take with your marketing. I'm skilled at and love opening up possibilities for you and your business.

I've been told that I'm passionate, inspiring, enthusiastic and my contagious energy makes me fun to work with. I believe in taking a simple and basic approach so that you can experience the success you want, taking the quickest and easiest route. Read more about me here.

Let's Talk

If you want to find out how Wendy can help you get your coaching business up and running, and be more successful, schedule a brief conversation with her.

There's no obligation or sales pitch, just a little sample of how you can benefit from working with a coach.

Source:personal-business-coaching.com