How to Become a Life Coach: 5 Expert Tips

In order to be a good life coach, it’s important to understand what the job entails. Generally speaking, life coaches work one-on-one with individuals who need guidance, support, and advice to achieve their personal goals. They may offer in-person sessions or offer virtual life coaching sessions online.

We spoke to one life coach who has worked in the industry for about 5 years, Melissa Jirovec. According to her, the role of a coach is to support and guide clients in solving their own problems. They do this by asking questions, helping clients learn from their successes and failures, and so on.

What life coaches don’t do

Jirovec noted that it’s particularly important for coaches and clients to distinguish between coaching, mentoring, and consultancy. Here are key differences to understand between between different types of roles:

• Consultancy: This is more direct than coaching. It involves telling clients exactly what to do to get results (e.g., if you’re a health coach, giving clear instructions on how to be healthier rather than guiding people to find the answers themselves).
• Mentorship: Jirovec described this role as having a broader scope than normal coaching—potentially covering aspects of someone’s professional, personal, and romantic life—and being longer-term than normal coaching.
• Counseling/therapy: These professionals are specially trained to provide mental health support or treatment to their clients. To be a counselor or therapist, you need to be properly certified or licensed.

Jirovec emphasized that it’s important for both the coach and the client to be clear on which services will be provided. “Many professionals and clients get this confused, and then you could end up with clients who do not get the support or results they were expecting,” she said.

As you begin your life coaching journey, it’s important to always consider whether you’re the right person to help each client. If you think they need more specialized support, redirect them there. Just make sure to never offer therapy or psychiatric treatment that you’re not qualified to provide. Doing so can be harmful to your clients and land you in hot water legally.

To get your first life coaching gig, you’ll need to master several key skills and prove your expertise.

Required skills

To get into this side hustle, you’ll need the following skills:

• Communication: For your coaching to be effective, you’ll need to communicate with your clients clearly and articulately.
• Active listening: Not everyone needs the same type of coaching. You need to be able to listen to an individual’s specific problems to provide helpful guidance.
• Empathy and compassion: Even if you tick all the other boxes for life coaching, you won’t be truly great at your job unless you’re able to understand what others are feeling and connect with them on an emotional level. This will also allow you to establish trust with your clients.
• Self-awareness: Relatedly, you need to be able to recognize your own emotions and biases and avoid giving bad advice.
• Problem-solving skills: You should be good at evaluating and addressing challenges so you can help clients solve problems and achieve their goals.
• Healthy boundaries: Life coaches must preserve appropriate professional relationships and make sure no one is overstepping any boundaries. They can risk burnout and other problems if clients are messaging them at strange times of the day, for example.

As you can see, being a life coach requires both an analytical mind and a lot of emotional intelligence. If you have those traits in spades, this might be a good side hustle for you.

Life coaching tools

Life coaching isn’t a side hustle that requires a lot of equipment or software, but you may still need to acquire a few things to do your job effectively:

• Computer (for online coaching): If you plan to coach online, you’ll need a reliable PC or laptop to communicate with your clients through Zoom, Skype, or another video conferencing tool. Even if you’ll mainly be working offline, a computer is useful for administrative tasks and research.
• Personality assessments: Using personality tests can help you understand your clients’ strengths, preferences, and areas for potential growth. Popular assessments include the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the Enneagram, and DISC assessments (DISC stands for dominance, inducement, submission, and compliance).
• Other assessment tools: You might also use tools like journals or goal-setting worksheets to help clients achieve the growth they’re looking for.
• Books and reading materials: Although these aren’t essential, you might recommend reading materials to your clients as a supplementary resource for personal development and inspiration. You’ll probably also want relevant books, self-help guides, and coaching literature for your own library.

Certifications

Technically, you don’t need to be certified to become a life coach. However, some schools, businesses, and other organizations will only hire life coaches with certain qualifications. Even though it isn’t strictly required, getting certified is a good idea if you’re serious about life coaching and see it as a long-term side hustle or potentially even your new career.

Jirovec told us that she got a Master Coaching certification from the Certified Coaches Federation at the beginning of her new career, and she thought this was definitely worthwhile. “It was a great way to immerse myself and get a feel for what I was getting into,” she said.

Although Jirovec is certified herself, she told us it’s important not to get overly fixated on qualifications. “Some coaches are so intimidated to start that they get certification after certification, waiting until they feel like they are knowledgeable enough, competent enough, or good enough to really begin their business,” she said.

She cautioned against this. “Don’t get more qualifications because you feel you have to. Get certifications that interest you.”

Before you launch your life coaching side hustle, take some advice from an expert on how to establish yourself, build all the necessary skills and knowledge, and find clients.

1. Find a niche

Choosing a specialty as a life coach will make you stand out from the competition—not to mention that you can charge higher prices for specialized coaching.

Below we’ve listed common life coaching niches, any of which you can choose to focus on:

• Health and wellness coaching
• Relationship coaching
• Family coaching
• Financial coaching
• Spiritual coaching
• Career coaching
• Executive coaching (for senior-level executives and leaders who want to enhance their leadership skills and workplace performance)
• Sales coaching
• Productivity coaching

Of course, you can also become a general life coach. When you’re just starting out, this can be appealing, since it gives you the chance to try out a few different types of coaching to find out what interests you.

When you decide to choose a niche, Jirovec suggested looking at areas where your own experience is particularly relevant or areas that you yourself are drawn to. If you’re a very spiritual person, for example, you can focus on spiritual coaching. If you always eat healthily and love going to the gym, consider health and fitness coaching.

Naturally, you can always change your niche further down the line or specialize even more narrowly within your field. For example, Jirovec started out as a small business coach, but eventually became an identity mentor for women in business. “It took me time to figure out my gifts and the expertise I had,” she said.

For new coaches, Jirovec recommended trial and error as the best way to work out what your focus should be. “There is no failure here—only experience and lessons,” she said.

2. Get a certification or additional training

Even though you don’t need to undergo formal training to become a life coach, it’s a good idea, especially if you’re just getting started. Formal training will help ensure you don’t harm your clients through improper guidance.

Ensure that any education or qualifications you pay for come from an accredited provider.

One way to do this is to check what courses or programs are endorsed by globally recognized professional organizations for coaches, like the International Coaching Federation (ICF). Their website has a searchable list of hundreds of courses accredited by them.

Life coaching certifications

Some of the best qualifications you can get are the ICF’s own credentials. These are highly regarded in the coaching industry.

The ICF offers three levels of qualifications:

• Associate Certified Coach (ACC): To get this, you have to complete 60 hours of coach-specific education and get 100 hours of experience coaching clients.
• Professional Certified Coach (PCC): This is a step up from the Associate Certified Coach qualification. It requires 125 hours of coach-specific education and 500 hours of experience coaching clients.
• Master Certified Coach (MCC): Before you can get this qualification, you have to get a PCC credential. You also need to undergo 200 hours of coach-specific education and 2,500 hours of professional experience.

We asked Jirovec about her qualifications, and she told us that she got a Master Coach Practitioner certification from the Certified Coaches Federation at the beginning of her new career.

She told us she thought her qualification was worthwhile. “It was a great place to start,” she said. “It was a great way to immerse myself and get a feel for what I was getting into.”

How much do life coaching certifications cost?

Certifications offered by the ICF cost anywhere between $325 and $900 for nonmembers. 1 Other institutions charge thousands of dollars, like the Co-Active Coach® Training program, which costs $11,140. 2

Mentoring for life coaches

Mentoring is another option you can explore to advance your life coaching skills and knowledge. This will allow you to get guidance, support, and insight from experienced life coaches. Look for candidates in the ICF’s directory of mentors for life coaches.

3. Join a life coaching association

There are many life coaching associations and organizations you can join. Membership has plenty of benefits, including:

• Visibility: If you join a life coaching association or organization, you may be able to put a listing in their directory or set up a profile on their site. This will allow prospective clients to find and contact you.
• Professional development resources: Associations often provide useful resources to their members. This might include industry news, educational materials, access to research publications, coaching tools, templates, and webinars and workshops.

However, bear in mind that these organizations may not be right for everyone, although they can be a great source of help and guidance for many new coaches.

We asked Jirovec whether she recommended joining one, and she wasn’t sure. “I think this very much depends on the type of coaching you plan to provide and how you choose to provide it,” she said.

“The more creative and unique you get with your business, the less likely you’ll fit in with what organizations and associations are teaching, training, or recommending.”

Nonetheless, it’s worth investigating some of the popular life coaching associations to see what they have to offer.

Popular life coaching associations

You might want to consider joining:

• International Coaching Federation (ICF)
• International Authority for Professional Coaching and Mentoring (IAPC&M)
• International Association of Coaching (IAC)
• European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC)
• Certified Coaches Federation (CCE)
• Association for Professional Executive Coaching and Supervision (APECS)

4. Learn from your peers

Networking is valuable in many professions and for many reasons. It can help you find out about opportunities that might lead you to your first life coaching job (or to even bigger and better things if you’re already working as a coach).

We asked Jirovec whether she would recommend networking for coaches trying to build their own business, and she agreed that this was a good idea. “I’d find a great networking space that I can step into regularly (offline or online) where my ideal client is likely to hang out, and I’d attend that consistently and share what I do,” she said.

She suggested using social media to find networking opportunities. “When I started my business, I was very active on LinkedIn,” she said. “I joined a life coaching group that had formed on there and eventually came to lead the sessions.”

She also had suggestions for offline networking. “There are many coaches who host book clubs and social events; these can be great spaces.” She added, “I also recommend looking into any local networking events geared to entrepreneurs and business owners. Your local chamber of commerce can be a great place to start.”

Consider getting your own coach

Jirovec told us that getting your own coach is an investment that she’d “highly recommend” to new life coaches. Being on the other end of a coaching interaction will improve your skills and enable you to provide a higher quality of service to your own clients.

“A great way to learn what a great coaching relationship is like? Get yourself a coach. Walk the walk and observe how different coaches work,” Jirovec added.

5. Promote yourself (if you’re starting your own business)

If you’re starting a life coaching business, you’ll obviously need to promote it—especially in the early stages when you’re trying to attract your first few clients.

We’ve already mentioned networking, which is an invaluable strategy you can use to spread to word about your new business.

Some other strategies you can use include:

• Social media: Make a page for your life coaching business on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or other social media platforms to promote it.
• Local area business listings: List your life coaching business with directories and platforms like Yelp, Google Business Profile, or Facebook.
• Professional directories: You can also list your business with professional directories or online platforms specifically designed for connecting coaches with potential clients. Check out Coach.me, Noomii, or Life Coach Hub.
• Local advertising: As well as online media, you can use traditional print media to advertise your business. For example, you could distribute flyers or put ads in local papers.
• Word-of-mouth: Tell people you’re going into business as a life coach, and ask them to spread the word. You can also offer referral programs; for example, offer free or discounted coaching sessions for anyone who refers a new client to you.
• Special offers: Entice new customers to try your services with special offers and freebies.

Create a personal brand

Jirovec also emphasized the importance of branding when you’re promoting your new life coaching business.

“Your brand will allow your ideal clients to find you and get a feel for whether you’re the right coach for them,” she said. “Just because you’re a coach, that doesn’t mean you’re the right coach for every client.”

For anyone starting a new life coaching business, her advice was to think hard about what you want your ideal client to feel when they encounter your business. “Do you want to put people at ease? Do you want to empower and motivate? Do you want to inspire others?”

She recommended getting clear on what your brand values are, who you want to help, and what you want them to feel. “That directs the colors, images, services, social media posts, and website you use,” she said.

There are two routes you can take to become a paid life coach. The first thing you need to do is decide which option fits best with your lifestyle and schedule.

Option 1: Being employed by a company or organization

Businesses and other organizations sometimes look for contracted life coaches who are willing to work on a full-time, part-time, or temporary basis. Some even offer fully remote life coaching jobs you can do online or from home.

Here are a few places that sometimes advertise life coaching jobs:

• Schools
• Gyms and fitness centers
• Hospitals
• Mental health clinics
• Spiritual and wellness centers
• Community centers
• Nonprofit organizations
• Corporations

Getting employed as a life coach has several advantages, including standard employee benefits (e.g., health insurance, paid time off, and free work tools and equipment), a consistent schedule, and a stable income.

However, your earnings will be limited to whatever hourly wage you’re offered. You also won’t have quite as much freedom as you would if you were a self-employed life coach.

Option 2: Starting your own life coaching business

If you set up your own life coaching business, you can work pretty much any time and anywhere you want. This is a good option if you plan to do life coaching as a side hustle since you’ll have a lot of flexibility to fit it around your primary job.

You can run your business online if you prefer, which will make it even easier to fit around your other commitments.

To start your own business as a professional life coach, you’ll need to take the following steps:

• Choose a business name
• Create a business plan
• Open a business bank account
• Register your business (if it’s required in your jurisdiction)
• Get business insurance
• Market and promote your services

You’ll also have the potential to earn more money this way since you won’t have to share your profits. The tradeoff is that you’ll also have a lot more responsibility. This includes handling administrative tasks like scheduling, dealing with customer complaints, and invoicing.

Jirovec told us that she got business coaching herself when she was setting up her life coaching business. She recommended this for people who aren’t already business experts.

“There were coaching programs I purchased that helped with time management, client acquisition, and online tech setup (email marketing, social media marketing, taking payments, etc.),” she said.

Life coaching is a pretty easy field to break into. All you need is a desire to work with people and a passion for helping others.

With that said, some people are better suited to the role than others. Before committing, make sure you know what to expect in your life coaching career and carefully weigh the job’s advantages and disadvantages.

Can life coaches make good money?

General (unspecialized) life coaches make between $75 and $200 per hour. However, the exact amount you’ll make depends on the factors below:

• Your experience, reputation, and credibility
• The types of clients you serve
• The types of services you provide
• Your geographical location (if you’re not working online)

Specialized life coaches can realistically expect to earn between $200–$300 per hour. Some particularly in-demand coaches who cater to high-net-worth clients make double that.

Jirovec pointed out that it’s not necessarily typical to see an hourly rate for life coaches, as they usually sell packages of sessions rather than charging for each hour they work.

“A package of 1:1 sessions could last 3, 6, 9, or 12 months,” she said. “It could be bimonthly or monthly sessions. It could give access to the coach via different chat platforms between calls.”

How long does it take to become a life coach?

In theory, you can become a life coach today since the job doesn’t have any formal requirements—all you need is an employer or a paying client.

Realistically, however, it’ll probably take you a while to learn the ropes and find a job or start acquiring clients. Even once you do, it can take you a while to reach your full earning potential with your life coaching side hustle.

If you decide to take a course or training program, that can take anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of years, depending on how comprehensive an education you want.

The ICF’s most basic certification requires 100 hours of life coaching experience and 60 hours of training—so 160 hours in total. In theory, you could do that in just a few weeks, but if you’re fitting it around a busy schedule, several months might be more realistic.

Jirovec agreed that becoming a successful life coach takes patience. “Everyone wants to be an overnight success, but your business, reputation and client base will be built over time,” she said. “Consistency is key.”

Alternatives to life coaching

If you’re not sure life coaching is the right side hustle for you, there are many other similar jobs you can try. Here are a few examples:

• Other types of coaching: Many life coaches branch out into similar coaching fields by getting a specialized certification. Doing so allows you to offer combined services or package deals. To give you a couple of ideas, you could become a career coach or relationship coach.
• Teaching: Teaching uses many of the same communication skills as being a life coach. This is a very popular side hustle; for instance, these days, a lot of people are earning extra money by teaching English online, which is a job that almost anyone can get into even without a teaching certificate.
• Tutoring: If you start a tutoring side hustle, you’ll work with students one-on-one or in very small groups. Tutors often focus on specific subjects or skills that their pupils need extra help with.
• Motivational speaking: If you become a motivational speaker, you can inspire audiences by sharing personal stories, insights, and strategies for personal growth and success. It has a lot of similarities with being a life coach, but as you’d expect, involves a lot more public speaking and virtually no one-on-one work.
• Caregiving: If you like the idea of getting paid to spend time talking to and helping people, then starting a caregiving side hustle could be a great option for you. While the pay isn’t very high, you don’t need any formal training to get started.

Whichever job you pick, you’ll be able to earn money on the side while making a difference and helping people. It’s hard to think of anything better than that.