How to Become a Life Coach | Kick Start Guide to Coaching

Kick Start Guide to Coaching
Learn how to become a coach, how to coach, and how to start a coaching
business.

COACH AYISHA AMATULLAH
UNIVERSAL COACH INSTITUTE
HTTP://WWW.UNIVERSALCOACHINSTITUTE.COM
Copyright – Ayisha Amatullah

Kick Start Guide to Coaching
Learn how to become a coach, how to coach, and how to start a coaching business.

Kick Start Guide to Coaching | Copyright – Ayisha Amatullah

Contents

1

INTRODUCTION TO COACHING .............................................................................. 2
WHAT IS A COACH? ........................................................................................ 2
THE COACHING INDUSTRY ................................................................................ 2
BENEFITS OF COACHING .................................................................................. 2
BRIEF HISTORY OF COACHING ........................................................................... 3
HOW TO BECOME A COACH................................................................................. 3
CAREER AS A COACH .......................................................................................... 4
TYPES OF COACHES......................................................................................... 4
HOW TO MAKE MONEY AS A COACH .................................................................. 5
ONE OUTSTANDING AND EASY WAY I MAKE MONEY AS A COACH ............................. 6
LIFE COACH SALARY ........................................................................................ 6
GETTING STARTED AS A COACH ............................................................................ 6
QUESTIONS EVERY COACH SHOULD ANSWER PRIOR TO COACHING OTHERS................. 6
HOW CAN YOU INCREASE YOUR CONFIDENCE AS A COACH? ....................................... 7
CHOOSING A COACHING NICHE ............................................................................ 9
WHAT IS A COACHING NICHE?............................................................................ 9
WHY SPECIALIZE? ........................................................................................... 9
HOW DO I CHOOSE AN AREA TO SPECIALIZE IN? .................................................... 10
WHAT ELSE SHOULD I CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSE A NICHE? ...................................... 10
REMEMBER ................................................................................................ 10
HOW DOES COACHING WORK ........................................................................... 10
GENERAL 1-ON-1 COACHING RELATIONSHIP TIMELINE ......................................... 11
KEY PRINCIPLES OF COACHING ........................................................................... 12
HOW TO COACH ............................................................................................. 14
HOW TO GET CLIENTS ...................................................................................... 15
10 QUICK WAYS TO GET CLIENTS .................................................................... 16
OUTLINE TO GET YOUR COACHING BUSINESS STARTED ............................................ 17
FINAL THOUGHTS ............................................................................................ 17

ASSIGNMENT ................................................................................................. 18

Introduction to Coaching
What is a Coach?
A coach is someone who helps an individual get from where they are now to
where they want to be in life, business, career, etc.
A coach is not a counselor or therapist. The difference between a coach and a
therapist is that a therapist delves in the past of an individual’s life to in order to
help them gain clarity. A coach focuses on the present and the future of an
individual. A coach helps that client move on from the pain of the past. It is
common in some situations for an individual to have both a therapist/counselor
and a coach at the same time.

Coaching is the second-fastest growing profession in the world, right after
information technology. Life and Business Coaching together is a 2 billion dollar
industry. The coaching industry is self-regulated. Therefore, there is no
mandatory certification. However, the International Coach Federation also known
as the ICF has become a leading organization within in the coaching industry. They
are one of a few organizations that are attempting to regulate coaching. Although
they are the most recognized, it is important to note that you do not have to be
certified or accredited through them to begin coaching. Simply because the
coaching industry is self-regulated.

Benefits of Coaching
According to the life coaching statistics at the ICF, people that have worked with
business and personal life coaching have found greater levels of self-awareness.
Better goal setting techniques. More balance in life. Improved levels of selfdiscovery. Satisfying quality of life and much, much more.


The Coaching Industry

2

Brief History of Coaching
There is no specific date when coaching began. But the concept came from sports
and business. The concept in sports coaching brought a realization of how
advantageous it can be for people to have the support of a coach to bring them to
their full potential. The concept also came from a discipline within psychology
that focused on the benefits of talk therapy as a way to improve wellness in the
workplace.

How to Become a Coach
You do not need a college degree to become a Life Coach. However, you will need
professional training for a variety of reasons:
1. Clients and companies want to know you are certified.
2. You need to know how the human mind operates. What stops clients from
attaining goals? What is the easiest and most effective ways to attain goals?
These are just some of the questions that as a coach you need to know the
answer to.


3. You need to have the following skill set and your training should provide it:

3

Listening

Holding the Vision

Creating Awareness

Questioning

Establishing Trust

Direct Communication

Acknowledging

Conviction in Voice

Designing Actions

Motivating

Experience with Tools

Planning and Goal Setting

Goal Setting and
Attainment

Coaching Presence

Managing Progress and
Accountability

Neuro Linguistic
Programming (How the
Mind Works)

Ethics and Standards

Communication and
Relationship Navigation

4. You need to learn how others made the switch from their current job to their
career as a coach.
5. You should always have a supportive network of people who have been where
you are (your instructor and mentor) and who are making the career change to
coaching just as you are.

Career as a Coach
Types of Coaches
There are two main types of coaches:
1. Personal Coach
2. Business Coach

1. Personal Coach
a. Life Coach
b. Relationship Coach
c. Health and Wellness Coach
d. Weight Loss Coach
e. Career Coach
f. And more.
2. Business Coach
a. Small Business Coach
b. Marketing Coach
c. Entrepreneur Coach
d. Internet Marketing Coach
e. Executive Coach
f. And more.
To be honest, when it comes to coaching you can specialize in almost any area.
There is no industry standard of coaches. If you have experience in helping people
start businesses, you can become a Business Start-Up Coach.


Under each type of coach fall additional niche coaches:

4

How to Make Money as a Coach


The great thing about being a coach is that there are so many different ways to
make money. Below are some different coaching income streams.

5

The #1 form of coaching is 1-on-1 coaching. The average rate for new coaches is
$100 an hour. Anything less than that will devalue your services. People tend to
believe the phrase “You get what your pay for”.
So… if you are coaching 2 clients day + $100 an hour, by the end of the week you
would have made $1000.

One Outstanding and Easy way I Make Money as a Coach
Downloadable Coaching Program – This is the best and easiest way I make money
as a coach. When I first started life coaching I specialized in helping others to build
their self-esteem. So I created a self-esteem program called “8 Weeks to a Higher
Self-Esteem”. The program is 8 weeks of audios and downloadable worksheets. At
the time I charged $295 for the program. Once I learned how to market my
program I began making between 3 - 5 sales a week. That was $885 -$1770 in
one week. It’s not a lot, but it was a lot for me as it was the beginning of my
career as a life coach. My income doubled and tripled later on when I started
creating more products and providing 1-on-1 coaching as well. By the way a lot of
my 1-on-1 clients were people who originally bought my program. So creating
programs is one of the best ways I make money as a coach.

Read my extensive article on the salary of a life coach.

Getting Started as a Coach
Questions Every Coach Should Answer Prior to Coaching
Others
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Are you a very self-aware and authentic person?
Do you like people?
Do you have a clear set of values that you live your life by?
Are you aware of your gifts, talents and the value of your life’s experiences?
Are you a good communicator?
Are you a good listener?
Do you believe that each person has a uniquely divine purpose?


Life Coach Salary

6

8. Do you have good rapport with others (trusting relationships)?
9. Are you passionate about helping others pursue their dreams?
10.Are you passionate about pursuing your dreams?
11.Would you feel sense of reward, pride, and pleasure in being part of another’s
success?
12.Are you committed to serving others while empowering them?
13.Do you believe you can make a positive difference in people’s lives?
14.Are you interested in putting forth the effort and dedication it takes to becoming
a really great life coach?
15.Who supports your new career path?
16.Have you decided on a niche (an area inside coaching to specialize)?
17.Is coaching going to be incorporated into your current career or are you looking
for a new career as a professional coach?
18.Do you have an answer to the question "what do you do for a living?" that reflects
your career path? This is also known as an elevator speech.
19.Will you be working from home?
20.Where do you plan to have your office?
21.What dreams and plans do you have for your coaching business?
22.What does your ideal day look like? How does coaching fit into it?


How can you increase your confidence as a coach?

7

1. First, it is important to note that nothing outside of oneself (additional
degrees, certifications, and knowledge) can give you true confidence as
confidence comes primarily from within. If you are feeling insecure about
telling people you are a coach or working with clients, it is essential that you
begin affirmations today. Affirmations are the most effective and the fastest
way to increase your confidence. Repeat at least 100 times a day: “I approve of
myself,” “I love myself,” “I am a qualified coach.” It will take a few months of
dedication but the changes in your life will be well worth the work.
2. Start hanging around with other coaches. Inquire about joining a mastermind
group in your community or online or by phone. Get to know other students in
the program and get your own coach in the niche you plan to be successful in.
Their confidence will rub off on you.
3. Get all your certifications in order. It is a wonderful when a potential client

asks “where did you get your training from” or “what makes you a qualified
coach” and you can answer with “I am trained and certified through the
Universal Coach Institute.” Saying that rocks!
4. Start practicing, Coach! Ask your mentor coach about clients you can work
with pro-bono. Experience will help you gain confidence. You may be nervous
in the beginning but that is just your body’s way of letting you know you are
about to do something different, something new. Be nervous but do it anyway.
5. Start telling people you are a coach. You need to get used to this. This is tough
for new, insecure coaches. Keep up the affirmations and I promise it will get
easier.

7. Remember that if you are ever in a coaching session with a client and are
suddenly unsure of what to say, try “you mentioned __________, tell me more
about that.” That will give you time to come up your next question. And
remember that coaching is all about questions! Asking questions takes the
pressure of you to be the expert and puts it back on them, the client, who is
the only true expert on themselves. It is much more effective to allow the
client to come up with a plan through questioning (“what do you think the first
step is?” “What do you plan to do first?”) then for you to tell them what you
think they should do. New coaches think they need to be the expert, seasoned
coaches know this is not the case.
8. Remember if a client asks a question you do not know what the answer is, you
can always say “I am making a note to check that and I will get back to you on
by our next session.” Then email your mentor and ask. (Works every time!)


6. Make sure your client agreement is in order, as this takes the liability pressure
off you. Include: (1) That you are NOT a doctor, therapist or counselor, that
you are a certified coach. (2) That any new dietary and exercise changes
should be discussed with a health care professional that is familiar with their
situation prior to beginning. (3) That any and all decisions are the responsibility
of the client and the choice of the client.

8

9. Empower your client through knowledge. If you have learned information that
you think would benefit them, ask them if you can share some information you
think they would find helpful. If they doubt the effectiveness of your tools, let
them know that you have used them and thus you can personally attest to
their effectiveness. But of course the final decision as to the steps they take
belong with the client.
10.Start your coaching career by putting on seminars using the knowledge you
have learned and the forms you have access to. You can start with a small
coaching group and expand from there. You will learn about group coaching in
your course.
11.If you feel additional training would help you, sign up for some. You can take
the same course again often for no additional cost.

Choosing a Coaching Niche


Choosing a coaching niche and becoming certified in that area will easily
set you above the rest of the coaches out there.

9

Having that additional certification may even be the deciding factor for a
potential client when they are looking to choose a coach.

What is a coaching niche?
A coaching niche is a specialization within the coaching profession. Some
examples of areas you can be certified in are weight loss coaching, spiritual
coaching, financial executive coaching, small business coaching, even addictions
coaching. Essentially you can be certified in almost any area you can think of.

Why specialize?
If you were looking for a coach to help you with your relationship, would
you feel more comfortable with a coach who had a general certification or
a coach who had specific relationship training and certifications?
Let us look at another growing area in coaching: Health coaching. This area of
coaching deals with coaching people recovering from chronic illness and

ailments through diet and lifestyles changes. Now, if you were looking for a
coach in this area would you not feel more comfortable with a coach trained
and certified in the area of health or would a general coach do?

How do I choose an area to specialize in?
1. Pay attention to where your love and passion lies. This is the single most
important thing to consider when choosing a niche as passion is what
will keep you reading and learning to remain at the top of this niche in
years to come.
2. Ask yourself the following questions to determine if coaching in this
area is a good fit:
Can people be coached in this area?
Would coaching benefit someone who is dealing with this? Would
coaching have helped me when I was dealing with this?

Is there a need for this type of coaching?
Would people in my community benefit from this?
How much would they be able or willing to pay for this?
Is this area of coaching over saturated? I recommend doing a Google
search and see how many coaching links pop up.

Remember
When choosing a niche consider one thing: No matter how popular a niche,
there is always room at the top.

How Does Coaching Work
1-on-1 coaching sessions is conducted in 2 ways, in person and over the phone.
There are some coaches who coach online or through email.


What else should I consider when choose a niche?

10

The best and most common way to provide coaching is over the Coaching over
the phone gives you unlimited access to clientele as you do not have to just coach
people within your area. It is also very convenient for both the client and coach.
Business coaches and executive coaches may coach their client in person more
than a personal coach. Because at times these coaches will go to the place of
business to get a better since of the company. This is not necessary in all cases.
Sessions are normally held once a week for 3 to 4 months or until goals has been
attained. Coaching sessions normally last 30 – 60 minutes in length.
Coaches use different coaching formulas for example some may do 40 minutes
per session 3 times per month or 60 minutes per session 2 times per month.

General 1-on-1 Coaching Relationship Timeline


1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

11

Potential client calls for first free coaching session.
Potential client and coach agrees to work together.
Client welcome packet is distributed to the client.
Client returns welcome packet with payment and first session date is set.
First Session

 Have your client create a vision and a goal.
 Actively listen and ask your client powerful questions, help create an
awareness
 Have your client set 1-3 goals
 Create an action plan for the upcoming week.
 Identify possible obstacles for action plan and help your client to overcome
them.
 Hold your client accountable.
6. Following Sessions
 Review previous action plan
 Discuss successes, what worked
 Discuss what did not work
 Set new action plans
7. Goals are attained
8. Set new goals or end the coaching relationship.

Key Principles of Coaching
Before you learn how to coach, you must know and learn some key principles of
coaching:

You must be at your best when coaching others.
This means living by example. Although the definition of happiness varies from
person to person, the feeling of contentment is universal. If you feel content with
your life, not only will your mind be more prepared and aware when coaching
others, it will be easier for you to attain clients as people will sense your
contentment with your life and be attracted to you as a coach based on that.
This in no way means that you are expected to be perfect. You are, however,
expected to do what is best for you.

You are your own best judge. The answers to how you are meant to live your life
are within you.
Use the techniques you learn through this program on yourself first and on your
clients second.

Although there is a structure to follow, the client leads the way during the
coaching sessions.
As stated above, one must do what is “best” for themselves-not what others think
is best. An important lesson to remember when coaching is that we do not know
what is best for everyone.


An important concept to remember here is that you should make sure that you
really are doing what is best for you and not what others or society thinks is best
for you.

12

Our egos have no place in coaching others. People are generally very resistant to
others telling them how they should live their life and what steps they should take
to achieve their goals. As a coach, it is our job to get our clients to tell us what
they think the first step is to achieving their goals.
In upcoming lessons will learn time tested formulas for discovering what your
client really desires.

Unlike therapy, the focus of coaching is the present and future of your client, not
the past.
Although it is important to understand that the past does affect us, it is not a
coaches job to delve into their client’s past on a therapeutic level. This is where
using your intuition comes in handy.


Let me give you an example: Jenny is a 34 year old mother who has had a really
rough life. Jenny’s mother verbally abused Jenny for 15 years until Jenny finally
ran away from home.

13

While a therapist would thoroughly delve into what happened with Jenny, a coach
would work with Jenny to accept that the past occurred and then would work
with Jenny to help her live her life now with the enjoyment and comfort she
deserves. It possible for a client to have both a coach and a mental health
professional.

You cannot coach someone who does not want to be coached.
• Coaching is a self-help process.
• It is your job as a coach to point out your client’s messes and it is
your client’s job to clean them up.

• Your client must want to help themselves and must be committed to
working with you to achieve their goals, based on the formulas you
will learn through your lessons and in your classes.

How to Coach
Actively Listen to Your Client
When listening actively, the coach is fully engaged in what the client is saying, and
shows sincere interest and curiosity. Coaching at an advanced level requires
understanding a client’s emotional state both through the words the client uses
and how they are spoken.

Design Actions
Powerful questions asked by the coach help the client to distill down to areas to
focus on (i.e., based on what is mission or role critical or what would have impact
in other areas). In asking these questions, the coach should consider both what
the client will find motivating and what is within the client’s control. Effective
coaches then help clients to create opportunities for ongoing learning (during
coaching and in work‐life situations) and in choosing new actions that will lead to
agreed‐upon results in the most effective way possible.
Set Goals and Action Plans
Coaching at an advanced level requires the coach to develop and maintain an
effective coaching plan with the client. The plan should not only identify goals but
also clarify outcomes, identify indicators of success and how those will be
measured, and describe concrete changes that are desired as a result. The
detailed plan should include when and how action will be taken to achieve goals.
During planning, the coach asks questions to facilitate development of the plan,


Ask Powerful Questions
When conversing with a client, a coach should ask probing questions based on
what the client is saying. As the coach tracks the client’s direction, he or she
responds with questions. Questions should be thoughtful and posed from a
position of curiosity. They should challenge the client without being combative.
There is a quality of “not knowing” that generates this curiosity and consequent
questions. The use of probing questions should stimulate the client to think in
new and different ways.

14

including what it will take to implement the plan. However, ownership of the plan
must remain with the client.
Managing Progress and Accountability
Coaches manage progress and accountability by focusing attention on what is
important for the client and leaving responsibility with the client to take action.
By reaffirming the client’s ownership of the process and outcomes, the coach
strengthens the client’s commitment to development.

How to Get Clients
In every business there is the ever present challenge of getting and keeping
clients. There are several contributing factor that ensure both scenarios are
acquired however some effort has to be exercised in doing so.
The following are some of the areas worth exploring for the coach to get clients:
Niche and Target Marketing - The key to running an effective coaching business is
to have a target market and/or niche market.


When you have this you lower the competition, you become an expert in your
area, the target market will be drawn to you, and it's easier for marketing.

15

The terms “niche market” and “target market” are often used interchangeably.
A target market is the group of people to whom your product is being marketed
— WHO
A niche adds another dimension. A niche combines your target market — WHO —
with WHAT you are helping them with.
For instance, if you are a life coach, your target market might be divorced women,
while your niche could be helping women restart their career after a divorce.
Visibility – this is the most important element that deserves a lot of effort and
thought. Without this visibility element it is very hard for the business entity to be
able to attract the customer base desired.

Therefore all means has to be explored diligently to ensure the best tools are
used to create this visibility effectively and easily. There are both online and
offline tools that can be used to effectively promote a coaching business and
some of these are quite cost effective, if not altogether free.

10 Quick Ways to Get Clients
Online
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Website
Google Places (Free)
Yelp (Free)
Craigslist (Free)
Articles/Start a Blog (Free) (The best way)

6. Niche Expert Interviews - Become the local expert in your coaching niche by
being interviewed by local publications such as newspapers, radio stations,
etc.
7. Speeches - Give a speech at a local event.
8. Seminars in your niche (Fantastic way)- Host seminars within your
community for topics within your coaching niche ie. Finding Your Passion,
Losing Weight, Discovering Yourself, Law of Attraction or whatever you
specialize in.
9. Yellow Pages
10.Direct Mail
Coaching effectively can be a tricky task. With the use of some of these simple
tips, coaching someone effectively can be made easy. Take this information in and
begin being a good coach to your clients today.


Offline (I'll be more specific)

16

Outline to Get Your Coaching Business Started
1. Get training
2. Choose a niche
3. Get certified
4. Register your business
5. Get a website
6. Create a coaching program
7. Create a product
8. Establish yourself as an expert in your niche.
9. Market
10.Make money!

Final Thoughts
Becoming a successful coach takes training, time, and commitment.


Is training, time, and commitment worth exercising to have the successful
coaching business that you want?

17

I don’t know if it is for you.
I know it is for me.
I have been coaching and running my own business full time over 10 years now.
And I love it.
It took me 2 hours to put this guide together and I could not put all of the details
in it. For every additional detail I could add in, it would lengthen this guide and
reduce the chance that it would be really meaningful to you.
Every step in this guide I teach to other successful coaches.
If you don’t want to learn it from me, there are many programs that will train you
to be a coach.

I KNOW that you have enough details to be able to begin your career. If you get
stuck on anything, you may be able to find the answer online, from someone else,
or from me.
I truly hope this “Kick Start Guide to Coaching” has been helpful!
I hope it has shed a light on the coaching business and will help you to start your
journey as a coach.
If you found this “Kick Start Guide Coaching” helpful, lookout for my emails. You
will find additional information on coaching that you will love.

Assignment
I have just 1 assignment for you to do today. I know that you have more questions
about the coaching business. So, if you have any additional questions, if there is
something that is missing from this guide that you need to know about coaching,
something you want to learn, email me directly coachayisha@gmail.com . I
answer my own emails and will try to do so in a timely manner.

COACH AYISHA AMATULLAH
UNIVERSAL COACH INSTITUTE
HTTP://WWW.UNIVERSALCOACHINSTITUTE.COM
Copyright – Ayisha Amatullah


Have a great day!

18

How to Become a Life Coach | Kick Start Guide to Coaching

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