Life Coaching - How To Turn Your Passion Into Profit

A Beginners Guide to

Understanding The Coaching

Business

Dear Friend And Fellow Entrepreneur,

Ever since I was 19 years old my goal was to create a platform that could positively impact hundreds of thousands of lives and one day millions.

How was I going to do that? I have no idea.

I spent 7 years of my life running around in circles, trying to turn my passion into a profitable business, but I didn't know how.

After years of trying and a ton of money invested, I finally 'cracked the code' on the best business in the world.

Since that time, we've helped hundreds of thousands of people and have built a multi million dollar business.

The coaching business is amazing for 3 big reasons.

1) You get to change people's lives. - This is very important to me. I want to have meaning in my life, make a difference and be a force for good.

Changing Lives.

2) You get to generate incredible income - Yes, you can earn money 24/7/365. You can make product sales, coaching sales (some up to $5,000 per sale) and more.

Making Money.

3)You get incredible time and lifestyle freedom. - You can run this business from anywhere in the world and start it Part time. Just a few hours a week. You can be your own boss, and spend more time with your family.

Lifestyle Freedom.

We wrote 'A Beginners Guide To Understanding The Coaching Business' to give you a short, though insightful understanding of what the business is about and how it works.

What is TotalCoach And Why Does It Exist?

We started Total Coach because we saw so many people struggling in trying to turn their passion into a successful business.

It was to hard, to complex, to time consuming and to expensive.

Total Coach is the world's 1st 'All In One Coaching Business Solution. In 1 place, you get everything you need to start, grow, and run your business.

After you read ''A Beginners Guide To Understanding The Coaching Business', feel free to take the 30 day free trial.

Enjoy this powerful free report and open your mind to all the great opportunities in this incredible business.

Your Coach,

Mike Litman

*Note- If you are reading this then you are serious about becoming a coach.

Top Ten Reasons to be a Coach

1. Empowerment!You choose:- Who to coach.- What types of work you would like to do (tele-coaching, talks, writing, seminars,

etc.)- Where to live (the world is your office)- When to work- How much to charge-

2. Rewarding, you get to positively influence people’s lives in important ways every day; we all have a unique set of skills, being a coach gives you a ‘license’ to pass on your skills and passions with the goal of empowering and contributing to others – all in a days work!

3. Your work will influence the world at large in ways you can only imagine right now.

4. Continual Personal Growth, there are unlimited opportunities for learning development and advancement; the fastest way for a person to grow is to coach others! Bottom line is, when you are accountable for results, you learn.

5. Low overhead; as long as you own a phone the world is your office.

6. High income – good coaches get paid well; on average coaches earn anywhere from $25,000 and $200,000 per year, some earn even more! Hourly fees range from $50 to $500.

7. Coaching can draw on a variety of your talents.

8. Lasting and rewarding relationships – as a coach you build a very special relationship with clients, it is not abnormal for a lifelong friendship to form between a coach and a client.

9. You will be appreciated! Coaching another person is a contribution and the client will genuinely appreciate the positive changes your being into their lives.

10. Part of your job is to have an amazing life and be a walking inspiration for your clients; a personal coach is on a path of development that basically leads to the mastery of life.

Some FAQ’s

Is Life coaching any similar to therapy, counselling or psychology?

To put it briefly, coaching has its goals set at the future rather than the past. It’s about “what you want” and not “why you are like this”.

The bottom line is that coaching involves making better those areas of a client’s life, which need strengthening.

Who can become a coach?

Anybody!

There are no strict regulations on who can become a Life Coach. Since each individual has varying qualities it would be fair to say that a willingness to contribute and a commitment to personal growth are the most basic qualities a Life Coach should have.

What’s the lifestyle of a coach like?

Quite rocking!!!

A Life Coach has total control over his work hours. The freedom to set your own hours at work is something every individual is looking for. With coaching, it becomes a reality.

You can make a difference to people’s lives and do it at your own pace!

Since all you need is a phone and a computer, you can take working holidays, lounge in a garden and work, and even network with your coaching community while deducting the cost of all your personal development courses and books on your tax return!

Is it possible to work from home?

Yes, we highly suggest to start you work from home.

What do coaches charge?

An individual coach may charge somewhere around $50-$1000 a session and depending on the coach and what the program offers it can go as high as $100,000.

Note here that executive coaching and corporate coaching are charged higher.

How long will it take for me to make a living out of Coaching?

Like in every other field of work, in Coaching too it will take a while to settle down and make a comfortable living out of it. Give yourself 6-12 months to make your business work.

It is advisable to start small and stay at your current job to maintain your current income level which could free up money for advertising and marketing,

Is there specialization in any particular aspect of Coaching?

Yes. And usually successful coaches specialize.

If you choose a niche where you have specialized experience then you are most likely to get instant credibility on it.

What kind of qualifications or training do I need?

In the current scenario of Coaching there is no specified requirement of qualifications or training.

Chapter 1: Coaching 101

“Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. “ – IFC

Understanding the Concept

Coaching is not new.

Coaching is not a new or recently invented discipline; on the contrary, it is as old as the first human competition – it is however only in past several decades that we have learned to harness the powerful potential of coaching outside the arena.

The emergence of coaching as a popular profession began in the 1980’s within the United States; since then coaching has gone from catering exclusively to executives and professionals, to catering to any and all willing individuals – ranging from house wives to CEO’s to professional sky-divers. If you are exceptionally good at something, chances are there is somebody out there that is exceptionally bad at it – this is precisely the ‘yin and yang’ that makes coaching such a profitable business.

In the past 20 years coaching has gone from an underground professional movement to a much sought after career, making it one of the fastest growing and most desirable disciplines (as demonstrated in the passage below, taken from Best Career/Business, US News and World Report 2006).

Personal Coach: I predict that demand for the services of psychologists and other psychotherapists will fade (see the entry for psychologist, below). There will always be a need, however, for professionals willing to help clients address their practical problems. This doesn't need to entail thorough exploration of family history or traumatic childhood events but someone to help the client set goals, develop an action plan to achieve them, keep on task, and be supportive when the client feels scared or deflated. Some psychotherapists, who practice cognitive or rational-emotive therapy, do those things, but personal coaches, also known as career and life coaches, can be adequately trained in far less time.

What is Coaching all about?

As per The International Coach Federation (ICF):

"Coaching is an on-going partnership that helps clients produce fulfilling results in their personal and professional lives. Through the process of coaching, clients deepen their learning, improve their performance, and enhance their quality of life. Beginning with the clients' desires, coaching uses reporting, exploring, and a consistent commitment to move the client forward. Coaching accelerates the clients' progress by providing greater focus and awareness of choice. Coaching concentrates on where clients are today and what they are willing to do to get where they want to be tomorrow."

If that was too much to grasp, let’s simplify.

A coach is a catalyst.

For our present purposes the definition of a catalyst is:

“A person that alters the speed of action and does not appear in the final product and undergoes no permanent changes.”

Throughout this book I will continue to stress this point – no matter what situation your coaching career takes you into, always remember that you are a catalyst.

To elaborate, every individual experiences feeling some sort of limitation, which directly or indirectly affects a number of areas in his or her life or how he or she looks at different situations in life.

These limitations or weaknesses, whether mental, emotional or psychological, create barriers and hold up personal development.

This is when a Coach comes in. The process of coaching helps people break those barriers themselves and pave the way to achieving their goals.

A coach is a coach.

At its core, coaching involves a professional partnership between the coach and the client. Coaches listen to their client’s current problems, concerns or goals, and then provide coaching through which the client determines what steps to take to overcome his or her problems and move ahead.

A coach is not a psychologist, therapist or consultant; a coach is a coach.

Coaches do not give advice, delve into the past nor offer therapy; instead they focus on the present and future while igniting action within their client. The coach helps the client live a better life by encouraging the action’s necessary to achieve the client’s goal.

While a psychologist focuses on analyzing your past actions and getting to the root of the problem, a Life Coach concentrates on helping you to frame the right steps in future to achieve your individual goal.

A very good example is that of a Personal Fitness Coach (or personal trainer):

Consider you are joining a gym. Your fitness coach will first ask you what you want to achieve. Whether you want to

Lose weight?Lose fat?Build muscles?Build endurance?Increase stamina?

The trainer will then see where you stand in relation to your goal. For example, if you want to trim down body fat, you will be asked to take a body fat composition test to measure the current body fat level. You may have to take a fitness test and may be asked about present eating habits. All this is a part of helping you get closer to your goal.

The fitness trainer will then establish how much fat you intend to lose and over what period of time. It is based on all this that your plan of action is designed.

Having done this, he also supplies you with the required backing and support in the form of constant encouragement and motivation.

There may be many people who look towards reducing weight. But what they lack is the willpower and confidence to keep trying.

The trainer’s job is to guide them through the difficult path towards their goal. He is the catalyst that helps people achieve their fitness goal more quickly and effectively then if they simply went to the gym on their own.

This is what a Coach does on every level, whether it is fitness, professional or personal; note that the coach would not ask about your childhood eating habits or the way your grandmother’s apple pie made you feel.

This is what a Coach also does for you.

Here’s a real life example.

Michelle and Rob were married and leading a happy life together. Both of them were employed. Rob was not very content with his job. He was looking for better

opportunities, and as it just had to be, he got an offer from an overseas firm. The position was just what he wanted. It was time for him to take a decision.

If he took the job he would be happy career-wise but staying separate lives, would their marriage survive? He could not possibly be selfish to ask Michelle to leave her job. And if he let go of the new job offer, he would feel guilty of having given up a great chance. Now this is what we call a fix!

What would you do if you were in Rob place? Very difficult to decide, isn’t it?

A Coach enters a person’s life to help him live it better. Every person has problems. It may be a lack of confidence for someone, weak communication skills for another, or a lost career for someone else or even a problem with relationships.

The Coaching Market Today

Is coaching in demand? Yes.

Does the supply exceed the demand? No

The basic law of economics shows that right now is the perfect time to jump into the coaching market.

Fifty years ago nobody had heard of coaching outside the arena/stadium, today there are an estimated 15,000 people practicing coaching throughout the world.

The advancement of technology and the ever-increasing complexity of life is directly related to the demand for life coaches; in simpler terms the more advanced our society gets the more people look to a coach to help them balance their life out and achieve their goals.

The reason life, business and corporate coaching did not exist fifty years ago is because there was no need for it – today, however, people no longer have time for psychologists and therapists, they want action driven results, and they want them fast. As I mentioned earlier, a coach is a catalyst, somebody who speeds up the process of an action, and is therefore incredibly useful in today’s constantly spinning world.

The demand for coaches is high and is expected to grow exponentially as the New York Times, Fortune Magazine, CNN, Oprah and the likes continue to promote the use of it; in addition the number of large corporations hiring coaches to train managers is ever increasing.

To say the least, coaching is at its tipping point, several years ago it was not overly profitable to go into, and several years from now the competition will be so fierce that it may be impossible to get into.

What are you waiting for?

Finding Your Coaching Niche

There are endless coaching niches, with more being identified and established everyday – as I mentioned at the beginning of the manual, if you are extremely talented at something, chances are there is somebody out there who is terrible at it; this holds true for mainstream, as well as more obscure talents.

Some major specializations within coaching at present include: General Personal Development/Life coaching, Business Coaching, Relationship Coaching, Study Skills Coaching, Executive Coaching, Fitness/Nutrition Coaching, Financial Coaching and Corporate Coaching – just to name a few.

Below are some basic areas, and sub-areas, of life a coach can work on are:

Confidence and Self-esteem- Feel good about yourself- Have no room for self-doubt- Get to know new people and be confident- Speak confidently in front of groups

Career- Know which job is right for you- Move on to a better job- Perform better on the job- Earn a promotion- Start your own business

Relationships- Be a good listener- Work through problems with your partner- Sail smoothly through tough times- Build stronger bonds

Communication- How to communicate with anyone?- Talking to strangers- How to get your point across effectively?

Health / losing weight- Improve your health- Reduce stress- Follow a healthy eating pattern

- Sticking to an exercise plan

Dreams and achievement - Set firm goals- Work out what you want from life - Provide direction and purpose- Have more fun- Have more energy and always be ready for more

Money/Finance- Earn more money- Save more money- Work out budgets and follow them

Getting what you want in life- Becoming more organized- Getting rid of barriers and negative thinking- Manage your time more effectively- Discover your values in life- Clear the clutter that you are engulfed in- How to stay focused

As you can see the topics vary from distinct and measurable goals to general self improvement.

Who Can Become a Coach?

Anybody!

There are no strict regulations on who can become a Coach. Since each individual has varying qualities it would be fair to say that a willingness to contribute and a commitment to personal growth are the most basic qualities a Coach should have. The only credentials you truly need is confidence in your competency to help a client reach a particular goal.

Who Can Become a Client?

Clients vary from entrepreneurs and business owners to artists and house wives – there is no set protocol for the ‘typical coaching client’. Regardless of their professional endeavors in life clients are intelligent and resourceful individuals that simply want to get more out of life and unleash their full potential.

Oftentimes a client may be going through a transitional period or is dissatisfied with a certain area of his or her lives – whether it is work, relationship or goal related, other times a client simply wishes to take a step forward in an already successful and fulfilling life!

Many of my best clients have been perfectly happy individuals who simply wanted to step up their game and reach the next level (think of successful athletes – they see the benefit of continual coaching!).

For example, look at client 1 (Christine) and client 2 (Debra).

Client 1:

When Christine came to me she already had a coaching business – she had a list of around 2,000 people and she had a very active message board on her site. What Christine wanted to do was grow and expand her practice, make more money and start selling products.

She was making $1000-1500 USD a month and it wasn’t consistent.

We started coaching by uncovering where exactly Christine wanted to be in her practice and how she could make more money. Christine is in the Women’s Mid-Life Crisis arena and before we started to work together was basically making money from her book.

One of our plans was designed around contacting her buyers via phone and finding out what types of problems they needed solutions for – sounds simple right?It was and it is - Christine was not the best sales person and didn’t have the most confidence but ultimately with a push and some coaching she was able to start making some big sales!

Within two months of working together Christine made three sales for $2,800, $1,200 and $500 a month – this blew away her previous biggest month.

Christine is now, 6 months later, consistently moving forward and making a minimum of 4K a month – she has also quit her day job to become a full time coach!

So the real answer is, anybody can be a client…from the greater depths of despair to a person who is currently very happy but simply is ready for the next level.

Client 2:

For example, Debra came to me after a few major crises in her life. In dealing with the loss of her son and her father in a short period of time, Debra wanted to take charge of her life again and start the business she has been dreaming about.

When a client is in a ‘transition period’ it is very important to understand there a current thought, feelings, wants and needs. Those are simply gained by asking them the questions… “Tell me about where you are at right now with X, Y and Z”.

With Debra we were able to set up a plan for moving forward. By doing this, Debra was able to visualize her next few months/years and because of this she was able to get her business off the ground in a quick way and get her life back in order by zeroing in on figuring out “who was the person she wanted to become” was.

So the real answer is, anybody can be a client…from the greater depths of despair to a person who is currently very happy but simply is ready for the next level.

Chapter 2: Is Coaching Right For You?

Before you go on, ask yourself –

Do I want to become Coach?

There are a few questions you should answer to help sort out your thoughts and plans before you take the plunge. Here’s how…

I’d like you to:

1. Write down WHY you are thinking of becoming a Coach.

2. List the key skills that you think are required to be an outstanding Coach. Not just a good coach, but an OUTSTANDING coach. Have you been coached yourself? Have you seen any great coaches in action? If so, what do they do?

3. Have a look over the material in this session again – especially the list that details some of the most popular reasons why people come to a Coach – ask yourself – “Without any formal training, could I help people who come to me with this problem? What life experience have I had in this field?”

Go down each and give yourself a rating of 1-10, with a 10 being you are an expert and could help this person without any training or further help. After you have completed that, go through ‘Key Skills of a Life Coach’ shown below and rate yourself 1-10 on each skill – 10 meaning you possess and excel in the skill.

Key skills of a Life Coach

Listening- There is more to listening than just hearing. Capturing the unsaid makes up the core of the listening skill.

Feedback- Be ready to give some constructive feedback without sounding partisan or critical.

Observing- Stay alert to the underlying factors so you can act on them. Analyzing- As a Life Coach you will come across several information which you

will have to analyze and draw conclusions from. Communication- Be comfortable with communicating yourself, whatever be the

medium. Timing- Be aware of when your client needs to move to the next stage. You

should also know when to ask what type of questions. Assimilation- Be prepared by integrating all your information. Organizing- If you are not organized, you are bound to get confused. Keep your

entire information and work load in an orderly fashion. Empathy- Be kind and compassionate to your client’s needs and problems. Ethics- Maintain your client’s information in confidentiality. Complimenting- Feel free to compliment your clients whenever necessary. It

makes them happy. Motivating- Encourage your clients and make them feel happy about what they

are doing. Empowering- Empower your clients to move ahead and succeed. Energetic- You have to be energetic because you need high levels of vigor to be

able to motivate. Positivism- You as a Life Coach should be positive in your approach, attitude,

tone and even writing. It is your positive outlook that spreads to your clients. Creative- You have to come up with a number of new ideas to help your clients.

Idea formation plays a major role in the career of a Life Coach. Thirst for knowledge- There are new things happening every minute and you,

as a Life Coach, have to be familiar with the changes around you. Update yourself with research and get familiar with new areas that you may encounter. This is so you can help your client with what he prefers to work on.

Now, put together everything that you scored below 7 for; remember you have to proactively work on these.

As for those skills where you scored over 7, it’s good news! That’s half the job done.

However, jot down these scores because you have to polish them up.

Surely you are a lot closer to understanding your potential and direction as a Coach.

Reality check

Be true to yourself. There’s no point dilly-dallying here if you are not honest with yourself.

Before you get going, ask yourself this:

“Can I build up on the skills where I scored less than 7?”

“Am I committed enough to tackle my weak points and master them?”

You have to be practical at this juncture – as a coach scoring less than 7 and not being motivated or able to upgrade is not a good sign.

Go to the next page to begin the test.

Finally I have one last test for you - rate yourself on the statements below.

And hey! Nobody peeks into this assessment of yours. So, it goes without saying- be honest!

1. People come to me for support and guidance. Relations, friends and colleagues turn to me for my opinion and advice on a number of matters.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Somewhat Agree Agree Strongly Agree 1 2 3 4 5

2. I am willing to put aside my needs and ambitions in the interest of helping others meet their needs and goals.


3. I can easily build a rapport with people I am meeting for the first time.


4. Every individual is different and I appreciate that. For that reason, I enjoy helping people find their own unique solutions.


5. People tell me I am a good listener.


6. I am very particular about standing by my strong sense of values and acting with integrity in both my personal and business life.


7. I think I have a sixth sense of good intuition.


8. Though I am not precisely where I want to be in life, I feel fairly balanced and I am consistently working on my own personal growth.


9. One of the goals on my list is to become an independent coach in my own business. Strongly Disagree Disagree Somewhat Agree Agree Strongly Agree

1 2 3 4 5

10. I am willing to dedicate myself to learn as much as I can about coaching and marketing and I am prepared to invest in myself to receive the proper training and experience.


After you calculate your score for this test, see where you rank in relation to the assessment given below.

A score of 31-50

Bravo! You must be already doing some coaching, right? All you have to do now is make it official. This score says that it is time you are paid for the coaching you do. That’s how close you are to becoming a professional Life Coach. Good going!

A score of 11-30

You might still be a little hesitant about being a coach. Or, do you just doubt yourself?

Ask yourself. What does your intuition say? Can you see yourself as a Life Coach? Do you fit the bill? Did you land here by chance or because you have a goal to pursue?

Clear your doubts by asking a mentor to help you direct your thoughts and give you focus and reason to continue this trail or backtrack.

A score of 0-10

Uh Oh! Looks like Coaching is not your cup of tea.

But, fret not. If you still think this is where you want to be then there could be a way out, or should we say ‘way in’…

Get yourself a coach. Not only will you gain tremendously from the improvement in the quality of your life, you can also pick up first-hand ‘tips and tricks’ from your coach on Coaching. Over a period of time, you are sure to decide if coaching is meant for you or not.

This quiz is adapted from The Coach Training Alliance.

Now that you have examined if you want to be a coach, and if you have what it takes to be a coach, let’s look at some typical coaching customs.

Every profession has a distinct set of unwritten laws and custom – as coaching is a relatively new profession these are still emerging and developing, below I have outlined a set of customs, policies and emerging standards that a professional coach follows. (Note that this list is not the ‘be all and end all’ and each coach adapts the principles depending on his or her niche and the client base).

Weekly Sessions

Coaches work weekly, or bi-weekly, with clients; we believe an ongoing, stable and nurturing relationship is the basis of coaching – particularly in the beginning stages. We encourage four to eight sessions a month, on average, to ensure effectiveness.

The Clients’ needs come first

Coaches only take on clients whom they believe they can truly help; we absolutely do not keep clients for whom we cannot do a great job.

We are paid in advance

Coaches are paid monthly, in advance, we rarely bill for each session.

We have our own coach

Coaches have a coach of their own; one cannot preach that which he does not follow! This ensures that we are the best person we can be while coaching, and particularly in the beginning of our careers, it teaches us coaching techniques from somebody with more experience.

Coaching, not therapy!

Coaches only work on coaching, we do not provide therapy, caretaking, financial planning etc, we help clients reach their goals and sometimes that involves referring them to a professional (i.e. psychologist, financial planner).

We are Confidential

Coaches do not talk about their clients to anyone. Period.

We have an international practice

Clients work can work with us on the telephone – from down the block to down the hemisphere. (My company currently works with people in 18 different countries)

We know other Coaches

We’ve gotten to know at least 5 to 10 other coaches overtime; this helps in mutual support, cross referring and professional development. This can be done through coaching seminars across the world or just picking up the phone to introduce yourself to another coach…email works also.

We are constantly evolving

We understand that the field of coaching is evolving, therefore we continue to evolve ourselves and our personal practice as well; this includes constantly improving both ourselves and our practices.

We are available

We recognize the importance of our relationship with our client and strive to keep ourselves available on all fronts; this includes emotionally, physically and mentally so we can fully assist our clients. We also recognize that in case of an emergency the client should be able to contact us – this level of contact ensures that the client has a sense of reliability and trust in us.

We protect relationships

Coaches complement the work of other professionals; we do not interfere with other professional relationships the client may have unless it is counter-productive to the client’s goal. If a client is changing coaches all parties are in full communication – coaching is about helping an individual, not competing for a client.

Now that you have had an overall look at the coaching industry and what it encompasses, I bet you are wondering – but how do I start?!

Chapter three will comprehensively take you through the process of building your coaching practice ground up.

Chapter 3: Getting Started!

So you have decided that you do indeed want to be a coach - Congratulations, and may a fulfilling and prosperous future await you!

Now come the overwhelming questions – How does coaching work?Do I need certification? How do I get clients?

Let’s start with how coaching works.

There are several ways in which coaching sessions can be run:

- 1 on 1 sessions on the telephone (most popular - 95% done this way)- 1 on 1 sessions in person (A great option if needed)- 1on 1 sessions using email (great for ongoing support)

One-on-one Life Coaching

There is no strict pattern to Life Coaching. In fact, a coach will schedule one that is tailor-made for the client.

The basic design consists of:

A complementary “Is this for you?” session lasting around 30 minutes An over-the-phone or in-person one-hour session to develop the foundation of a

coaching strategy A preliminary assessment to gauge work and life needs and determine goals Continuous, regular coaching sessions over phone or email Developing self-awareness, promoting creative thinking and building up practical

skills with exercises Execution of sessions in full confidentiality Quarterly evaluation, and review of strategies for constant backing and to meet

new requirements

Coaching sessions are always via the phone, usually scheduled weekly, lasting from 30 to 45 minutes. The length and frequency of sessions can vary to suit the client’s

purpose and convenience. My calls generally last 30 minutes - I feel after that it becomes a ‘lecture’ and can interfere with progressive forward movement.

Sessions may be focused on one specific goal or challenge that the client is facing, or on a much broader set of personal or professional issues.

If you have no prior coaching experience your first reaction here will be to assume that ‘in person’ sessions are the most effective – forget it.

Remember you are a coach, not a therapist, personal sessions promote dilly-dallying and make it easier to stray away from the goal at hand, and they also make your practice teeter on therapy! There is no doubt that telephone and email sessions are more effective, or more so, then personal sessions; however, deciding which medium to use is entirely up to you. From a marketing standpoint always think of yourself as a phone coach – this increases the size of your potential client base greatly and offers you the ability to make more money.

I prefer ‘tele-sessions’, since they are personal, yet do not interfere in the client’s life (note the definition of catalyst: A person that alters the speed of action and does not appear in the final product.) Remember that your goal is to have the client running independently – which is extremely difficult to achieve if you are constantly meeting in person.

Whatever be the medium, all sessions will be geared towards effectually recognizing the client’s aims, difficulties, plans and thoughts, and assigning fieldwork that will get the client going and bring him or her closer to all that he or she has always dreamed of achieving.

The second factor to decide is time – how often do you want to have sessions? This can be done per each individual client; however, it is most common to have a session per week. Typically, I offer one thirty minute tele-session a week along with email support and emergency access. Remember each session should be substantial and lead the client one step closer to the goal – once a week is good since it allows the client substantial time to complete any necessary homework.

Homework, in coaching, refers to fieldwork - which consists of action steps to move the client closer toward the goals and dream. Basically the client brings the agenda and the coach brings the coaching skills and action potential to create a partnership that moves the client forward. Here are some tips to developing a successful coaching practice:

Take a moment and figure out why you want to be a coach – get excited about it! Whether your motive is to change a life or to make your first $100,000, be excited about it and direct that excitement into your coaching design.

Get into a good mental, physical and emotional state – clients are entrusting their lives to you, they are expecting you to help them, fix them, motivate them – in order to do that you must be in order yourself. Make sure before you start coaching you feel great about your personal, physical and mental state. Be in touch with yourself and hold no emotional baggage.

Set a $100,000 annual earning goal and an action plan to get you there; a full time, professional coach should be earning this within several years – make sure you have a written action plan to get you to this number (i.e. how much do you need to be making per hour from X number of clients)

Remember coaching is your business – not just a passion! The most successful coaches treat coaching as a business venture, aim to coach professionals, managers, entrepreneurs; these are the people willing to invest $10,000-$15,000 a year in your services. If you are seeking more rewarding coaching, you could always pick up several lower paying clients, as long as it does not compromise the ultimate goal of your business.

Always deliver!!! Remember no matter how good your marketing is if your coaching is not very good then no client will stay with you – much less refer you. Deliver 120% and your business will thrive simply from great referrals.

Never under estimate your services and always upgrade your practice. Make sure that as you gain coaching experience you are progressively moving your practice forward – if you have coached 30 clients don’t feel bad upping your price, charge more then you think you are worth. People pay thousands and

thousands of dollars to upgrade their cars and to pay for apartments – all of which are useless if they are not at the point they wish to be at! You offer the most valuable result – whether it is a fulfilled and successful person or a thriving relationship or a healthy body.

Now take these tips into consideration and think of everything from what you want your coaching practice to be to how you are unique to who could possibly prove you with referrals!

To help you target your practice let’s mentally outline your business; brainstorm everything from who you want to coach to what you have to offer to how you are different.

Chapter 4: Who are you? Who do you coach?

Defining yourself and your market is a critical step for any successful business – you wouldn’t trust bypass surgery to a general practitioner, would you?!

If you try to become an expert in everything and gear your services to everyone, you may end up with no clients; in this section we will figure out which niche and audience is right for you.

Firstly you have to figure out WHY you are a coach and what you want for people. Be honest with yourself; whether you wish to be a coach for self-fulfillment, money or the independence of the profession there must be something you want for the people you are coaching.

Personally I specialize in life coaching and teaching others to become a life coach. How did I choose these niches? My background is in internet marketing and coaching, so both my level of interest and expertise is high in this area, I’m a coach in this area because I like to help people to experience the same success that I have had in these niches. Similarly, I get great pleasure out of helping people make the most out of their lives and current situations.

Let’s get specific here, why, in plain English are you a coach?

“I want to help people get the most out of their day”

“I want to help people further their career”

“I want to help couples in crisis”

“I want to help executives manage their time wisely”

The list is endless – and the more specific you get the better!

Secondly, WHO do you want to help most?

There is no harm in wanting to help everybody, as long as you are providing the type of help they need, however it does help to know what audience you feel a particular connection with – is it:

Housewives

Executives

Young Professionals

Elderly People

Entrepreneurs

Artists

Children

Do you want to coach recently divorced housewives? People looking to lose weight? Executives whose companies have recently doubled in size? For example, I look for individuals who have a strong desire to move forward in their personal lives.

Now that you have answered these two questions you can put a personal mission statement together that will keep you practice on track.

I want to help __________ with ___________.

Once you have figured this out, I suggest writing it down and posting it somewhere in plain sight – a small reminder in case you ever begin to feel lost. This isn’t to say that your practice and ideals cannot change over time – they should and they will, but it is good to keep a clear and simple idea of your goals, particularly in the beginning of your practice! As you learn and specialize more you can continue to adjust your mission statement until you feel you have settled on the perfect goal and are completely satisfied with it.

Before you go on fill out Form 2, our mission statement, on page __ of the Appendix, this will help you realize and focus your coaching niche!

Advantages of a Narrow Niche

The narrower you go the more uniform the challenges get – therefore you more easily become an expert in the specific field versus a generalist in several.

Marketing becomes a lot simpler when you have a particular group in mind; you can target all of your literature to a particular group, which will attract the attention of the majority of that group, instead of generalizing your literature and attracting stray information surfers (your goals is after all to pick up clients not simply get your information read).

Your material can be targeting to a certain group, i.e. your starter kit and welcome package, and therefore be more clear and reassuring for new clients.

Referrals! News spreads fast within a niche, so if your services are good the clients will be plenty.

You can work out where best to showcase your information – if you are offering business coaching you can put up an ad in the Wall Street Journal, instead of having to place general ads in several different papers.

It becomes easier to get paid advertising for your website and newsletter since there is a clear and direct audience base for a product (for example a vitamin company would more likely advertise with a personal fitness coach then with a general coach).

You achieve more credibility then somebody who ‘dabbles’ in a few different fields.

You can create specific products, services and programs that appeal to your group – special workshops, books, seminars – the list is endless!

Lastly, and most importantly, Passion! By tapping into, and specializing in your passion you can never lose interest in your job – in fact it’s hard to even consider something you feel passion for a job. If you are constantly enjoying what you are doing there is no doubt that you will succeed in your new profession.

Still having some trouble focusing? Below is a list of general and more specific coaching specialties that are seeing success in today’s market.

1. Lifestyle

-Personal Turnaround Coach-Transition Coach-Retirement Coach-Fresh Start Coach-Personal Time-Management Coach

-Student Coach-Teen Coach-New-Parent Coach-Goal Coach

2. Quality of Life-Nutrition/Diet Coach-Fitness/Personal Trainer-Recreation and Extra-Curricular Coach-Style Coach-Makeover Coach-Travel and Adventure Coach-Energy Coach-Stress Reduction Coach-Spiritual Coach-Over-All Wellness Coach-Organization coach

3. Relationship-Family Coach-Marriage Coach-Love Coach-Romance Coach-Intimacy coach-Divorce/Recovery Coach-Network Development Coach-Couples Coach-Codependency Coach

4. Personal Development-Addiction Recovery Coach-Integrity Coach-Life Balance coach-Independence Coach-Resolution coach-Attainments Coach-Special Skills Coac5. Success -Motivation Coach-Goals to Result Coach-Leverage Coach-Creativity Coach-Strategic Coach-Achievement Coach

-Attraction Coach-Career Coach-Money Coach

6. Corporate-Executive/CEO Coach-Corporate Coach-Management Coach-Leadership Coach-Human Resources Coach-Culture/Position Shift Coach-Staff/Employee Coach

7. Small Business-Business Start-Up Coach-Entrepreneur Coach-Business Turnaround Coach-Marketing Coach-Business Financial Coach-Networking Coach-Budgeting Coach-Business Growth Coach

8. Sales-Sales Coach-Marketing Coach-Public Relations Coach-Personal Marketing Coach-Pricing Strategy Coach-Brand Management Coach -Buzz-Development Coach-Advertising Coach

9. Special Markets -Coaches Coach/Mentor-Health Professionals Coach-Law Coach-Speaking Coach-Therapist/Counselor Coach-Real Estate Coach-Gay/Lesbian Coach-Financial Services Professional Coach-Single Parent Coach-Software Developer/Consultant Coach

10. Special Skills-Communication Coach-Cyber Coach-Computer Coach-Personal Organization Coach-Writing Coach-Language Coach-Diagnostic Coach-Prognosis Coach

Most successful coaches combine several of these areas within their practice, for example a corporate coach may focus on time-management and balancing, and a fitness coach may focus on exercise and nutrition. Hopefully after reading through this you have a better idea of how coaching can be adapted to any area of an individual's life.

Understanding what you have to offer (confidence in yourself)

Keep in mind the most important thing you have as a coach is confidence – trial sessions, complimentary sessions, mentoring; all these are geared towards building your confidence and making you feel like a coach. However, it is important to understand that even without these - you have a lot to offer!

Here are some things that everyone, if willing, can offer:

Listening: The most important skill a great coach should have is actively listening – which all of us can do without training. When listening to a client you are taking in what he or she is saying and making sure it is moving forward and following the needs the client has voiced. It is not often that people have the chance to speak without having to worry about being boring, taking up too much of the conversation etc., so simply by being there and taking in what the client is saying you are being a great coach. (For more listening tips check out Killer Coaching, on page _ of the Appendix)

A Reason to Speak People sometimes clear up their own problems simply by speaking about them – the first step to finding a solution is voicing the actual problem, in this case, you are giving the client a reason to speak by being there and requesting they voice their concerns etc.

A Deadline- Accountability It’s funny how much more people will get done if they know somebody is expecting them to have it done! By being there you are a constant reminder of the client’s priorities and what he or she must get done – you will after all be asking them every week whether they did it or not.

An Objective Opinion You may be able to see a different approach to the client’s problem or a unique solution – you are after all a fresh mind looking at the problem, and there may be an obvious approach that somebody directly involved could easily miss.

Your Personal Experience As I mentioned earlier if there is something you are abnormally good at, there is somebody out there that needs help in that area! This applies to both skills and experiences; your life experience, whether it involves dealing with experiences or proper training can always be applied to help others.

As a coach you are giving every bit of yourself – from your experience to your compassion to your problem solving skills, the key is to have confidence in yourself as a person who is willing and able to help others - the necessary experience will follow!

The State of the Coaching Business Today

We call it Coaching Business 1.0.

Currently, if you'd like to start, run, and grow a successful coaching business you need to go to a dozen or so different companies/people to get what you need. (see below)

That's very time consuming, difficult, complex, and most of all expensive.

Questions like this are asked:

How do I start?Where do I go?What do I need?Who do I trust?

Many people in 'Coaching Business 1.0' were failing and we knew there needed to be a change.

Here's What Coaching Business 1.0 Looks Like

Introducing Coaching Business 2.0

My team and I spent 14 months creating Total Coach, the world's 1st 'All In One 'Coaching Business Solution.

Everything you need to start, run, and grow a profitable coaching business all in 1 place.

Instead of spending thousands and thousands of dollars in tools/training, now you get to start your business with our 30 day free test drive and see it's the right fit for you.

The diagram below is 'Coaching Business 2.0'

ConclusionI'm just like you. I had a passion to help others and wanted a successful business.

It took me 7 years to figure it out. Let me give you the shortcut.

In Total Coach, you'll receive everything you need to start, run, and grow your business.

Your website can be live in as little as 30 minutes from right now.

You can join us at our live trainings held right now.

Total Coach is about changing people's lives. We'd love to have the opportunity to help you help more people.

Go here http://www.totalcoach and learn more about the solution everyone is raving about.

Mike Litman

"I spent over $80,000 the past 3 years trying to figure out how to start and grow a coaching business. I got nowhere. Within 30 days of using Total Coach my entire life changed. I launched my website; I was generating traffic and got 3 new clients. Simply amazing."

Robin Harpe- Gainesville, Florida

"I'm the author of 25 books--3 of them best sellers--and over the last 20 years I've helped many people improve their fitness and health. I wanted to know how to use the internet to reach more people, create more products, and grow my business even more.

Total Coach gave me the vision, the training, the tools and support to take my business to a whole new level.

What a great solution for people with a desire to help others."

"I've been a public speaker for the last 3 years and wanted to grow my business even more.I knew I should be using the Internet to do that, though I didn't know how. Using Total Coach's training and tools my business is taking off. I understand how to market and sell myself better as well. Thank you Total Coach."

Jim Ryan,

"I desperately wanted to leave pharmaceutical sales after 10 years, though I wasn't exactly sure what to do. With Total Coach's help I got clear on my passion and launched my publicspeaking coaching business.

In my 3rd month, I earned over $4,100, conducted my own seminar and have built a newsletter of 500 subscribers. Total Coach is the real deal."

Kerrie Espuga

Life Coaching - How To Turn Your Passion Into Profit

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