Becoming a life coach in Australia seems like a great career choice, where you can help people identify their struggles and help them achieve their goals.
In this guide, I’m going to uncover how, in just 7 steps, you can become an Australian life coach. Whilst others are long and complicated, I wanted to provide a more simplified approach. Let’s keep it easy!
Life coaching is an excellent career choice, because you’ll be helping a lot of people. It’s much like what I do with WorkWithJoshua.com – helping thousands each month discover the power of building an online business from home.
If you’re a great motivator and wants to inspire others, then life and personal coaching is an excellent avenue to explore. If you’ve always wanted to discover how to become a life coach in Australia and build a successful business, then this guide is for you.
It’s time to begin…
1. Start with why
I’ve led with this first, because most people aren’t quite sure precisely why they want to become a life coach. Perhaps they have a rough idea – help spread positivity, improve people’s lives or simply move away from their frustrating job.
Life coaching isn’t as simple as it seems, with many people dreaming of life coaching as a ful
Here’s what I would do:
- Write down all the reasons why you want to become a certified life coach
- Look at exactly why you’re intending to achieve over the next 10 to 15 years
- See if life coaching is a match for your own financial pursuits and life goals
- Analyze if you’re just buying the hype, or are committed towards this career
I write that since most people who
That said, courses are about how you personally can be impacted first and foremost, before your clients. As they say, look after yourself, before you look after the world.
2. Find a course provider
There are numerous NLP course providers right here in Australia that help people get certified as life coaches. Most are reputable whilst some aren’t so popular.
To choose a suitable college or training organization, really dig deep into their social media channels, online reviews and reputation. If you need a recommendation, simply holla at me as I know a few companies in Sydney, Melbourne and on the Gold Coast.
What I would look for is the certifications and accreditations. This is very important, both for client attraction but also for insurance purposes. Whilst there is a range of coaching certifications available, they do differ in their reputation.
My best recommendation is any college accredited with the International Coach Federation (ICF), as they are very respected and recognized in this self help industry.
I’ve noticed a few ‘training colleges’ that literally print off their own certificates, literally created by themselves! This is a huge warning, and even if they claim there is a governing body…it’s usually the company themselves.
Also, online coaching courses are really to be avoided, because you need to work on your face-to-face coaching skills more than anything. To my best knowledge, there is still no online school certified by the ICF.
Offline courses are the best, and should run for at least 3 months. You’ll have an intensive component, plus an ongoing component that I’ll elaborate on further.
3. Hone in on your skills
Right! So you’ve laid out thousands of dollars and have taken that course. Great! Whilst you’re certified (hopefully by the ICF) it’s time to put what you learn into action.
This is a crucial step (just as crucial as finding the right college) because the best coaches are those who are confident, help their clients get results and continue to build their businesses. It all comes down to one aspect: PRACTICE.
Here’s how:
- You can start practicing on yourself. I’ll admit it: I do this all the time. 😅
- With students from the course you just took, you can all practice together
- You can practice with friends and family, though not all be receptive of this
- Lastly, as you’re starting out, you can offer heavily discounted public rates
This can be a tough step as you’re really putting yourself out there as a new life coach. You went through the training, but this isn’t the theory anymore…this is real life! You’ll need to be mentally and emotionally prepared for the range of client issues that arise.
4. Decide on your angle
Now that you’ve taken your training and you’ve perhaps landed a few clients, it’s time to actually dictate the type of life coaching business you want. Because there are many angles in which you can go with.
You might like to coach basketball athletes like a close friend of mine did, in which case you’re targeting that audience exclusively. Likewise, clients who are struggling to quit smoking might be more your thing, since you perhaps quit smoking at the NLP course you attended.
Either way, you really can’t be all things to all people. Your clients as a life coach will otherwise come in all shapes and sizes. Taking on any type of client is akin to walking into Kmart and buying every single type of item.
As a snapshot, we could:
- Decide on the age & gender of your clients. For example: 35 to 50 and female
- Define common trends, such as business struggles or relationship problems
- Work out how willing they would be to change their life with your assistance
- Set on average the number of coaching sessions needed to achieve results
Taking a pen and paper to work out your ideal client is a recommended approach. In fact, it’s a formula in itself, which sets yourself up for long term business success, not just for your clients, but for yourself as well!
5. Launch your life coaching business
Right, let’s take a minute to recap what we have already done.
- We have decided that this would indeed be the right business model for us
- We have registered with a certified training college to take a life coaching course
- After finishing the course, we have practiced our skills for months and months
- Through that process, we have also defined our ideal coaching client
….and now it’s time to launch this baby!
Starting your own life coaching business is the dream of many graduates. It’s where the rubber meets the road, where you can positively impact hundreds of lives throughout your career.
Here’s what we’ll need to do:
- Create a suitable business name, though some people just choose to use their personal names when getting started
- Set up a website that showcases exactly what you do. You might wish to put some testimonials on here if you have some already.
- Define your coaching packages. We already know our client, so we need to dictate the pricing and length of service, though it can differ from client to client at times.
- Work out how you’ll accept payments. It’s always a better approach to have payments organized in advanced, as handing over cash before starting a coaching session is always a little awkward.
- Gain feedback from your clients, because this is only going to improve your skills and help you impact more lives over the long time.
You’ll also need to look at some other aspects such as if
6. Invest into your marketing
Marketing is the lifeblood of any business. Unless you have a solid marketing plan, becoming a life coach in Australia could be a small journey for yourself.
There are many ways to attract the perfect life coaching client to your new enterprise. This might be your first time ever in a business of your own, so let’s look at some options.
For free marketing, we have:
- Outreaches within social media groups and networking opportunities
- Blogging where you share really cool content that you’ve learned (Hint Hint)
- Using your personal network to gain referrals, especially within your niche
- Collaborations with other Australian life coaches who are hiring more staff
On that paid side, we have:
- Running Facebook ads to a landing page so you can attract potential clients
- Personal branding through magazines, newspapers and television shows
- Paid speaking gigs where you showcase why self-help is vital for individuals
- Using Instagram influencers to collaborate for a win-win opportunity
Obviously, we want to start with the free marketing approach initially. This is because the course you took probably lowered your budget and starting capital immensely.
If you use both approaches, you should see your coaching calendar full or close to full within 6 to 12 months. Of course, this is provided you continue to deliver results for clients, gain referrals and gain more clients, either through cold or warm outreach campaigns.
7. Scale your business for the long term
We’re not done yet! Our last job is to scale our business. We’ve taken the course to invest into ourselves, practiced for what seems like forever, and now it’s time to earn ourselves (hopefully a full-time income.
Many life coaches in Australia don’t actually earn a full-time income. It’s a tough industry at times, because many people are skeptical of ‘coaches’ who took a weekend course.
Remember why I stated that you should only pick courses that are certified by the International Coaching Federation? This is why, so you can avoid the weekend warrior fraternity. Many of these dodgy colleges claim to teach people how to become a life coach, but just don’t quite meet those expectations.
But you’re passed that, because you educated yourself properly. You’re one of the smarter few. Well done!
I would recommend that you focus on scaling your business for long term success. You may wish to hire more coaches or invest into launching a book, podcast or even a TV show. This shows your clients that you’re serious about changing their lives, but not only that, also shows a constant stream of people who you’ve previously helped.
That, to me is the ultimate victory – when you change lives. I’ve positively impacted thousands of lives right here on the blog, as one of Australia’s top bloggers. You can find out about my partnerships here and the potential to work together.
A summary of Life Coaching in Australia
Becoming a life coach in Australia is one of the most rewarding businesses around. Unfortunately, the industry sometimes gets a bad name for itself. That said, most industries have some lemons that cause others to get affected.
Shop around for a training college or institution that really helps you become the most skilled as a life coach can be. There are numerous colleges in Australia that I can vouch for.
Life coaching is a journey not just for your clients, but for you as well. Pace yourself, invest for the long term and work on building that empire.
If you have any further ideas on how everyday Australians can build their own business and personal development brand through this business model, then you’re welcome to share your insights below. Likewise – ask me a question! 😃
