When I began exploring coaching in 2006 I knew I had a calling deep within me.  I graduated from Liberty University with a degree in religion and thought I was going to be the pastor of a church.  However, counseling is not my thing.  As a pastor, counseling is one of the main things I would be doing during the day.   I found that  I was to honest, and most people do not want you to be honest with them.  I like to work with people who want to accomplish goals, people who have vision, and want to lead others.  I can not work with people who just want me to tell them I love them and it will get better.  Because I know it won’t get better unless they do something to make it better.

What Is Your Back Ground?

I mentioned above about having a niche.  Everyone is an expert at something.   My father was a Caterpillar Tractor Mechanic.  He was payed more money than anyone I ever met for working on a tractor.  Why? Because that was his niche.  He worked on nothing else, and he was the best.  What Are You Good At?  You can be a coach in any field.  You can get started with a blog like I did then expand into coaching.  I’ll help you set up a web address if you want one, just email me at steve (at) pinnaclebalance dot com and let me know you want to set up a blog and I’ll help you get started.

I Don’t Have A Degree.

So what!  Like I said above, “Everyone is an expert at something.”  Can you cook, scrapbook, plan parties, help the grieving, or stay married for 15 years?  Do you paint, craft, mechanic, sell anything, or just love people?  Do you know a lot about beer, wine, spirits, food, pastries, or anything else? Do you see what I am getting at. You know something about something so you can be a coach.

Do you like to be stretched and challenged?

Many or maybe all of the sites that advertise coach training tell you that you need to be trained to be a life coach.  There is no rule that says you have to get formal training to be a coach.  They want to sell you the training so they can make money.  Instead, I suggest getting several books and reading them to help get started.

First is, Becoming a Professional Life Coach, This gives you a great start to learning the coaching profession.  Next is, “Four Steps to Building a Profitable Coaching Practice” by Deborah Brown-Volkman.  This was the first book I ever bought.  It will get you started in the art of building and marketing your business and most importantly choosing who you coach. Third is The Coaching Starter Kit: Everything You Need to Launch and Expand Your Coaching Practicefrom Coachville.com.  While this book has a long name it has ideas, reports, documents, and even coaching contracts you can use to get started in your business.  Finally, if you need help asking question or ideas for developing documents  Total Life Coaching: 50+ Life Lessons, Skills, and Techniques to Enhance Your Practice…and Your Life again by Patrick Williams.  Yes it has another long name, but can be invaluable to help you get your practice started.

I hope this has given you a look at coaching and instilled the belief that you can become a coach. If you have question feel free to contact me from our about page.  Or if you are looking to start a coaching relationship fill out our coaching questionnaire for a free getting to know you session.