Coaching Blog

How to Become a Coach

Posted by Julia Stewart

Confident CoachThere's never been a better time to become a business or life coach.

There's also never been a more confusing time to become a coach! It used to be that you could rely on the better coaching schools and professional associations to provide solid information on how to become a coach and that is still true.

But these days, "black hat coaching schools" are buying website addresses that sound like well-known coach training schools and coach certifying organizations and passing themselves off as the the real thing. How do you know who to believe?

Add that to competitive marketing among the hundreds of legitimate coach training schools, plus the lack of universal standards in the coaching profession and the new coach is often confused, at best, and paralyzed with uncertainty, at worst. Confusion and paralysis are the enemies of success!

Get clarity, confidence and the information you need, without all the hype and distractions.

I designed the "How to Become a Coach" mini-course for people who are considering becoming professional business or life coaches and need clarity in order to make the best decision. If that's you, then I invite you to join us. (Don't worry, School of Coaching Mastery isn't a fit for every coach, so I won't twist your arm to become a member.)

This 4-hour "How to Become a Coach" course is free and meets in two 2-hour virtual classes. You'll attend our unique eClass system, which combines the best of teleconference classes with the best of webinar training. You can do everything in our virtual classes that you can do in a live class (except get stuck in traffic on the way).

Get answers to questions like these:

  • How can I start attracting clients quickly?
  • What do I really need to get started as a coach?
  • What can I charge?
  • How soon can I make a living?
  • How do I know what niche or specialty to offer?
  • Do I really need coach training?
  • How long will it take me to become a masterful coach?
  • How do I know which coaching websites are legitimate?
  • Do I need coach certification? Which one?
  • Should I have my own coach?
  • What are my next steps?

You'll leave with clarity, a plan of action, a path and your next steps.

Find out when the next course is and register for How to Become a Coach.

Topics: coach training, become a life coach, become a coach, become a business coach, webinar, becoming a certified coach, coach training schools, coaching schools, how to become a coach

6 Reasons to Run Screaming From a Coach Training School

Posted by Julia Stewart

Red Flag Coaching schools are businesses and sometimes over-state what you, the coaching student will experience, if you join them.

And although most coaching schools are honorable, there is probably no school that can give you everything you want exactly how and when you want it.

Coaching is all about personal responsibility, so if you look at getting what you want as your responsibility (Or at least your shared responsibility), you can always find ways to work with a good coaching school that will leave you saying, I'm so glad I started my coaching career by attending XYZ Coaching School. 

That said, there are some big red flags to watch for when choosing the school where you get your coach training and it's your responsibility to check them out. Here are a few:



 
Red FlagDon’t think for a minute that you can learn everything you need to succeed as a coach in one weekend or in a few hours or days, or even two weeks, no matter how intensive the program. Shy away from promises like these. Short training programs rely on 'systems', 'formulas' or 'templates' that only work in very limited circumstances and are useless in the real world of coaching. Most comprehensive coach training programs take about 2 years to complete. However, you can start attracting paying clients even before you graduate or get certified.

Red Flag

      Think twice about a coaching school that paints a too-good-to-be-true picture of what your coaching business will be like in the first few months. If you want to work part time, make hundreds of dollars per hour, take several weeks of vacation per year, only work when you want to and still make hundreds of thousands of dollars each year, this is indeed possible, but you must work up to it and it doesn’t happen for every coach. Expect to develop your ideal coaching business over time and commit yourself to actively creating it. The best school for you will assist you in succeeding with comprehensive tools that meet your needs.

                                                                                                                                                                 Red FlagMoney-back guarantees sound great, but they can be a bad deal for the coach/student, because they give a false impression that you have nothing to lose. The wrong school for you will get in the way of your success and can cost you far more than the price of tuition. Most reputable schools will expect a strong commitment from you to your own success, which you demonstrate with your willingness to invest in yourself. Because nobody really wants their money back from their coaching school. What they want is a successful coaching business, as quickly as possible. Look for a school that will give you a “value back” promise, which simply states that they will do everything they can to assist your success, as long as you are committed and trying your best.

     Red Flag Coaching SchoolRun away fast from any coaching school that promises you'll make a six figure income in a year or less. What you earn as a coach is ultimately up to you, so any school that offers a dollar amount it pulling that number out of thin air.

                                                                                                                                                           Red Flag            

Watch out for the coaching school that feels overly “slick” or commercial. Some of them are. Look for a commitment to quality and a willingness to give you what you need, not a prefab learning structure that forces you into a model or mold that may not fit for you.

Black Hat

Run like crazy from "Black Hat" coaching schools. These "fly by night" companies may have internet addresses that look and sound like reputable coach training schools or professional coach certifying organizations. In some cases, they may use "black hat" practices, such as buying links or email lists (SPAM) to promote their companies quickly. Google often identifies and shuts down black hatters on the internet in a matter of months, so a "red flag" that you're dealing with a "black hat" is that their URL (online address) is less than a year old and/or it's set to expire in a year or less.

The internet empowers those who use it.

 

Look up the URL of your school at a domain registrar, like GoDaddy.com and check the "Who Is" info for it, to find out how long the domain is registered. You can investigate further by Googling the name of the contact person in the registration. Look for evidence that they have been in the coaching business at least for several years. Note whether they are mentioned in lawsuits on the internet.

Use the "search" functions at Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and look for the profiles of the school, the owner, or the contact person associated with the domain registration. Also look for current and former students on social networking sites, such as these, and find out if they are happy with their schools. Even a few minutes' investigation can be very enlightening.

Last but not least, check the school's own site for evidence that the owners and instructors are qualified to teach professional coaching skills. Just because they have experience teaching something else, doesn't mean they know how to teach you to be a successful professional business or life coach. 

There are plenty of good coach-training schools, so you can avoid the both the red flags and the black hats. If you'd like more informations, plus a table that compares several of the better schools...

Become a Coach eBook  Download the free Become a Coach! eBook. 

Red Flag photo by archeoastronomia. Black Hat graphic by Joe Shlabotnik. Both from Flickr Creative Commons.

 

 

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Topics: coaching business, coach training, Coach Training Programs, coach training schools, coaching schools, coach training school, money-back guarantee, black hat

Becoming a Coach: A Simple Way to Choose Your Path

Posted by Julia Stewart

Confused coach

Where should you start when becoming a coach?


The days of simply printing up business cards and calling yourself a coach are over. Large scale surveys of professional coaches show that coaches without coach-specific training and certification are less successful than trained and certified coaches and are more likely to quit the profession within a few years. That can cost you tens of thousands of dollars in lost income, as well as the fun and fulfillment that comes from succeeding as a coach and helping your clients achieve what they really want.


There are hundreds of coaching schools to choose from, some that are excellent and some that are not so excellent, so choosing one can be an overwhelming decision.

I suggest you begin your quest for the perfect coach training school for you by first deciding which coach certification you want.

Why? Because there are fewer coach certifications to choose from and that choice will narrow down your options for coach training, making it easier to decide.

I also suggest you get certified by an independent not-for-profit certifying organization.

Why? A certification in almost any profession that comes from an independent certifying organization that is not-for-profit is usually seen as less-biased and therefore more respected than a certification that comes from the school where you trained. Standards vary between schools. In fact, there are a couple of training programs that claim to train and certify professional coaches in only a few days! Don’t be taken in by that promise.

The two most recognized independent not-for-profit coaching organizations that certify professional coaches are the IAC and the ICF.

We suggest you visit both the IAC and ICF websites to see which one you feel most drawn to. Both organizations have about the same number of subscribers and are well respected, but their certification processes are completely different. You can also view lists of licensed or approved coaching schools on each site. Choose a school that prepares you for the certification of your choice. Simple!

Become a Coach eBook Have More Questions About Becoming a Coach?

Download our free Become a Coach eBook. It contains a free 8-hour coach training program, too!

Copyright, Julia Stewart, 2009

Topics: become a life coach, become a coach, become a business coach, coach training schools

Coach Training Schools: Does Yours Measure Up?

Posted by Julia Stewart

 

Here are just a few ways we think we surpass other coaching schools. Does yours compare?

1. All of our instructors are IAC Certified Coaches (considered the Gold Standard in Coach Certification). They are all masters in their unique areas and most importantly, they are incredible teachers. Other coaching schools staff their faculties with recent grads and uncertified coaches who are new to coaching and a few schools even have volunteers teaching their classes! SCM pays our instructors more than any other school we know of, because masterful coaches are worth more.

 

2. We prepare our student/coaches for IAC Certification. The founder of the coaching profession, the late Thomas J. Leonard, founded the IAC in 2003 to raise the quality of coaching worldwide. Up until then, there was no independent certifying organization that was certifying coaches at a standard that Thomas believed was necessary for coaching to be highly effective. Why would you prepare for anything else?

 

3. We prepare our student/coaches for mastery, not just competence. As Thomas said, “Competence will keep you from getting sued. Mastery will attract people, opportunities and success to you like a magnet.” Most coaching schools prepare you for competency. Why stop there?

 

3. Our classes are limited to just 12 students each, because that allows every coach to practice coaching in class and get feedback from their peers and their master instructor (both written and verbal feedback from the instructor). You won’t get lost in a crowd at SCM.

 

4. We use the best technology to deliver the best teaching, learning and coaching. Most of our classes are virtual and combine the ease and convenience of teleconferencing with the up-to-date benefits of online learning. We can do anything in our virtual classrooms that you can do in a live classroom, except shake hands. Plus virtual learning saves you money and time and it is way kinder to the environment than traveling to meet in person.

 

5. Our students are amazing. You can imagine the level of passion, dedication and talent it takes to commit to coaching in front of experts day after day. If you want to join a community of peers who are smart, talented, fast learners, you’ve found it. And if that sounds like you, we need to talk.

 

6. All our classes are recorded on audio and some on video, as well. You can listen as often as you like and hear yourself coach - a priceless way to learn. Plus, class recordings are posted to our private, members-only area, so you can hear each class, taught by every instructor, 24/7. You’ll learn something different from each one. This is an amazing value add. (download to your iPod to make it even more convenient)

 

7. All our original written materials are included with your live training package in the form of written Coaching Guides (.PDF format). There are no text books to buy, as there are with some coaching schools. We also share materials in the form of audio and video recordings, power-point presentations and coaching demonstrations and practice. Regardless of your personal learning style, you’ll find options for maximizing your own learning, here.

 

8. Our Full Coach Training Program includes three levels of training: Foundations for the new coach, Mastery training for the intermediate coach, and Advanced training for the masterful coach, who is ready to create the next iteration of coaching mastery. We also provide personal development training and business training, so you master yourself, as well as your business.

 

9. We’re here to speed your learning, not just keep you busy. If you ask master coaches, most of them will tell you of the hours of unproductive time they spent in boring coaching classes that they were required to take in order to graduate or qualify for a particular certification. None of our classes are required for certification, because our certifications are based on the quality of your coaching, period. If you want to take them all, that’s great. If not, that’s fine also.

 

10. Our one requirement, if you want SCM Graduation, is that you complete our Mastermind Seminar after becoming certified.This is where you spread your wings as a master coach and invent, integrate, connect, deliver, share, streamline, upgrade and/or teach your unique coaching brilliance through a final coaching project that will establish you as a true master in your unique area of coaching and will launch (or re-launch) your coaching business.

 

“Becoming a masterful coach is like diving off a cliff over and over until you grow wings. Fortunately, there are never any broken bones!” – Julia Stewart, SCM President

 

Still curious about School of Coaching Mastery? That’s a good sign. Call 1-877-224-2780 or email to make an appointment with our Enrollment Advisor, Elizabeth Nofziger, IAC-CC , or with SCM President, Julia Stewart, IAC-CC

Topics: become a life coach, School of Coaching Mastery, become a coach, Coach Training Programs, SCM, Become a Certified Coach, coach training schools, Mastery Coach, what does it take to become a coach, IAC

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