How to start a business as a life coach

You should obtain permits, brand your business, choose a business structure, and market your business in order to start a business as a life coach. A huge part of being a life coach is making sure you have proper qualifications, so before starting your business, be sure to have solid reasoning behind what makes you qualified to be a life coach.

Life coach vs Therapist

A life coach is an individual who helps others by focusing on setting and achieving goals, while a therapist is a healthcare professional who helps others using various mental health treatments and emotional healing. In other words, therapists focus on "why" certain behavioral patterns occur, and life coaches work on "how" to work toward a goal.

What companies hire life coaches?

Companies in journalism, content creation, and wellness hire life coaches. Some large publications in journalism hire life coaches to write pieces for their publications. Many journals have specific columns for life coaches. Similarly, some blogs may feature life coaches as part of their staff of writers; this could include large websites like Buzzfeed.

What degree do you need to be a life coach?

You do not need a degree to be a life coach. However, a bachelor's degree in psychology, sociology, or another related field, could be helpful in developing some of the skills and knowledge needed to be a good life coach.

What is the role of a life coach?

The role of a life coach is to counsel and encourage clients through any challenges. Life coaches are responsible for helping guide clients to reach their goals, whether personal or professional. As a life coach, you help people identify areas they want to improve and how to improve them. You guide your client through their journey helping them see the bigger picture while meeting small goals along the way.

How To Become A Life Coach: What It Is and Career Path

What is a life coach and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.

Life coaches equip clients with mental frameworks and regulatory techniques to live better lives. Sometimes, they recommend supplementary treatment to aid the attainment of goals outlined during consultations.

They work with people of all ages and in all stages of life and can find employment in various areas such as residential care, treatment centers, and companies. Also, they teach useful emotional and behavioral regulation techniques. Additionally, they interact with clients to develop action plans that revolve around the actualization of their ambition. Lastly, they help clients interpret desires and create goals.

To become a life coach, you need at least a bachelor's degree in psychology, social development, or a related field. Employers may require a coaching certification. Skills such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and empathy ensure success in this role. You must be able to encourage introspection, connection, and ambition. Life coaches earn an average annual salary of $41,664. It varies between $27,000 and $65,000.

What general advice would you give to a Life Coach?

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.

Dr., Assistant Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, Vanguard University

Opportunities come in many different shapes and sizes, but they are still out there. Whether you are seeking to land a job in education or the non-profit sector, you will need to familiarize yourself and get used to all things digital, for the sake of communicating effectively. The younger your student or service partner's mindset, the more digitally savvy you will need to be, especially in the classroom and in the non-profit world.

ScoreLife CoachUS Average

Salary

3.3

Avg. Salary $41,947

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

8.0

Growth Rate 20%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%

Asian 5.38%

Black or African American 8.68%

Hispanic or Latino 12.95%

Unknown 6.11%

White 66.65%

Gender

female 67.50%

male 32.50%

Age - 34

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 34

Stress Level

8.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.4

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

7.3

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a life coach

Explore life coach education requirements

Most common life coach degrees

Bachelor's

54.7 %

Master's

20.6 %

Associate

12.7 %

Start to develop specific life coach skills

Skills	Percentages
Relationship Building	17.04%
Mental Health	9.56%
Crisis Intervention	5.81%
Community Resources	5.57%
Developmental Disabilities	5.48%

Complete relevant life coach training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New life coaches learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a life coach based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real life coach resumes.

Research life coach duties and responsibilities

Assist clients with personal and professional coaching, copywriting, managing, marketing and promotions.
Incorporate MBTI and other coaching tools to help executives and sales teams achieve increase productivity.
Train and experience at managing challenging classroom situations using CPI methods and positive behavior reinforcement practices.
Perform additional responsibilities as deemed appropriate by school and district supervisors such as organizing and managing elementary school mathematics information nights.

Prepare your life coach resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your life coach resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a life coach resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Life Coach Resume templates

Build a professional Life Coach resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Life Coach resume.

Apply for life coach jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a life coach job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do life coaches rate their job?

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Life Coach reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020

Pros

Support of special needs adults at their place of employment.

Cons

There is nothing that I dislike.

A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2019