What Is An Online Life Coach?

Updated June 4, 2020

Stop Press! With everything that has been going on in the world recently, you may have thought that now is a perfect time to help people cope with all the changes and to move forward with their lives. Are you the person who is always giving constructive advice to family and friends? What if you could make money doing this? You may have what it takes to be a life coach. This profession is going into high gear right now and one of the best things about it is that it can be done from a remote location, anywhere in the world.

With the emergence of this amazing platform called ZOOM, it is now possible to have client meetings, do video conferencing, online meetings, and webinars completely remotely. Just in time!

So, what is an online life coach exactly?

Table of Contents

What is an Online Life Coach

A life coach is someone who has the experience and skills to help you analyze where you are in life and what you want to achieve by listening and asking you the right questions, identifying the habits and belief patterns that may be holding you back from your goals, then giving you a realistic, actionable plan to achieve those goals. This can successfully be done online and if fact many people are making a living by doing just this.

The people who hire life coaches are looking for someone to be accountable to in their journey to improve their lives, whether it be personal, professional, or relationship related. They are looking for a coach to give them the tools they need to move forward in a positive and constructive way that produces results.

Given the climate of recent life-altering events, the need for life coaches is just going to grow. Our social patterns have changed and will continue to do so. If you think people had trouble making a physical appointment in the past, just imagine how reluctant they will be to do so now. Those who need life coaches are going to want to communicate and interact online.

The difference between counseling and coaching

It is important to note the difference between these two so as to avoid any confusion.

A counselor is someone who has a Master’s Degree in Psychology, Social Work, or similar discipline. They have been trained in how to deal with mental health issues such as bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, and so on. They have studied subjects such as family systems, ethics, and human sexuality and have had many hours of supervised training.

A life coach, however, is not required to have any formal training. Anyone can call themselves a life coach and set themselves up in business. This is a double-edged sword, of course.

Who can become an Online Life Coach

Well, you know how awesome I think our generation is by now, and, in my opinion, we are perfect for online life coaching. More so than ever, I believe that now is our time to step forward and shine to help this world and the people in it, to move into the future armed with good advice, support and a solid actionable plan for their business or their life.

With our life experiences and the wisdom that we have accumulated, I can’t see anyone better qualified to help people with a variety of needs/issues. In our time we have had careers, owned businesses (perhaps several), raised families, been married (and/or divorced) or had long-term significant other relationships, faced financial challenges and difficulties, cared for aging parents and have simply experienced a multitude of human emotions. Would you agree?

Qualities needed to be a life coach:

compassion
patience
objectivity
good listening skills
creative problem-solving skills
positive and upbeat
be realistic
passion for helping others improve their lives

Types of Coaching

There are so many choices and it is a good idea to find your own niche market/audience, depending upon your interests, background, and experience. Some ideas are:

relationship coaching
retirement coaching
health/fitness coaching
business /executive coaching
time management coaching
career coaching
spiritual coaching
in-home caregivers coaching
ex-pat coaching

What are the benefits

The benefits to you, as a coach, are huge and include all the perks of a home-based business:

no commute
set your own hours
low-cost to set up
create income without leaving home
feel good about helping others

The benefits to your clients are enormous as well:

no need for a time-consuming drive to your office
many people feel more comfortable in the privacy of their own home
cost-effective – less expense speaking to you online or on the phone
good for clients who, for whatever reason, may not be able to leave their home
quiet time before and after a coaching session without having to be distracted by driving

People who could benefit from online coaching

those who need to be uplifted, encouraged, and redirected with goal-oriented actionable plans in their life, their relationship, or their business after the recent world-changing events. Many people will now be needing to explore new avenues and will need a professional to guide them on the journey
corporate executives with minimal time available
people with physical challenges
small business owners – can’t leave that small growing biz but could have a remote consultation
busy stay-at-home moms – no need to get a sitter and can have a coaching session during naptime
people in remote locations – too far to come for a face to face visit
people looking to emigrate to other countries – ex-pats can benefit greatly from a coach that has this experience
travelers – if people have a job that requires a lot of traveling, they could have a session from a hotel room
caregivers – if someone is caring for a family member they may find it challenging to get to an office.
people who work from home – many people work full-time from home and can’t get to a formal face to face appointment easily
people looking to get healthier – fitness and health programs can be delivered online in a private setting
people who are needing some guidance in their personal relationships
non-drivers – there are many people who, for whatever reason, are no longer able to or choose not to drive

What training/Certification Do You need

Many people who go into this business have degrees in Psychology, of course. It is a natural fit. However, I am not suggesting you start going back to college now and get a Psychology degree to become a life coach. You don’t need to.

There is no national certification required to become a life coach. Anyone can do this without any kind of formal course. It is possible to become a coach by educating yourself such as reading the vast amount of material on the subject and attending seminars and webinars. Of course, if you have a background in nursing, business or fitness, you are already in a position to coach people based on your particular background.

It is suggested, though not an absolute must, to have some experience but at the least, a passion, for the area in which you would like to coach. Were you a corporate executive for many years? You could be a business coach.

Do you have a background in nursing or health? Consider becoming a fitness coach. Are you retired and happy? Why not coach pre-retirees to help them with that transition?

It is advisable (though not required), to obtain some kind of life coach training to give yourself credibility and also to give you some guidelines and training on running your own coaching business. I have found a couple of excellent, very affordable courses that will award you a certificate upon completion. The approach differs between the two programs but they have both been created by two well-known and respected industry leaders.

You can read about these excellent courses here and see if they may be of interest to you:

Something else you will need to think about is that you will need a strong online presence to let potential clients know about your services as a life coach. That means creating your own website – but don’t worry! Tools exist now to make this very easy! If we can do it you can do it. See Philip’s article here to learn how to build your own website.

How Much Can You Make as a Life Coach?

Your salary will depend on your particular area of expertise, how many hours you want to work and your success level of course. In general, the low end of the spectrum is about $28,000 a year with mid-range being around $52,000. Well-established, top coaches can make $250,000 and up. Even the low end of that spectrum could really boost that retirement income, don’t you think?

Work for a Company or Freelance?

Many companies require that you have a degree, plus a coaching certification, so it may be a better option for you to set yourself up as a freelancer. Then, you could choose one of the coaching courses available online to give you the tools you need to help you get started and the credibility of having made the effort to get certified, if you feel that is something you need.

Do your research on training courses

Because this profession is unregulated, you must really take the time to research any life coach training company you read about and check out all the reviews you can. Look at the curriculum, ask questions and be sure the training offered will ‘fill in the blanks’ based on your needs.

There is a company that purports to be the ‘gold standard’ when it comes to accreditation for Life Coaching. They do not offer the training themselves, but they can show you where to find the schools that will award you credits towards their certification. For more information, you can read about The International Coaching Federation here.

I warn you, however, that when you are looking at the schools who affiliate with them, the costs can add up quickly, depending on which course you choose. Be careful of upsells when you are doing your research and do ask questions in the Live Chat features that they have.

You don’t need to spend thousands to become a coach, and in fact, companies such as Relationship Hero, which is totally legit, will pay you to learn their coaching techniques (provided you meet their criteria for becoming a relationship coach).

At the end of the day, it is up to you to surf the web and read as much as you can to find out about the different life coach programs. Take your time. There is a vast amount of information available. Ultimately, you may decide you don’t need to take a course and other resources will be sufficient for you to get started.

Don’t expect to get rich overnight

As with any business, on or offline, it will take some time to develop a client base and you may have to offer a few sessions for free to get started. That is another reason I think it is a good idea to take a course because it will help you structure your business, know what fees to charge and learn how and where to market yourself, based on your niche audience. Overnight success will never occur but I truly believe that the Online Life Coach business is going to explode, so if you are thinking about pursuing it, I suggest you don’t wait too long.

In my opinion, you would find all the training, tools, and information you need, plus receive an internationally recognized certificate if you pursued this very comprehensive and affordable course created by a well-known industry leader. This program is really picking up momentum and now is the time to get started.

Final Thoughts on Life Coaching

I do believe that life coaching is a great opportunity for anyone who has a lot of life skills and experience because not only are you helping your bottom line in retirement, you are contributing something positive to the world by helping people achieve their personal goals. Plus, you can do this from your own home and truly create income online with all the benefits that come from working remotely. We will be seeing a huge boom in this profession very soon and, who better than us boomers to lead the way? We have so much to offer, don’t we?

It is up to you to decide if you would like to invest in some training. It may benefit you to have some kind of certification that demonstrates your commitment to being professional, since this business is so unregulated, but so much depends on what your personal background and confidence level is.

The possibilities are endless, really, especially now, and I encourage you to go forward with this if it is something that interests you. I would love to know if you decide to become a life coach! If you decide to take a course or already have done so, would you share that with us in the comments area below?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my article. If life coaching doesn’t appeal to you and you would like to learn about another 100% legitimate online income idea, you may want to read about what Philip and I do.

From my heart, I wish you health, happiness, and success,

Your friend,

Colette