Post-pandemic strains on the NHS have caused a significant increase in the demand for therapy services, but it’s not always easy for individuals to find appropriate support straight away. With 85% of people in the UK believing it’s a good idea to seek counselling before a problem gets out of hand, opening up a private practice is an opportunity to deliver help when it’s needed most.

However, opening up your doors can be a daunting and time-consuming process, especially if you’re doing it on your own. In the following guide, we’ll walk through the process of becoming a life coach and what it could involve for you. 

What Is A Life Coach?

A life coach is someone who helps people to make personal progress and become more balanced and emotionally fulfilled. This includes improving relationships, careers and day-to-day lives. Individuals work with a life coach to identify obstacles, goals and targets to help change the way they think.

With more and more graduates earning degrees in psychology and related fields, there’s an increased need – and scope – to open individual practices.

Choosing Your Niche

You can’t cover every aspect of life coaching, so you’ll need to decide on what type you’ll be offering to your clients. Examples include: 

  • Workplace skills
  • Managing stress
  • Time management
  • Health, wellbeing and lifestyle coaching
  • Relationship coaching

Networking

Building up a network of other life coaches, contacts in the industry and prospective clients will be crucial to the success of your business. It’s a good idea to become affiliated with an accredited training provider, or to join a professional body.

You’ll also need to find out some information about your target audience – you could use blogs, online groups and ask around in your local social circles. 

Starting Your Business

In any role where you give professional advice, there will be risks to you and your business. Along with obtaining all the relevant insurance for therapists, you’ll need to organise all administrative processes too. Name your business, set up your legal entity, add legal terms to your online profiles and write your liability waiver.

Finding A Marketing Strategy

It’s crucial to spread the news about your new practice. Try to come up with a good name and brand image for your business, making it relevant, memorable and something that your clients can relate to. 

As part of your marketing strategy, you might want to develop your online presence and create an outreach plan. You might decide to write a blog with engaging content or use social media.

Overall, starting up a life coaching business involves lots of organisation – but the more preparation you do in advance, the more successful you’ll be further down the line.