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Who Becomes A Life Coach?


At PCCCA, where we likely see as many types of coaching students as any large coaching school, we sometimes ask, “who wouldn’t want to become a life coach?”  There are huge personal benefits to the transformational training, which usually even outweigh professional benefits.

In this post, I will talk about characteristics and demographics of those who enter the life coaching profession. Maybe you will see yourself in here. Perhaps some of this will surprise you as it did me.

Baby boomers make up a large percentage of coaches. Today, retirement does not mean the end of a person’s working life. Rather, it creates an opportunity to explore what to do in retirement. Boomers are uniquely positioned as the first generation who can create fulfilling second careers. Many of them are attracted to life coaching, specifically Christian coaching.

When it comes time to consider retirement, baby boomers are asking insightful questions such as …

How can I create another career and still have flexibility to enjoy time traveling or with loved ones?
How can I add more meaning to my life?
What will my legacy be?
How can I help others with my vast life experiences?

As they consider answers to these questions, an ever increasing number of boomers are drawn to life coaching, where a part time 20 hours per week schedule is considered full time.

In 2012 a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) study demonstrated that approximately 39% of life coaches in North America are 55 years or older. That was almost 4 years ago and I believe this number has been steadily growing as more baby boomers begin post-retirement careers. These figures are fairly consistent with what we see at this academy.

boomer helping others

A few times each month, we receive a pre-enrollment phone call from someone who is either retired or about to retire, asking about training options. I have spoken to many sharp 60, 70 and even 80 year olds who still want to contribute to others and see life coaching as a marvelous way to help future generations. Bravo! Their wisdom is much needed.

Many boomer life coaches say that they turned to life coaching after retiring because they wanted to be of service to others and felt God still had work for them to do. They value personal growth and its rewards.

It is also common for people who have been through some significant losses or life lessons to possess a passion for saving others from the often life-altering mistakes they might otherwise make.

Rosalie Ehlers, a Certified Christian Life Coach, says, “Life coaching gives me a chance to help others while combining many of the facets of my previous teaching career that also included mentoring and consulting. It makes me feel needed and valuable as well as allowing me to work among my former teaching peers.”

Like Rosalie, most coaches develop niches (specialties) related to topics they are already familiar with and have contacts in. Others find a new opportunity to work in a field they have long been passionate about.

Another group who are entering coaching more and more, are those who come from counseling backgrounds but find certain aspects of that profession frustrating and are looking for better ways to propel clients forward.

Interestingly, I find that many of those who begin with a counseling course soon find themselves in Christian life coaching certification. It is not at all unusual for counseling clients to need coaching. Once trust is built and rapport established, the client typically prefers to remain with their counselor for coaching services as well. Similarly, coaching clients prefer to remain with their coach if they are qualified to offer counseling services.

This is the major reason we combined the Certified Christian Life Coach and Certified Christian Counselor programs into a training bundle. This way, our students only need to enroll once, they save on tuition and easily transition to the other program when one is complete.

Others who want to enter people-helping professions often initially look to counseling. Once they explore other alternatives, they soon discover how quickly they can become certified (10-12 weeks) to offer coaching services and develop a sustainable practice. Best of all, the coaching industry is not regulated so we don’t have to worry about compliance with government regulations.

An opportunity to create a lifestyle business where you decide where, when and how much you work sounds irresistibly desirable to many who spend a lifetime working 9 to 5.

What’s more, to have a very low barrier to entry, meaning very low expenses compared to most businesses and no regulation of our profession means that anyone willing to learn the profession can become a life coach.

Who else becomes a life coach? Physicians, attorneys, pastors, nurses, real estate agents, cosmetologists, homemakers, church administrators, and yes, even a motorcycle accessory shop owner. You see, this portable career can benefit everyone with greater insight, personal transformation and professional level, marketable skills.

Has God given you a strong passion to help others?

You will find that coaching will satisfy your desire to make a difference. You will be able to combine your natural gifts of empathy, intuition, listening skills, discernment and communication skills to transform lives.

Get trained, certified and begin part time… then see where this marvelous career takes you!

At PCCCA, you receive TWO certifications when you complete our comprehensive Christian Life Coach training … the CCLC or Certified Christian Life Coach designation and … the bonus CPLC, Certified Professional Life Coach so that your certification may be relevant in any environment, be it among Christians or in the world.

When you honor God with your obedience to do things His way, your path will take you places you can’t even dream or imagine.

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