The coaching industry is booming and therapists are the best positioned professionals to dominate this cutting-edge industry.
 

“…in the next few years, coaching will become the norm in the
business world.”

— The Washington Post

According to U.S. News and World Report, the profession of coaching (sometimes called Personal Coaching or Life Coaching), is the second biggest consulting business, second only to management consulting.

What exactly is coaching, and why has the industry attained such record growth?

Coaching entails working with people who already have a measure of “success” in their lives, but who want to bridge the gap between where they are and where they want to be in their profession and their personal life. This is much like a trainer who helps an athlete win the “gold medal” – not just be in the race. Coaches help their clients design the life they want, bring out their clients’ own brilliance and resources so that they can achieve excellence and create purposeful, extraordinary lives. 

The demand for coaching came into being when stressed out executives started seeking help in coping with their professional and personal lives. In addition, as companies started downsizing and outplacing, and baby boomers started turning 50, coaches were hired to ease traumatic transitions and to help people get back on track. While coaching is still most prevalent in the corporate environment, individuals are increasingly turning to coaches for help in enhancing all aspects of their lives.

“Coaching is the number two groth industry right behind IT (Information Technology) jobs, and it’s the number one home-based profession.”

— Start-Ups Magazine

Therapists are probably the most well-positioned professionals to transition into this exciting and personally enriching business. That’s because they already have the requisite skills for effective coaching (such as listening, building rapport, encouraging, facilitating change, empathy and objectivity) that they can easily translate into coaching. 

Therapists who learn the business of personal coaching will find that they really enjoy their clients, earn higher incomes, and even have a level of friendship and community that is neither proper nor possible in traditional psychotherapy. 

We want coaching to permeate all levels of society and many of our students charge less for services to the lower income clients or agencies. Tele-coaching (coaching by phone) is the most recent trend in coaching. Because it is not dependent on geography, coaches find that they can build their coaching business anywhere … it’s portable, convenient and is more confidential than traditional therapy. As an added bonus, you work with highly motivated (as opposed to problematic) people who want to build better lives.