5 fears that keep natural leadership coaches from doing what they love

If you think that coaching leaders, managers, business owners, professionals, and up-and-coming talent is a passion for you, then you should do it.

Unfortunately, many would-be coaches have fears that keep them from taking action. That’s too bad. It’s not like we are talking about a super-difficult goal. You are not building a rocket to explore Mars. You are not starting the next Tesla Motors or Google. You are simply learning to coach, and building a practice to earn the income you want. It is a pretty easy goal to achieve if you have the right training and support.

Here are 5 fears that people share with me that keep them from living their dream:

ONE: “Will I make enough money?”

The surveys out there about coaches show average incomes that are far below what executives and senior leaders make. That’s because these surveys suffer from severe biases: They typically include life coaches (who make almost nothing), newer coaches who want to be counted, and unsuccessful coaches who have time to complete online surveys.

Good executive and leadership coaches typically charge $1500 to $5500 per month per client. That’s before other work that you

might choose to do, including facilitation, training, consulting, and assessment work. Do the math. It doesn’t take many clients to make it into the 1%. You have to know how to market yourself, along with the language to use to attract clients, and we teach you.

TWO: “Do I have enough time to set up a practice?”

If you are still in a job and want to become a coach to start your next career, now is the time to start. The longer you wait, the more

you risk having less time than you would like to start a practice. Corporate life is volatile. Start learning now while you have

financial resources, or it will only be harder to get started later on – especially if you end up terminated with no choice in the

matter. If by time you mean you are super busy, well… we all are. If you can dedicate a few months of study with 3-4 hours per week, you can become a coach (or if your schedule is too tight, we can teach you in a few days during our seminars, with ongoing support).

Sometimes you just have to get out of your own way and make it work.

THREE: “The market is saturated.”

No, it isn’t. There are lots of coaches, but few good ones. There are almost unlimited niches where you can play a leading role. You just have to know how to position yourself, and I personally work with you when you are in our coach training programs. (If you don’t believe me, read our over 170 testimonials, or visit my own LinkedIn page and see the over 180 recommendations from graduates).

FOUR: “My significant other and friends think I am taking too big a risk.”

Starting a coaching practice is a business like any other. However, you don’t have to invest much money and you learn skills you can use forever. It is riskier to do nothing and continue to hate your current situation. If you have close friends that are keeping

you from your dream, perhaps you need better friends. There is a species of crab that is easy for fishermen to place one on top of the

other in a pile. Anytime a crab tries to leave the pile, the other crabs push it back in. Many friendships and many marriages are like

that. If you want to live your dream of coaching, then you might have to get away from the pile of crabs waiting to boil in a pot of water

– or at least ignore them on this particular subject.

FIVE: “I am too old, I don’t have a degree, I am too young, I haven’t worked in a Fortune 500 company, and so on.”

As Pee Wee Herman said in one of his movies, “Everyone has a big BUT.” Turn your “big but” into a positive. You aren’t too old, you offer perspectives based on years of proven experience and results. You aren’t too young, you offer a fresh perspective. You don’t need to find clients among the Fortune 500 because the biggest market is in small to mid-sized companies. However, if you do find a Fortune 500 prospect, consider that they have plenty of people with years of experience and MBAs from good schools, and they are still messed up. They need you!

THE BIG TAKEAWAY:

As far as anyone knows, we only live once on this planet and in this form. If you really want to be a coach, if you know you would be

great at it, if others tell you that you have the “gift,” then I hope you will not be crippled by fear or by what others think. You get one

chance.

The Center for Executive Coaching is always here to help, and I will personally support you. To discuss fit, first visit our website to learn about our executive coaching certification programs.

Then contact me and I will be delighted to set up time for us to speak:

andrewneitlich@centerforexecutivcecoahcing.com

You can join our distance learning program now, or come to any of our in-person seminars that we hold throughout the year.

Best,

Andrew Neitlich, Founder and Director

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