Have you ever thought about becoming a professional Coach? More and more people are and since I began Coaching in 2003, much has changed. And so updating an older article I wrote some years ago, here are some things to know about the Coaching world and becoming one.

The expanding market place

Coaching is still a growing profession and yet it's already well established in many places throughout the world. In corporate and government organisations, Coaching is well intergrated into leadership training and executive support. For families there are Coaches for teens, children and parents. In business there are Marketing Coaches, Start-up Coaches, Sales Coaches .... you name it and they'll be a Coach for it.

So what's changed and what does it mean for new Coaches?

Since 2003, these are the trends I've noticed:

• There is a far greater public knowledge of what Coaching is
• Less skepticism around Coaching, past the FAD test!
• There are more Coaches especially in cities and large towns
• New markets are constantly opening up for Coaches
• More training available to Coaches to diversify
• Many Coach training methodologies now draw from brain sciences
• Coaching has made it into academic syllabuses
• There's a bigger drive towards professional standards globally
• Coaches are specialising

So is the road paved with gold, ready for new Coaches to walk down?

I think it's an amazing career with huge opportunities and yet let me be clear, once you've finished your Coach training, a thriving business is unlikely to suddenly appear on your plate. As with any business, it takes effort to get 'traction' and Coaches need to be both highly skilled as a Coach and have a head for business.

These would be my top three tips for new Coaches setting up in business:

• The age of a Generalist Coach is nearly over, identify a niche and specialise from the start. For example Business Coaching is no longer a niche, Business Coaching for Start-up Companies is, and any Business Coach promoting that as their niche will be far more attractive than a generalist Business Coach to those start-up a business.

• Don't hide behind a flash website hoping it will have the phone ringing with potential clients - there is a lot of trust need in Coaching, and so building rapport person to person is important. I think good old-fashioned networking is the fastest way forward.

• Walk the talk ... As a Coach, you're helping people lift their game, stretch their potential and meet their ambitions. And so, demonstrate what's possible. The best way to inspire people is to do something inspiring, not have a 'line' on your website saying 'I'm here to inspire you!'.

So to answer the question ... 'is the road paved in gold?'

Depends who is walking it and how they're walking! The opportunities are definitely there and the bottom line is as it's always been, YOU make it happen (or not).

About the author

David Savage is a well known New Zealand Coach, operating since 2003. He's Coached in large government organisations at all levels including CEOs. He's also helped train over sixty new coaches with one of the worlds largest Coach training companies. He's a Director of two coaching companies in New Zealand and the creator of THE EXPERT COACH program, dedicated to helping Coaches make the positive difference to the world they became a Coach to make. http://www.expertcoach.co.nz