Do you need a coaching certification to become a coach?

Many people who are dreaming about starting coaching in their area of interest often think so and don't realise that you could coach without a certification. And often times, a coaching certification is a waste of money. Instead of getting certified, you should get started coaching right away.

Coaching is not counselling or therapy. A coach helps people achieve specific goals by providing support and guidance. Coaching is different from therapy or counseling, which typically focus on addressing past issues or resolving personal problems. Coaching is future-focused and action-oriented, and it can help people achieve success in all areas of their lives.

Coaching does not require specialized training like counseling, because coaches act more like mentors who help people achieve their goals. The qualifications for coaching are based on the coach's experience, skills, and results.

And with Instagram and Tiktok emerging as platforms where you build your authority based on how consistently good your content is, you can start coaching for the audience you already have. The difference between your content and coaching is that you are working with your clients in a much more personalised way, whether that is in 1:1 or group sessions.

If you have been successful in achieving goals or helping others to do the same, then you have what it takes to be a coach, even without an official certification. Keep in mind that your accomplishments do not need to be from paid clients- they could be from helping someone for free or your own successes. This is how most coaches start! You can practice providing value to people via Tiktok or Instagram and building trust with your audience in this way before giving people an opportunity to talk to you personally. For example if you helped your friends figure out careers and then built a Tiktok account giving career tips, you are in a perfect place to be a careers coach.

And the further you coach and the more clients you get, the less important being certified it will be because your past work increasingly speaks of your credibility.

A few things to remember:

The trust in you as a coach and your credibility comes from results, even if they are small at first, not from certification.

· Your confidence will come from the success stories not from certification.
· Your clients value your style, authenticity, and content, not paper credentials.
· Many coaching organisations aren’t actually credible and provide little value.

Certification is not an excuse to wait before you start coaching!

Looking to get started coaching today? Get a full coaching set up on Pensight.com for free - you won’t need to spend tons on Zoom, Wix, Calendly, LMS, and everything will be centralised in a beautiful page your clients will love.