How to Find the Right Life Coach

This post will cover what a life coach is, common reasons people hire a life coach, questions to ask yourself to find the “right” life coach, and generally what to expect when it comes to life coach costs.

What is a life coach?

Let’s first address what a life coach is (my own definition):

A Life Coach is someone who helps others get out of their own way, by identifying the ‘stories’ that they repeatedly tell themselves that the client’s brain has accepted as true, when in actuality, they are preventing them from achieving the results they want. 

Life coaching is not therapy, although it can be therapeutic. Oftentimes, therapy is uncovering and untangling the past, whereas coaching is more focused on the future results by tackling the engrained stories we have come to see as factual. Just to be clear, I’m pro both of these tools, but they are both very different. 

Common reasons people hire a life coach

Here is a list of common reasons people seek out a life coach.

• Relationship goals

• Financial challenges

• Parental challenges

• Learning to set boundaries

• Feelings of shame affecting quality of life

• Mental health struggles 

• Work life balance

• Navigating divorce

• Starting over

• Blended family struggles 

• Addiction 

• Feeling stuck

• Career struggles or changes

• Body battles 

• Rejection

• Self Doubt

• Low self esteem

• Health & wellness 

• Perfectionism 

• Dealing with death

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This list includes just a small sample of the many reasons people hire a life coach. This particular list provides a glimpse of the array of life coaching options or topics that can be tackled with a life coach but it’s certainly not exhaustive.

Now, not all life coaches are experts in all of those topics, however, many can help in a majority of these areas. How we do ONE thing is usually a pattern for how we do ALL things. 

However, some life coaches niche down and work with a very specific clientele (such as grief coach or stepmom coach to name a few). 

How do you find the “right” life coach?

If you’re looking for a life coach to lead you through a challenge you’re facing, consider these approaches:

• Research them

  • Look at their social media

  • Join their email list or freebie

  • Look for client testimonials

  • Check their website

• Check to see if their life is something that showcases results you want 

  • Maybe it’s their work/life balance

  • What about their relationship (or lack thereof) 

  • Do their values align with what you value 

  • Is there integrity + authenticity apparent in everything that they do

• Look at how your client/coaching sessions would work:

  • Would they be 1-on-1

  • Small group

  • A mastermind

  • Frequency of sessions

• Check your gut

  • What do you feel when you interact with anything they’ve produced

  • Can you see your personality types aligning 

  • Do they “get” your problems based off of your research

  • Can they articulate your problems even better than you

• Look at their successes:

  • Are they living in breakthrough & sharing their growth

  • Get specific with the results you hope to achieve, then check and make sure that they are living those results in their own life 

  • Do they seem to love their life 

How much does it cost to hire a life coach?

Cost is a big consideration when hiring a life coach. Fees and package rates vary by the coach, but here’s what you should consider as you evaluate a coach’s cost.

• Are there any prices visible to work together, with 1-on-1 sessions, in a small group setting, or in a mastermind setting:

  • If not, then you will find out when you sign up for a consult call - most consults are free. Some involve a fee. If there’s a coach you’re considering who charges an initial consult fee, ask if that fee can be applied to the total package cost if you do, in fact, decide to work together.

  • Come prepared to the consult to ask questions (think of this being an opportunity for both of you to interview one another).

Why hire a life coach?

Working with a life coach that fits the criteria you are looking for can drastically cut the learning curve down (by showing you your brain & it’s patterns) and keep you on the path to reach the results you want most. They can coach you on your blind spots, while still providing you with support as you step into uncharted territory. 

Do you need a life coach?

Now it’s time to get clarity with YOU. Listed below are questions to help guide you thought deciding whether hiring a life coach is the right choice for you. It comes down to knowing your goals, your needs as a person, and willingness to invest in someone who will help lead you to your goals.

• What do you want most? 

• How are you standing in the way of that happening? 

• Are you willing to invest in yourself to live the life you want most? 

• What unwanted patterns keep showing up in your life that you are sick of?

• What keeps you up at night?

• What do you you worry about that’s making you feel like you’re falling behind? 

Friend, I’m a life coach who can help you improve your relationship with yourself and your relationship with your partner. Let’s set up a time to connect and see if we’re a great fit, to help you get out of your own way with a little help from your favorite new life coach!

Book a discovery consult!

I help you get out of your own way! Let’s see what is blocking you from reaching your highest potential. Complete the intake form below.

Meg Smithson, Life Coach

Meg coaches women by identifying areas of self sabotage, helping them break up with the shame that usually accompanies that, and then shows them how to set boundaries around the emerging 2.0 version they want to become, and live that life, unapologetically.

Click to schedule a life coaching consultation with Meg.