This is a question people ask all the time for all kinds of careers. From secretarial work to construction, people want to know if they need to be certified or not. Well, in the life coaching world there is no requirement that you get certified, but there are some distinct advantages to investing in certification if you want to start a profitable coaching business. Certification or no certification will depend entirely on your own goals and needs.

There are a lot of experienced coaches who do not believe that it’s important to get certification and that is likely true for those who are already experienced. However, don’t discount what you can learn taking a really good course when it comes to coaching. You might learn something that turns your entire business around.

Of course, if you’re already very profitable, and like the way you are organized now, it might not be that important for you. But, if you want to make more money, be more organized, and learn something new, a coaching certification course might work for you.

If you’re just now embarking on studying the idea of becoming a coach, then you may want to consider certification if only to help you learn from others who have gone before you and built profitable and lucrative coaching practices. As an unregulated profession, getting certification will make you look legitimate and may help you continue coaching if ever certification becomes a requirement. You’ll be ahead of the game.

While it’s true that many clients who are new to coaching will be impressed by a coach who took the time and invested the money to become certified, it’s also true that many won’t even ask. If you are careful where you take your coaching courses from and from where you get your credentials, it will bode well for your business. Not just in terms of having the credentials and the certificate to show off, but in having learned something new to help you with your coaching business. It’s not really all about the piece of paper you get at the end. It’s about what you learn during the process.

During a well-designed coaching certification course you should:

* Learn different styles of coaching
* What type of qualities a coach needs to be successful
* Learn how to listen better
* Get more insight into your client’s thought process
* Evaluate psychological techniques you can use in coaching legally
* Study best billing practices
* Research tax and legal obligations
* Learn how to write a better coaching contract
* Research technology to help automate your practice
* Develop marketing techniques that work
* Learn by listening and watching other coaching sessions

As you see, even though coaching certification is not required, you can get a lot out of going through the process. You’ll learn to be a better coach, which means you’ll likely be able to earn more money, connect better with clients, and be a lot happier in your chosen profession.