By Scott Epp

“You never achieve real success unless you like what you are doing.” – Dale Carnegie

Information Technology is the fastest growing career in the country. There is a reason that IT professionals are so important to individuals and businesses all across the country. Computers are valuable, effective, and important tools for helping people live better lives.

But here’s what you may not know. The second fastest growing industry is not accounting, it’s not health care, it’s not engineering or networking or food services. The second fastest growing industry in the country is none other than life coaching.

According to the National Post:

“Coaching is the second-fastest growing profession in the world, rivaled only by information technology… Coaching has evolved into a much more sophisticated profession based on knowledge from any other disciplines.”

What makes these numbers so surprising is that life coaching and business coaching seem like new phenomena. But although they have recently been cast into the spotlight, both personal life coaching and business life coaching have been playing a successful role in businesses for decades.

 

History of Beneficial Life Coaching Philosophies

Coaching began as a discipline within psychology that focused on the benefits of talking therapy as a way to improve wellness in the workplace. Indeed, as discussed in this article in Therapy Today:

“Coaching as a worldwide phenomenon has grown organically from various fields of self-development and, in particular, the development of humanistic psychology (the so-called ‘Third Force’). One view is that coaching reflects a synthesis of three movements: the growth of the talking therapies; consulting and organisational development and industrial psychology; and the proliferation of personal development trainings such as the Landmark Forum and Lifespring, along with the high-profile work of personalities such as Anthony Robbins in the US.”
 

Many of the principles of coaching have existed for many years. As a multidisciplinary field, coaching continued to develop as new discoveries and new solutions began to get uncovered. At the same time, the effects of coaching began to receive greater amounts of study as well, because businesses and worksite health researchers decided that they wanted to learn more about what made coaching styles so effective.

Because of these studies and revelations, coaching has started to finally take off. The value of mentors and business coaches is no longer in question, as successful companies have begun to utilize a life and business coach in order to improve their own life path and that of their company.

 

The Growth of an Industry – Life Coaching Industry

Thanks to all of these changes, coaching has now become an immensely successful industry. In fact, according to many different statistics:

  • Life and Business Coaching is now an almost 2 billion dollar industry.
  • Coaches have some of the highest employment and use rates in the country.
  • Empirical evaluations have proven that coaching has immense benefits, both personally and in terms of return on investment (ROI) for businesses.
  • Employees have less of a turnover rate.
  • Workers are able to find work faster.
  • ROI for companies can be as high as 10:1.
  • Individuals find that they reach their goals more easily.
  • Coaching has both qualitative and quantitative results.

Some studies have shown that ROI can be has high as 50:1, and many individuals report a vastly improved quality of life. It is no wonder that life coaching has developed into such a large and in-depth industry – with so much measurable success, coaches are a valued commodity that can help improve the lives of everyone it reaches, so life and business coaches are in high demand.

What This Means For You and Your Personal or Business Life Coaching

The statistics should be encouraging about the value of working with a life coach. However, as someone in need of coaching, you should also look at these statistics as a call that you need to work with a coach that has credentials that you can truly trust. These days there are many different types of coaches available, from:

  • Executive Coaches
  • Life Coaches
  • Business Coaches
  • Relationship Coaches
  • Academic Coaches
  • Spiritual Coaches
  • Financial Coaches
  • Wealth Coaches and more…

… and many, many more. With so many different coaching options, and an industry that is introducing new coaches every day, you will need to find coaches that have the skills and values that you need. That is why you should look for a coach that has experienced higher training and accreditation.

By using a coach that has been trained in the skills necessary to foster excellence, you will be able to trust that the coach:

  • Has been trained in effective life coaching procedures.
  • Understands the need for proven coaching strategies.
  • Recognizes core competencies and how they are vital to your coaching success.
  • Is always interested in learning more about the field and turning it into a full time career choice.

Both the personal life coaching industry and the business life coaching industry are unregulated. While coaching has been PROVEN to be one of the most influential things you can add to your life, the value of that coaching is based on using a coach that is equipped with the tools, knowledge, and character that allow you to see substantial changes.

 What People Experience with Business and Personal Life Coaching

These life coaching statistics don’t lie. Working with a life and business coach has the potential to vastly improve your life. According to the life coaching statistics at the ICF, people that have worked with business and personal life coaching have found:

  • greater levels of self-awareness;
  • better goal setting techniques;
  • more balance in life;
  • improved levels of self-discovery; and
  • satisfying quality of life.

And much, much more. Indeed, life coaching statistics are 100% positive, with thousands of men and women all over the world finding that working with a life and business coach has the potential to drastically improve the way they live their lives.

Yet, before you can receive the value of either personal life coaching or business life coaching, you need to be certain that you are working with a qualified life coach that is going to bring you back much more than the value that you invest in them. Life coaching is a 2 billion dollar industry, and one that all that matters are results.

Rather than hire a life coach without the skills you need, and rather than getting caught in some type of life coach scam, make sure that you are working with a qualified life coaching professional with years of experience, accreditation, and the ability to give your life the focus and clarity you deserve.