Do You Need to Be Certified to Have a Coaching Business?

Episode Transcript:

Today, I wanted to chat about a question, then they get all of the time and that is, do you need to be certified to have a coaching business, sit back, relax and enjoy almost every time somebody finds me on a webinar, whether it's live or recorded, or they're thinking about joining Stand Up Coaching Academy, I'll get messages from people who have, you know, they might aspire to be a life coach or a health coach, or, you know, there's so many different coaches that is just, you can't even name all of them.

But I see it a lot, especially in the life coaching area, in my world, but they are all asking, do I need to have a special certification to actually have a business and, and get clients? Will I not get clients if I don't have these things? And I'll even get these, these questions from clients that I've been working with and students that I've been working with. And I always tell them, did you, if I told you that I have no special certification to be your business coach, would you think less of me? And then they always say no. And then they kind of laugh. And I say, why not? I mean, I went to, I went to college for business, but no, it was like, eh, 20 years ago. But I don't, I don't like to put down with the university that I went to on my website.

Cause that does not apply. What matters to people is you sharing your journey and how you believe you can help them. That's what matters. Nobody cares about your credentials too, to be honest. And I know we can get really into, you know, if I have these logos on my website and I tell people that I'm trained by so-and-so, then that'll change everything. But I think that's just you hiding under someone else's like just hiding from everyone else because you're like, well, if I use their name, then I won't be rejected. And if I'm rejected, it's their fault. Because I mean, they're the ones who taught me, but what if you decided not to ride the coattails of somebody else and you just own who you are and where you've been and what you are capable of doing, and you didn't use other names or credentials to take you somewhere.

You, you used yourself. That's what people want. I don't, I just, I really don't think we're in the time anymore where those things are just the most priority for people. I really don't. I don't believe that I don't, I don't think that we need to prove ourselves to people as much as we think we do either. And I think when that is such a barrier for us there's so many certification hoarders out there. I remember feeling that way too. So don't think that I'm like, Hey, you guys shouldn't do that. I was there. So that's, I can speak to you. That's what's important. I was there. I get it. You want to have all the certifications. You want to drop the names you want to do all the courses you want to learn from all the people. So you can have it on your website and then spend forever updating your website.

So you can show this all off. And then once all, all of those programs are over and done with your back to you. And that doesn't sound fun for many people. So they go find another sparkly thing to play with and they add another thing to their list. And those certifications don't mean that you're going to be successful. No coach, no program. Nothing means a guaranteed ticket for your success. That's you relying on someone else's knowledge and experiences to get you somewhere while they are well, they are very helpful for you and for your clients. It's not like, Oh, as long as you have trained with Lindsay Maloney and Stand Out Coaching Academy, you're going to be a multi six-figure coach, guaranteed. That's not how this goes. When we stop relying on other people to get us to where we want to be. And we take a look at ourselves inside and out and recognize that we have our own special gift and we have our own special way to share it.

And we're confident in every minute of it. That's when the magic happens. I list all the people who I worked with in the past five years on my website on my about page. Definitely, definitely needs to be updated, but you can see I've worked with some pretty shiny names, but I don't start out my podcast telling you guys who I've worked with. I don't, I barely talk about it, but it's there. And I know that a lot of clients will say, Hey, I like how you mentioned the programs that you've taken and the people that you've worked with, but they've never mentioned, do you have any, they've never asked, do you have any special certifications? I do, but they're not. Nobody cares about it.

I think that we put that up just to protect from rejection. And it's like, well, using an armor. If someone's using someone else's armor to keep us safe. That's what I think it is. You're just trying to keep yourself safe. And if this doesn't work out, it's not your fault. I think that's why so many people stay in the course. I'm going to take all the course courses mode, and I'm gonna, I'm gonna work on all the backend stuff for years. Because if I put myself out there, if I finally launched my website, I launched my business. Whatever it is, you probably won't get the reaction you are hoping for. I just made a face. Cause you probably won't. Nobody cares about your business as much as you do. And nobody will. It's kind of like your kids, right? You think your kids are the cutest, the smartest, the funniest, but everyone else thinks that about their own kids too.

Everyone thinks that about their own business. We make way too much of, we make way too big of a deal about things that don't need to be a big deal. What if you just got over the fact that you don't have any special certifications, but you've been through a whole lot to get to where you are. And if somebody asked you for help today, you would be confident in helping them. No, no ifs, ands, or buts. You could spend a day with somebody and change their lives for the better. That's what matters. I can get any kind of certification. So can you, but if you don't have the background of, I remember how that felt, Oh my gosh, I totally get it. Then it's so hard to talk to people to mentor your clients. Cause they're just like them, they're looking for a connection with you.

And you, if you have to constantly refer back to all these certifications and all these things that they're not looking for, that personal connection is just gonna fizzle out. And that, that, that first attraction that they had to you is lost because you're not using your own experience to keep that fire burning. So do you need a certification to have a coaching business? Heck no. Do you have the ability to create a business from what you know and are you willing to continue learning to build that business? Then you have what it takes to have a successful coaching business. You will never stop learning nor should you want to. You should always be willing to be generous. You should always be willing to learn, give it your all. And you should always be willing to have a business that brings you joy, because if it does not bring you joy, you need to see why it isn't. And it's not because you don't have the right certifications. Okay? I hope this episode was helpful. I would love to hear your thoughts and be sure you tune in to the next episode. Thank you for listening to this one. And I will see you on the next one.

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Book Your Dream Clients podcast. I am so grateful for you!