Goings-on, coaching practice

Today I took the written exam and passed with a 94 % :) Yesterday I updated my resume and LinkedIn so it includes my most recent job (which I've now left) and candidacy for the CHWC designation (certified health and wellness coach). I also added some people from my wellcoaches training.

Also yesterday I did the first coaching session with my second practice client. Both of my clients actually have the same reason for wanting coaching (weight loss), and both have pretty much the same challenges. So when I get an idea with one of them, I'm making a note to bring it up with the other. And I made a list of common goals from which I can draw if I get stuck. It's not like I'm supposed to come up with the goals myself, but it just happened that in my initial attempts at coaching, the clients asked me what I thought they should do. Normally, the conversation leading up to the goal setting is supposed to naturally facilitate ideas in both the client and the coach (conversation that explores strengths, motivators, challenges, wellness vision). But I guess it's okay that I dispensed some advice even though we're supposed to try and limit it. It's not like I said, 'you should do this.' We talked about things and agreed upon them. After I organized my notes following these first sessions, I found things to tweak that I didn't think of at the time and I added possibilities for future goals that I also didn't think of. (Like I said, when I made the list of 'common goals' it was so that I'd be better prepared next time). So we'll see how my first follow-up sessions go now!

Perhaps I'll listen to some of the demos again, too. I found myself wanting to stray from the scripted format, but tried to mostly stay on track. The cool thing about the session with my second client was she said I made her think a lot :) And after that session, I felt I'd stretched myself as well (in the sense of exploring possibilities that might work for her). The more I think about doing this as a job, the more excited I get about the prospect of really using my brain and really being challenged. I may have used my brain some in past jobs, but not in the same way. Definitely not in the same way. This way is better, by far.

More progress

I'm now done with the coach training! Since I didn't write about the last 3 classes, I'll just mention that one was a practice session, the next to last was going through a mock ongoing session as a class, and the last was a review and discussion of how we'd be using our training in our careers. Prior to the last class I actually did a little research on how much coaches charge per hour and what it'd take to make a living just doing it independently. While it is possible to make a living as an independent coach with your own clients, it's not the route I see myself pursuing right off the bat. I'd need more experience, I'd need to know how to operate my own business, I'd need professional liability insurance...and while I love the idea of working for myself, I still kinda need the stability that would come from working for someone else. For now. One of the perks you get with certification from Wellcoaches is that they list you on their website in their database of coaches so consumers can still find you and hire you if they want. And there are some other cool things you can get, like continuing education credits (which are needed to maintain certification anyway), networking, industry info, etc. It's all stuff I'm planning to get into once I get the certification.

Which brings me to that. I started studying for the written exam already, and I've started looking for practice clients. So far I just have my sister and my dad, and although we're not supposed to use friends or family, I'm still gonna coach them anyway. It's actually not easy to find people despite the coaching being free. But oh well. One cool thing that happened the other day was my reaching out to a friend from my undergrad days who's now teaching yoga. I mentioned that I was doing this wellness coaching and she said she was doing the exact same thing! I haven't gotten a chance to catch up with her yet, but what a coincidence :)

I also went to the 'find a coach' section of the wellcoaches site just to see who is coaching in FL and what the listings look like for when I possibly get one of my own. It was cool to read the bios for different people and to see what their specialties were. While many of the coaches I see claim to 'be' other things like dietitians, fitness specialists / personal trainers, nurses, etc., I am not anything other than a coach, period. Yeah, my degree was in exercise science, but I didn't use it for anything except to get into coaching because coaching appealed to me more. I hope that's not a bad thing. I don't think it'll hold me back from getting a job with a company as a wellness coach. And I'm thinking that once I get started, who knows where things will lead? The cool thing now is that I won't be doing something 'dead-end' or 'temporary'. I'll actually be doing something of my own choosing.