Have you ever searched for a coach, mentor, or an online course yourself? It is no surprise if you have because so many others all over the world are doing the same. The coaching industry has been booming in recent years for good reasons, which brings a lot of opportunities to those who can make use of it.
Growth of the coaching industry
The term ‘Coach’ was initially started in 1830 and Oxford University put forth the meaning of this term as a slang for a tutor (Wikipedia). Coaching can be defined in several ways and methodologies depending on the area where it is.
This term and the whole industry have achieved considerable growth in the last decade with proven statistics.
According to the 2020 ICF Global Coaching Study, it is estimated that there were around 71000 global coach practitioners in 2019, an increase of 33% compared to 2015. PriceWaterhouseCoopers November 2018 even reported that coaching was the second fastest growing industry in the world. In 2019, the estimated market size of the coaching industry in the U.S. alone was $15 billion USD, with the average yearly growth rate of 6.7%.
These data were recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic, which changed plenty of things. And, if the numbers above were in 2022, it would be much bigger due to its even-faster growth post-pandemic. The 2022 ICF Global Consumer Awareness Study found that coaching hasn’t just ‘survived’ the pandemic, but has ‘evolved’. It now includes a wider spectrum of people learning a wider set of information.
Reasons for the coaching industry’s fast growth
No regulation
Coaching is a self-regulated industry, meaning there are no specific regulations on who can be a coach. Because entering the industry is not difficult, more and more people want to jump on the “coach-wagon”, so its size grows more and more through time. Unlike most jobs in which you need to be approved and hired by an employer, being a coach is like being your own boss running your own business, and you just need to self-certify that you can satisfy your clients.
A coach does not need to have a certification to tutor someone. Actually, not every area offers official certifications and not all certifications can certainly speak for its owner’s ability. Coaches without third-party certifications can still bring great results to their clients with their personal experience and self-learned knowledge. And, many people have realized that they possess what it takes to help some people and decided to become a coach.
Growth of technology
It is obvious that technology keeps thriving day by day. As of 2022, the total number of internet users is 5.03 billion – equivalent to 63.1% of the world’s population (Datareportal). And, the coaching industry and the technology growths seem to correlate due to several factors.
As technology accelerates, many jobs have been displaced by computers. Thus, a lot of people seek careers that are seemingly only for humans and cannot be replaced by AI, and coaching is one of those. Also, losing jobs along with the pandemic and recent drastic global changes make many unclear of their orientation and in need of a coach to help them with mental and financial solutions for their path. That’s where life coaches and business coaches come for the rescue.
Besides, the technology boom has helped boost the coaching field as well. Rather than working in person like in the old times, it is now simpler for coaches to create online courses and webinars reaching more clients all over the world, thanks to technology facilitating convenient marketing, effective online advertising, and easy access to other digital presence and tools.
Moreover, technology development (together with COVID-19) plays a big role in the current strong globalization and remote working trends, which are supporters of the coaching industry. A report by Upwork in 2021 shows that in five years time, businesses expect 58% of the workforce to be fully remote. This is a 1.5 time increase from pre-pandemic levels. People are now familiar with online meetings so they don’t find online webinars, online courses, or online consultations with a coach on the other side of the globe as strange as pre-pandemic.
Increase in demand
In order for an industry to grow, its demand needs to increase besides its supply. And we touched on this earlier, more people are finding a coach than ever before. This could either be due to more problems appearing in the world, or more people wanting to improve their work and life quality striving for self-development in a progressive world. In addition, more businesses and organizations recognize the positive effects of coaching to their performance now.
The increased demand for coaches is proven through many numbers.
- There are 1.5 million monthly searches for life coaches, business coaches, and executive coaches. (iPEC)
- 99% of individuals and companies who hire a coach are “satisfied or very satisfied” and 96% say they would repeat the process. (ICF Global Coaching Client Study)
- According to a study by International Society for Performance Improvement, coaching has a 221% return on investment meaning coachees get back more than double the cost of coaching.
- 70% of coachees improve work performance, relationships, and communication. (Institute of Coaching)
- One-third of successful entrepreneurs have turned to a mentor or support group (Xero).
Opportunities for a freedom coaching business
From the above information, you can see there has never been a better time to become a coach. If you fear that the industry is saturated with no more place for newbies, don’t worry. It’s not too late for you to start if you know you have the knowledge that other people need and you can make positive impacts to others’ lives. The demand for coaches is tremendous, especially in niche sectors. For example, we have seen success from some clients working in parenting coaching, a quite unique field. But there were many people wanting to learn more about that field without realizing it before seeing their ads.
What’s more, if you succeed with good results for the first clients, they will become the free word-of-mouth marketing channel for you to have more and more customers through time. So, it all comes down to the great results one brings to their client that can make them a great coach who stays in the industry!
And advantages of being a successful coach is plentiful. They have a business of their own with more freedom and free time for themselves because they can work wherever and whenever they want. They earn both profits and respect from people because they help others become better. If it sounds awesome to you, don’t hesitate to start your coaching career now!
Conclusion
All in all, the coaching field has been growing fast recently and is unlikely to slow down soon. It is because of its unregulation, development of technology, and the increase in demand for coaches. Coaching has brought many positive effects to people’s lives. Therefore, now is a great opportunity for new coaches to catch on the trend and start their online coaching business to earn profits and help others.
If you don’t know where to start to build an online coaching business, simply book a free call with 1 of AweSM coaches and we can help you with that. All you need to do is click this link and answer a few short questions, then you can choose the date and time you want for the call: https://callwith.awesm.com/social
