Mentoring is profitable

You can turn your interest in psychology into a life coaching business and earn Shs18 million in a year as a life coach. Dorothy Nakaweesi explains what it takes to start.

Retiring from your formal employment does not mean the end of work. You can still use your skills elsewhere and earn a living.
There a number of income generating activities you can do.
You can use your skills or pass them on to others and improve their businesses.

Being a life coach or mentor is one service you can start offering at a fee without any money.
Ideally, a life coach is a person employed to help people attain their goals in life. Mentorship is the guidance provided by a mentor, especially an experienced person in a company or educational institution.

Start
Life coaching in business from the side of the proprietor, you have to be good at what you do. What is going to attract clients is either a referral or publicity. As a life coach you have to be out there for people to know you.
You need to specialize may be in business, parenting, marriage. When they hear your name one will know it is about money so that you don’t confuse the brand. This will help you to get referrals especially for those that you have worked for.
Buteraba said: “All specialties can get you money because there are not so many life coaches who are walking the talk. So this is a field you can exploit.”

Giving out your business cards to people at every event you attend will help you market your services to many people. Church is the other area where you can promote your services.
Secondly, you may need an address where people will find you, then make sure you package your services and attach the respective rates.
However, if you do not have enough money to start, use your home. The other alternative would be to request to meet your clients at their places of work or their homes.

Getting the money
Getting your payment as a life coach depends on what you agreed on with your clients.
“You can decide to ask to be paid on a daily, weekly basis or a monthly retainer the idea is to look for an amount you can charge,” Buteraba shares.
If you get say 10 clients in a month, you will be able to pay your rent, transport and cover operating costs. It means that anyone above the tenth client will be profit for you.
The ideal charges will be in consultancy fees and this ranges between Shs20, 000-Shs50, 000 per hour or two-hours.

Buteraba, who is also a life coach with expertise in business, says you should design flexible packages including everyone from one client to groups.
The ideal life coach who works five days a week with an average of 10 clients will have 40-cleints at end of the month.
On average, if each of these clients is charged Shs50,000, it at the end of the month, you will be worth Shs2 million. If charges from the 10 clients can cater for your expenses, then your profit will be Shs1.5 million.
In a year your turnover worth will be Shs18 million. Remember you started with barely any coin. Isn’t that wonderful?

Know-how
Ronald Mayanja Omugalanda, the chief executive officer is a life coach with Ability Explored.
It may be unusual for someone in his mid-thirties to have a well-paying job, plus all the privileges to retire early. But Mayanja chose this path because he had discovered his passion to coach others into success.
Within last year, Mayanja registered and set up an office for his organisation and a community-based organisation called “Envirocare Uganda” both based in Mukono town.
He has a wealth of clients ranging from businesses and schools who subscribe for his coaching services.

Advice
Mayanja’s advice is whether employed or self-employed, have a dream and keep doing something every day to move closer to it.
You can put this at the back of your mind, “The best person who knows what you want to achieve in this world is you. Go for it,” he shared.
He says if you have the will, it is better to start something and not wait for retirement age.
“If you wait to retire, you will realise that 80 per cent of your life time has been spent fulfilling the visions of someone else instead of your own. If your employer changes, the business model can decide to do away with you,” he advises.