Launching a New Career As a Coach or Consultant

If you’ve written a nonfiction e-book, you may already have strong qualifications and considerable experience in your field. (And you’ve probably even enhanced your skills while researching your book.) If so, consider setting yourself up as a coach or consultant.

Coaches work with individuals in all sorts of areas. You can find life coaches and business coaches and specialists in nutrition, parenting, and even writing. You need no specific qualifications to call yourself a coach, though you can affiliate yourself with training courses and organizations. The word mentor is sometimes used in place of coach.

Consultants work with companies, often to help with specific projects by offering expert advice. Consultants usually have no direct authority to make changes within the company. You need no specific qualifications to consult, though companies normally expect you to have a significant amount of demonstrable experience.

To get started as a coach or consultant, simply let potential clients know that you’re available by setting up a website (or adding a page to your existing site) and explaining your services. If you’ll be working as a consultant, you may have testimonials from former employers or line managers; if you’ll be coaching, you might work with a few individuals for free in return for feedback and testimonials.

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