How To Become A Divorce Life Coach: The Complete Guide

Are you a life coach looking to niche a bit further? Perhaps you’re wondering how to become a divorce life coach and your research landed you here?

As someone who may be into life coaching, you’re probably no stranger to change. But if you’ve ever considered what it would be like to help people through one of the biggest changes of their lives — divorce, you’ll want to keep reading! 

We’re Cass + Tee, the creators behind Lovely Impact and this very blog you are reading! We are passionate about all things coaching and created this platform to help you become the best coach you can be and leave your lovely impact in the world.

In this post, we’ll discuss how to become a divorce life coach and some of the benefits of doing so. We’ll also provide tips for setting up your own coaching practice and attracting clients. 

So whether you’re considering making a career change or just want to help others through a tough time, read on!

What Is A Divorce Life Coach?

A divorce life coach is there to help guide their clients through the mental challenges posed by divorce. They are trained to handle all sorts of difficulties that a client might be facing, including co-parenting, limiting the impact the divorce has on any children involved, and facing up to some of the biggest mental blocks and fears.

A divorce coach is not a lawyer and is not there to help their clients with the legal aspects of getting divorced. Instead, they are focused on being a source of support and guidance for the emotional aspects that the client is facing.

They will help them to talk through their feelings, show them how to make and stick to decisions, and help them overcome some of the blocks they are struggling with. Many divorce coaches are licensed mental health professionals, recognizing that there is enormous emotional weight attached to divorce. However, they aren’t there to provide therapy.

So, let’s start looking at how to become a divorce life coach!

How Much Do Divorce Life Coaches Make?

The median salary for a divorce life coach is placed at around $66,000 per year, so they are fairly well-paid coaches. Some sites state the estimated salary as lower than this, at around $49,000 or $60,000, depending on where you look, but most coaches make a good living.

In terms of hourly pay, estimates are placed at around $100 to $150 per hour, but for coaches with more expertise, the hourly rate could be higher. One source says divorce life coaches can earn an amazing $200 per hour, but this is only likely to be accessible to established coaches with a large client base.

Often, the best way to get a good idea about salary is to check out what coaches local to you are charging per session. This will give you some idea of what they earn in an hour, and may help you to determine what you could earn. Remember, it may take a while to get established!

➡️ Need more help? Click here for more details on life coaching salaries >>

12 Steps To Becoming A Divorce Life Coach

Follow these 12 strategic steps to become a life coach that supports people experiencing a life changing divorce.

Step One: Become A Certified Divorce Life Coach

If you’re interested in finding out more, let’s begin learning how to become a divorce life coach, starting with the first step – getting certified. When you’re dealing with something as critical and life-changing as divorce, it’s really important to make sure that you have the skills you need to help your clients properly, and doing some training will help with this.

You may wish to take the Life Coach Certificate Course as a starting point. While not focused on divorce coaching specifically, this will give you many of the fundamental skills that can be transferred over and will ensure that you are well-placed to help your clients.

The course covers key skills you will need, such as how to help clients make difficult decisions, expanding your clients’ willingness to take responsibility, and problem-solving techniques. It will also teach you how to help your clients identify and avoid damaging behavior so that they can start taking positive action that will move them forward.

Step 2: Choose Your Divorce Life Coach Business Name

You’re now going to start thinking about what your business will be called. Shakespeare may have famously asked “what’s in a name,” but we’d say quite a lot – the name of your business has a big impact on how your potential clients initially respond to you.

You should aim for a name that ticks most or all of the following:

• It’s unique
• It will last
• It represents you
• It creates an emotional response
• It suits your ideal clients
• It can be protected
• It looks good when you write it
• It sounds good when you say it

That might feel like a lot of steps to try to cover, but your name needs to do a lot for you. It’s important to take some time figuring out what you want it to evoke and how to achieve this.

Remember, your clients are likely dealing with uncertainty, sadness, anger, and hurt. You want your name to acknowledge these things and establish a sense of trust and assistance so that clients feel you can help them.

➡️ Need more help with naming ? Check out these resources:

• How To Choose A Coaching Business Name >>
• See how other successful coaches names their businesses >>

Step 3: Choose A Niche

The next aspect of how to become a divorce life coach is selecting a niche. This is about narrowing your client base down so that you are focused on a particular subset of the divorce category. 

For example, you might choose to specialize in helping clients who are struggling to manage co-parenting with their partner. Alternatively, you might guide clients who aren’t sure whether they are making the right decision.

Selecting a niche is an important step because it lets you bring focus to your business. If you don’t identify who you are helping and what you are helping them with, you won’t be able to tailor your materials to suit them.

Some coaches worry that choosing a niche will limit them, but it often does the opposite. Knowing exactly who you are targeting will help you to create relevant exercises and advertising materials, and ensure that you are being as effective as possible, because you have chosen to specialize.

➡️ Need more help? Check out these resources:

• Learn how to choose a niche for your coaching business >>
• Download our free Choosing Your Niche Workbook in our resource library >>
• Watch our video on How To Identify Your Dream Clients (And Choose A Niche) >>

Step 4: Create A Business Plan

You might feel daunted by the idea of creating a business plan or you might be excited – but either way, you are going to need one. If you don’t have a business plan, there’s a high risk of veering off course or failing to identify issues with your setup.

A business plan should have:

• A mission statement (what you’re going to be doing, how, and who for)
• An executive summary (what your business is and who it serves)
• A list of products/services (what you’re going to offer)
• An “ideal client” profile (who are you going to work with)
• A list of client needs
• A plan for client acquisition
• An outline of your competitive advantage
• An exploration of why you are passionate about this business
• A brief breakdown of the finances going in and what you expect to get out
• Some goals for both the short-term and the long term

Once you have all of these things in place, you will have a better sense of what your business is, how it’s going to operate, and what challenges you may face along the way. Your business plan is crucial, so don’t neglect it!

Our business plan template for coaches is free to download HERE. After you sign up, you’ll find the coaching business plan in the business resources section.

Step 5: Identify Your Methodologies, Techniques, and Tools

Have you sat and thought about what you will actually do with a client in an individual session? What will the overall shape of your teaching look like? Where is your client’s starting point and what is the aimed-for finishing point?

You may find it helps to lay this out as: “My client is dealing with X problem. I am going to do A and B. This will achieve C and help my client to feel D.”

This is your methodology. It tells you what you are going to do to get your client through the difficulty they are facing. It can be simple or complicated, and different coaches find that different methodologies work for them, but knowing your approach is critical. You may also want to create a graphic of your approach and display it to clients so they know how you’ll help them.

Next, start thinking about the techniques you’ll be employing, and the tools you might use. Make a list of your favorite exercises and the “homework” you might ask clients to undertake in between sessions.

➡️Need more help? Check out these resources:

• Learn The Grow Model for Coaching 101: Plus How to Use It In Your Coaching Practice >>
• See The 13 Top Life Coaching Business Models >>

Step 6: Create Offers And Pricing

The next element of how to become a divorce life coach is deciding what you’re going to offer to clients and how much you are going to charge for it. 

Be careful here; a lot of coaches are tempted to undervalue their services to begin with because they think this is a good way to get clients and because they aren’t yet sure of the value they’re bringing.

This is understandable but it can damage your brand and make you look less appealing. Clients want to know they’re going to work with someone good, not mediocre, so don’t just undercut everyone else on the market with all your products.

If you’re having trouble with pricing, start with the packages instead. How are you going to be assisting your clients? Will you run half-day sessions, full day sessions, group workshops, or one on ones? Think about how you enjoy teaching and what your specific niche is likely to find most useful.

Once you’ve started creating packages, consider how much time each one involves, and start setting your prices accordingly.

➡️ Need more help? Click here for more information on structuring your coaching offer >>

Step 7: Design Your Divorce Life Coach Logo

Designing a logo can be a challenge for any coach, but it’s another important element. Your logo is often the face of your brand, so it needs to look good. It also needs to have the same tone and feeling as your business name (and other parts of your business) so you create a cohesive atmosphere.

You may want to incorporate the business name into the logo, or just use an image. Think carefully about what feelings you want the logo to evoke and how you can achieve this. What challenges are you helping your clients overcome, and how can you express this?

Consider your use of color, too. Many coaches make their logos bright and eye-catching, which is a great idea – but you don’t want the logo to be too colorful. A maximum of six hues, including white, should appear in it. More than this will begin to look chaotic.

See below for an example a life coaching logo template that can work well for divorce coaches who want to present themselves professionally:

➡️ Need more help with your logo? 

• Click here our Brand Clarity Guide >>
• View our coaching logo templates here >>

Step 8: Create Your Divorce Life Coach Website

Your coaching website is the next thing to turn your attention to, and it’s a great idea to do this while you’re in the flow of branding your business, so you can get the aesthetics right. This part of how to become a divorce life coach can be good fun if you’re creative, but remember that functionality is going to be key.

You will often be dealing with clients who are stressed, busy, overwrought, worn out, and scattered. If your website isn’t a dream to navigate through, with all the information in obvious places, you are very likely to lose people. You need to make sure that your site feels like it alleviates stress and makes things simple – because this echoes what you are going to do for your clients.

Think about the things your clients will expect to see, such as information about you, bookings pages, lists of products/services, and any blog information you offer. Organize these with care so that everything is easy to find and your clients have a great experience from the moment they click on your site.

If you want to make this part of the process even simpler, meet MaryAnn, one of our most successful website templates for life coaches. 

➡️ Need more help? Check out these resources:

• The DIY Beginners Guide to Websites >>
• How to build your website quickly & effectively >>
• Read our guide on “How To Structure A Coaching Website” >>

Step 9: Go Legal

You are probably already aware of how important it is to get the legalities right, and there are a few steps you should take before you launch your coaching business. First, check whether there are any regulations surrounding divorce life coaching in your state, and whether you need a license or permit. If you do, apply and wait for this to arrive before proceeding.

Next, you’ll need to register your business and business name, and choose a business structure for tax purposes. Think about whether you are going to need any business insurance, and consider hiring an accountant if necessary.

You will also need to set up a business bank account so that you have a designated space for clients to pay into, and you should choose a tax year and set aside funds for taxes. 

Doing these things in advance will ensure that your business operates smoothly from the beginning. You are also going to need a coaching contract – which we’ll cover in the next section.

➡️ Need more help? Be sure to download our LEGALLY LAUNCH IT Checklist from our resource library >>

Step 10: Create Your Coaching Contract

Creating your coaching contract is probably one of the most critical aspects of how to become a divorce life coach, and you must make sure that you have done this before you start trying to attract your first clients. Until there is a contract in place, don’t begin coaching, even with people you know!

Your coaching contract is a protection for both you and your clients, and it outlines the expectations for both parties. Usually, a contract will cover:

• A clause relating to payment conditions and late fees
• A clause on confidentiality
• An intellectual property clause
• A clause limiting your liability
• A disclaimer

These will all protect you from legal problems, and it’s crucial to have this contract signed by each client before you begin coaching them. If you fail to do this, you could end up in legal difficulties when something goes wrong.

You may want to have a lawyer draw up this contract, as divorce coaches will sometimes end up in the middle of fractious and difficult situations, and you want to make sure your contract is watertight. Alternatively, you can purchase a legal template online, but make sure you are buying it from a reputable site.

➡️ Have more contract questions? Check this out:

• The Official Coaching Contract 101 Guide >>
• Invest in a coaching contract from The Contract Shop >>
• Or download free coaching contracts from Practice >>

Step 11: Get Your First Divorce Life Coaching Client

Your business is now set and ready to go – and it’s time to attract the first client! But where do they come from?

Often, your first client or even first few clients will come to you naturally if you start making use of your network and putting out the word about your new business. In some situations, your first client may be someone you know, or someone that a friend or family member knows.

However, there are lots of other ways to get new clients. For example, you could do some guest blog posts on a divorce-related site, offering insight into the subject and linking to your own website so people can find you.

Alternatively, consider creating amazing content for your own site, and optimizing SEO techniques to ensure clients find you. This often takes longer, but it can have a lasting impact on your business, and will help to build your brand.

➡️ Need more help? Check out these resources:

• Read our guide on how to get coaching clients online >>
• Learn how to get more coaching leads >> 

Step 12: Grow Your Divorce Life Coaching Business

And the final part of how to become a divorce life coach? Growing.

Once you’ve got your first clients and you’ve begun testing out your methods and refining your process, it’s time to grow. At this point, you may want to start putting money into advertising the business and getting your name out there. Think about where your clients commonly operate and make sure your ads are appearing in those places.

Start tracking which ads are effective and honing your sales strategy according to this information. You should also create a sales cycle that reflects the full process clients go through, from hearing your name to buying your product. Determine whether any points of this cycle are weak and losing you clients.

You should also think about what impact growth will have on you as a coach. As you scale up, certain tasks are going to take up more and more time – so can you outsource any of these? You want to be able to spend your time on coaching, not administration, so think about tools or additional staff members that can make this happen.

Final Thoughts — Becoming A Divorce Life Coach

Congratulations, you’ve made it to end of this article and should have a solid grasp on how to become a divorce life coach! If you’re thinking of committing to a career in coaching, these 12 essential steps will help you set up your business with a strong foundation. 

And if you’re already a divorce life coach, make sure you’re following all of these steps to give yourself the best chance for success! 

We would love to hear about your experience starting out as a divorce life coach. Leave us a comment below and let us know how it’s going!