Creating An Efficient Life Coaching Office At Home

Creating Your Ideal Life Coaching Office Design

Having a pleasant and comfortable place to work from at home is really important, not only for your well-being but your professionalism as a coach. Ideally, your coaching office design should not only be pleasant but somewhere that can't be constantly interrupted by family activities, visitors or external noise.

So unless you have a completely separate room to work in (with a door that shuts take into account the times you are going to coach to minimise the possibilities of disruption (eg: children coming home from school).

There is nothing worse than reaching a critical moment in a client session and suddenly a family member rushes in or the cat jumps on your lap. Of course, educating the family around interruptions is one solution here.

I know a  dedicated room may not always be possible but if you have face-to-face clients that you see at home, do try to have somewhere that can serve as a professional looking space, even if it is a corner of the living room or well tidied dining room table (away from the kitchen).  This will help them feel confident in your professionalism. 

Apart from the obvious benefits of being in your "own" area where you can concentrate on work, a simple reason for a dedicated space is the storage of reference books, client files and other admin items like invoices and tax documents..

No space for a life coaching office set-up at home?

If none of this is possible in the home situation, see if there is an outside venue with a private, quiet area such as a cafe or a hotel lobby, even a park where you could do your face to face coaching.

There are also co-working spaces such as Liquid Space in many cities internationally where you can hire out office space by the hour. Or, if appropriate, you could arrange to go to the client's home or their workplace where they may be able to book a meeting room. 

What about budget?  I’m not going to attempt to give you a dollar amount that you will need to spend on your life coaching office setup because there are so many variables and choices. My aim here is to discuss the items you need to get your home based coaching practice off to a good start and give you some options to explore

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Choosing Your Life Coaching Office Furniture

Life coaching friendly desks and chairs

The advantage of a variable height standing desk

I've never regretted in investing in my Varidesk which I often use for meetings, by phone or Zoom and for working on this website. 

It has done wonders for my back problems. Research has shown that, back problems aside, standing up to work some of the time rather than sitting at a desk is a healthier option. You can even get them with a  treadmill accessory. though somehow I can't imagine using one whilst coaching!

There are many other standing desks to fit all budgets on Amazon. Some come as a compete unit and others can sit on top of your existing desk or table as in the picture. Some are really easily adjustable so you can sit down to work when standing gets too tiring. Which brings us to.....

Office Chairs at Amazon

If you are going to coach at a desk or table, at the very least make sure you have a chair that can allow you to sit at your right height. Your body will thank you for it.

Again you can search for adjustable adjustable office chairs on Amazon or check out your local office furniture store. Decide whether you need one with armrests or whether they will be a nuisance. 

If you have back problems, you may find an comfortable or adjustable supportive armchair with a foot stall may work for your remote coaching with your laptop literally on your lap. 

Choosing Your Computer

These days a good computer is an essential piece of coaching equipment. You can choose between a Mac or a PC and a laptop, desk model or iPad depending on your preferences and your coaching lifestyle. Amazon has a good selection of PCs and Notebooks as well as for Apple devotees like me some in the Apple range.

And even if all your clients are local and you coach face to face, having a relatively fast and trouble-free computer or mobile device you can send emails and processes from, is a must to keep in easy touch with clients.

You might also think of asking your interstate or international clients to join WhatsApp so you can communicate with them for no charge.

Don't economise on your choice of computer. An inexpensive Notebook or trying to get by with your Smartphone may turn out to be a false economy. This is  because these little computers are often slow and have limited ability to process several applications at once, or have insufficient storage for records. 

Make sure your computer has a camera

Other Life Coach Office Equipment To Consider

Life coaching software

A life coaching software system can become a useful part of your office equipment. It can free you up from all those time consuming admin task and even help you create your coaching packages.

If you are thinking of investing in a software system, do first check out my guide for clarifying what functions you want so you get the best value.

Of all those I researched I particularly liked Paperbell which comes with the added credibility of also being a recommended partner of the ICF (International Coach Federation). 

Paperbell offers a month’s free trial, with lots of support for using the system. The free trial also comes without the hassle of giving a credit card so here is nothing to lose by signing up and taking a exploratory look! 👀.

A Hard Drive will avoid computer disasters

If you are keeping your records on your computer, please please invest in a hard drive and back up regularly. I kept a folder for each of my clients where I stored all communications with them including agreements. Losing these records would really have been a big problem.

So for peace of mind if you computer crashes - as they do - investing in a backup device  and using it regularly saves this from being a disaster. This Seagate Portable is reliable and both Mac and and PC compatible.

A Headset Can Make Your Remote Coaching Easier

If you coach through an online platform such Zoom, Skype etc. or by phone, headset with a microphone is a great investment in your work from home office setup, 

There are loads of headsets to browse and choose from to fit all budgets on Amazon.  Make sure the one you choose works with your landline or mobile device and is both PC and Mac compatible.

A Copier/Scanner 

Although not a necessity, a compact combination copier/scanner can be a good investment generally as well as for your coaching office. It is very convenient to be able to scan such things as receipts you need to submit for claims and your signature or anything else you need to save such as a signed client agreement.

A copier is useful if you want to design and print out a flyer or brochure to promote your coaching or handouts for a course you are running.

You can browse a selection and buy one for under $150 on Amazon. However paying a little extra will most likely get you a known brand with a good guarantee.

When choosing, take into account the running cost. This can vary a lot and will depend on whether the facility uses ink refills or laser.

And make sure the model you choose works seamlessly with your type of computer or mobile phone -  Mac, PC, Notebook etc. 

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So now you know what you basically need to set up your home office. Have a look at the related pages below for more ideas as you get started on setting up your coaching practice.