Salary
Average Salary: $62,000
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $2,588,376
The average life coach makes between $55,000-$116,000 a year. Yes, that's a big gap. Basically, if you're good (in the top 10% of your field), you'll make six figures. Some executive life coaches, who help business leaders turn their companies around make upwards of $325 an hour. Celebrity life coaches make even more. There are some life coaches taking in $600 an hour from those who can afford to pay big bucks (source).
Of course, a lot of this depends on who you ask. Some sources claim a new life coach makes $35 an hour while others put that dollar amount a lot higher at $100 an hour. Typically, the folks who claim there's a lot of money in this insist the difference is on if you buy into this or that training program. There are several life coach training programs out there and these supposedly make you more valuable and able to charge more money. They also cost thousands of dollars to enroll in.
We don't know for a fact that you'll be in that top ten percent if you go to the IAC, or the ICF. There's no guarantee you'll be even able to make a living at all at this. There's no salary, no health benefits, no job security.
You could very well spend a bunch of money on coach training classes and certifications only to find that you can't get enough clients to pay your own rent and end up living in a van down by the river.
Part of being an entrepreneur (starting your own business) is taking a risk when it comes to money. Another word for this could be gambling with your life.