How to run an ethical and profitable kids life coaching business in the age of AI

There is one question I still get asked by the Kids Life Coaches that I mentor and train. "How did you build your business before technology was available to help you?"

So let me unpack this for you very gently and slowly so you don't miss anything. All of this very very easy to do and anybody can STILL do it, even in the age of AI!

I built my business quickly and easily based on only three things:

1. Good old fashioned relationship building,

2. A foundation of ethical business practices,

3 Offering a repeatable system with measurable results tailor made for every child

So what has changed since I started coaching children in 2003, long before AI, online coaching platforms and social media became part of everyday business?

Back then, I created every resource by hand. I spent evenings planning coaching activities, making games, designing confidence-building exercises and writing resources for parents and children. It took time, but I loved it because I knew every activity had a purpose.

Fast forward to today, and we have AI that can write our coaching plans in seconds, generate worksheets (something I still don't use in my coaching practice...can't stand them but that's for another blog on another day!), create social media content and answer emails before we've even had our morning coffee. With the possibility of a clone of you to make videos on demand and maybe an AI assistant to run your day to day life! 

That's exciting right? But to me, it's also a little worrying. I believe that as kids life coaches, we have a responsibility to ask an important question.

How can we AI proof the children we coach?

For me, the answer depends entirely on whether the AI we choose to use helps children or simply helps our business. I believe that those two things are not always the same. For instance, I am writing this blog myself. No AI in sight. Why? 

I love writing. I love sharing my knowledge. Most importantly I owe it to you...my client...to not get some generic garbage anybody can 'harvest' using AI! Children deserve the best of us. Your unique magic is where they come alive and thrive. They don't need anymore generic nonsense to influence their already overloaded little brains. The biggest gift we can give is actually being present. Authentically and in person. A human smile and the occasional hug is the best way to AI proof the children we coach!

Ethics Comes Before Efficiency

With the Kids Life Coaching industry growing so rapidly, more people are entering the profession because of the real glaring need we are seeing in children around the world. AI makes it easier than ever to create programmes, websites and marketing materials.

That's wonderful if it encourages more people to support children. It's not so wonderful if it encourages shortcuts. Anybody and everybody can now call themselves a kids life coach by doing a weekend warrior course and slapping a shiny looking accreditation badge onto their website. This means nothing at all if you don't have a solid theoretical base of knowledge to coach ethically. 

Ethical coaching has never been about producing the prettiest workbook or the most polished website. It's about building trust with children and families. Children know when an adult is genuinely interested in them. They know when someone is really listening. They know when activities have been chosen because they meet their needs rather than because an AI tool suggested them.

AI cannot build relationships. People do. Efficiency can be outsourced, but your unique skills and experience can't! BE proud of that!

Play Is Not an Optional Extra

Children rarely learn best by sitting and talking. They learn through doing, imagination, movement, laughter, games, stories. Most of all, they learn through play.

That's why I was an excellent teacher because I used this approach in my classroom way before my Play Based Coaching System was formalised.  Rooted in scientific neuroscience based principles, CBT, NLP, Positive Psychology and Social Psychology, I have taken tried and tested theories and designed something that works for any child anywhere anytime! 

I know that a well-designed coaching session based on play can teach resilience far more effectively than a lecture ever could. AI can suggest games to us but what it can't do is notice when a child changes the rules because they're anxious about losing. It cannot see the child who hangs back because they're worried about getting something wrong. Those observations are where being trained in a Play Based Coaching System grounded in science really begins to pay off.

The good thing is that we no longer need to know all the answers now because we can ask our AI buddies for help at any time. But something even more valuable than that, is when our global network of Play Based Coaches hop into the zoom room and speak real-world ideas and experiences. This is the magic of human over AI. You cannot fake real human creativity, joy and happiness. Children don't play in that way!

Where AI Adds Value

People sometimes assume that ethical coaching means avoiding AI altogether. If you had asked me this at the beginning of the year, I would have said I agree. Yet for the past month, I have been courageously learning this new tool and what it can do to help us run an ethical and profitable kids life coaching business in the age of AI. 

I am still a novice and I anticipate that this steep learning curve will not end because there are always going to be new better tools. So how do we navigate this and know where AI adds value to our coaching practices?

I believe ethical coaching means using AI in the right places. For example, I might use it to:

• organise ideas for my corporate workshops..then I do the rest.
• create first drafts of a flyer/poster..then I do the rest.
• brainstorm confidence-building activities...then I do the rest.
• develop marketing content ideas...then I do the rest. 
• structure coaching notes...then I do the rest. 
• save time on administration...then I do the rest.

Notice what all of those tasks have in common. None of them replace me or my human contact. We simply work in tandem as a team with me always leading the way with my ethics firmly in place.  

Using AI effectively simply gives me more time for my first love...coaching families. That's the difference we can all leverage because when we are coaching, we are also earning an income. So AI helps us to leverage our most precious resource...time...in a very practical way. 

Where AI Should Never Replace Professional Judgement

There are some things I believe should always remain human in our Kids Life Coaching practices. AI should never decide whether a child is anxious. Hence our Kids Life Studio Lifestyle Assessment that gives us a snapshot of where a child's life may be out of balance. This tool was developed based on my experience and intense, deep research. It was generated before a time of AI yet so many people can now take my tool and replicate it and improve on it and think this will give them a solid foundation for coaching children. Anything stolen and copied is not an ethical way to run any business. Yet Ai is making this possible and for many it now seems normal. Our professional judgement can never be replaced by AI and if you want to use anything created by somebody else first, have the ethical and moral foundation of citing them first. 

The best coaches are the ones who understand that building a bespoke coaching programme is not about fancy tools that AI can create in a wink, but about how you use and implement them for the benefit of the children we coach. Anybody can now create anything with very little knowledge because AI can do all of that for you. Yet professional judgement and true depth of knowledge cannot be outsourced. 

AI should also never by used to interpret a child's behaviour and it should never replace safeguarding procedures. You should also never use it to write personalised reports without careful review. The most important thing is that it should never ever become the coach. YOU should always be top of a child's mind. Their Secret Parent mentor that guides them as part of their 'village'. Parents appreciate this authenticity and this is what will keep them as your clients. 

Children also deserve adults who can notice the things that technology cannot. The quiet sigh. The nervous laugh. The child who suddenly becomes withdrawn halfway through a game. No algorithm can replace your professional curiosity, ethical foundations, deep intuitive knowledge base and compassionate observation. This is invaluable!

Can You Be Ethical and Profitable?

Absolutely. In fact, I'd argue that the two these days have to go hand in hand if you want to build a sustainable business that outlasts trends. So how do you do this? Families stay with coaches they trust. So work on building trust through real human authenticity. Schools recommend practitioners who are consistent. So show up and add value through your human touch. 

I believe that as professionals who work with children, we need to invest in quality rather than quantity to build stronger reputations. More posts on social media or more blogs or more PR will not get results with the children you coach. 

Profit doesn't come from cutting corners. Using my Play Based Coaching System ensures you have the Brain Cubed framework in place. Nothing missing. Everything in place to ensure success in the children you coach. After all, your success is and always will be dependent on the success of the children you coach. AI cannot do that for you. 

A profitable and successful kids life coaching practice comes from creating genuine value. AI helps me now spend less time on mundane tasks and more time designing meaningful immersive coaching experiences for children.

That's a better use of my time and ultimately, it's also a better experience for the families I support. ParentsT already know that AI can help me create resources that support this process, but they are also smart enough to know what they want for their children.  They don't want an AI fuelled coaching practice without heart. AI cannot replace the relationships that make any resources  it creates meaningful.

My Advice 

If you're building your Kids Life Coaching business today, don't let AI define your work. Let your values define it. Decide what is important to you and go and do that thing. Become known for the value you offer and the values you shine through your day to day work. Use technology to save time, improve organisation and reduce repetitive tasks but keep your coaching human.

Be humble and keep learning. Keep reflecting by attending professional supervision and group mentorship sessions. Most of all keep playing. The children you coawon't remember how quickly you created a worksheet (If you are still using those in your coaching practice, please stop...you're discrediting yourself!)

I am here to support you no matter the stage of your business setup, with professional supervision or consultancy, so click to book your time with me or join our membership to get weekly group mentorship sessions and ongoing encouragement to build your ethical and profitable kids life coaching business in the age of AI. If you haven't yet learnt how to coach children with a system that works, perhaps it's time to see if my approach is for you. Click here to apply to work with me or you are most welcome to enrol in my online Introduction to Kids Life Coaching course. 

Children and their parents will always remember how you made them feel. My clients have seen me change brands, refresh logos, build new websites but after more than twenty years of coaching children, and mentoring coaches around the globe to setup their own successful coaching practices, I am the one constant. That's still the most important measure of success I know. AI can never replicate that!