Mark Hamawi

Perhaps you are wondering whether coaching is a financially viable career path? Enter Mark Hamawi, executive coach, graduate of The Life Coaching College, and living proof that determination and effort can reap rewards.

In the first 10 months of setting up his business, Mark earned $100,000 and is now routinely earning double that amount each year through his two coaching streams, Leader House and Hypno Hut.

“You can be making $100,000 a year as long as you put into practice what you learn and stay focused and disciplined,” says Mark, who is based on the Gold Coast.

“If you have got discipline everything flows from that.”

Like many graduates of  The Life Coaching College, Mark discovered coaching after a successful career in another industry, in his case as a former CPA accountant.

In 2017, he retired and sold his accounting firm, having spent the past four decades working long hours and doing “the hard yards”.

“I also really felt that I wasn’t spending enough time with my kids and at that point, they were 11 and eight years old,” he says.

“I used to spend a lot of time advising clients and building up a rapport with them, and the feedback I received was that I was a lot more than an accountant.

The career transition to business and executive coach was far from smooth, however, as around the same time, Mark lost his father, his sister and his dog. Understandably, he suffered a period of grief-related depression and anxiety.

“There was quite a bit of grief,” he says.

“My sister was only six years older than me and when you lose people who mean a lot in your life, then all of a sudden you re-evaluate your priorities.”

Mark worked with a counsellor to re-connect with a sense of purpose, which is what led him to study his Master Practitioner of Coaching at The Life Coaching College.

“I narrowed my options down to three but I chose the College because the staff I spoke to were able to answer my questions clearly and precisely,” he says.

“The College was also very clear on what skills and capabilities I would have, and what tools I would acquire in order to become a coach and run coaching sessions.”

The close community of fellow student coaches also helped Mark emerge from his depression and anxiety.

“I’m not a fluffy person by nature, but I loved being part of the community and it allowed me to let go of the corporate walls that I had built up,” he says.

In particular, Mark credits the quality of the face-to-face training at the college as a real game-changer.

“In-person training is a great way to learn and it makes it more dynamic,” he says.

“Being in a room with other people shifts something inside of you.”

It has only been a few short years since he graduated, but Mark’s training and coaching business, Leader House, has helped scores of executives build their leadership capabilities and foster high-performing teams.

In particular, Mark enjoys helping Gold Coast businesses stay the course.

“The glue between creating a business that starts and goes well early on and a business that endures in the long-term is leadership,” he says.

“A leadership mindset allows you to see solutions everywhere, to engage, to have an amazing, quality team around you and to attract, high-quality clients.”

Mark’s second business, Hypno Hut, is located in Mermaid Waters and treats PTSD, weight issues, stress and anxiety through his hypnotherapy expertise.

He has served close to 200 people at the Hypno Hut in the past 12 months, and is considering expanding the business into a franchise.

“I can’t help but imagine what it would be like if we had a Hypno Hut in every suburb,” he says.

“How many people could we help? How much could we improve the rates of obesity, anxiety, depression, gambling, smoking, and addictions that Australians suffer from?”

“I feel like the Hypno Hut could really shift community wellness.”

Although he is no longer a student, Mark still feels very much a part of the fabric of the college.

“I have paid my fees but we all still just keep receiving because we’re in the community and our membership is forever,” he says.

“The College is always putting resources and courses online for us and they just keep giving.”

Mark says the college’s support during COVID-19 was especially appreciated.

“They worked really hard to keep everyone in a positive frame of mind,” Mark says.

“The College over-delivers on expectations, and that’s very rare nowadays. There is a lot of heart there.”