There are quite a few differences, actually, the main one being that life coaching is about individual development, whereas business coaching is about organisational development. With individuals, coaching tends to work with people's own perceptions of themselves, and is more connected with emotions. Coaching in the world of business may incorporate elements of life coaching, but it is mainly dealing with elements within a company, and what that company would like to change.

And are the two subjects interchangeable? Because a lot of coaches seem to offer the two almost simultaneously. . .

You can use life coaching in a business context, but this is one of the main challenges to the market. Coaching (and this is from a worldwide perspective, not just in Ireland) is unregulated. So there are a lot of qualified life coaches who are involved in doing business with business people.

The premise of coaching is that the client's agenda has to be central, but if it is a life coach going to do business coaching, then ultimately it becomes the life coaches session.

So, would you welcome regulation of the industry?

There is currently an organisation called the ICDN (the Irish Coaching Development Network), funded partly by the EU, which is working very hard to develop a platform for regulation. But, from my experience, the people who truly care about their clients would fully support and endorse regulation. It is the people who do not, and who are only in the industry for themselves, who might not be as keen on the idea.

But given that it is still an unregulated industry, there are many who would consider coaching in general to be all smoke and mirrors. Can you convince these people that there is real value to the coaching?

Coaching, be it life, business, management or executive coaching, is always going to be a lot of smoke unless the client chooses to see it as something that works. If someone thinks that coaching is hogwash, then, most likely, the sessions will not work for them. But if somebody believes in coaching, then the coach and the client can connect. The message is that you will always get from coaching what you put into it.

Is coaching becoming more popular in Ireland?

The market is currently at its early stages of becoming significant in this country, but I can tell you that, in a business context, it seems to be growing at an incredible rate. In the US, it has been estimated to be the second fastest growing industry next to IT . . . and we are beginning to have the same experience in Ireland.

Indeed, a recent report suggested that the average entrepreneur is spending about 20% of his or her salary on personal, business and executive coaching, to maintain the levels of focus and energy which brought them their success in the first place.