When we’re eating dinner, my son will eat all the meat and leave the broccoli on his plate. Would you have guessed he got that trait from me, his mom, the health nut? While I savor my greens, like him, I also like to pick and choose my favorites and avoid things that are less preferable. People avoid hiring business coaches just like they avoid eating broccoli.
I thought I was saving money by not paying a business coach, but having someone help me think out of the box, and connect me with the right people would have MADE me a lot more money than what the business coach would have cost.
When you’re a business owner, avoiding a lot of those uncomfortable things will cost you money. Hiring a business coach will push you past these challenges! I will be honest, one of my regrets in life (and boy I have many😊) is not hiring one sooner.
Before hiring my coach, I avoided things like:
Firing the employee that should have been let go long ago, and the clients who suck away your energy and momentum
Analyzing the profits of each item I was selling, so I could sell more of the profitable ones and less of the not-so profitable ones. I was so focused on sales that I thought I didn’t have time to look at profits.
Goal setting, planning for the future, and mentoring and empowering my employees so I could run my business.
After 15 years I felt completely burned out. I was making revenue, but not profits. So, I bit the broccoli and hired a coach.
I will never forget our first meeting when he said to me, “You bought yourself a job. Let me know when you want to own a business, not have the business own you.” OUCH!
Okay, Jen, time to pull up your big girls’ panties and start thinking about work as a business owner and not just an employee.
I worked with a coach until the day I sold. And by the way, I was able to sell my business for more than I would have been able to without the coach.
If you avoid the broccoli, you miss out on plenty of antioxidants, immune boosters, vitamins, minerals and cancer preventers. Yes, cancer preventers!
If you avoid hiring a business coach, you miss out on increasing your revenue, profit, and sales. A great coach can improve your work life balance and help you enjoy the dream you worked so hard for.
Tell me, what do you like to avoid in running your business? I would love to hear from you. Contact me today!
So you’ve been convinced you need to level up and hire a business coach. How do you feel confident that the person you’re bringing onboard will meet your needs? Read on for my top tips on how to find a your business coach.
Most importantly, your business coach has to be someone you like. I once had a mentor: “Surround yourself with people you want to be in a canoe with all day.” That is true in both business and life. If you want to push someone overboard halfway down the river, then you might want to find a different paddler. Look for someone you like, respect and can relate to. Make sure you do not feel intimidated by their success. You need someone you feel comfortable voicing any and all ideas that come your way.
Someone with experiencein what you want to do In today’s online world you have to be very careful of hiring a business coach you were exposed to online. There are a lot of coaches that have taught themselves theory from watching a bunch of YouTube videos. You want to hire someone with actual business experience. Look for someone whose experience lines up with what you do. One time, I interviewed a coach that was going to charge me $4000 to work with me weekly for 90 days. I asked her what she did prior to coaching. Her answer? a Personal Assistant for a family. Now, don’t get me wrong – I love that was what she did and think that would be a fun career. However, I am not sure how that experience can possibly help me launch my brick-and-mortar business. No offense, but I want someone who can walk the talk.
Their programs fit your schedule When working with a business coach you have to make it a priority. You have to schedule in the time just like you would a client appointment. Don’t commit to a class at 6am when you have to get kids off to school. If the timing of the coach’s programs become challenging, you will actually dread it and worse yet, skip it. Check their programs, have a conversation and make sure their schedule will work with yours.
Someone who will keep it real and tell it to you straight Your coach might have something to say that you don’t want to hear. Our businesses are like our babies and if you ever see a Mama Bear rise when someone picks on her child, you get it. Entrepreneurs are a passionate bunch. However, rising and building is a group effort. If a business coach is allowed to be open and honest with you, you will only benefit. Don’t hire someone that will only tell you what you want to hear. Call Mom for that. Hire someone who is going to be authentic and tell it to you straight.
Someone who wants you to succeed as much as you do if not more You hire a coach to help educate, train, instruct, and mentor you, but they also need to be your cheerleader. They should have a passion and love to see others succeed, and sometimes, even become more successful than themselves. This will show you that they will give you their all to help you grow.
FUN! You started a business because you love to dream, you love inspiration, you can see the big picture, and you are a visionary. Don’t squash those ideals by working with someone that you can’t have fun with. It is okay to laugh at yourself, laugh at your mistakes, and enjoy the training. I get that work is work, and not all aspects of owning your own business are fun, but in my opinion working with a business coach shouldn’t be one of them.
Now that you’ve learned how to find your business coach, I’d love to see if I’d be a good fit for you! Read more about my services to find out more.
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