4 Things to Consider Before Hiring a Business Coach

A Business Coach is Not for Everyone

I know that this might seem like a strange way to start an article about hiring a business coach. But, it is true that a business coach is not for everyone. If you are serious about building and growing your business and you are tired of doing it alone, then continue reading because a business coach might be for you. 

So if you’re thinking about having a business, just launched your business, or you have had your business for a while. It does not mean that you need a business coach. Hear me out. 

As I talk with others to share about what I do, there are several people that I continue to meet that have several misconceptions of what business coaches do. So that got me to thinking about why someone should hire a business coach, which then got me to think about things that people can consider before they hire a business coach.

Again, hiring a business coach is not an automatic thing to do if you are an entrepreneur. There is the possibility that you don’t need a business coach. You might need a business consultant or another type of coach or consultant....maybe even just a mentor. The point is that every entrepreneur's situation and needs are different. 

4 Reasons to Hire A Business Coach

So there are 4 things that I wanted to share with you for your to consider before hiring a business coach.

Are you ready?

There are a lot of resources that I have reviewed about this topic and I have reflected on my own experiences to bring you these 4 things to consider. In my research for how best I could share what you need to consider, I found two articles that I think would be helpful. The first one is from Inc.com and the other one is from the Entrepreneur. So here are the 4 things to consider before hiring a business coach: 

1. Do you need a coach, mentor, or teacher.

Before hiring a business coach, the Inc.com article suggests that you ask yourself if you need a teacher, a mentor, or a coach.  And I agree with this being a beginning question for you. Because oftentimes, people say that they’re looking for a coach, but they may be looking for a mentor or a teacher instead. 

But in order to know which one you need or think you need, we have to be sure we know what each one does. So in that Inc.com article they included definitions of each of the three. 

Really quick,

A teacher studied a topic and teaches what they learn. So this means that they can teach you a skill. Whereas, a mentor shares their experiences of what they did to earn their money. They would give advice and help you with business structure. A coach was defined as a person “who can help you with the internal aspects of entrepreneurship, personal growth, setting goals and facing fears and resistance.”

It’s through understanding those internal aspects of entrepreneurship, through facing fears and resistance, that a coach can help you set and accomplish those goals so that you can achieve that personal growth that you need. That will be beneficial to your business. A business coach can help you with understanding how your mindset is impacting your business.

So that was the first thing to consider when thinking about hiring a business coach.

2. Know the stage of your business

The second thing for you to consider when thinking about hiring a business coach also comes from that Inc.com article. As mentioned in that article, it is important to know what stage your business is at.

Now this may seem easy for many of your but might be a little tricky for others. The reason why this is important is because you might enter group coaching with a coach, only to find out that there is no other person in the group whose business is at your stage. Then you are likely to feel like you wasted your money because you are not getting the benefit that you wanted from the group coaching. 

To help with illustrating this point, have you filed to make your business legitimate? Are you in your first year? Are you in your third year?

Are you really in your fifth year like you LinkedIn profile says or are you really in your first year because you have not completed foundational steps like having a business plan and a strategic plan and have not generated any revenue in your so-called 5 years?

Looking at your revenue is another way to help you figure out the stage of your business. It also helps you with determining which business coach to work with and which group coaching to sign up for me. 

So for me right now, it may not be beneficial for me to enter a mastermind coaching group with entrepreneurs who are making five million or more dollars in revenue and who have been in business for 10 or more years. The reason is because the challenges that they are experiencing, I might not be able to relate to. 

So be honest with yourself and identify the stage that you are at so that you can find the most appropriate coach to help you.

3. Know yourself

This third one also comes from that Inc.com article. It about knowing yourself. In other words, you have to know how you feel about yourself and your success. Are you ready to grow and take risks? If not, then you are not ready for a business coach.

A business coach will help you to understand that the actions that you need to take so you can get the results you want. It does mean being a little uncomfortable and going out of your comfort zone. It can even involve having to shift your mindset about certain things. So when you decide to work with a business coach, remember that you were wanting that coach to push you to the next level as a leader and to the next level for your business. 

4. Find out about your coach's knowledge

This fourth thing to consider comes from the Entrepreneur.com article. In that article, it talks about the importance of your coach’s knowledge. Specifically, the coach’s knowledge about business plans, strategic plans, organizational design, and financial management.

Because having a fancy website or expensive looking websites do not mean that the coach knows the importance of business plans, strategic plans, organizational design, or financial management. You want to work with a business coach who knows what is to be included in each of those things so that you are set up for success!

So those are the 4 things that I wanted to share with you to consider before you hire a business coach.

Happy searching and I hope you find the business coach to meet your needs!

If you are need help with your search, get ideas in my planning guide.

Thank you for taking the time to read my article.

Regards,

Dr. Priscilla "Dr. P" Kucer

Solutions+Actions=Results! (SoAR!)