Typically non-athletic coaching falls into three categories: 1) personal coaching which focuses on self-development, self-image, personal motivation and fulfillment; 2) business coaching, which focuses on issues of starting, running and/or growing a business; and 3) executive coaching, which helps executives learn to build better collaborative relationships for more effective leadership. This article will focus on the second type since you readers—home-based entrepreneurs—typically would be most interested in business coaching.
My personal journey
I consider myself a smart, well-educated person, and for years, I disdained the idea of hiring a business coach to help me do things, because I thought I should be able to learn them on my own. After all, the Internet is filled with more information than you could ever want on every aspect of starting, running, and succeeding in a business. Why should I pay someone else when the money would be better spent invested elsewhere? Besides, there are so MANY who claim to be coaches now, so how would I ever choose a coach?
It was actually my immersion into the world of social media that enabled me to connect with people who had products, services, ezines or blogs that I found extremely valuable for both my own business and for my writing content for home business entrepreneurs. Lo and behold, it soon became obvious that many of these “gurus”—already tops in their field—had coaches or mentors or at least had used them in the past and credited them with helping them get where they are today. If they felt it was important to invest in themselves by using a business coach, then maybe it was time to consider it myself.
I started paying attention to what various coaches said about themselves and what others said about them. I felt that my biggest problem was actually a sort of paralysis from information overload and that I needed, first of all, someone who had started an online business from scratch themselves and could tell me how to do it (and how NOT to do it). I also felt that I needed someone who seemed to have an aptitude for helping people clarify their own talents, skills, and passions to create a focus and a goal for developing a niche and/or brand with appropriate products and services. In short, I needed someone to get me unstuck and able to harness all the ideas that had been swirling around but getting no traction.
I like to listen to teleseminars and webinars, and this gives me a chance to hear different coaches and experts talk and interact with their co-hosts and with those who have questions. It was in this way that I found Chris Marlow (http://www.getgreatclients.com), niche expert and coach. She has helped me create a focus area, a Unique Selling Proposition, a Value Proposition, and we’re getting ready to work on a creative brief for my new business idea. Finally, I feel like I have a track to run on and I truly understand the value of a good coach! I made sure ahead of time that she was willing to give me specific information about tools, products, and resources that would help me. She has been more than generous in this regard, and a good coach will always put the success of their students as a high priority.
What can a coach do for you?
According to Terri Levine, The Biz Growth Guru, “The role of a business coach is simple: to help you grow your business, make more money, and have more time off.”
That is true, but a coach can provide much more specific help, if that’s what you need. For me, my coach guided me into a more focused approach to my work. Once I had discarded a lot of the extraneous and unnecessary “noise” of competing ideas, I found that I attracted information about things, people, books, and classes into my life and awareness that were much more targeted towards my newly defined focus area. It’s as though the universe was waiting for me to make up my mind where I wanted to go and then it began to supply what I needed. Amazing!
Certified professional coach Jim Jenkins in the article cited in Sources below says, “Fast Company magazine reports that up to 40% of Fortune 500 companies hire coaches to improve their businesses. There’s a proven, significant return on investment. A 2001 study by the Manchester Review said that the output of executives involved in coaching programs averaged nearly 5.7 times higher than the initial investment.”
How do I choose a business coach?
This, at first, seems a daunting task. According to Inc.com contributing editor, Alison Wellner, “…despite a few noncompulsory credentialing efforts, the coaching profession is completely unregulated. Anyone, with any amount of experience, can crown himself coach and start offering advice. Hairstylists face more stringent licensing procedures.” There is an important element of matching and mutual suitability that must take place—even a top coach may not be the best coach for every client.
If you’ve been using the Internet for any length of time, you’ve probably identified a few business leaders whose advice and style you’ve come to admire and rely on. Please note that this is not always the one whose name you see the most frequently. A lot of people are better at hyping themselves than they are at helping others. Find out if they have ever used and benefitted from a mentor or coach. Often this will be readily apparent from their site. If you can, find out what they liked about their coach and what they accomplished through their work together.
Next, check with any industry or niche sites that you use and see if there are ads or mentions of coaches in your field. Certainly you can do a search using the word “coach” plus any keywords appropriate to your field. These may be very industry-specific individuals, so they certainly don’t have to be famous, but you want to take some time to follow them (read their ezines, check out their Websites, read their books, look them up on Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) long enough to know that they offer value and not just fluff.
The Coach Connection, BusinessCoach.com, ActionCoach, and the Worldwide Association of Business Coaches are interesting sites, though I don’t know anyone who has used them. They claim to offer help in matching you up with a coach that’s right for you.
Read Alison Wellner’s piece called “What Kind of Coach Do You Need?” This covers the pros and cons of four main types that she calls: 1) The Best Friend, 2) The Guru, 3) The Number Cruncher, or 4) The Drill Instructor. Never forget that most coaches are really good at selling themselves, so beware of the hype and be a smart shopper. Wellner also warns to beware of the cult personality that seems to be present with some coaches.
Here are some things you should ask yourself before you start looking for a coach:
- What are your primary goals in hiring a coach – to improve a
specific skill? To attain a specific income level? To map out an action
plan for the next year? A good coach will have you do some sort of
evaluation to start out, but you will save time if you’ve already done
some thinking about this and it will help you decide what kind of coach
will best meet your needs.
- Are you looking for a few coaching sessions or a long-term relationship with a coach?
- Are you willing to protect yourself by insisting on a trial period and getting references?
I found the range to be between $150 and $400 an hour, but often there are packages that lower the hourly cost, and I’m sure there are coaches below and above that range. In my case, I decided I was going to invest $1,000 in myself. Some coaches were willing to lower the hourly rate significantly when they found out I was serious about more than one session. For some of you, one or two sessions may be all you need to really help, especially if you and your prospective coach are very clear with each up other front about what you can spend and what they can provide.
This is not the time to be shy or bashful about discussing what you want, what you expect, and what you can pay. A good coach will expect your honest questions and will be up front with you about what they can—or will—do. It is completely appropriate to ask for references.
As mentioned above, this is a case in which you will save yourself a lot of money if you try to do some hard brainstorming first about what you want and what you think you need. Even though that may be part of what you want a coach to help you with, it will still save you some time (and time is money with a coach) to think about it ahead of time. This can even be only to get yourself to the point where you have written down a list of things you’re good at, things you think you’d like to do, things you know you do NOT want to do, and what you want or expect to get out of it.
Ten Signs that you’re ready to invest in a business coach
1. You want to achieve more in some aspect of your business: more clients/customers, more exposure, better brand recognition, etc.
2. You want to make more money -- you feel you need help getting to a significant level of increased profitability with your business.
3. You need the accountability offered by a business coach.
4. Your work is not as satisfying as it should be.
5. You spend too much time for too little productivity: you’re not working smart.
6. You are procrastinating too much.
7. Your personal relationships are suffering or non-existent.
8. You feel stuck.
9. You feel stressed out and overwhelmed.
10. You think about work all the time with no clear way to stop.
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