A few of my friends asked me if a small business coach is worth the money. They knew my answer would be a resounding yes, but wanted to rile me up a little bit. Hey, what are friends for?
I began to talk about all the successes that I have had with coaching clients. I could see their eyes begin to glaze over.
It’s like reading people’s testimonials. Of course they are going to put the best ones up on their website. You don’t get to read about the failures.
I’ve had plenty of failures. It comes with the territory. I can’t help everyone; that would mean I was superman. I have superpowers, but I can’t fly faster than a speeding bullet.
My Latest Failure
An artiest signed up for 4 sessions with me. He is a really talented guy. He can use concepts in ways that brings out the beauty in the most mundane objects.
We were trying to work together to clarify his brand. I felt his resistance from the start, but I thought that if we could keep digging we would get there.
We couldn’t break through. I tried everything and we weren’t heading in the right direction.
After the 4th session I suggested that he hire a branding expert. He wanted to hire me for 4 more sessions, but I knew it wouldn’t be right. I felt like we were talking in circles. I wasn’t helping him.
For Every Failure There will be Victories
A business coach must put himself out there to fail. If he isn’t then he isn’t putting himself out there and taking risks he isn’t trying hard enough. There is that fine line of pushing just hard enough to get results, but not pushing too hard that the client gets scared.
A good small business coach will push you outside of your comfort zone, so you can grow. If you don’t feel a little uncomfortable then you aren’t developing new habits that will help you become happier, more productive and successful.
Success Stories
I could give you a whole bunch of success stories. In fact here are some of the testimonials. I don’t push these that hard. I know that they don’t tell the whole story.
You aren’t going to hire me based on these testimonials. You’ll hire me because I coached a friend through a tough transition in his business and he told you about how awesome I am. You’ll also hire me because you got to know me through this blog and other social media, you like my style and you believe that I can help you. Because you believe in me, you are willing to push outside your comfort zone to grow.
Those are really the top two reasons I’ve ever been hired.
My Experience with Coaches
I’ve worked with some amazing coaches. Each one helped me get a little closer to my superpowers. They knew how to ask the right questions in order to help me understand my purpose.
Katie of the Levity Project helped me understand how to separate myself from the crowd. She is the one who forced me to figure out my brand. We didn’t solve it over the phone, but she opened the door for me to walk through.
Once I was through, I understood that I needed to help people leverage their superpowers in their businesses. It felt like an “aha” moment, but really it came from me asking for help and expecting to find it. I might have been able to reach the same place without Katie, but she fast forwarded my progress.
She saved me months of time trying to discover the direction I needed to go in. That’s when I really knew I wanted to be a small business coach. I wanted to help people fast forward their progress.
What You Need
Your needs are different from everyone else you know. They are similar, but different. You need to find the right type of coach to fit your unique personality.
Some people need a cheerleader, some people need a task master, and some people need someone to bounce ideas off of.
You have to know what you want to accomplish, otherwise you won’t be successful with your coach.
Now that my story is done, here are the 21 reasons to hire a business coach:
1. You want to go from a functional business person to an optimal business person.
2. Your work is running you.
3. You feel stuck and don’t know what direction to take.
4. You hate your day job and want to do something you are passionate about.
5. Procrastination is your number 1 arch nemesis.
6. You aren’t sure why your business isn’t taking off.
7. The stress is slowly killing you.
8. You’ve stopped having fun with your work.
9. You are ready to take your business to the next level.
10. Your clients drain your energy.
11. You can’t stay focused on the work that you love to do.
12. You need a better understanding of how to leverage your superpowers.
13. You know social media is a big part of business, but you don’t know how to use it.
14. You’re scared of making the leap into entrepreneurship.
15. You don’t know how to develop a network that supports your business.
16. You can do the work, but none of it is coming your way.
17. The people you hired don’t care about the business.
18. You’re not sure if you should sell your business.
19. The people you want to work with are too busy.
20. Even when you have a hugely successful week you still don’t feel successful.
21. You need to develop better habits, so you can do work that you are passionate about.
You don’t need a business coach, but it does make life so much easier. I’m so thankful for the coaches in my life. They’ve pushed me to a new level.
There are probably 21 reasons not to hire a coach.
The number one reason is that you aren’t passionate about anything. There isn’t a group of people you want to help solve a problem. Then you should keep your money.
If you need some guidance then please hire someone. Pay the money and watch the magic. That is if they are a good fit for you. I don’t care if you hire me or not because that’s how much I believe in hiring a smart and empathetic coach. I do emphasis smart and empathetic coach. There are some people out there that aren’t a good fit for you. Ask around see who your friends are using, see who you connect with through their social media presence, and always test the waters first a good coach will over you a free consultation to see if you are a good fit for each other.
Final note: If you aren’t satisfied with the coaching call the person should have a refund policy. If they don’t that’s a sign that they might not be a good fit for you.
* Join over 1,000 people who have already subscribed to the FREE 10 part E-Course on Leveraging Your Superpowers. Learn how to discover and leverage your superpowers so you can do amazing work. (Sign up is in the top left corner)
* Chris Garrett wrote an awesome piece about stepping outside your blog and reaching out to new people.
If you enjoyed this post then you will probably like these too:
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Image courtesy of Paul-W
Hi Karl,
Like Tess said above…I don’t think you failed with the artist. Maybe it just was not a good fit. So don’t feel bad. I think it is great that you recognized the problem and you ended the relationship. That says a lot of awesome things about you.
Another thing I think that helps when working with a coach is that the coach is passionate about what they. I have met a lot of coaches but not many have substance. I think passion and substance are key too.
Karl,
I’m not sure you failed with the artist. I think it wasn’t a good fit. You also saw that and let him go. I call that a smart move for both. I really appreciate the help you gave me and will highly recommend you…always.
Hi Karl — thanks for this — I’ve valued my work with coaches (and therapists) so much because they remind me of the area of my work/life I’ve been deliberately avoiding, and then they sit with me as I welcome the shame that’s been keeping me from visiting that area. That part of coaching is such a gift to me.
Hi Tess, Well said. I guess it wasn’t a failure as long as I admitted to the disconnect and learned from it. Thanks for the kind words.
Hi Karl
I love your honesty and authenticity in sharing your successes and failures. But I have to say, (and this goes along with what Tess and Nadia said) I don’t think any of these are true failures. They are all beautiful stepping stones in getting to know yourself better, and allowing others to get to know themselves.
So in the end it is all success! Most importantly because you were honest and knew how to approach the needs of the person, even if it meant recommending them to someone else.
Your reasons are great, and I think that you offer so much help for people who can use it and need it to bring passion and vibrance into their life, work and business!
Hi Nadia, Passion and substance are very important. They are two under appreciated qualities in a coach. I do feel bad, but I think that’s natural. It’s forced me to be more aware of what my superpowers as a coach are.
Thanks for your compassion. I needed it.
Hi Chris, You speak the truth. A good coach and therapist help push us toward growth. I know that the coaches and therapists I’ve worked with helped push me past many difficult issues I was stuck on.
Hi Evita, I love your compassion. I still need to practice being more compassionate with myself when I don’t live up to my expectations.
Nothing is exactly the way we want it to be, we just need to be flexible and open to every relationship and situation. Thanks for your kind words.
Hi Karl,
I concur with Tess, Evita, and Nadia that the coaching experience with the musician was really about there not being a good fit between the two of you. It wasn’t a “failure”. You’re very perceptive and read people well, so as you gain more experience, my prediction is that you’ll be able to really quickly assess whether you and a client are a good fit, and if not then perhaps redirect them to someone else. Sometimes recognizing our limits and turning down a project or a client might, paradoxicallyl, be the best service we can offer to that person.
I would say that even in cases where you give it your all and try everything you know to help clients launch their business, ultimately whether a client chooses to follow up on the suggestions and actions that are likely to improve their chances of success is their decision alone.
I, for one, would be happy to write you a glowing testimonial! I’ve really appreciated the gentle nudging and your astute perceptions in recognizing where a certain strategy doesn’t quite work for my temperament,then helping me figure out what works better. Thank you for the ongoing encouragement and keeping me accountable to getting things done–I don’t think I’d have made as much progress as I have without your coaching.
Have a great day,
Sue
Hi Karl. I think it’s great that you spoke about the failures here in addition to the successes. I also love what you said about having a coach to push you outside of your comfort zone. Great post.
My first thought as well was “good for you”. You saw that the client/coach relationship wasn’t a good fit and suggested your client go elsewhere. That requires an inner strength and confidence (to let go of $$!) that many people do not have. Not a failure in my book (for what it’s worth!)
I have worked with coaches and that time is invaluable. To work with people who don’t necessarily know you very well and can help you move forward is something I cherish. And will continue to work with coaches in the future to help me in certain areas. I definitely recommend them.
Not all coaches are created equally. You have to really feel a connection to the person if you want it to work. And as long as said coach is at least one or two steps ahead of me, then we are setting ourselves up for success.
Hi Sue, Recognizing my limits has been a huge part of my growth. I like to call them my Kryptonite, but it’s the same thing. When we stop trying to be all things to all people we can focus our energy on really helping a core group of people.
I loved your testimonial by the way, probably landed me quite a few clients. :o)
Hi Nea, Failures create great ways to improve our superpowers. It’s why I probably shouldn’t call it a failure. It’s just another way to improve.
Hi Stacey, Each day is a confidence builder. It’s an amazing experience to build something I love.
You are right, not all coaches are created equal. Not all relationships are created equal either. Sometimes there is a personality conflict. There is nothing that you can do about this. You just have to admit that the connection isn’t there and move on.
You hit the importance nail on the head. Coaches are a great resource, especially when they are a step ahead.
Almost everything you need is available waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also desires you. But you have to take action to get it
Hi Karl,
I never found a coach, who have had substance. Its so hard to find someone who really fits to your needs. But your great post gave me confidence that there is one who could really be a benefit.
All great reasons to hire a business coach. And it takes a truly honest and perceptive coach to recognize when the relationship is not beneficial to the client and know when to end it. I agree with the others– not a failure; just a part of the process.
Hi Nikki, I appreciate your wise words. I need to use the experience to grow and improve.
Hi Elmer, Action is the key. Without taking baby steps we’ll never get to where we want to be.
Hi Anja, Not every coach is a good fit. It’s a lot like dating. We don’t usually match up well with the first person we date.
We have to keep on checking out new coaches until we find a good match. Someone that cares enough to push us to a new level.