What To Do Before You Start Looking For A Business Coach

Growth StrategyLeadershipBusiness coaching
Written By Hanneke

Are you looking to hire a business coach? I’m so excited for you. Asking for help can be daunting, especially in a world where we receive a lot of subliminal messaging and headlines about “self-made” entrepreneurs. The truth is that behind every successful business person, there is an entire team of people and customers who helped them to get there. 

And I’m here to help business owners assemble that rock star team! 

Here are the topics I’ll cover in today’s article: 

So let’s dive into today’s topic:

How to hire the best coach!

The success of your investment and the results you get greatly depend on hiring the right business coach for your business.

~ Hanneke Antonelli

To make the best investment, it’s crucial that you do your homework about who and what you need. And that’s why I also prepared some additional articles for you

These articles will help you hire the right business coach:

What to do before you start looking for a coach 

I’ve heard of way too many people who hired the wrong coach and wasted lots of money and time in the process. This is damaging to both their business and the coaching industry as a whole.

So, let’s ensure that you hire the right person. 

Much like baking, hiring a coach also requires a little pre-work. First, you have to identify what you’re going to bake (i.e. what are your goals/ what challenges do you need help with) and then get the right ingredients to ensure that your cake doesn’t fall flat. 

Answer these questions to get clear on whom you need in your business: 

1  - What are your goals right now? 

Be as specific as possible. 

Are you looking to grow your business by growing your team? 

Or are you looking to grow online? 

What do you want for your business and your life?

2 - What specific challenges do you face right now?

Are you burnt out?

Are you not feeling confident about the future of your business? 

Do you need more clients?

Do you have too many clients?

Are you looking to create more freedom? 

Do you need help delegating 

Do you need help with leadership development?

And/or do you need help hiring?

3 - How long have you been in business: 

1- 2 years?

3- 10 years?

10 + years? 

Pinpointing where you’re experiencing pain points in your business right now will greatly inform who and what expertise you need, so don’t rush through the answers above.

What to do after you establish who and what you need from a business coach:

Based on your answers from the previous section: 

Identify what experience the business coach or consultant will need to help you. I give a few pointers below based on your findings above.

Here are some helpful guidelines based on your findings from answering the questions above:

  • Looking to get more clients

    You’re probably looking for someone with a strong marketing and sales background or someone who can help you boost your confidence to become more visible.

  • Looking to grow your team

    You’re most likely looking for someone with experience in leadership development, company structure, and systems. Look for a business coach who has helped other businesses scale their teams and helped business owners make good hiring and management decisions. (The testimonials and case studies on a professional site will give you great information about a coach’s abilities.)

  • Burnt out or struggling with confidence

    You’ll most likely want to hire someone who specifically focuses on mindset work and business development. Once again, scour the individual’s website for testimonials and case studies to see if any of their clients mention their results in perspective shifts and mindset.

  • Have you been in business for 10+ years?

    As a seasoned entrepreneur, you want to ensure that you hire someone who has experience working with business owners who have businesses the size of your company / your industry / or have been in business as long as you have been. 

    A word of caution:
    Beware of those who say things like: I built an x-figure business, and now I’ll show you how. Your path to success will be unique, yes - you can absolutely get pointers from people who have succeeded in an area you want to succeed in,  but keep in mind that your road to success may look way different based on your long-term goals, your personality strengths, and more. If it was truly that easy to follow a five-step blueprint to success, everyone would be a millionaire.

How can we work together?

If you liked what you read here, and you’re curious to learn more about business coaching, you might also like this other article I wrote: How can a business coach help me?

And here are a few more ways you can get more support from me to become the best entrepreneur you can be:

Hanneke
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