Top 5 Signs an Online Business Coach Can Help You Reach the Next Level
Hi there, I’m Hanneke Antonelli, a multi-award-winning entrepreneur, and best-selling author of my book, The Up Level Project: Your Guide to Unlocking Higher Profits While Creating More Freedom. And, you guessed it, I’m also an online business coach who’s helped countless entrepreneurs reach their next level of growth in the last 11 years since starting my coaching practice.
Once you’ve read this article, you’ll have a better grip on whether or not a business coach is the right investment to attain your specific business goals.
In this article, we’ll cover the following five signs that indicate a business coach can help you reach the next level of growth success:
1. Your Revenue Has Plateaued, and You Don’t Know Why
2. You’re Overwhelmed and Stuck in the Day-to-Day Operations
3. You Struggle with Time Management and Productivity
4. You Lack a Clear Growth Strategy (and Keep Second-Guessing Yourself)
5. You Feel Like You’re Doing it Alone (and Need Expert Guidance)
And we’ll also look at:
So let’s jump right in.
Top 5 Signs an Online Business Coach Can Help You Reach the Next Level
1. Your Revenue Has Plateaued, and You Don’t Know Why
Four Common Reasons Businesses Hit a Growth Ceiling
Many clients enroll to work with me to help them move past a revenue plateau.
Here are the usual reasons that revenue has stagnated:
The entrepreneur is burned out and overworked and has lost the joy and passion for their company.
The business owner has fears and objections about being able to handle the next level of growth, as well as the leadership skills and additional people this will require.
Old systems and strategies are not set up to support new levels of growth.
The business owner is missing key players on their team to help them level up.
How an Online Business Coach Helps You Break Through Revenue Plateaus
When small business owners enroll to work with me, they gain an experienced business partner and Wall Street veteran who can come in as their equal and help them to:
Gain more bandwidth to focus on the strategies that will help them experience next-level revenue growth.
Work on mindset and perspective shifts to help them break through the money fears and blocks that are keeping them stuck.
Get clear on their long-term vision for their business and life.
Create a strategic and sustainable plan to scale profits.
Incrementally upgrade their leadership skills to ensure effective management and delegation.
Revamp company structure and revenue models for optimal growth.
2. You’re Overwhelmed and Stuck in the Day-to-Day Operations
Signs a Business Owner is Working in Their Business Instead of on It
Most small businesses started as a company of one, and thus, at one point, they were doing everything in their business. They wore all the hats and filled all the positions.
The longer an entrepreneur stays the Chief of Everything Officer and doesn’t hire support, the more stuck in their day-to-day operations they become.
This is a very dangerous place for any business owner and business to be because it not only robs the entrepreneur of their freedom and ability to scale - it also turns the business into a less valuable asset. (You can learn more about how to scale your business into a valuable asset in this article: Why Value is More Important than Profit.)
Here are the tell-tale signs that a small business owner is working in their business vs on it:
They are doing low-paying tasks that can easily be done by someone else.
They are involved in every decision and aspect of the company.
They don’t have dedicated time blocked off to work on the bigger picture and longer-term company goals.
They are very focused on short-term projects.
They have 1001 ideas and frustrate their staff by always adding random stuff to their to-do list.
How Coaching Helps You Streamline Operations and Free Up Your Time
When clients enroll to work with me longer-term, I help them streamline operations and free up time by:
Helping them to extract valuable information and knowledge about company operations that only live in their head, and organizing it into systematic and easy-to-follow processes.
Providing quick and adaptable swipe files and templates.
Suggesting tech and software solutions that will further optimize communication and productivity.
Bringing structure to meetings.
Getting the entrepreneurs’ team involved in helping to create company procedures.
Keeping the business owner focused and accountable for implementing and formalizing their procedures.
3. You Struggle with Time Management and Productivity
Why Working Harder isn’t the Solution to Scaling
One of the most common fears business owners usually express right after they start working with me is the worry that they are going to have to work even harder and longer hours to grow their company.
I’m happy to report that this is a total myth.
As an owner of your business you are your company’s most valuable asset. And thus, working even harder will only lead to burnout and frustration.
Working hard is not the way to scale to the next level.
How an Online Business Coach Helps You Prioritize High-impact Tasks
The scenario I mentioned above is precisely where one of my clients was when she returned to work with me once more.
She had completely lost the passion for her business and was fed up, burned out, and ready to sell.
She told me what her plans were, and I immediately realized that:
Her next business idea was not going to provide her with the same level of income as her current company.
There were a few easy tweaks we could make that would increase her profits, free up her time, and help her overcome the burnout she was experiencing.
Six short months later, my client had revamped her systems and team, and we had done a deep dive into profits and come up with a systematic plan to scale income without sacrificing time freedom.
That same client is now loving her business, has an even bigger vision to scale up in the future, and is always thanking me for stopping her from selling her business for peanuts.
The best part? My client has been able to step away for more extended periods of time because of family demands, and her business is now worth more (should she decide it’s time to sell further down the line).
4. You Lack a Clear Growth Strategy (and Keep Second-Guessing Yourself)
The Dangers of Decision Fatigue and Inconsistency
When a business owner is stuck in the weeds of their business and is involved in all decisions, they experience decision fatigue.
Decision fatigue negatively impacts the business and entrepreneur. It slows down growth momentum, it can be very frustrating to staff, and ultimately, it will lead to burnout for everyone involved.
Decision fatigue also tends to make a business owner very scatterbrained with no real direction.
Running a business without a clear vision, growth strategy, and business model that supports scalability means that there are also no explicit measures to track growth and progress. This then leads to inconsistent action, which negatively impacts everything, including revenue growth in a business.
How Coaching Provides a Roadmap for Long-Term Business Success
When I start working with clients, I do a thorough kick-off session in which we clarify exactly where the business owner is, and where they want to go.
No rock is left unturned. I have them fill out some personality tests so I can clearly see what their strengths are, and what type of working style energizes them.
I also have them take my Business Acceleration Assessment to get a clear understanding of where every aspect of their company is. We do a deep dive into:
Vision
Mindset
Money & Finances
Sales & Marketing
Offers (Revenue Streams)
Operations
Team
From here we build a clear roadmap that the client systematically implements, which leads to higher revenue and profits without working harder.
From there, I keep clients focused and accountable in bi-weekly or monthly sessions that lead to long-term business success and lasting change even after we’ve concluded our work together.
5. You Feel Like You’re Doing It Alone (and Need Expert Guidance)
The Power of Accountability and Mentorship in Business Growth
It’s lonely at the top! Business owners who decide to work with me often express this in our initial consultation.
Having a third-party accountability partner not only helps share the burden, it also provides more peace of mind for the entrepreneur, and leads to better results faster!
As stated in the article, “The buddy boost: how ‘accountability partners’ make you healthy, happy and more successful”, published in the Guardian:
“Indeed, one US study found that you have a 65% chance of completing a goal if you tell someone else you’re committing to doing it. And if you have specific check-ins with a partner, your chance of success increases to 95%.”
How a Coach Helps You Stay Focused, Confident, and Strategic
Coaching is a very powerful and co-creative process, and a trained and experienced coach can give a business owner tough love while motivating them at the same time.
A qualified business coach will also be able to help shift the client from fear, overwhelm, burnout, and doubt to become more strategic, focused, and confident.
Because of the above, my clients often lovingly refer to me as their business fairy godmother – but I know that it’s not magic. It’s just what happens when you combine a business degree, Wall Street experience, proven business strategies, and my no-BS approach towards helping clients reach their full potential.
How to Find the Right Online Business Coach for Your Goals
What to Look For in a Coach (Experience, Success Stories, Coaching Style)
As I mentioned in my previous article: How to Hire The Right Business Coach, it’s very important that you determine exactly what your specific goals and needs are.
From there you will then be able to determine what the best business coach for you will be.
Be sure to always look at the person’s experience, credentials, their testimonials and success styles.
Most coaches offer a free discovery or consultation session. During that session be sure to ask them questions that will give you a good idea of their coaching style, how they work, and what working with them will be like.
It’s also crucial that you feel comfortable and have a great rapport with your coach. If there’s any doubt, keep searching for the perfect fit.
I’ve also prepped a quick checklist that you can download to further ensure you hire the best business coach to help you attain your desired outcomes.
Key Questions to Ask Before Investing in Coaching
The most important questions to ask before you start working with a coach is:
How long have you been in business?
How many clients do you work with at any given time?
What experience, degree, or certification do you have that qualifies you as a business coach?
In this article, Interview Questions To Ask a Business Coach, I dive deeper into the topic and offer more questions you can ask, as well as what you need to look for while interviewing online business coaches.
Next Steps: Take Action to Reach Your Next Level
Looking for more tips on hiring the best coach? Here are other useful blog posts:
If you liked what you read here, here’s how you can get more support from me to become the best entrepreneur you can be:
Accelerate your growth with my free Business Acceleration Assessment.
Read my bestselling book, The Up Level Project
Work with me: Book a 1:1 consultation with me here
Here’s another useful article that you may enjoy: Wanted: Business Coach, Boston.
