How To Hire a Business Coach (like me!)
Congratulations! You’d like to start your own business, and you’re wise enough to know that asking someone else who’s done it before will skyrocket your business. Yay!
But if you’ve never hired a business coach before, it can be SUPER overwhelming.
There are a lot of us out there!
I hired my first business coach a few weeks after I’d been laid off from my job in corporate logistics, a job I’d had for 7 years. (I talk about this in the first episode of my podcast.)
I knew I never wanted to work for anyone else again, but I also knew I had a mortgage to pay 😂
I got VERY lucky with my first business coach, Bryn Brown.
I had made over $1000 off her advice before I’d paid her a dime.
Since then, I’ve hired a few duds - coaches who missed meetings, took a week to respond to an email, or just didn’t offer any meaningful feedback for how to build my business.
I’ve had to negotiate out of a few bad contracts, but it’s only made me more determined to continue to seek and work with coaches who are worth their salt!
Here’s what you need to know while you’re deciding who you want to bring on your team:
Wait…what even is a business coach?
A business coach is sort of a cross between a consultant and a cheerleader.
It’s someone who is going to help you set simple goals in your business, and then hold you accountable to them!
I’ve worked with everyone from photographers looking to explode their business (we focus on delegation) to yoga teachers looking to actually make enough money to C-level corporate dudes burnt out from the corporate world and looking to align their income with their passions.
Okay…how much do they cost?
The range here is epic! I ran a poll asking what people paid for their most EFFECTIVE coaching in an entrepreneurial Facebook group, and people paid anywhere from free/trade to 100k+!!!
But the average was a few thousand bucks, whether for a day of coaching or several months’ worth.
My coaching packages are different for every single client (and I work on a sliding scale for single mamas and students!), but they range from $500 for a single session to $24k for a year contract.
How much can I afford to pay for this?
So this is where things get tricky: first, you need to decide WHO you want to work with. Then you can decide HOW you can work together.
Is this worth going into debt?
NO.
My advice is to utilize the free resources your coach provides until you’ve made enough money to prove that their work will work for YOU.
Save up enough to afford them so that it feels a LITTLE uncomfortable (psychologically, this keeps you motivated to make back your money!), but not like you’re waking up in a panic attack thinking of how you just blew 15k on absolutely nothing (um, I’ve totally done this. But I got most of my money back!).
That said, there’s a lot of room to disagree with me here. Many entrepreneurs I spoke with have been wildly successful taking out a loan through credit cards, PayPal, 401ks, or family.
How do I find a business coach?
Ideally, off a referral.
Talk to someone who is running a business in a way that you respect and want to emulate, and ask if they worked with a business coach.
(Many coaches, including myself, give affiliate payouts to people who refer customers to us, so it’s a win-win-win!)
If you just don’t know anyone, I mean, I’ve recommended two coaches already (Bryn and….myself!)
Should I check referrals?
Honestly….no. This is a huge waste of time.
No business coach is going to send you to talk to someone who isn’t going to sing their praises.
Just because their methods were effective for someone else DOESN’T mean they’re going to be effective for you.
How do I know it’s a good fit?
Your body knows!
You will feel AMAZING after getting off a discovery call* with your coach.
You will feel ENERGIZED and INSPIRED.
You will be SUPER CLEAR about what your next steps are to create the business of your dreams.
*A discovery call (sometimes they’re cutely called chemistry tests) is a free call wherein you and the business coach are essentially interviewing each other to find out if you’re a good fit.
They last anywhere from 20 min to an hour, and you’ll hash out your goals, the problems holding you back from your goals, and how you and the coach can work together to resolve your problems and make your business amazing).
You’ll likely get some tangible advice, but the purpose of these calls is to set up a game plan to make your short and long term goals happen.
How will I know if it’s working?
You’ll start making money!
Your audience (email list, Insta followers, FB group, TIkTok fans, etc) will grow!
People will be coming out of the woodwork to hire you!
This happens to EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY CLIENTS!!! Usually within a few hours of our first coaching session!
What if it’s NOT working?
There is no such thing as a loophole-free contract.
Here’s why:
If you owe them money, no coach is going to sue you for breach of contract.
It would cost them WAY more in legal fees and time than it would be worth.
If you paid in full and want a refund, it gets a little trickier, but not hopeless!
If the energy isn’t there, chances are, she doesn’t want to continue working with you either.
I’ve gotten out of a few coaching contracts by being honest about their shortcomings and exactly what you want to happen:
“I need a coach who can respond to my emails in less than a week. Can we discuss canceling my contract and issuing a refund in the amount of $X?”
“I misunderstood what this program was all about and can’t see a way to make this work for me. Can we discuss canceling my contract and issuing a refund in the amount of $X?”
Have any other questions? Shoot me an email or reach out on Instagram or Facebook! I’d love to chat!