What To Look For In A GOOD Business Coach

Let's face it, there are good business coaches and there are bad business coaches and I've had both over the years. Fortunately, I've had more good than bad.

I'd love to share my experiences with business coaching and mentoring to help you see some red flags and determine if a business coach is the right fit for you.

You can watch the video below to hear about some of my experiences over the years or scroll down for more tips and red flags to watch for.

Experience Counts Most

You might think this is obvious but there are so many 'gurus' out there pitching snake oil or making themselves out to be bigger and better than they really are.

Faking it until you make is not what you need in a mentor or coach. Trust me.

When I started my music school, I was getting mentoring from someone who had never run a music school before. When they tried to open their own music school years later, they failed miserably. 

The mentor was basically coming up with ideas and testing them on his students. NOT a good situation to be in if you're the client.

Bottom line.

Do not be afraid to ask what they have accomplished, how long it took and to show you the proof. Ask if you can talk to past clients about their experiences. 

They do not necessarily have to be in your exact industry, but it is definitely a plus.

The Level You Need Will Depend On The Level You're At

If you are just getting started in business, working with a business coach that only makes $100k/year may work out in the beginning. They will likely be more affordable but they probably won't have a ton of business experience or come face to face with enough real-life business problems or crisis.

If you are trying to make a million dollars in your business, you need to work with someone who has already done that. Hopefully someone who has at least 10 years of experience in the field and has gone through a recession or business crisis at some point.

The 2020 COVID-19 crisis counts! Many businesses went under but many survived. The survivors will have some serious lessons to teach.

No Business Coach Can Work Miracles

Whenever you go into business coaching, you have to remember that you are going to do all the work. Mentors and coaches are there to guide you, help solve problems and create short cuts.

When working with a business coach, be coachable. If they give you advice, listen. There's nothing worse for a business coach than giving a client advice and then the client does the exact opposite.

But the biggest thing to keep in mind when you are buying a coaching program or working with a mentor, the results will be highly dependent on your work ethic and follow through. I've been in masterminds that cost over $20,000 and watched some of the participants go nowhere or take forever to make moves in their business.

Don't be that person. Be an action taker.

Trust Your Gut

If your gut is telling you something is off or doesn't feel right, listen. I would have gotten out of that bad mentoring situation I mentioned earlier, if I had trusted my gut.

Now there is a difference between being afraid and trusting your gut.

If you get bad vibes, there's probably a reason. I've learned over the years that my gut has good instincts and that I should trust them. Learn to trust yours too.

A side note on being scared.

In 2020, during the middle of the COVID crisis, I reached out to a coach I really wanted to work with. This was April and I had just lost 35% of my brick-and-mortar business overnight. We had no clue what was going to happen.

Fortunately, my online business started taking off. Yay for diversification!

Still, it probably wasn't the best time for me to go and blow a ton of cash. 

I had a meeting with his sales guy at 12am my time. (I later found out that this was a test.) We chatted and we came to the point where we had to discuss pricing. It was $10,000 for 12 weeks. 

I almost shit a brick. And I was scared as hell to make that investment. 

But I knew in my gut that if I invested that money, I would work hard to get that money back. And I did.

So, when you're scared of something, ask yourself why. The TOP reason is probably because you don't believe in yourself enough.

When you start believing in yourself and your ability to produce, you won't be scared of big opportunities.

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