As the owner of one of America’s 30-million small businesses, you know that you have to always be striving to improve your business if you want it to survive. One of the best ways to do just that is by hiring a business coach to help you out along the way.
But if you’ve never hired a business coach before, it’s easy to get a bit overwhelmed by the process. The good news? We’re here to help you out!
Below we’ve broken down seven tips that you can use to ensure that you make the best business coach hire possible. So, keep on reading if you want to know everything that there is to know about hiring a business coach today.
1. Your Short-Term and Long-Term Goals
If you’re getting ready to hire a business coach, the first thing that you need to look at is both your short-term and long-term business goals. Having these goals written down is especially helpful, as it helps you keep track of them and gives you something to show potential candidates.
With these goals in mind, you can then pursue a business coach that you think will best help you reach them and then move forward. That way you can continue to grow and expand your business the right way.
2. Your Business’s Weak Points
To piggyback off of that last point, it’s also a good idea to write down areas that you think your business can improve in. Having these “improvement areas” written down on the same document that has your goals is a good idea, too, as you can keep all of that information in one spot.
Again, you’ll want to use this information to decide which candidate best suits your business’s needs. That’s why we recommend that, when you’re looking to hire a business coach, you start with the first two points on this list.
Having it all written down is extremely important, too, so be sure not to skip that part of the process.
3. Any Niche-Related Experience
Once you’re ready to start browsing for potential business coaches online, be sure to look for niche-related experience. That, combined with someone who has a track record of helping businesses reach similar goals to the ones you’ve set is the key to making a good hire.
Keep those weak points that we just mentioned in mind, too, as again, you’ll want to see a proven track record related to them.
4. Portfolio and Reviews
Every quality business coach should have a portfolio, and even client reviews, on their website. If not, you should be able to request something for yourself as a reference point for what they’ve done with other businesses in the past.
Our advice? Call up one or two of those businesses and ask them about their experiences with that business coach yourself. They’ll most likely be a bit more honest with you, helping you scout potential candidates that much better.
Looking for a quality business coach with a solid portfolio and tons of positive reviews? If so, be sure to check out the folks at Work Smart Coaching and Consulting today for all your business coaching needs.
5. Your Budget
Of course, you can’t talk about making any business decision without thinking of your business’s budget first. And while it goes without saying, your budget is something that you do need to keep in mind at all times when browsing for business coaches.
With that being said, it’s never a good idea to let money be the main deciding factor during a hire like this. In fact, if possible, it should be one of the last things that you think about when making the decision.
After all, any good business coach should pay for themselves rather fast, making money less of a factor.
6. Chemistry With the Business Coach
As human beings, we naturally have much stronger personal connections with some people than we do with others. This same logic applies to the business world and is worth mentioning when talking about hiring business coaches.
If you have a tremendous amount of chemistry with a candidate, and they check a few of the other boxes that we’ve mentioned on this list, you’ve probably found your person.
Of course, being friendly with one another isn’t the most important thing in the world. But because you’re going to have so much one-on-one interaction with this person, it’s very much worth considering.
7. Your Naural Instincts
As a business owner, nobody knows what’s best for your business better than you. You’ve been trusting your instincts for years now, and more often than not, those instincts have been right.
With that in mind, it’s never a bad idea to go with your gut, at least at first. After all, if things don’t work out with your first business coach hire, you can start all over again and try out a new business coach.
However, the most likely scenario is, if you go with your instincts, you’ve made another positive decision for your business.
Need More Help Hiring a Business Coach?
As you can see, a lot of thinking goes into hiring a business coach for your business. But if you keep these seven tips and tricks in mind, and you trust your instincts, you should be able to make a solid hire sooner rather than later.
And, at worst, you can start the process all over again until you find the perfect business coach for you and your business.
Looking for more ideas that you can use to take your business to the next level? Check back with our blog daily!