So you’re curious about business coaching, but will it work for you? In this guide, we’ll help you to decide.
Managing and growing a business can feel lonely. But having a business coach on whom you can rely is one of the most worthwhile business owners’ resources.
Many eventual clients at SuperFastBusiness initially ask us: ‘What is business coaching? And how can it work for my business?’
Well, most founders seeking advice on how to expand their businesses have limited resources and tools to use. Yes, indeed, there exist countless books and articles online on establishing and growing a business. But each business is unique, and generic advice is rarely a proper substitute for personalized coaching.
Luckily, entrepreneurs can get the personalized support and guidance that they need to grow a successful enterprise through business coaching.
So what is business coaching, and how does it guarantee success for your business? Read on to explore.
In this guide, we cover:
Buyer Beware: The Problem with the Business Coaching Industry
Common Business Coaching Models
Which Business Coaching Model Is Right for You?
Business Coaching For Entrepreneurs Versus Business Coaching For SMEs
Business coaching for startups – when is the right time to work with a coach?
Why Is Business Coaching For Women Different?
Six Signs You Need Business Coaching
Your business is growing ‘too fast’, and you can’t keep up
You are struggling to identify clear workflows in your business
You lack strategies to improve performance of employees
You need time to develop new skills as a leader
You’re working more than you’re enjoying living
What Should You Expect From A Business Coach?
What To Look For In A Business Coach
How Much Does Business Coaching Cost?
Does Business Coaching Really Work?
Try Out SuperFastBusiness For Your Business Coaching Needs
Let’s go.
What Is Business Coaching?
In this process, a business coach helps the business owner set goals and keep them accountable. Through business coaching, an entrepreneur can figure out the extra steps and procedures required to turn their business or organization into a success.
A business coach can be an experienced entrepreneur/business owner who decides to use their talents to build and grow a business. They help business owners and executives establish their goals and polish the business’s vision for a charge. And design strategies to help the owner reach their goals and vision.
If a business owner has challenges, their coach will help them navigate their concerns in the most efficient way possible and lead them to a path that leads to business success.
Having a business coach is like having an extremely experienced companion on your crew, and the value they give to business owners is an investment.
Now that you have some idea of what a business coach does,
Buyer Beware: The Problem with the Business Coaching Industry
Before we get into how business coaching is typically structured, let’s address the big elephant in the room. A common concern that entrepreneurs have when it comes to hiring a coach is whether or not they’re going to get actual value or ripped off.
You’ve no doubt seen Facebook ads running of some “guru” promising you’ll triple your income in sixty days if you download their freebie, sign up for their free webinar, and then buy their five-thousand-dollar program.
The reality is that in an industry where there’s a low barrier to entry, much like real estate agents and social media, you’ll always have unethical people.
There are some red flags that you need to look out for. Here’s a couple:
- No actual business experience. Has the business coach had any real success in running their own business(es)? Have they got any domain expertise that they’ve been able to build a business around successfully? If not, be careful. What qualifies them to be getting paid to coach businesses?
- No case studies featuring real people. Successful business coaches talk more about the results their clients have achieved, not about themselves. They also have no issue with putting up a case studies page with links to their clients’ websites so that you can reach out to their clients to ask questions.
I always recommend that you don’t rush to hire a coach. It’s better to do your due diligence and research multiple business coaches. Talk to their clients, attend their events, consume their content, and get a feel for which coach is right for you.
We’ll cover more on this in the “What To Look For In A Business Coach” section later.
Common Business Coaching Models
Business coaching comes in every shape and size. These include group coaching through hybrid programs that mix live calls and lessons, pre-recorded programs, and one-to-one coaching.
To maximize your results, you’ll need to identify which one precisely suits your business. If you love working in a group, then you’ll have tremendous success with the mastermind groups. But if you desire a more personalized service, you may want to go for a program with at least an element of one-on-one coaching. Here are some examples of how they work.
One-on-one Coaching
One-on-one coaching offers the most bespoke type of service. Here, a coach individually helps you with your business and helps you devise a better process for you to reach your goals.
It’s also one in which the coaching relationship is significant. Essentially, when you’re looking for one-on-one coaches, make sure that they understand what you’re going through and how to help you surmount your problems in meaningful ways.
It’s also worth noting that one-on-one is not scalable, so your coach will likely have limited availability or have sub-coaches.
Standard Membership Program
Are you a business owner who can only pay below $100 per month for coaching services? Then this program is for you. Most coaching models cost above $1000 per person because of the potential return on investment.
A membership program under $100 doesn’t allow meaningful private coaching to happen, but you can become part of a coaching community.
With SuperFastBusiness Standard, you can interact with fellow group members for the standard membership price, attend virtual events, access training programs, and go to group coaching sessions. It’s really valuable to have a peer support group that can help you become successful.
Advanced Membership Program
Some business coaches will offer an advanced program similar to the standard offering but with personalized coaching and other benefits.
With SuperFastBusiness Intensive (our advanced membership program), you get all the standard program benefits but with personalized coaching and weekly Live group calls included.
Mastermind Groups
If you’re looking forward to long-term expert coaching mixed with an element of networking, this model is for you. It is among the highest-paid models. These programs hold a premium ticket fee, somewhere from $5,000 to $100,000 per person annually.
Mastermind groups constitute one of the most challenging models to operate. By this model, the business coach must pre-qualify all candidates and be extremely careful regarding who they permit into the group.
Mastermind groups’ point is to feed off the energy, connections, and innovation with other group members. The coach has to possess tremendous facilitation skills.
Which Business Coaching Model Is Right for You?
If you’re searching for the best model, the answer depends entirely on your income and the lifestyle you desire. The truth is that there is no such thing as a perfect model.
Quite often, coaches devise their models by blending a variety of components from each model. Therefore, the key is to find a great coach who can offer more specialized and personalized services for your business needs.
Business Coaching For Entrepreneurs Versus Business Coaching For SMEs
Business coaches may use several different labels to describe their services, with a small business coach denoting one of them.
Often, the goals and challenges of small businesses are different from those of big companies. For instance, we wouldn’t expect a local restaurant struggling to attract local clients to have the same set of challenges as a company specialized in shipping products worldwide.
SMEs business coaches focus on helping small business owners accomplish their goals and vision for their company.
In reality, most coaches have worked with small businesses, notwithstanding how they label themselves or describe their services.
The vital part of a business coach’s job is to learn as much as they can about your business, including uncovering whatever’s blocking you from achieving your desired outcomes. They’ll then work closely with you to design a uniquely suited strategy for reaching your goals.
In essence, a high-quality business coach with many years of in-the-field experience running or managing businesses will be apt to help you regardless of your business size or how big you want it to become.
Who Is Business Coaching For?
Whether you are managing a small business or planning to establish a global company, we can not overemphasize business coaching benefits. It doesn’t matter which stage your business is in. For accelerated results and ongoing success, every business owner needs a coach.
A business coach will help you work harder and advance your business faster than you would alone. From giving a highly-needed ego check to helping extend your network, a business coach will supply you with both the instruments and viewpoints you need to grow from one point to the next.
Business coaching for startups – when is the right time to work with a coach?
While there exists no absolute answer as to when to hire a business coach, an excellent benchmark for discerning is when you’re telling yourself, “I don’t know what next to do.” Or you have the urge to tweak your business.
Startup founders are increasingly turning to business coaches for everything, from hurling advice to providing the framework of stressing better.
Business coaching for startups, just like large corporations, is crucial. Even though a business coach can come in at any stage of your business, it is even more essential to hire one for startups.
These coaches give you directives to avoid common mistakes based on their long term experiences. They’ll ensure that you’re more productive in your business, that you do your job and run your business much more effectively. They will also help you accomplish every aspect of your business’s vision, including, but not confined, to its growth.
Whether your business is struggling and you want to restore it or bring your brand to the next level, hiring a professional business coach is the most efficient alternative you have available.
Also, remember that all business owners are diverse, and everyone’s progress in owning a business varies.
Every business needs advice and collaboration to thrive, so it would help a business owner to employ coaching for their business as early as possible.
Why Is Business Coaching For Women Different?
Although coaching offers both genders an advantage in business, Pamela L. Perrewe and Debra L. Nelson recommend coaching for ambitious women for the following reasons:
- Their leadership journey is not direct. Women encounter many impediments, and sudden turns along the way. Their careers do not always advance logically one step up at a time, and so, they must continually recalculate and reappraise their next step. It takes understanding and strategy to do so.
- Women frequently need to negotiate round barriers due to subtle gender bias, politics, internal obstacles, fears, and self-doubt.
Due to the reasons outlined above, ambitious women entrepreneurs can often feel isolated, unable to voice their real concerns, or unsure of who to turn to for answers to specific business challenges they’re facing.
A business coach can address these challenges. Here’s what two Superfast Business members shared about their experiences:
I’ve grown so much just from being a member for a few short months.”
DR. MICHELLE GORDON
Founder of The Menopause Movement
Six Signs You Need Business Coaching
How do you discern that your business needs coaching? If you aren’t sure, below are five common signs that experienced business managers often interpret to indicate that your business may need coaching.
Your business is growing ‘too fast’, and you can’t keep up
A rapidly growing business can genuinely be disastrous, significantly when you’re growing at a pace that makes it challenging to keep up.
When a business is growing ‘too fast,’ it increases the demands on every employee and your team in general. The growth may result in overburdened employees, low morale, and fighting amidst members of your initially united team.
Perhaps you need to change your business model or have a tough time deciding between selling a product versus a membership?
Whatever the growth or scaling challenge, you need to bounce ideas off someone, and a business coach is uniquely suited for such a role.
When you work with an external coach to your organization, internal business politics will not influence how they work with you. Furthermore, there’s typically no intimate personal relationship that may distort their strategy.
A great coach knows how to ask compelling questions that will unveil your firmly held values and direct you toward more productive growth.
You are struggling to identify clear workflows in your business
Workflows are the foundation blocks of your business.
“A workflow, broadly speaking, consists of two important parts. The first, the tasks and requirements which constitute a process. The second, the people or resources required to deliver this process. A workflow can be used to refer to the completion of multiple processes across a team of people.” – Adam Henshall, How and Why to Document Your Workflows.
A workflow typically looks like a checklist of process steps that a team member needs to produce the desired result in your business. Workflows for repeatable processes in your business are valuable because they allow you to hand over critical functions of your day-to-day operations to other team members, deliver consistent training, and optimize processes for improved results.
But which workflows should you be focusing on and when? A business coach can help you work this out.
For instance, have you gone through the exercise of choosing and implementing a CRM for capturing and transferring sales data? Well, how you go about using your CRM as part of your sales process would be a useful workflow to document.
What about marketing? Wouldn’t it be useful to have workflows for how your business manages SEO? What about how you go about consistently publishing and promoting informative and high-quality lead-generation content like podcasts, articles, videos, social media posts, or customer case studies?
You’ll also need workflows for managing your business finances, recruitment, hiring, training, onboarding new team members, and more.
Business coaches better understand the direction a company is going and can advise on which workflows to set up.
You lack accountability
It’s not surprising for differently exceptional leaders to fall short in terms of personal accountability.
A business coach can be just the ideal person to change that. When you know that your coach will hold you to your goals and objectives, as well as the actions that you’ll need to take to make progress, you’ll become more accountable.
Besides, a great coach will always encourage the business leader to acquire personal accountability as an inherent skill.
A great business coach will help you to get out of your own way, which can often be the biggest block to achieving the success you want.
You lack strategies to improve performance of employees
Are you juggling too many things or working for too long to achieve too little?
Admittedly business leaders need to work hard. But if you can barely remember the last time you had a vacation, then you probably should take a serious look at business coaching.
Here are some strategic questions a coach can help you answer:
- What strategies are you not getting right?
- What incapabilities exist within your business?
- Is the timing for hiring suitable?
- Can some responsibilities be automated?
Experienced coaches have a unique place in the business world and can offer veiled viewpoints to business leaders.
You need time to develop new skills as a leader
Have you been commended for your innate leadership skills, or you doubt your ability to lead your company?
Whatever the case, leadership isn’t, and shouldn’t be, the only skill you need to grow as a business owner.
Indeed, strong leadership skills are at the heart of the company’s helm and magnify your company’s culture and success. But to keep your business flourishing ahead of the curve, you’ll need to develop skills in negotiation, business development, finance, HR, content marketing, and so on.
Perhaps you’re juggling too many balls and need help developing your ability to prioritize and delegate?
Here’s a quick tip that I give to my clients who have this challenge:
To help create the space to build your leadership skills, ensure that you find a coach that is the right match for you who is strong in this area (and is doing it themselves).
You’re working more than you’re enjoying living
Let’s be real for a moment, and take a moment to ask yourself: are you living yet?
Chances are you didn’t get into business just to work all hours of the day and night, right?
In 2006, while working in a full-time job, I wrote this in a notebook:
MY GOALS …create automated income so that I am independently wealthy and enjoy my life passionately.
Within three years, I’d built my own business and achieved those goals. At which point, I set about helping my coaching clients do the same. I’m happy to report that I’ve supported multiple clients to build leveraged businesses that have freed them up to spend more time living.
I recently published my book Work Less, Make More, and in it, I share practical tips on how to leverage yourself, your team, and your business effectively to achieve a similar outcome.
So if it’s a lack of balance between living and working that you’re having, then a business coach can help you get on the right track.
What Should You Expect From A Business Coach?
One thing seventy-three percent of business owners can agree on is that other business owners are the best business coaches.
Essentially, several entrepreneurs pick other business owners as their most patronized advisors, putting them above family members and traditional business coaches. Why? Because regardless of the size, industry, or value, 70% of businesses face the same challenges.
With any level of success, experienced business owners have already overcome most of the challenges entrepreneurs encounter every day. So their first-hand experience is promising to possess the keys to any pressing issues. And they can also relate to your struggles.
What To Look For In A Business Coach
A business coach can help founders see obstacles differently as they begin changing from scrappy startup founder to leader.
However, not all business coaches are created equal, and you shouldn’t invest in a coaching commitment if the benefits aren’t clear. You’ll want to look for a business coach with the following qualities.
- Go for a coach with opposing strengths.
- Ensure that the person has goodwill towards you and your business.
- Look for someone who can teach by example.
- Get the person with whom you share mindset and chemistry.
- Get the coach who will hold you accountable.
- Request for a necessary dose of honesty.
- Go for someone who owns up to their failures.
- Ensure that they are objective and trustworthy.
- Seek someone who can successfully bring out your best thinking.
How To Find A Business Coach
We’ve seen the shortlist of what you can accomplish with the perfect business coach.
By this time, you must have stopped wondering whether or not you should hire a coach for your business. But the puzzle now is how to find a coach who’s a perfect fit for you.
To resolve this, you must first ascertain your needs. Below is a checklist to follow.
- Go through personal testimonials to see if they’ve successfully coached other businesses.
- Do a detailed online search. Include words like entrepreneur’s coach, business coach, and success coach.
- For private coaching, try not to work with a coach who will not agree to a one-on-one conversation before committing to anything. This is the only way to determine your compatibility. Some business coaches will offer a free consultation. But don’t hesitate to ask if you can pay for a single session before deciding if you’re still uncertain.
Your prospective business coach should be a great listener. Additionally, you need a coach who is willing to determine if you’re a good fit for their experience and skill set (and direct you to somebody else if you’re not a good fit).
To recognize this, the coach should endeavor to ask you questions and try to get to know you. They should further explain their coaching style, tools of their trade and describe their ideal client to you.
How Much Does Business Coaching Cost?
Most entrepreneurs have the idea of hiring a coach for their businesses but wonder if they’re worth the investment. The answer depends on your business goals and objectives and the type of coach you hire.
A business coach holds a unique role. If you desire to emerge the best at anything, you must be ready to find the best and compensate them for their time. In essence, a great coach is worth millions.
Superfastbusiness.com offers a range of quality and affordable business coaching fees, ranging from support assistance coaching to coaching SilverCircle Partners programs.
Choose your coaching:
| SuperFastResults Support Assist Coaching |
SuperFastBusiness Standard |
SuperFastBusiness Intensive |
SilverCircle Coaching |
SilverCircle Partners Program |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| just $10 USD/mo |
$99 USD/mo |
only $599 USD/mo |
Not accepting new members. Fee: $3000 USD /mo |
By application only. Fee is paid as a % of revenue. |
|
| Promotion to database and Podcast Audience | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | ✔ |
| Private 1:1 coaching calls with James | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Private Coaching Thread with James Schramko Value: 12,000/yr |
✖ | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Intensive Members-Only Group Thread Value:$5,000/yr |
✖ | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Private Weekly Intensive Members Group Call with James Schramko Value: $15,000/yr |
✖ | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Monthly Group “Ask Me Anything” Call (Including recordings) Value: $6,000/year |
✖ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Progress Journal – Public | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ | ✖ | ✖ |
| Instant Access to 43 Trainings (and counting) on How to Grow Your Business SuperFast Value: $21,457 |
✖ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Instant Access to Community Forums with Topic Themes Sections Value: $1,164/yr |
✖ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Access to LIVE Monthly Training Calls (recorded) Value:$5,988/year |
✖ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Unlimited Access to 8+ years of Live Event archives Value:$5,000 |
✖ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Attend Monthly Live Event Meet-ups | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Group Coaching Q&A Support in a members-only area | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| GO | GO | GO | GO | GO |
Got a question?
Does Business Coaching Really Work?
The following business coaching statistics shine a floodlight on the real-world benefits of business coaching.
Manchester Inc. 2001 investigation revealed that businesses who hired a business coach experienced an average ROI of 5.7 times the fee they pay for the coaching services.
The personal Management Association report holds that executives who received coaching and training services raised their productivity by 86% instead of a 22% boost in productivity by executives who paid for training alone.
A Hay Group inquiry recorded that 40% of Fortune 500 companies employ business coaching to instruct and develop their executives.
Research conducted by Metrix Global LLC noted that businesses who hired for coaching noticed a $7.9 return for every $1 paid on those services.
- 53% of business owners and executives state that business coaching improves their productivity.
- 61% of business owners report that business coaching boosts job satisfaction.
- 23% of executives hold that business coaching helps them to minimize operational expenses.
- 22% of companies reveal that business coaching enhances profitability.
- 67% of business owners and executives proclaim that business coaching builds teamwork skills in the business.
Wondering if SuperFastBusiness is worth it?
Check out the following testimonials, which are among the many presented by business owners to attest to Superfast business coaching’s benefits.
“I transitioned out of hourly work and went from making $4,000/month online to $7,000-$10,000/month within 6 months of joining SuperFastBusiness”
LUKE SMITH
SimplyConverting.com
“My offer converted for 11 people so far! Yay!That’s recurring revenue that I haven’t had till now.”
CAS MCCULLOUGH
CasMcCullough.com
“I upped my prices 2.5X and have started taking steps to hire a team. I work max 30 hrs a week and added 1 hr exercise to every morning. I already passed last years sales (in April) so it’s all coming together nicely.”
TIINA WILEN
TiinaWilen.com
“I’ve managed to double my profit twice. I did this while working less and enjoying my life even more. Getting top level business advice directly from James has made all the difference for me!”
JULIAN MURRELL
WebTiger-Pro.de
“My life and business felt like a tangled mess with my mind moving in a million directions and no real focus.
Since working with James, I’ve been able to simplify my approach and finally get results that I can be proud of. Within two months of working together, I’ve been able to go from book idea to #1 Best Seller in just 6 weeks.”
STEVE MASTROIANNI
RockStarMind.com
Try Out SuperFastBusiness For Your Business Coaching Needs
Business coaching is a commitment to a two-way relationship. You’ve to work with the coach you possess an affinity with and trust to hold you accountable for practical coaching.
Before you sign a contract with a business coach, it’s essential to ask questions and obtain answers that make sense to you. At SuperFastBusiness, we believe that a great coach and a great community will help you lead your business to success.