How to Find a Business Coach: What To Look For

How to Find a Business Coach: What To Look For

July 15, 2019

Are you considering hiring a business coach? 

It can be a little intimidating starting the search process and wondering if it’s the right move for your life and business. Typically, hiring a private mentor is a big investment. I want to tell you it’s all based on trust, but that doesn’t really give you much to work with does it?

Over the past three years I’ve worked with multiple mentors and coaches to bring my business to multiple 6-figures and ask myself the same questions before investing.

Today, on the blog I’m sharing how to know when you’re ready to hire a business coach and the top four things to look for before investing.

HOW TO KNOW WHEN YOU’RE READY TO HIRE A COACH

1. IDENTIFY THE HOLES IN YOUR BUSINESS

Before you move forward with a coach you need an idea of what's not working or missing from your current business. You’ll want to find a mentor that can help you with this specific area, every mentor has their specialty and it’s important to identify before investing. I suggest asking yourself the following questions.

• “Where do I need the most support?”

• “What are my goals for the year and what do I need to know/do to accomplish them?”

• “What areas of my business do I feel the least confident?”

2. UNDERSTAND YOUR GOALS

You don't have to have it all figured out before you hire a mentor, but you need to know what you're working towards. This will not only help you find a coach that can support you in reaching your desires, but will also help your mentor deliver on your goals. The best coaches WANT to see you succeed so having this clearly defined in the beginning can help everyone in the relationship feel confident in moving forward.

HOW TO CHOOSE A BUSINESS COACH

1. THERE VALUES NEED TO ALIGN WITH YOURS

I've made this mistake and got distracted with the promise rather than who they were as a person and what was important to them. You’re going to be walking very intimately with someone and it’s important that your values are aligned.

2. DO THEY FILL HOLES

As I mentioned before, it's important to identify what holes are happening in your business. Don't just get support to get support, find the right person who will help you fill the holes and move your business forward. 

3. THEIR CHARACTER

When I read testimonials I focus less on results and more on what people have to say about their character as a person. Everyone's results will vary and you have the opportunity to achieve more or less depending on you individual personality, but their character and how they support their clients is so important and will majorly impact the relationship.

4. LOOK FOR MORE

I don’t mean shop around for coaches, but rather be open to learning more. Even though you go into this with an idea of where you need support more is going to come up, it always does. I always look for a mentor who can support me with different levels of life and business and feels in alignment with where I want my business and brand to go - i.e. have they achieved what you are setting out to do.

I hope this was helpful in pointing out some really important details to consider before hiring a mentor. As I mentioned in the beginning, a big component of choosing a coach or mentor is to trust them. 

In addition to the steps listed above, I suggest following them on social media, joining their email list and consuming some of their content - this will tell you so much!

If you’re interested in learning how I can support you with your brand and business, I’d love to chat. You can schedule a call here.

P.S. Are we connected on Instagram? No? Well lady what’s happening here we’ve got to fix that. Come hang out with me on my favorite social media platform. Follow for inspiration and send me a DM to know we’re connected.

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MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

How to Hire Team Members for Maximum Support in Your Online Business

How to Hire Team Members for Maximum Support in Your Online Business

Today we're going to talk about outsourcing - hiring your team and building your team, and I know how scary this can be, so I'm going to share my own experience.

I really struggled with outsourcing in the beginning. It took me a really long time to add people to my team, and the biggest reason for that was my perfectionism. Yes, I can use this as an advantage at times, but how do I keep it from running my business full-time?

From July 2016 to about May 2017, I did it all myself. But then I came to the point where I started to get more clients, my son was now one and a half and I felt a need and desire to focus on certain things in my business that were in my zone of genius and let go of the others.

Fears around Outsourcing 

I had a lot of objections at first. What if they do something that doesn't go with my brand? How will I find someone I can trust? Can someone do it as good as I can? What if they mess up? Etc. And what I've found was the majority of my objections were driven by my perfectionism. 

I first made the dive with one specific area and that was Pinterest. The second thing I did was lead pages, landing pages, so I started to dabble and see the benefit of having team members. I started to realize that if I could outsource the things not in my zone of genius and was able to focus on visibility and my clients, I would be able to bring in more money. 

Another big fear for people when it comes to outsourcing is the investment. I had this fear because I knew I could do it myself, so why do I need to pay someone else? But I had to look at what I was ultimately investing in and that was my bigger mission, which I'm able to get to much more quickly when I have a team. Why create a business around freedom if you're constantly strapped to your computer. You're investing in your business, in the bigger picture. 

I would love to hear your fears or concerns around outsourcing. Comment them below!

My top recommendation on what to outsource first

Before you hire, you want to make sure you know exactly what you want to outsource, and your journey is going to be even easier if you are crystal clear on who you are, what it is you provide and who you provide it to, so when you do hire out, you can pass all of that stuff over. And remember there is going to be a learning curve. 

One of the questions I get asked a lot is "when do you know it's time?" and I truly believe that if you're doing something in your business and you're like "ugh I don't want to do this" then it's time. There's always going to be something to outsource and it's going to be different for everyone. 

I believe you should start small and then continue to hand over more tasks over time. You are stepping into the position of CEO and there's a shift that happens in your business when you hire a team and suddenly we experience beautiful growth and it's very powerful. Outsourcing isn't about "I don't want to do this." It's about wanting to be supported in your business, so you can grow. 

So what should you outsource? 

1. Social Media - this is what I recommend to all my clients. For example, I knew I wanted to be on Pinterest, but I didn't have the capacity to add another thing on my own. So I hired someone, and I've never touched my Pinterest, but that's where the majority of my website traffic comes from. It's also easy to outsource social media because you can still control the content - they can repurpose blog posts, emails, etc. 
2. Tech - I love tech, so this took me a little longer, but that's not the case for everyone. There are people out there who can setup a whole funnel in half the time that you can. I also recommend a bookkeeper or accountant.
3. Design - This is another thing I felt comfortable in, so I just started outsourcing that, but there are so many designers out there that will knock your socks off. Good graphics can make you a lot of money! This can be workbooks, social media graphics, your freebie, etc. 

Write down everything you do in a week, then go back through the list and pick out the things you love doing and circle the things you despise. Those are the things you need to outsource. 

In addition, although it's not something we think of right away in our biz, I highly recommend investing in legal for your business to protect all your hard work and dedication. Having a Client Agreement is so important when contracting team members. Learn more about this important document from Christy Westerfeld here >>

Where to find team members

1. Ask your entrepreneur friends. If you have a mastermind you are apart of, ask them. Get recommendations from people you know. 
2. Ask in Facebook groups. This can be a pitch fest, so if you want to avoid that, be very specific in the type of person you need. Tell them to put recommendations below and say "please no messages." This way people can post and you can have a ton of options to look through, but your inbox isn't being filled to the brim. I love to see who's recommended. I immediately check out recommendations first.
3. Upwork - this is great for single projects and getting your foot in the door. You can also find these people in Facebook groups as well and just slowly build that relationship. If you have a single job or just want to test the waters and see how you do handing work over, then Upwork is a great place to start. 

If you’re looking for support in your business here are some of my favorite ladies to support you.

• Social Media Management by Kirsten Atkins - http://sociallyboutique.com/
• Pinterest Management and Resources by Jena Liat - https://www.jenaliat.com/

You can watch the whole video for a more in-depth version of this and several bonus tips below!

Head over to my Facebook Page and be sure to like and comment on the video while you are over there to help more people see this information ↠ https://www.facebook.com/brandmerrycoaching/videos/1708345602535102/

And as always please share and comment on this blog post, I love connecting with you!

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Michelle Knight is a Branding and Business coach for female entrepreneurs who are struggling to gain visibility and traction to take their business to the next level. She works with her clients to dive deep into their story so they can create a brand and message that positions them as an expert and allows them to create their desired income to free up time in their schedule for what matters most. Learn more >>