Builders: Questions to ask a Business coach before paying a cent! Do you own your own business?

So you want to hire a business coach for your building business.

But who?

You know you should choose carefully before making a commitment, because, while the fees may not be large, your commitment will be huge, and you want to get the maximum ROI (return on investment) from your investment of time and money.

A mediocre coaching relationship may get you results, but nowhere near the results you might have gotten from a great coaching relationship.

In this article I outline 3 straightforward reasons why you must hire a coach who owns his/her own business.Would you trust travel advice from someone who’s never travelled? Or investment tips from a non investor?No! Of course not! Same in business.Many coaching companies hire great people, but because they’ve only been employees they’ve never felt the fears and challenges of owning a business. They may be great corporate trainers and executive coaches - but they don’t really understand small business from the inside.So if you want to be coached by someone who has never even owned a business, quit reading this article - now! But if you're uncertain read on.Here’s some questions to think about when considering a business coach 

1       Can your coach relate to the loneliness of business ownership?

 There's no questions that as an owner you carry a responsibility your employees simply cannot appreciate. They leave work at 5:00 pm and don’t give a second thought about it until 7:00 am the next morning. Yet, you think about your business all the time. The buck stops with you. So when your team makes a big mistake all they get is an ear bashing (or at worst a dole payout).  But if the mistake is big enough you could lose everything! Employees can't relate to how this feels. You need a coach who has been there. 

2      Can your coach relate to working ON the business?

 Employees have only their time and skill to sell. They earn their money by the hours they are at work. That’s why they spend their professional development allowances improving their skill, so their time might be worth more. Their focus is on the set of skills that they operate with during the time they work IN the business.But, you as the owner must focus ON the business. It’s not the quantity of hours you work that count, but the value of the stuff you focus on, when you work, that counts. You know from experience how being stuck in the business can cost you heaps. So, you must ask yourself, “Does your coach understand working ON the business - from experience?” 

3      Has your coach experienced growth and recession?

 It’s easier to be a coach when the going is easy. Just as it’s easier to grow a business when the economy around is growing and your product is in high demand. But you really want to be coached by someone who knows what it is to take his/her own company through growth and recession, because it’s in the tough times that you really see what people are made of. 

You don’t want this to happen to you...

After nine months of meetings with the directors of Abacon Ltd (not their real name) the employed coach resigned suddenly to take a “better” non-coaching job, leaving the Abacon Ltd directors wondering what they’d gained for their investment. Unfortunately he didn’t keep good records and it was three years before another employee from the coaching company got around to contacting Abacon Ltd to “see if they wanted a 360 degree review!”

 It's just simply better if your prospective coach understands what it is to be a business owner rather than an employee. 

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