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Business Coaches can be expensive. But are they a necessary expense or a luxury you cannot afford.  Here are the views of an experienced coach. Of course, her views are a little biased

A business coach is someone who works with you on an individualized basis, as opposed to a group training program. For many business people, there comes a time when you need to consider hiring a coach to help you with some aspect of your business. Here’s why you might need one and how it can help you.

Why Do People Hire Business Coaches?

People hire a business coach for a number of different reasons. Their business might be stuck at a plateau and they are eager to take it to the next level. They may not even know what that next level should be.

Some people hire business coaches just to help them develop skills they are currently lacking. Or they might have a stubborn problem in their business that they need help tackling.

Others just need someone to hold them accountable or to give them frequent motivation. They might be having trouble focusing on what they need to do from day to day.

Benefits of Hiring a Business Coach

Regardless of the initial reason for hiring a coach, the benefits can be enormous. An advisor who has not been involved at your level of detail can see the big picture of your business. A coach provides an objective view that you find difficult to have when engrossed in the day to day operations of your business.

With an objective view, a coach can also help you see where you should be focusing your efforts to make the most of your business. You get held accountable for your actions and can get the motivation you need to push forward. This can also help you let go of tasks or projects that arent adding value.

A business coach is also someone you can brainstorm with who might bring completely different and creative ideas to the table. You can look at current problems from a new angle, coming up with solutions you hadnt thought of before.

Are You Ready to Hire a Coach?

Before you decide to spend the money to hire a business coach, think about some of the following questions:

Do you have a clear vision and plan for where you want your business to go?

Are you focused on the actions you need to take to achieve your goals?

Do you have all the skills you need to move forward? Do you even know what skills you need?

Do you know how to tackle the problems you are currently facing in your business?

If you answered no to any of these questions, then you may want to consider finding a business coach with the experience to help you.

While hiring a business coach can be a significant investment, many successful entrepreneurs will tell you its an expense you cant afford not to make. In fact, you might be surprised at just how many of these business people have hired someone to give them personal advice at some point. Depending on where you are in your current business, you may be ready for a coach also.

Many people think that a coach or coaching program will be the solution to all their problems. Just sign up and let the other person tell you what to do. Well, thats not the case. While every coaching program will be different depending on your field, there are some elements that should always be included. And, there are also some expectations that are fairly universal, no matter what the topic.

Know What Youre Getting

Before you sign up for any coaching program you should be told the specifics of what you will by receiving for your money. Expect to have the details explained up front on how much time is involved, how you will interact, what materials you get, etc. You should also know the particular areas of expertise that the coach can provide guidance on.

However, you shouldnt expect the coach to explain every detail. Thats because they cant possibly foresee every question that people will have. You need to be sure to make a list of your own questions and get them answered. Dont go in blind and find out later that something you needed was not included in the price.

A Clear Plan of Action

No matter what you are getting coached on, you should expect to create a clear plan of action for how you will move ahead and make progress. Some programs will work with you one-on-one to create a very individualized plan. Others might just give you a template for you to fill out yourself.

Even with a very individualized program, you should not expect the coach to be a mind reader. No one knows your business or your personal needs as well as you do, so you will need to provide these details as accurately as possible. The action plan you create with your coach is only as good as the information you provide.

Dont Be Left Hanging

You should expect to get support along the way for any questions that come up as you implement your plan. If a coach is not available to give you support, you could end up being left hanging and unable to move forward. Even if its not your personal coach, there should always be someone available to contact.

On the other hand, don’t expect your coach to always come to you to check in. Usually you are not their only client and their time is split among many other responsibilities. While some programs will include a regular question and answer session, the coach still cant know what problems youll need help with in between.

Getting the Feedback You Need

In order to truly benefit from your coaching, you should expect to get feedback on your performance. The coach should be looking at your behavior, actions and results. You should then get advice on what to do differently to improve your performance, as well as what to keep on doing.

While its nice to get everything right the first time, its highly unrealistic. Don’t expect to do everything perfectly and dont expect all your feedback to be praise. If a coach doesnt tell you things to change, then you arent benefiting from the program as much as you should.

Every coaching program should result in your own improvement, whether it has to do with your life or your business. However, even with the best coaching program, you can’t expect miracles to happen. A lot depends on you.

So youve decided that you desperately need to hire a business coach. Dont jump at the first person who is recommended to you or who promises amazing results. Selecting a business coach should be done with care since you will be investing both time and money on the advice of someone else.
Use the following questions to help you evaluate a potential coach and select one that really can help you grow.

Question 1: What’s your business model?

Clearly define your business model before you even start looking for a coach. You can get recommendations from any number of people who say that a particular coach helped their sales sky rocket. That wont help you if your own business model is completely different.

If youre very new to your business and dont even know your business model, then do some research first. For example, if you are just starting out in internet marketing, research the different types of online businesses you could start. Pick one that resonates most with your skills and experience.

Question 2: Do they have successful experience in that model?

Theres no point hiring someone who has had amazing success building AdSense sites when you have been focused on affiliate marketing. Or if you know that you need help with the technical aspects of your business, you dont want to end up hiring someone who is best at the people side.

Look at where the coachs main experience has been. What kind of results have they had? Can they give you concrete examples? Dont just take their word for it. Get references wherever possible.

Question 3. What is their philosophy for doing business?

The last thing you want to do is get immersed in a relationship with a coach and then find that you dont agree with their business philosophy at all. For example, if you are focused primarily on quality content, you dont necessarily want a business coach who uses article spinners or link wheels. Make sure you have the same values when it comes to your approach and what you feel is important in the way you do business.

Question 4. Do you like them as a person?

If you are going to be working closely with a coach, you should like them as a person as well. It isnt entirely necessary, but the type of relationship you have will make the experience more enjoyable. Also, it can be difficult to take advice from someone you dont particularly like. They dont have to become your best friend, but you do need to respect them.

Even after youve answered all these questions, you should try to arrange a trial period with a coach. Just because someone is successful in your field of business doesn’t mean they’ll make a good coach for you. You definitely dont want to sign up for a long coaching contract and then find that its not a good fit.

Getting personal coaching can be a very expensive investment of your time, so youll want to get as much as you can from each session. While most personal coaches should provide you a list of things to prepare for a one-on-one session, you’ll get the most value if you have the following information ready.

1. Your own goals for the session
What do you want to walk away with when the session is done? At the least, this should be an action plan. But you might also be looking for specific feedback on something you have done or created. This could include a sales page, an article you wrote, or even a new tactic youve tried that didnt succeed.

2. Areas you’d like to focus on
Which parts of your business, behavior or life do you want to focus on in this particular session? Is it a specific area of your business, such as your customer conversions? Or maybe its a difficult situation youre trying to dealing with, such as with a vendor or another person?

3. Progress you have been making
What have you achieved since the last time you talked? What progress have you made on your action plan? What are you proud of? Which parts of your plan did you not manage to get to?

4. Problems you have been struggling with
What kinds of problems or obstacles have been preventing you from moving forward? Have there been specific things that kept you from achieving more? Do you need help with identifying a solution?

5. Things you have learned about yourself or your business
What have you learned that might affect the way you move forward? Is there anything that would affect your goals or the tactics you are using? Are there things that you now know are particularly effective? Or maybe there are tactics that you now know will not work for you?

6. Your own ideas for what to do next
Based on everything you have learned since your last session, what do YOU think you should do next? While you are going to discuss this as part of your coaching, its good to be able to bounce a few ideas off the coach. Just dont expect the other person to agree with you.

7. Specific questions you have for the coach
What questions do you have that you need answered either right now or soon? Its best if you keep an ongoing list of questions in between sessions. While you should always ask for help as you go along, not everything needs to be answered immediately. Keep a list of questions that can wait for this next coaching session.

Just thinking through each of these 7 items may give you some insight in how you need to move ahead. And, being prepared in advance for your coaching sessions will help you stay focused on the most important issues you need help on.

Not every type of coaching program will work for everyone. Each individual learns differently, so tailoring your coaching method to each client’s needs will help make their learning more effective and the results of your coaching far greater.

Follow these three steps to determine the best coaching method for your clients.

Step 1. Determine the client’s learning style

There are three key learning styles visual, auditory and physical. Visual learners need to see something in action, such as a demonstration, slides, text or diagrams. Auditory learners like to hear what youre talking about, such as on recordings or webinars. Physical learners do best when they actually write something down or act it out.

Ask your clients what they like best. What type of training have they done in the past that they enjoyed most? Why? If possible, have them give you an example of a program they learned a lot from. What were the key elements of that training?

Step 2. Design a program that will work best for different styles
Learning results are most effective when you use more than one approach. Each one builds on the other and reinforces what was learned. For example, a video series should always be accompanied by the audio files and transcripts for people who would rather read the content or listen at their leisure.

In addition, since youre probably not creating a new coaching program for each person, youll need to cater to several learning styles at once. Make sure you have something for everyone.

Everyones results will be the most effective if they actually apply what theyve learning in the real world. Find opportunities for your clients to put what they learn into practice themselves, even if it is a case study or hypothetical scenario.

Step 3. Check in regularly and adjust as needed

The first coaching program you design will probably not be ideal, but getting regular feedback and making adjustments will help you continuously improve. Check in with clients regularly and ask them what is and isnt working. What would they like to see more of? What aspects have not been helpful?

If revisions to your coaching program are outside the scope of what you originally promised, you might need to adjust the price. You could give an additional price quote for extra services, or refer people to additional resources if necessary. You might even offer different levels of coaching for those with varying needs. This is easy to do if you have set clear expectations.

Dont be afraid to get feedback from your clients just because it might be negative. Forcing your own method of coaching onto a client won’t work if they have a different way of learning. Youll have to uncover their learning styles, find out what is and isnt working, and adjust your own method to get the best results.

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Do you stop and count your blessings? It is so easy to just focus on the negative aspects. Here is a light-hearted reminder that you have positive things in your life

http://onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/72859/12-Things-Entrepreneurs-Should-Be-Thankful-For.aspx

So be thankful for what you have got. In fact, say thank you a lot.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220770

It seems that we come up with all sorts of ideas in bed

http://www.entrepreneurcountry.com/news-features/technology/item/1569-half-of-british-business-ideas-conceived-in-bed

No matter how painful, get to the truth.

http://smallbiztrends.com/2011/11/truth-make-you-sick-set-you-free.html

Start asking the tough questions

http://under30ceo.com/entrepreneurs-start-asking-the-tough-questions/

Five keys to successful sales strategy

http://smallbiztrends.com/2011/11/5-keys-successful-sales-strategies.html

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220691