I remember the first time I hired a business coach.
At the time, I was volunteering at a food & wines festival and after chatting with my former coach about a typo on a sales page, my impulses kicked in and I signed up, even though it cost more than I really wanted.
But, I knew that I had to invest in myself.
I knew that I had to invest in my future. I knew that I had to invest in my business.
Although I was initially skeptical about my investment, it without a doubt changed my life. I was able to 3x my revenue from freelancing over the span of just a few months. It was incredible.
Now, I’m reporting back on my experience to tell you what a business coach is and what they do.
Let’s get started!
What is a Business Coach?
That’s a great question! And, in a lot of cases, it depends.
I’m going to break down what a business coach is and a few other key elements in this section, including:
- What is the definition of a business coach?
- How much does it cost for a business coach?
- What’s the difference between a business coach and a mentor?
- Do business coaches really work?
- Why do I need a business coach?
- How do you become a business coach?
Let’s dive deeper into these topics!
What is the Definition of a Business Coach?
By definition, a business coach helps an entrepreneur by clarifying their vision and providing them with actionable advice to improve their business.
Someone typically hires a business coach because they are dissatisfied with their current progress and want to know how to get to the next level.
So, before someone decides that they may want to stop blogging altogether, they may seek out a blogging and business coach to ask for areas of improvement before chalking it up to a failure.
Business coaches typically don’t have any formal certifications.
Rather, they draw on the experience they have in running their own business(es) to provide advice tailored to the entrepreneur.
How Much Does it Cost for a Business Coach?
You can hire business coaches for a lot of different functions.
There are business coaches for:
- Marketing
- Branding
- Growth
- Outsourcing
- Scaling
- Productizing
- And so much more!
Then, there are different kinds of programs that a business coach can offer:
- 1-Hour chats
- Audits
- Email support
- Group coaching
- Membership groups
- Mastermind groups
These two factors plus the business coach’s background and expertise combine to create the price.
So, I’ve seen business coaches charge anywhere from under $100 to over $1,000+.
Ultimately, a business coach can charge what clients are willing to pay.
That’s kind of the nature of any service.
It’s important to find the RIGHT business coach for your needs so that the cost is justified by the tangibles you walk away with.
What’s the Difference Between a Business Coach and a Mentor?
As I already mentioned, a business coach helps an entrepreneur by clarifying their vision and providing them with actionable advice to improve their business.
In this function, a coach helps to keep the entrepreneur accountable and their goals realized.
A business mentor focuses on advising.
A mentor is someone that the entrepreneur looks up to. The mentor also sees value in the relationship and in the future of the entrepreneur.
While a coach may actively be involved in the business, a mentor tends to focus more on the entrepreneur’s quality of life and less on the specific happenings in the business.
A mentor can also be more general, while a coach is hired for a specific purpose.
Do Business Coaches Really Work?
The answer to this question is a resounding yes, provided that you hired the right coach.
Hiring a specialist instead of a generalist will really be helpful.
Looking at ROI (return on investment), which is the metric that most entrepreneurs would cite as important in a scenario like this, it’ll only be positive if the entrepreneur puts in work.
You could have an amazing coach on the other side willing to help you, but if you don’t put in the work, it’s not going to matter.
This is why I was able to justify the cost when I hired my coach.
She encouraged me and guided me in the right direction, but I was the one that put in the effort to make it happen.
Statistically speaking, using a business coach can help you increase your profit margin by 46%, so you might as well give it a shot.
Why Do I Need a Business Coach?
Ultimately, the decision is yours.
But, in my opinion…
A blogging coach can help you kickstart your efforts so you can achieve success faster.
When I look at why I decided to hire my side hustle coach, there were a few reasons:
- I wanted someone who had done what I wanted to do to guide me down the right path
- I thought I would be able to achieve success quicker
- The networking opportunities were valuable
- The coaching model (small group) suited my needs
- It was structured in a way that let me focus on one thing at a time
If any of those reasons sound good to you, then I’d encourage you to consider hiring a coach!
How Do You Become a Business Coach?
Start working with clients!
Ideally, someone will come to you and see your success and ask you to be their coach. You can then create a more formal program after you begin to understand what your audience wants.
But, there are a lot of people who begin coaching prematurely.
They think they’ve achieved success to a certain degree and want to start monetizing that.
This is why people don’t always trust business coaches. They doubt the coach’s experience for reasons just like that.
If you really do want to become a coach, then networking will be your best friend. You’ll find your first few clients that way.
Conclusion
I hope this article gives you a better idea of the whole world of business coaching and what a business coach even is.
If you are looking for a coach, I’d highly recommend myself!
My specific field is growth strategy and outsourcing coaching, so I’m happy to chat with you if that’s something you’re interested in learning, but I’d be happy to recommend another coach for you if your needs are different.
Find more about my coaching program here.
We discussed these frequently asked questions about business coaching:
- What is the definition of a business coach?
- How much does it cost for a coach?
- What’s the difference between a coach and a mentor?
- Do coaches really work?
- Why do I need a coach?
- How do you become a coach?
If you have any additional questions, let me know in the comments below!
And, I’m working on an article about the best coaches for entrepreneurs, so if you know any side hustle or blogging coaches, drop their names down there, too.
Cheers to future success!
