Is Business Coaching Worth It? (My Honest Opinion)

Starting a business is easy, but growing the same is tough.

Most entrepreneurs start their ventures with dreams like - freedom, peace & prosperity. But, it's when they actually run their businesses, the reality hits.

And, it hits hard.

The reality is that most entrepreneurs struggle with running & growing their businesses effectively. Managing people, getting sales, setting up processes, tracking numbers, launching products, payroll, taxes, marketing - these activities can really be overwhelming. You get what I mean. Right?

Over above all, you've got a life outside of your work. As an entrepreneur, your work-life balance suffers. I've seen many entrepreneurs working on weekends. And, the situation becomes worse when you've got kids to raise. Is that what you dreamed of when you started your business?

Of course, no!

But, hey, you aren't alone. Unfortunately, that's the sad story of most business owners.

Having said that, it's possible to mend your business & life. You can certainly have a thriving business & personal life at the same time. How? By taking help from a business coach. Yes, it's totally worth hiring someone who can help you grow your business. Someone who you would be accountable to. In this article, I'll be arguing why I think so.

So, are you ready to transform your business & life? Yes? OK, let's get started then.

IS BUSINESS COACHING WORTH THE MONEY?

Here's a short story:

A & B graduated from a business school in the same year. Soon thereafter, they started their own businesses in the same industry.

In 5 years time, A's business steadily grew & became the industry leader. On the other hand, B's business struggled to grow.

What made the difference?

A was a keen learner & hired a business coach to help her sharpen her business skills. She was constantly learning & improving. When she faced with a business challenge, she immediately sought advice from her business coach. Not only her business was doing well, she had ample time to spend with her family as well.

Whereas, B was too busy running her business. She didn't had the time or intent to learn & sharpen her business skills. In short, she was running her business on "trial & error" method. Needless to say, she was restless & frustrated at the same time.

So, yes, business coaching is worth it. Having someone who can help you with business ups & downs is always recommended. Business coaches will guide you to run & grow your business effectively. They can also advise you on how to solve specific business problems. The best part? You'll be accountable to your coach to get things done.

With a small investment every month, you can get 10x value in the form of business growth & freedom.

In fact, as per a study, 61% of small business owners credited their coaches for improvement of their business performance.

As far as popularity goes, as per a survey, 80% of entrepreneurs have hired a business coach at some point in their career.

As per another survey, the ROI of business coaching was found to be a whopping 600%. That means every dollar invested in business coaching can give you six dollars in return.

What is Business Coaching?

From the coach point of view, business coaching involves helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses. That's the primary goal. As a coach myself, my ultimate motive is to see my client's business do well. Yes, there're some ancillary goals as well - like freedom, mental peace, productivity, etc. But, it's your business growth that matters the most to a business coach.

The problem with most business coaches is that they focus too much on ancillary goals like productivity, motivation, mindset, etc. Yes, those too are important but what's the point of being productive if your business itself isn't doing well. Does that make sense?

Most business coaching assignments work in the following way:

1. You book a FREE discovery call with your prospective coach. Most discovery calls last for about 30 minutes.
2. During the discovery call, the coach asks a set of questions about your business.
3. Based on your answers, the business coach comes with a plan, coaching schedule & pricing package.
4. You pay & take the coaching sessions as per the schedule. Most coaching programs involve weekly one-hour live sessions.
5. You implement the advice given by your business coach & share the feedback.

My coaching method is slightly different. I don't do calls. Instead, I communicate with my clients over email. That's because email is more flexible (unlimited discussions unlike in calls), formal & helps me avoid back and forth meetings. The best part? You can test the water by taking a 10-Days FREE trial. If you find me useful, you can become my paying client. Simple.

And, I believe, every business coaching assignment should have a concrete & measurable goal. That's how you know if you've been successful as a coach.

What sets me apart even further is the fact that my coaching process is 100% actionable. That means my coaching assignment is packed with notes, templates, formulas, charts & similar materials.

I would also like to draw your attention towards the difference among the different terminologies namely consulting, coaching & mentoring.

Consulting involves solving a specific business problem of an entrepreneur. By nature, consulting is an one-time activity or assignment.

Coaching, on the other hand, involves helping grow an entrepreneur's business. It's multi-dimensional & aims at solving various problems faced by a business. By nature, coaching is a recurring assignment. Also, coaching is more practical & hands-on than consulting.

Mentoring, on the other hand, involves imparting business lessons to an entrepreneur. By nature, mentoring is an one-time program that can stretch over several months.

What Does a Business Coach Do?

As I said earlier, a business coach's primary responsibility is to sharpen your business skills & help you grow your business. A coach devises various strategies you can use to take your venture to the next level. Apart from that, a coach also helps you getting things done, achieve more freedom, become more productive, have a positive mindset, improve your self-confidence.

To be more specific, a business coach helps you to:

1. Re-structure your product or service strategy
2. Improve your branding
3. Tune up your marketing funnel
4. Improve revenue per customer
5. Suggest ways to bring repeat customers
6. Improve customer satisfaction
7. Promote customer loyalty
8. Set up proper processes & systems
9. Define hiring policies
10. Reduce cost
11. Improve productivity, mindset & confidence
12. Help in getting things done on daily basis

To go even deep, let's look at the following example:

You run an ecommerce store that's struggling to grow. You hire a business coach like me. Now, here's what I can do for you:

• Re-design product mix & strategy
• Improve store conversion rate
• Improve store traffic
• Suggest ways to improve product pages
• Improve store branding
• Optimize ads & marketing materials
• Increase average order size
• Extract recurring orders from past customers
• Audit vendors to see if they're offering the best price
• Improve supply chain processes
• Suggest ways to reduce shipping & fulfilment costs
• Suggest ways to improve profitability

So, yes, what a business coach can do depends a lot on your industry & niche. No two businesses are same. Ideally, a business coach should ask you a set of questions, study your situation & then devise a plan to improve your business performance.

Makes sense?

Why Business Coaching is Important?

Business coaching is as important as learning. You grow in your business (& your life) only if you never stop learn. Everyday is an opportunity to learn something new.

And, with business coaching, you learn from veteran coaches who've trained hundreds of entrepreneurs like you. They've been in your place & know what they're talking about.

The best part? You're accountable to your business coach for getting things done on time. Look, when you run your own business, you're your own boss, that means you aren't accountable to anyone. While that sounds cool, you run the risk of becoming unproductive. That's where your business coach steps in. She can help you to get things done on time.

Validation is also a powerful reason why business coaching is important. Most of the time, entrepreneurs feel lonely & have nobody to share their ideas, problems & issues with. A business coach listens to what you've got to say & provides her valuable input based on that.

Also, most businesses coaches are successful entrepreneurs themselves. They've the required experience & wisdom to guide someone looking for support.

Business Coaching Cost

Most small business coaches charge anywhere between $ 150 an hour to $ 250 an hour. Whereas, executive business coaches can charge as high as $ 500 an hour.

Note that most business coaches quote their price as an hourly rate. While there're some coaches who quote a monthly rate (like me). In rarity, there're also some coaches who charge their fees as a percentage of their client's revenue.

A business coach's pricing depends on the following factors:

• What'll be the coaching mode? How'll be the service be delivered? (video calls vs. emails). Coaching via live video calls is way more costly than coaching via emails.
• What's the coach's experience & credibility?
• What'll be number & frequency of sessions?
• What's the coach's location?
• What do other coaches charge?
• Will the coach provide additional materials like worksheets, templates, charts, exercises, etc.?
• What's the income of the coach's ideal clients?
• Is the coaching service going to be one-time or recurring?

My coaching price is pretty simple & affordable. I charge $ 300 a month for unlimited coaching via email. No limits. No deadlines. No contract.

You can learn more & start a 10-Days FREE trial here:

My Business Coaching Process

Coaches can provide their coaching services via:

• Phone calls
• Skype or Zoom calls
• Face-to-Face meetings
• Emails (My preferred format)
• Texts

While most coaches prefer to coach real-time via video (Skype or Zoom) calls, I haven't found them effective enough. Most of these video calls last for about an hour. Right? Now, how's it possible to have a meaningful conversation with my client over that limited time? How can I manage to make an impact?

Therefore, I've chosen email as a preferred mode of communication with my clients. It works way better than video calls. Yes, for my clients as well.

Coaching via email comes with the following benefits:

• Thought-provoking, clear & complete conversion
• In-depth replies
• Coaching record & accountability
• Flexible (in terms of schedule, location & language)
• Affordable (Monthly cost of video coaching calls can run in thousands)
• Unlimited conversation & no deadlines
• More time to think & respond
• Convenient & relaxed
• Better way to deliver exercises, resources & assignments

Now, let me take you through my step-by-step coaching process:

Step 1: Sign up for a 10-Days FREE trial by introducing yourself & your business.

Step 2: I'll send you a welcome email & ask you a few more questions regarding your business model, strategy, positioning, processes, team etc.

Step 3: Based on your replies, I'll have intense discussions with you to improve each area of your business. My suggestion will be filled with actionable advice, tips, resources, worksheet, charts & examples. At this stage, I'll also set a measurable goal against which your business performance will be evaluated.

Step 4: As & when required, I may also assign with certain growth-oriented tasks & exercises.

Step 5: You'll implement your learnings & my suggestions to improve your business. I expect daily feedback from you.

Step 6: Rinse & repeat.

Step 7: At the end of your 10-Days FREE trial, you can opt to become a paying client. It costs just $ 300 a month.

Makes sense?

Unlike most other coaches, I don't limit my roles. I can go over & above my own potential to unleash your true potential. Therefore, the aforesaid steps aren't rigid. Based on your typical requirements, I may come up with a competely different program or plan.

Business Coaching & The Unrealistic Expectations

The success of a business coach, to an extent, also depends on the effort made by the client.

Look, no business coach can help you with your business if you aren't willing put in the required effort. There's a difference between attending a lecture & taking coaching services. While attending a lecture is a one-way activity (you just listen & learn), coaching is a two-way activity (you listen, learn, apply & provide feedback). Here, the word "apply" deserves a special mention. You really need to apply your coach's suggestions to your business. Or else, you won't see any progress.

Also, note that your business coach isn't some sort of magician. It takes time & effort to build a solid business. And, therefore, you shouldn't expect overnight turnaround. Yes, as we say, Rome wasn't built in a day.

The crux is: The more effort you put into your business, the more are your chances of success.

I've had some clients ask me weird questions like:

"Can you help me make $ 50K in 3 months?"

"How can I become the next Elon Musk?"

Yes, you can laugh :)

So, it's important that you stay grounded & don't set unrealistic target for yourself & your coach.

FAQs Related to Business Coaching for Entrepreneurs

1. How much should I pay for a business coach?

Theoretically, you should hire a business coach only if you can afford it. That means how much you pay for a coach depends on your budget.

Example: If your monthly business income is $ 2000 a month, then paying $ 300 to a coach makes sense. Right?

However, practically, hiring a business coach is like an investment (not an expense). As I noted earlier, business coaching has the potential to generate a ROI of almost 600%. So, that means you should consider taking business coaching services even if you can't afford it outright. Why? Because, as an investment, your coach can tranform your business & help you generate manifold profit.

Example: You've just started your business & haven't generated profit yet. You decide to hire a business coach for $ 300 a month. You work with your coach to improve your business & in a few months time start seeing a healthy profit of $ 2000 a month. Now, that makes sense too. Right?

At the end of the day, it boils down to your risk-taking appetite. If you've a healthy income, hiring a coach is an easy decision because you don't have much to lose. But, if you don't enough business income, hiring a coach is more like an investment that may or may not pay off. So, tread carefully.

2. Is hiring a business coach worth it?

Yes, absolutely. But, only when you're willing to put in the required effort. For a coaching assignment to succeed, it's important that both the coach & the coachee have the same level of commitment. Right?

Did you know who the former Google CEO Eric Schmidt owes his success to? His business coach - Bill Campbell. In fact, Bill had also coached Steve Jobs & many other top tech leaders of Silicon Valley. That's how powerful business coaching can be.

3. What do I need to know before hiring a business coach?

In any industry, there're some good players & then there're some bad players. Similarly, in coaching industry, there're some good business coaches & then there're some business coaches whom you need to avoid.

Good business coaches are known for the following traits:

• They're willing to help. That's their first motive.
• They're comitted & accountable to their client's success.
• They go over & beyond to deliver their service.
• They come up with actionable advice.
• They're driven by data, metrics & numbers.
• They hone their clients' skills by sharing valuable resources like templates, charts, exercises, worksheets, etc.
• They don't talk fluff.
• They respond quickly.
• They're good listeners.
• They're goal-oriented.

On the other hand, you can spot bad business coaches easily. They're the ones who're least interested in helping you. All they want is more clients, more money & more sales.

4. How entrepreneurs can get the most out of a business coach?

Well, first & foremost, you need to have frank discussions with your coach. The more you reveal your thoughts, you more effectively your coach can help. Don't ever hide anything that you think your coach should know.

Second, implement the advice & ideas given by your coach. And, of course, share your feedback.

Third, promptly communicate with your coach on a regular basis. Don't let the flow & rythm break.

Fourth, do your homework. If your coach has assigned with certain exercises, do it sincerely.

Fifth, have patience. Your coach is not a magician & will need sometime to deliver results.

5. Why do entrepreneurs need coaches?

A coach is someone who can unlock your true potential. Someone who can be help you stay on track. Someone you'll be accountable to. Someone who can help you get things done.

Here, I'm not just talking about business coaching. As an entrepreneur, you can avail coaching services in various spheres like life, leadership, career, sales, etc.

You can always learn something from your coach. The moment you stop learning, you stop growing in your life.

Conclusion

It's tough being an entrepreneur. At times, you feel lonely. You wish you had someone who'd help you to navigate smoothly. That's where business coaches step in. They're a ray of hope. For you. And, for millions of business owners like you.

So, how do you get started? Simple. Contact your ideal business coach & get started.

If everything goes well, you'll see your dream come true. Yes, a thriving business & a more fulfilling life.

Learn. Apply. Repeat.

Willing to avail business coaching services from me? Then, learn more about it & sign up for a 10-days FREE trial here: