MBA2723 Q&A Wednesday: How Do I Find A Business Coach?

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1:29some generic advice that you can't use or is going to make you get scammed, but real practical advice, a real approach that I've used in my own businesses to find the right coach. In fact, I'm going to show you how I found a coach that helped me build and scale my software company so that I can get acquired. That's exactly what happened. I built my software company Webinar Ninja and was able to get acquired in 2024.

1:59Welcome back to the$100 MBA show. I'm your host, Omar Zinhome, where I deliver practical business lessons three times a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to help you start, grow, and scale your business. We read every single review. Seriously, it's how we know what's helping and what to dive deeper in on the next episode. So if you've got 20 seconds, leave a quick review and tell me what you want more of. I'd love to hear from you. Let's start with rule number one. They must have done what you want to do. That's the single most important rule when choosing a business coach. You got to find someone who's already accomplished what you want to accomplish.

2:41Not someone who knows business, not someone who talks big online who has a huge following and that's it. Not someone that sounds inspiring. Someone who's actually done the thing that you want to do. Real experience, real scars, real wins, real results, because they're not giving you theory. People like this, they're giving you lived experience. That's the difference between a coach and a guru, someone that walks the walk and someone who just talks the talk. When Nicole and I were building our software company, Women Are Ninja, we started in 2014. We were aiming for a very specific outcome. We wanted to grow the company.

3:19We wanted to scale sustainably. And eventually we wanted to get acquired. We wanted somebody to buy our business. That meant we needed someone who actually built and sold companies in the space that we're in. SaaS, software as a service. Enter Dan Martel. We joined his coaching program. Why? Because he built and sold three SaaS companies before. When he was coaching us, he wasn't guessing. He wasn't giving us theory. He didn't give us fortune cookie advice. He literally walked us through the exact path that he went through three times. How he grew his revenue, how he built his systems, how he built his team out, how he was able to recruit the right people, and how to prepare for an acquisition.

4:01He showed us how to make our company sellable. He had lived it. He has done it several times. So we wanted to do the same. So it's natural to want to hire somebody that can help you up the mountain. That's what a coach should be, a Sherpa who has climbed your mountain, not just any mountain. I love this example because a Sherpa has gone up and down this mountain so many times. They know exactly what to look out for, what pitfalls there are, what mistakes to avoid, what are some things you're going to need, the tools you're going to need, the people you're going to need, the resources, all that stuff.

4:35So you need to find a Sherpa that works for you and your goals. I want to reiterate this. I want to reinforce this. You don't hire a Sherpa who's read a book about your mountain, right? You hire someone who's actually climbed your mountain multiple times if possible, because they know, they know the shortcuts, the danger zones, the weather patterns, right? The weather patterns that are going on in the mountain, where people quit, right? Where people actually don't make it, where people push, where people die on the mountain. I love this metaphor because a business coach is the same. They should see the path ahead of you far more clearly than you do, not because they're smarter, but because they've walked it before.

5:15Okay, it's like seeing a show or an episode of a show three or four times and you're watching it again. You know exactly what's going to happen next. You know how it's going to end. You know all the jokes in between. You just know, not because you're smarter or you're wittier, but because you've seen this before. You've seen this episode. Now, a word of caution. This is critical. A great coach will guide you. A great coach will give you perspective. A great coach will highlight blind spots. A great coach will share their experiences, but they will not make decisions for you. Why? Because you must live with the consequences of those decisions, not them.

5:53If they make a decision for you and it goes wrong, they're not going to suffer the consequences. You will. If a coach tells you to fire this person or to launch this offer or to invest in this idea or to pivot the business in some way, they don't own the outcome. You do. Your job is to listen, to absorb, and decide. Their job is to advise. And if they're a really good coach, they're going to help you have the tools and the frameworks to be able to make the right decision. They're going to teach you how to make decisions. If you're expecting someone to magically build your business for you, you're looking for a parent.

6:28not a coach. Self-directed investing, trading, full-service wealth management, automated investing, financial planning, thematic investing, retirement planning. Phew. And to think that's just a small taste of what Schwab offers. Because Schwab knows that when it comes to your finances, choice matters. No matter your goals, investing style, life stage, or experience, Schwab has everything you need all in one place. So you can invest your way. Visit schwab.com to learn more. No child deserves to go hungry, especially at school. But right now, some politicians are cutting funding to programs that help kids access free meals at school while handing out tax breaks to billionaires.

7:09Hungry kids can't focus and learn. The National Education Association is made up of 3 million educators and allies across the country dedicated to making sure every child has the support they need to thrive in the classroom. Help the NEA keep hungry kids fed at school. Learn more at nea.org slash nutrition. Now, how do you actually find a coach? Well, you go where the industry gathers. The best coaches aren't sitting on Instagram waiting for you to DM them. They're at conferences, they're at events, they're at masterminds, they're at industry gatherings. When I was running Webinar Ninja, the conferences I attended were like SaaS Talk and MicroConf, and they were full of real founders building what I was building.

7:56And the best way to find a coach is to ask other entrepreneurs who coached you, who helped you grow, who changed the game for you, who made you see things differently. That's exactly what happened to me. I went to a conference called SaaS Talk. I met up with an old friend named Rob Rawson, who's the founder of Time Doctor, big SaaS company. At the time he was a few steps ahead of me and he knew I was looking for a coach. I was looking for a way to scale my business and he recommended Dan Martell. He was part of his program. So I thought, oh, if it was good enough for Rob, maybe I should have a call with Dan and see if it's a good fit for me.

8:31The point I'm making here is that these conversations mostly don't happen online. They happen in the lobbies of the hotel, in the hallways, in the mixers, in the booths where all the sponsors are and you're just walking around meeting people. So get out there. Now, in between conferences, and just to get you started, you can go on social media. It works. You might discover someone through their own content, but content is just the trailer to the movie. You need to still watch the movie, meaning you need to research their background. You need to look for real accomplishments. Have they done what you want to do or do they just have a big following online?

9:08Are they just giving platitudes with no real examples or experiences? Is all their content just generic hypey motivation? Or do they actually tell real stories from their past, from their journey? Ask yourself, what have they actually built? Have they done anything close to what you want to do? A lot of coaches online haven't built anything except their coaching business. That's not who you want leading you. That's not who you want to invest in. The third method I recommend is asking your existing network. You already have access to people that you probably have forgotten about or people you're not even looking at, like your customers, like your suppliers, like your investors, like your vendors.

9:50I can go on and on. Your partners, your account managers over at AWS and Stripe, your business friends that you see on the regular. These people are tapped into worlds You're not. I've met some of the best people, including advisors, through random introductions from vendors or customers. People that work in these companies like Stripe and AWS, Amazon Web Services, they know a lot of people. They know everybody in the industry. They know the leaders in the industry, the thought leaders. They invite them to their own conferences. So most likely, the person that's emailing you invoices can help you out.

10:28Like I say, business is a contact sport. the more contacts you have, the more contacts you make, the more success you'll have. Now, let's talk about the vetting process. Once you find a coach, you need to vet them like a pro. Do not hire after one call. Don't hire them because you like their vibe or because they're famous or because they sound legit or you feel so enamored and lucky that they DM'd you on social media. Instead, have as many conversations as you can. This could be over email. This could be over Zoom. This could be on a phone call. I would say at least two conversations. You're entering a long-term relationship.

11:05Treat it like one. Ask for some case studies, real stories, real success stories. If they're pro, they will have plenty of them. If they're not pro, they'll get offended and say, no, thank you. And you don't want to work with them anyway. They just filter themselves out. Great. For example, when Nicole and I got on a call with Dan Marcel, he willingly gave some testimonials, also some case studies, some real numbers of the growth the companies had that were in his cohort, in his coaching. And he also shared exactly what we wanted to see, people that were able to exit their company after being in his coaching program.

11:43Also, make sure your goals match their experience. Don't hire a coach who grew a coaching business if you're building a SaaS product. Don't hire an e-commerce coach if you're building a membership. Don't hire an investor turned guru if they never bootstrapped. Lastly, and most importantly, see if they can teach. Not everyone who succeeded can teach how they succeeded. I've seen founders who built billion dollar companies but couldn't explain how they did it if their life depended on it. They just can't. They're not that kind of person. Teaching is a skill. And if they don't have that skill, they can't transfer their knowledge to you.

12:23If they can't clearly articulate their frameworks and their methods and their decision making, it's going to be really hard for you to get any value. So just run the other way. A business coach can be a game changer for you. I know from experience, but only if they have been where you're going. They have a track record. They can actually teach. They're ready to teach you and you are ready to be coached. you're willing to own decisions. Whatever those decisions you need to make, you have to own them and you're willing to do the work. It's not going to work if you don't do the work. A coach is not a shortcut.

12:59It's more of a compass or a guiding light. They don't walk the path for you. They point the way. They say, hey, go this way. This is the way I went. This is what you're going to find. If this episode gave you any clarity on how to choose the right coach, share with someone who's in the same boat, somebody that might be your study buddy, somebody you want to maybe be coached together with. Before I go, I want to leave you with this. Finding the right coach is going to take some time. It might take weeks. It might take months. And that's okay because the wrong coach can derail your progress for years.

13:35And when you find someone who has lived the journey that you want to take and teaches you from experience, not from ego or from just selling you a spot in their program, that's when coaching becomes really priceless. I wish you well in this process. And if you got a question for Q &A Wednesday, go ahead and DM me on social media. You can follow me on Instagram and just send me a DM at omarzenhome on Instagram. I'll try to get to it as soon as I can and answer your question and make sure that I help you along your path. If you found today's episode helpful and you want more practical business lessons to help you start, grow, and scale your business, the best thing you could do is subscribe to this podcast.

14:16Hit subscribe or follow on your favorite podcast app, the one that you're using right now, whether it's Apple or Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. By hitting subscribe, you get our next episode automatically, and it's the best way to support the show. It's absolutely free, and it's a way for you to commit to growing your business. And now that you've subscribed, I'll check you in the next episode.

14:42Who knew Walmart business could help a thriving office motivate their employees? Pamela knew. She uses Walmart business to get the assortment of items her team needs at the prices she loves. As the office manager, it's my job to make sure my team stays on top of their game. I can get the basics like cleaning supplies and paper towels. But what they really care about, snacks. And she can get everything they need when they need it. Greg loves wheat crackers, Brenda Crave sour candy, and Max, oh boy. He needs protein bars and milk and applesauce and turkey. Built for your business. Who knew?