Did you read our recent article stating how valuable a business coach can be for your business?

Yeah, we’re going to need you to park that information to one side for the next ten minutes…

Because sometimes, business coaching is not the right step for you.

While business coaches can certainly be a valuable asset in the right circumstances, they are not magic genies that can grant you three wishes and make your business successful.

Besides, would you hire a business coach living within a lamp? For me, that’s a red flag.

Here, we will talk about situations where hiring a business coach is not only the wrong choice but could actually be bad for business.

What situations actually warrant a business coach?

Firstly, let’s briefly touch on when a business coach can be productive for your brand.

For starters, a business coach can be an excellent investment for any business owner or freelancer who wants to become better at leading their team or managing others.

Equally, if you are at a crossroads with your brand and you can’t work out which route to take to reach your overall goal, a business coach can help map the way, using experience and expertise to make the process as efficient as possible.

Business coaches also provide an excellent sounding board for your thoughts and ideas, offering impartial and unbiased advice to keep you on track.

Don’t Skip: 5 Reasons Why You Need a Business Coach

What issues can you get through without hiring one?

However, hiring a business coach isn’t always the right next step for your business.

Sometimes, hiring a business coach could be seen as overkill, piling additional experience and expertise on top of experience and expertise you have in-house, which you may not have tapped into.

After all, if you have an email marketing expert in your ranks, and you haven’t leaned on their knowledge for email marketing campaigns yet, you are much better off doing that than hiring an external source.

Many simple tasks can also be handled without the support of a business coach.

Need to get better at managing your time? You can do that on your own.

Need to get to grips with basic financial matters? You can become better at budgeting without a coach.

Need a coffee with two sugars? You’ve got time to turn the kettle on as you head into the office.

How do you avoid hiring the wrong business coach?

Even when there is a genuine need for a business coach, that doesn’t mean you can hire just anyone.

As with any job title, the term “business coach” is rather ambiguous. Some will be highly skilled at management and recruitment, whereas others will excel in self-development or marketing.

For example, if you hire a business coach with a finance management background and ask for their support with your marketing plan, they’ll do it for you, but it will be like fitting a circular block into a square hole.

Sure, the circle fits, but there will be four gaping holes around the outside. And that is what happens when you hire the wrong business coach.

So, how do you avoid hiring a circle to do a square’s job?

• Define Your Goals: Clearly outline your coaching objectives before searching for a coach. “They can help us out,” isn’t a clear goal.
• Check Qualifications: Ensure the coach has relevant qualifications, experience, and client success stories.
• Interview Multiple Coaches: Speak with several coaches to assess compatibility and methodology.
• Trust Your Instincts: Pay attention to your gut feeling and ensure there’s trust and rapport.
• Set Performance Metrics: Establish measurable goals and regularly assess the coaching’s effectiveness. Ideally, they’ll do this for you unprompted.

Check out this interview with Foundr’s business coach, Garie Dooley.

What issues CAN’T be solved by hiring a business coach?

Now, let’s say you’ve found an experienced business coach packed with plenty of skills at a rate that suits your budget.

You might feel like you’ve made it.

But even the best business coaches can’t help with some problems you may be faced with.

Sometimes, certain business issues need specific support. Support that business coaches are unable to provide.

For example, if your business is experiencing technical issues, you don’t need a business coach to motivate you to fix the problem or keep you accountable as you learn how to become an IT expert.

You just need an IT expert.

The same goes for legal matters. If your business is struggling with a legal matter, you don’t need a business coach to advise you on the best law schools to go through, helping you budget your student loan and study up for the BAR exam.

You need an attorney.

Also, a business coach can’t fix anything if you and your team don’t buy into the strategies they present. Your business coach can’t change your company culture. That’s on you.

What red flags should you be looking out for that signal that coaching isn’t the right solution?

Aside from them living in a lamp?

When it comes to identifying whether or not coaching is the best solution for your business right now, here are some of the most obvious red flags to look out for.

• Lack of Commitment: If you sit down and realize that your commitment isn’t there right now, the coaching may not be effective and might be worth looking at down the line.
• Unrealistic Expectations: If you’re expecting a business coach to come in and make your business perfect just through their coaching, you need to go back to the drawing board and evaluate what else you can be doing first before investing in this service.
• Financial Strain: If the cost of coaching strains your finances past what you have available for such resources, it may not be the right time.
• Can You Do It Yourself: Finally, ask yourself this simple question about any issues you might have and want to resolve. How will a business coach help? Will their expertise be required to reach the end goal, or is it ultimately something you just need to knuckle down and get done on your own?

Keep Learning: 9 Common Business Coaching Questions to Ask Before Taking the Leap (and 1 Obvious One)

When Business Coaching is Not the Way to Go, What Should You Do?

Trying to find the ideal business coach for your needs can be tiresome and confusing, and ultimately, whoever you source in your own time will come with a certain level of risk.

So, let the Foundr team do the vetting for you. With our ecommerce coaching, you can get personalized coaching from a successful ecommerce entrepreneur who will show you what to do, hold you accountable, and help you build your dream online business month after month.