Please share your thoughts about coaching?

[Sandy]

Hello, folks! I am wondering if any of you have looked for or a hired a coach? If you have, would you please share with me why you decided to engae a coach? What were yoru circumstances? What kinds of experience were you looking for from a coach? What were your expectations? Were there questions you wished you had answered upfront,but didn't?
many thanks for your help!

[pfusco]

Hi Sandy:

When I first started my small online business, I turned to my local chapter of SOAR. I was uncertain what a bunch of retired businessmen could do with a technology-based business. Granted, they could not help me with any of the IT service issues I was dealing with, but they did provide a great deal of advice on how to organize the business, which was half of the battle.

You might want to see what your local chapter of SOAR recommends before you hire a coach -- they might even be able to recommend one for you.

Happy Hunting,
Patricia Fusco

[scottz]

You are the expert at your business. You know your industry, your products and services, and how to deliver your products and services to your customers.

You are also probably exceptionally busy, often working long hours and weekends focused on making your business a success. You would love to have the time necessary to step back and assess your current situation and plan for the future, but the grind of the day-to-day often leaves you exhausted and with few available brain cycles to focus on ways to get things done more efficiently or how you can increase your net income or profit without adding staff or increasing operational costs significantly. You seem to be working harder everyday, yet your income is not reflecting your additional efforts.

You may also not have the breadth of experience or skills required in certain key areas to overcome the obstacles holding back your organization from reaching the next level of success.

Using a coach or mentor provides this breadth of experience and these key skills as well as fresh insight and the time necessary to analyze the situation.

If you decide to use a coach please make sure to throughly check out their background and credentials. You need to implicitely trust the person since you and your business will be relying on their suggestions and recommendations.