Where can you find a good coach? To start compiling a list of
candidates, ask other business owners for referrals. Read trade
publications, check with your local chamber of commerce, and
contact your area's Small Business Development Center.
These sources should provide you with a list of several names.
But narrowing down that list requires some careful research. To get
the most from your coach, Bouton suggests, "Look for a coach
who has been in business-not necessarily your business, but someone
who is savvy to the ins and outs [of entrepreneurship]."
Make an appointment to meet with each candidate. Talk with them
at length about how they've helped other businesses, and check
their references. The single most important step, however, is
making sure the coach understands you and your mind-set.
Content Continues Below
When you're offered free coaching, you may be tempted to
throw caution to the wind, but Ritter warns against it. "Check
them out the same way you would a coach you are paying," he
says. "[What are] their credentials? Relying on information
just because it's free could be a fatal error."
Yes, there is plenty of excellent free coaching out there. But
sometimes, the right coach carries a price tag-and it may be worth
every penny.
"It's a mistake to consider coaching an expense,"
insists Ritter. "It's an investment. Coaches don't
cost you money-they save you a fortune." Good coaches spend
their downtime studying their profession, their art and the
industries they specialize in. "You're not just buying one
or two hours of someone's time; you're buying years of
experience."
Just ask Colleen Hancock, whose Ventura, California, clothing
boutique, Heads Above the Rest, caters to tall women. Although
Hancock praises the free coaching she gets from the Small Business
Administration's Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE)
program, she also has a second coach, a marketing specialist, whose
services she pays for. "It's definitely worth it,"
she says. "Each time I meet with [my coaches], I realize how
much money they're making for me."
Besides, there are several compensation strategies you can use
to buy quality coaching . . . while still holding on to your
cash.
"The best way to pay for a coach is in stock options, and
the options should be awarded annually," says Bill Otterson, a
former computer company CEO and now director of Connect, the
University of California, San Diego, Program in Technology and
Entrepreneurship. "That way, if things don't work out,
either side can walk away."
Or consider the route taken by Larry Legg, co-owner of LKL
Innovations in Mentor, Ohio. The developer of an all-purpose gadget
called the Micro Technician, Legg is an inventor, not a marketer,
so he sought coaching to help him set a reasonable price for his
product. The Great Lakes Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)
in Cleveland, part of a network of private, nonprofit coaching
centers throughout the United States, provided the perfect coach.
And instead of paying upfront for the services, Legg worked out a
deal in which the coach receives a percentage of the device's
sales. (For more information about MEPs, see "Partners in
Profit" on page 145.)
Can you make it without coaching? Maybe. But these days,
entrepreneurs who fail to recognize the value of coaching are not
working smart. Remember, however, that a coach is only as good as
the team.
"The coach can only help you see your strengths and
weaknesses," Ritter says. You're the one who has to make
the changes.
Page
1 |
2 | 3 |
4 |
5 |
6 