How do I know if I need a business coach or a consultant?

If you want someone to deliver a defined project or fix, you likely want a consultant. If you want to get better at running the business yourself and build lasting habits, a coach is a better fit. More in business coach vs consultant vs mentor.

Is business coaching only for struggling businesses?

No. Many owners use coaching when things are going well, to grow on purpose rather than by accident, or to prepare for a big change.

What if I try coaching and it does not suit me?

Talk about it early. A good coach would rather adjust or part ways than keep invoicing for something that is not helping.

How do I start with Mr Purple?

Book 15 minutes with Tom and bring one business wobble. If coaching is not the right move, he will tell you.

Do I Need a Business Coach? An Honest Checklist

An honest answer from a business coach: maybe not. Plenty of owners do perfectly well without one. Plenty of others spend years going round the same loop when a few months of good coaching would have broken it.

Here is a simple way to tell which camp you are in.

Book 15 with Tom

You probably do not need a coach if

The business is where you want it and you are enjoying it
You already have a trusted adviser or board who challenges you
What you need is a specialist task done, such as a website, a tax return or a legal contract
You are not in a position to act on anything right now

A coach is worth considering if

You keep setting goals and they keep quietly evaporating
The business has outgrown the way you run it
Everything still comes back to you
Your team is busy but results are flat
You have a big decision coming and nobody neutral to think it through with
You are tired of learning the same lesson twice

Try this first

Before you spend money, try a month of doing it yourself. Write three priorities for the next ninety days. Hold a weekly hour with yourself to check progress. Take the free Wobble Check to find your wobbliest area. If that works, brilliant. If the hour keeps getting cancelled and the priorities keep slipping, that tells you something too.

What good coaching should feel like

Useful, slightly uncomfortable at times and very practical. You should leave each session with specific actions and see them turn into results. If coaching feels like a pleasant chat with no change in the business, it is not working. Our guide on how to choose a business coach covers the questions to ask before you sign anything.

Questions to ask yourself before deciding

What have I tried already, and why did it stall?
Am I willing to change how I work, not just what the business does?
Can I give this a regular hour or two a month, plus the actions in between?
What would make the investment clearly worth it in a year?

If your answers are honest and the last one is easy to describe, you are in a good position to get value from coaching. If they are fuzzy, a first conversation can help you sharpen them before you commit to anything.

Bring one business wobble

Fifteen honest minutes with Dr Tom Hitchcock. Bring the problem you cannot quite name. No surprise proposal ambush and no hard sell. If coaching is not the right move, Tom will tell you, and usually point you somewhere useful.