When Do You Need a Business Coach?
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What Does a Business Coach ACTUALLY Do?
I remember when I hired my first coach...
I knew the ailments but I had no idea what sort of solution could be discovered.
If I hire a web developer, I know what I'm getting...or at least what I hope I'm getting.
Hire a payroll provider and boom, payroll is taken care of.
But a Business Coach?
That can mean so many things and I'm a business owner, I can't just pay for stuff that doesn't result in progress (ie. more money!)
The other thing I thought to myself was why in the world would I hire someone to come in and TELL ME how to run my business!?
At the end of the day, I'm going to end up spending hours upon hours just explaining what we do in order for this person to truly have a handle on things.
By the way, both of those assumptions could not be further from the truth.
So, time went by and I waited until my company absolutely, positively, 1000% needed a more experienced and skilled set of eyeballs than my trial by fire approach before I finally hired my coach.
In fact, I now regret that decision so much that I told myself I was always going to make myself available for coaching as a result.
My business and me personally both changed overnight the day I hired him.
My knowledge and know-how as an entrepreneur went from 0-60 in less than no time.
And the quality of my life became everything I ever wanted it to be and way more.
How?
I'm glad you asked...
A Business Coach is your right-hand man.
Need to just send a quick text and know that someone on the other end is TRULY going to understand what you're going through?
Or how about the last time you made that big decision but you weren't sure if it was absolutely the right thing to do?
The job of your business coach is to facilitate the growth of you and make sure they see the things you can't because your mind already has to be in 1 million other places!
The human brain only has the bandwidth for so much.
Your coach is primarily there to help you grow but also to make sure things don't fall through the cracks that are going to cost you BIG TIME!
My business coach kept me out of legal trouble for reasons I was completely unaware of...true story.
A regulatory oversight...he picked up on it immediately.
Consider it like Batman calling back to the Batcave for assistance.
Alfred is always there and has no intention of ever dawning your cape and cowl trying to tell you what to do.
You're still Batman and nobody, and I mean nobody, is more uniquely qualified to do what you do!
Another HUGE bonus of a business coach is finding solutions when those big problems arise.
You see, it's very easy to let our emotions kick in and literally blind us from seeing things objectively.
A Coach is Going to Hear You Out, Let You Vent, and Then Start Helping You Formulate a Game Plan
Let me give you a quick example...
My first business was in a labor intensive industry.
Thus, our payroll was astronomical and throw in Worker's Compensation coverage and ypu've found our largest expenditures.
Well, Work Comp is based on a percentage of your payroll.
Let's say you have $100,000 in payroll and you get a Work Comp rate of .15.
Pretty simple math, right?
You're looking at $15,000 in WC Premiums for that year.
Now, you're probably going to provide an estimated payroll figure and then be required to make at least a deposit on that annual amount.
Using our example, let's say you end up paying $3,750/quarter...bringing you to our $15,000/year.
At the end of the year, and this may scare you at first, you're going to get a notice of being audited by your insurance company.
In that audit, they are looking for things like potential exposures, liabilities and analyzing your predicted payroll versus actual.
Based on the actual amount, they are going to go back and retroactively either charge you more OR reimburse you.
Herein lies the problem...
My company had grown from $50,000 to $1.2MM in revenues in just under 36 months.
So, our estimates were just a wee bit off, to say the least.
Fortunately, most of the work we were doing was attributed to subcontractors, of which you're not responsible for WC coverage.
But it still left a large amount owed to the insurance company.
I was traveling for business so the audit took place with the auditor and a representative from our payroll provider.
Well, here's where we almost got gashed...
My first policy went into affect on April of 2013 and this was now August of 2015.
Somewhere in there confusion arose as to effective start dates and what should be attributed towards what year.
I received a bill stating I owed an additional $40,000 on top of the $36,000 I had already paid.
Naturally, I called me insurance agent and said there has to be some kind of mistake here.
He tells me he's going to look into it and get back with me.
Okay, fair enough.
A week goes by and here's the response I received:
"Chris, I've got good news and bad news. The good news is the audit was correct and the bad news is you definitely owe that extra $40,000."
Still not sure how that first part was good news...
I explained to him how there's no way that could be possible based purely on our effective WC rate versus our payroll amount but he insisted it was accurate and I needed to pay before my policy was cancelled due to non-payment.
Frustrated, feeling hopeless, isolated and defeated, I contemplated what I was going to do.
I began to dig through the documents myself and after several weeks, unearthed the problem...
I was being double-charged for the same three month period!
A complete clerical error and oversight but one that would have cost me $40,000!
I submitted my findings, got the insurance provider to recognize an error had been made, called and promptly fired my insurance agent and started to then re-focus on my business.
But you know what?
That entire process took me 9 months to work through.
Due to non-payment of my insurance while I disputed the charge, we had a lapse in coverage.
So, I won the battle, but I may have lost the war.
The tricky part was then finding an insurance provider that would pick up our policy.
Our new agent worked desperately to find a solution with the glaring black eye on our record.
At this point, I had now hired my coach.
He semi-scolded me for the way we handled the situation.
Not for WINNING my dispute but for exposing my company, and myself, to some major liabilities in the meantime with the gap in coverage.
You see, we should have paid the $40,000 and THEN filed a dispute.
This would have kept our coverage active and then legally we could have proven our case and got the money back.
With the blemish on our record, the absolute best premium we could get was for $125,000 with most of it being due up front.
No insurance provider wants to do business with someone that refuses to pay a bill and loses coverage as a result.
But I was right, I exclaimed!
Doesn't matter...
You have to play by their rules, they have the power.
And as unfortunate as that reality is, what company do I have at all if I can't get affordable coverage.
Now, I recognize this is an extreme example and one I hope you never have to experience but it goes to show the importance and power of having a coach.
This was a walk in the park for him, would have been handled and reconciled in no time.
We could have financed the $40,000 and not jeopardized the entire future of the company.
But we didn't...I didn't.
And now we were paying for it...figuratively and literally.
So Who Needs a Coach and Who Doesn't?
Here's my general rule on this...
I'm not cheap as a coach, nor are many coaches.
Good coaches pack a ton of value to those that are looking to go BIG.
And when I say big I mean you have aspirations to grow a company that employs many and increases revenues rapidly.
If you're that type of person, having a coach is an absolute must...seriously.
Decisions get way too costly.
People's livelihoods are now at stake and you can kill your company with just a few missteps.
When you're small, sure, you can make mistakes and not feel the ripple effect.
But man, when you're growing and realize what one bad decision can do to your company, it's everything.
Imagine this...
Had I hired my coach and he helped me better navigate just that ONE insurance scenario a bit better, it would have got me a far better rate with way friendlier payment plans.
That, alone, could have put nearly $80,000 back in my pocket.
I may have ended up hitting my milestones and actually owing the full $125,000 in WC but I can tell you with confidence having that cash on hand would have allowed me to sleep much better at night.
And let's not even talk about the dangers of having a lapse in coverage...
If you have traction, meaning you're generating revenue and your company is now supporting itself, it's time to start looking for a coach.
Now, that doesn't preclude you from having mentors and advisors, but you also don't want to disrespect their time.
Those individuals should be used for general advice and check-ins.
Quick updates regarding their specific area of expertise.
On the Flip Side, When You DON'T Need to Hire a Coach
Before you read this, just let me tell you I love you...
I meet people like this all the time and I feel as though they're offended when I say what I'm about to say.
Here goes...
If you aren't generating revenue, you don't need a coach.
If you're still trying to figure out what you want to do, you don't need a coach.
If you just want someone to bounce ideas off of, you don't need a coach.
Again, I love you...come back to me when we can play hard ball.
That's not to say I don't care or I won't provide a free consultation to help you down the right path.
But it's a waste of both of our time.
It's like handing a water pistol to someone to go put out a forest fire.
We can't start doing the REALLY fun stuff until you've reached a certain point and are equipped for battle.
Then, and only then, does it make sense for you to hire a coach.
But I Need Help, What Can I Do Until Then?
Us coaches have poured a ton of time and energy into online programs and free resources.
In fact, you'll never stumble upon one of my posts without some sort of downloadable takeaway.
If you're serious about your future, you can definitely afford our programs.
In fact, we've specifically designed them so that they ARE affordable.
It's like my way of giving you a map to come find me so we can go off and start moving mountains.
I'll see you when you get there and look forward to the opportunity of rocking out and making your company a wild success.
But right now I just need you to do us both a favor and put in the work to get there.
I recommend checking out our entire course library but if you're here it's probably because you need to reinforce the business basics so let me talk to you for a minute about our Startup Launch Factory.
This program takes you step-by-step in building a company that establishes a solid foundation to start rapid growth.
In fact, one of the things I find alarming is how many clients I work with that have to circle back around and shore up some issue that should have been dealt with long before they reached me.
That shouldn't stop you from consulting with me. In fact, we should start even sooner to protect you from something happening.
But, if you are in a situation in which you're early in this journey, that Startup Launch Factory is where you want to be.
You do this program, and I mean really commit yourself to everything in it...You'll be working with me in no time.
You want to also grow a company by over 1,000% from Year 1 to Year 2 and then on to $1.2MM by Year 3?
I promise you the formula to do that is in the Startup Launch Factory.
Why Should You Work With Me?
The best question on this post is right here...
Right?
It's all well and good to talk about business, read some cool stories and hear about some wins but how does that apply to you?
There's a million coaches and consultants, there's nobody denying that.
There's also coaches out there that are more established than I am and have been doing it longer.
Not going to deny that either.
But what you should really be looking for is someone that totally aligns with who you are.
My coach and I hit it off within the first 5 minutes...Kid you not.
I had interviewed several coaches but from the first call I knew he was the right pick for me.
He just GOT me, understood what I was trying to accomplish and we immediately jumped into planning.
By the end of that first call we already had several plans to implement into the business.
My gut told me it was the right pick.
And so if you've read this blog, listened to my podcast or somehow stumbled upon my social media pages and thought, wow, this guy is like literally speaking directly to me, it might be time for you and I to setup a free consultation and start talking about your future goals.
Make sure to listen to the podcast for more on this!
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In the latest episode of Entrepreneur Hour, we give you an inside look at what a usual coaching session looks like with Bryan M Jimenez, Freelance Web Developer. We also answer the question of when do you need a business coach?
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To Learn More about Bryan, visit BryanMJimenez.com