Episode 149: What To Consider When Hiring A Pet Business Coach

I'm talking all about what to consider before hiring a business coach. Now, this might sound kind of funny coming from me since I am a business coach, but I have realized a lot of stuff from being a coach and from being coached. I'm wondering if any of you have had a coach or been a coach before. Maybe you remember having a coach when playing a sport in your adolescence, that coach was always there to push you, motivate you, and show you what you're capable of doing. That's what any good coach should do. Biggest Takeaway You Don’t Want To Miss Hiring a business coach is a big investment and when picking your coach there are a few things to look for. You should be able to see proof of who they are and proof of their work with others. Look at their style and personality to ensure it aligns with what you want. Check to see how their customer service is and how responsive they are before beginning to work with them. And lastly, can you tell that they will care about you and your business? Before giving anyone your credit card think about these things. Show Highlights What has Bella's experience been with coaches? [1:50] Where is the proof with themselves? [7:15] Is there proof with others? [8:25] What is their style? [8:55] How is their customer service? [10:55] Do they care? [11:40] Links Jump & Scale Webinar: jumpconsulting.net/scale Share The Show Did you enjoy the show? We would love it if you subscribed today and left us a 5-star review! Click this link – Bella In Your Business Click on the ‘Subscribe’ button below the artwork Go to the ‘Ratings and Reviews’ section Click on ‘Write a Review’ Transcript: This is episode 149 of Bella in Your Business. Welcome to Bella in Your Business, where I discuss anything and everything about your pet sitting business to help you land on target. So get ready — I’ve got your chute. Let’s jump. Welcome to another episode of Bella in Your Business. My name is Bella Vasta, and today I am going to talk to you all about what you should consider before hiring a business coach. Now, this might sound funny coming from me because I am a business coach. I help give people the right plays to execute on the field of business and then cheer them on from the sidelines. But I have realized a lot of stuff as I have been a coach and as I’ve been coached, and today I want to dive into that really deep and really kind of discuss what that means for you. I’m wondering if you guys have ever had a coach before, or maybe if you’ve ever been a coach. Maybe you remember back in your adolescence when you played some kind of organized team sport and you had a coach there who motivated you, pushed you, guided you, directed you, led you, showed you what you were capable of and what you could do. And that’s truly what I think any coach should do. But it’s a very scary thing because most coaches, if they’re worth it, are going to be a pretty significant investment in yourself. In a previous podcast, I talked about the difference between spending and an investment, and it really is an investment in yourself. You definitely could have some wrong investments, right? I’m going to share a couple of personal stories with you, and then I’m going to get into five different things you should consider before hiring a coach. I remember a couple of years ago when I really wanted to get someone else in my business — all up in my business, if you will. There was this person that I followed, and they had a very similar outlook on faith and business building and personality as me. I actually felt like I was talking to a long-lost twin because they were just as excited and animated as I was, which was really important to me. I like it when people can get excited and I can feed off their energy as well as them feeding off mine. They also had built something that I admired, so I decided to join their mastermind. Their mastermind was great. It was slow building. It was at the beginning. It was a significant amount of money per month. But what ended up happening is I kind of felt like I was helping to lead it. I was so much like this coach that the others in the group weren’t as exciting or engaged or making stuff happen, if you will. For any of you who have the pleasure of working with me or getting to know me — or maybe if you’re one of my friends listening — you know that I’m known to make things happen. I’m trying to keep this clean for those of you listening with kids right now, but you can imagine what other word I’d probably say. So, you know, I didn’t want to say it didn’t work until I gave it enough time. I might’ve spent about three or four months there, but what I realized is that my business wasn’t really propelling forward. It was just an opportunity for me to talk, and I was talking things out at a very expensive rate. I learned that that kind of coaching wasn’t really working for me at the time, so I reluctantly excused myself from the group and moved on. Throughout my time having the mastermind — it’s an awesome group where business owners, pet sitters, and dog walkers get together and work on expanding their business — one of my guests came on and I just fell in love with her. A little-known secret here is that the podcasts I get to do for you and the people I get to interview on a monthly basis inside the mastermind are such a privilege for me. These are brilliant minds that I normally wouldn’t just be able to pick up the phone and talk to for an hour, but because it’s on a stage and on a platform, I selfishly get to learn from all of these people front row and center. It’s an amazing privilege that I take to heart, and it’s why I love bringing these experts to you. I know that if they excite me and I learn from them, you will too. One gal came in and she just blew my mind. Again, I really loved her personality. Her personality was, again, I kind of saw myself in her. She was a no-holds-barred, kick-butt kind of girl. She loved Jesus, and she also loved to cuss — and that’s me. But she also had proof of concept. She’s come a long way and had many challenges in her life, and just hearing her stories and how she was able to push past them really inspired me. It made me admire her enough to have a conversation about what coaching with her would look like. I’ll admit very candidly that I was aghast at the amount of money she was asking for and the one-year commitment she required. Surely I didn’t want to commit to something that would cost me tens of thousands of dollars and be trapped in something if it didn’t work out. Because, as I just told you, I had a not-so-great experience the first time that I tried. But as I say — always keep jumping — I decided to take a leap of faith with her and I signed that commitment. I committed to spending those tens of thousands of dollars to let her help me with my business. I flew across the country for a two-day meeting with her where we masterminded the heck out of my business. As I talk to you, I’m looking at my vision board — I made it with her — my goals, my KPIs, my projects are all outlined, and my “who is going to do what” lists. I worked through some workbooks with her too. I really mapped it all out in a way that gave me so much direction. I was in a rut in my business. I had grown so tremendously large in such a short amount of time, but I wasn’t sure what mindset shift I needed to make in order to make the proper decisions to take the next leap toward my personal goals, because I’ve always believed that my business is part of those personal goals. I had to decide and consider these kinds of things before I hired a coach. I want to break down these five things now to hopefully help you make your decision on who it might be. It may or may not be me. Truth be told, I don’t actually coach a lot of people one-on-one anymore. I do a lot more group coaching — that’s with the mastermind. The very first thing is proof with themselves. What have they built in their own life, business, and personal development to show that they have proof in the pudding? What is their lifestyle like? Do you know what their family life is like, what they’ve come through? How can you align or hitch your wagon to someone unless you know their truth and their story? Is it the good, bad, and ugly — or just the pretty pictures captured on Instagram? Is it surface, or is it transparent? Do you see the ugly pictures and the happy pictures, or only the happy ones? Then I want you to consider the proof with others. Who have they helped, and what can they say about it? Someone you align with should not only be successful themselves but also have encouraged and cheered on others who became successful. Have they taken people from where you are now to where you want to go? Can you see yourself in those people? The next thing is their style. I’m a no-nonsense, in-your-face person. Just as much as I might be perceived to give you a swift “#BellaButtKicking,” I’ll also sit beside you and cry with you. I’m passionate because I care deeply about the people I coach. I don’t choose who I work with lightly — I always do calls first to see if we’re a good fit. There are other coaches out there who take different approaches. Some have a cookie-cutter model. Some are very calm and meditative. I’m not like that. I’ll speak my mind and push you to move forward. For some personalities, that clashes. It took me a long time to accept and embrace that. Sometimes you want a coach who’s different from you; sometimes one who’s similar. So figure out what their style is. You can find out by watching their videos, listening to podcasts, or joining their groups. Are they overly nice? Are they brash? Are they respectful? Figure out which style you gravitate toward. Next, look at their customer service. Email them some questions and see how they respond. Do they reply personally, or does an assistant? Do they reply the same day,