Check This BEFORE You Hire Your Next Business Coach (2/5)

This is a real “choose your character” moment.

Here’s what the industry probably won’t tell you out of the gate: Working with a coach can be the best power move you’ll ever make… or it can be the priciest lesson you ever learn in “How Not to Adult: Business Edition.”

The difference lies in what you do before hiring one.

So, I’m gonna skip the motivational on-ramp, if that’s all the same, and get you straight to the READY part: what do you need to do before hiring a business coach so you’re not losing money out of the gate?

Getting distracted by someone’s six-figure Instagram testimonials or beachfront property Zoom backdrop is way easier than we’d like to admit. 

So before you part with any of your hard-earned cash, ask yourself: “Where am I right now?” 

- Are you fighting just to keep the lights on?

- Are you humming along at £50K but want to see what £250K construction dust in your hair feels like?

- Or do you have no idea where you are because you’ve buried your head in the sand and you’re just vibes?

Seriously: You don’t need a “celebrity coach” whose client roster boasts crypto millionaires if you’re still figuring out how to invoice efficiently. You need someone whose main wins and war stories are about your current battlefield, not their highlight reel.

Don’t hire a coach to solve problems you don’t have yet. The right coach for your stage will speak your language—whether that’s “how do I stop drowning in admin?” or “how do I double my revenue without bottoming out?”

Quick Coach Kym hack: If someone promises you a seven-figure business for the low, low price of just $197, shut your laptop, put your credit card in the freezer and find something else to do. You’ve had more than enough internet for the day. 

A good rule of thumb when you’re thinking about paying for coaching (though this isn’t an exact science) would be to budget about 10% of your ideal next-stage annual revenue for coaching, training, and personal development.  

For example, if your goal is a make $90K over the next 12 months, plan to invest up to $9K across the year into the right coaching and development to get you there.  

If you’re dreaming of $500K in the next year? Congratulations, I love a goal with a side of balls. Just expect to invest at least $50K to build a business of that size and prepare to run it without running yourself into the ground. 

Now, if you don’t happen to have that 50K available and you’re not consistently hitting six-figure revenues, a smart move would be to invest at each stage for the next logical level up.

For example, if you’re at £20K and want to get to £500K, ringfence the money to get yourself from that $20K to the £50K milestone first - 10% of £50K is £5K - you can decide with your £20K if that’s feasible.

Then, once you’re at that £50K stage, reinvest (a little more) to crack £100K. Then use 20K of that $100K to get you to the $200K mark, and so on. This means you can maintain a better handle on your finances and grow your revenue gradually, making it a more sustainable approach.

Think of it as more of a staircase than a high jump. And you get to keep your sanity. (though don’t worry, there’ll be plenty to spend your “sanity points” on when you’re further down the line in your business!)

Coaching is not therapy.

Business coaching is even further removed from therapeutic practices than any other kind of coaching.

It’s not “let’s journal through your vision board for 12 sessions and see what emerges.”  NOPE. 

Before you book your first coaching session or even a discovery call, get specific about what a win looks like for you:

- Are you hoping to reach a financial or growth benchmark?

- Do you want systems or setups so you’re not chained to your laptop forever?

- Are you trying to develop signature offers you’re excited to deliver?

- Is it about effective marketing and sales moves because you’re not trying to get your MBA, just clients?

- Or is it that crisp, no-nonsense accountability so you stop hiding from your own deadlines that you’re trying to get?

You have to decide what it is.

You don’t need to know how to get there, but if you can’t name the destination, don’t expect your coach to just guess and build a flight path for you.

Get clear in your own mind, and be honest about what you want. Then, your coach is there to tell you what’s possible based on where you are now, rather than living in a fantasy world.

Not all coaches are your people. You’re not for everyone; neither are they.

So figure out if you work best when it’s “gentle hand on your shoulder and daily Voxer pep talks”?  

Or do you need a “drill sergeant with receipts” who will roast, cheer, and drag you to success if you start making excuses?  

Need regular weekly or bi-weekly calls scheduled and predictable? or on-demand, “holler when you’re in a pickle” type calls, where you can pick up the phone and get the coach when you need them? 

There are a number of ways to do this; you’re allowed to want what you want, and you’re allowed to keep looking until you find the perfect person to coach you. 

Then, once you’ve found them, watch how your shortlisted coach talks to their clients and their audience (and about themselves!). If their “energy” or their vibe feels off to you, walk away. You can admire their results and still know you’d rather eat thumbtacks than work with them on a weekly basis.

No, you don’t need your cousin at MI5 or The Pentagon to vet them. But you should know…

- Why do they coach? Did they buy a coaching certification and promises of a million dwollars for $37 on Instagram? Or did they build real businesses, get their hands dirty, and then decide to turn pro to help others navigate their way through the minefield? You’ll hear a ton of back stories, so think critically about how credible their backstory is based on who you need them to be.

- What’s their real-world experience? And is there evidence (as in, are there receipts) to back it up? I understand there are some well-meaning “coaches” (I’m doing air quotes) who might want nothing more than to help you and your business even though they have limited experience, every one starts somewhere. You just have to be aware of where they’re starting from when they get to you - stories of their aspirations and everything they want to achieve are exciting but not necessarily helpful for you. You need to know where they’ve come from and if you’re happy with that truth,  then it’s all good. 

- Do their wins look like the wins you want for yourself? Are they coaching business owners at a similar stage/size as you? I know it’s tempting to hire the glitzy coach who’s currently helping their clients jump from 7 to 8 figures, but if you haven’t cracked 100K yet, the likelihood is this coach, even though they’re big time, isn’t right for you. The jump from zero to 100K is very different from the jump from 1Mil to 10Mil. 

- Also, do you like who they are, and can you respect their story? - Okay, maybe they’re super popular and everyone else likes them and they’ve got millions of subscribers, but do YOU like them? You’re allowed to say no, because if you don’t like them or you don’t respect their story or their philosophy, you’re going to ghost them and their advice whether you mean to or not. And that’s a waste of time. That’s all I have to say about that.

Great coaches are honest and straight-talking. They tell you what’s possible and what’s not—and they’ll help you focus on what matters right now. They don’t promise you the moon by Tuesday or pretend you can skip the hard work and still “attract abundance” by “stepping into your greatness.”

Seriously, if you can’t quickly see where they stand—or if their “signature method” is basically “Google but make it glitter, floaty summer dresses on the beach and affirmation slides”—keep it moving. 

Hype is only helpful if you have a strategy. Hope is NOT that strategy.

This is the last (but possibly the biggest) thing:

Being coached isn’t a spa day, and it’s definitely not a magic act. No one’s pulling bunnies out of top hats. It’s hard work. It can be intense. And there’s a lot for you to shift externally as well as internally in order to get the results you want. The right coach will guide you through this entire process, but you need to show up with honest energy and a willingness to walk the paths less travelled. 

I’ll say it again: none of this is easy (and by the way, if you get a coach who tells you it is, that’s your cue to run in the opposite direction.) 

But if you’re ready to experience all the feels, take even big(ger) swings, try new strategies, and let go of the performative hustle for the real hard graft, then—maybe—the right business coach will turn out to be the best investment you ever make (financially, mentally, physically and maybe even spiritually).

Alright, in short, this is about thinking smarter before you swipe that card. 

So:

✔️ Pick a coach for your now, not your “someday highlight reel.”

✔️ Budget for growth (and also, quit the bargain hunting—if the coach you want is available for a fee that you can afford, pay that fee. If you nickel and dime them, you might just end up with nickel and dime results).

✔️ Get specific, get honest, and find a coach whose values, story, and style resonate with you loud and clear.

✔️ Then show up so hard you scare your old self senseless.

Because coaching can absolutely be a defining power move—but only if you’re ready to move and be moved.

Now, if you think you’re close to hiring your next coach, head on over to Note number 3 in this series where we’ll talk about how to actually choose the right coach for you—because if you’re basing this decision on follower count, I’mma need you to pause for a sec and have you check out what I have to say over there.

Your move, Player.