How to Hire a Coach

Kathleen Shannon 0:02
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Emily Thompson 0:29
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Emily Thompson 1:07
Today we have a question from Veera Lu. First of all, I love that name.

Kathleen Shannon 1:14
I love it too. And Veera Lu is in our Facebook group. And she even created a graphic for this question, which I was really impressed by.

Emily Thompson 1:22
People are genius. So yeah, if you haven't joined our Facebook group, go join the cool folks over in our Facebook group. But back to Veera Lu? she asked I'm in the process of searching for a coach. I'm searching for branding business and someone to give me a kick in the ass not sweet talk to me. I want to find a great match. But I'm not sure what all to look for. What should I consider when I'm considering partnering with a coach?

Kathleen Shannon 1:51
Well, if you need a kick in the ass, just hire Emily Thompson. That's who I call.

Emily Thompson 1:58
Oh, that's what I do, guys. You sweet talk me a little bit too. I will I am the I like to think of myself. If I must, as a good blend between like I will like pet you. I'll pet your ego and make you happy. But I'm also going to tell you how it is no, it's perfect.

Kathleen Shannon 2:17
So Veera, let's talk about your question about searching for a coach. And I even answered you on the Facebook group. And I said it kind of comes down to this chemistry. But we're going to really unpack what it means to hire a coach and how it works. And it's something that Emily and I recommend for everyone, even if you don't hire us, like hiring a coach is huge, and it will take your business to the next level every single time. Um, I think the first step whenever you want to hire a coach is to ask yourself, what do I need coaching around because you can pretty much hire a coach for anything. You can hire a coach for relationships, money, branding, you can hire a coach, specifically around launching or selling, you can hire a coach around quitting your job or starting a new thing. You can hire a coach for anything. So I think it's really important to maybe even write down on a piece of paper, what do I need coaching round? answer that question, and that will get you the step further in finding the right person.

Emily Thompson 3:22
Yeah, I also want to point out that the idea of finding the right person, especially Veera in your question, you branding business, and someone just generally be kicking your ass. And what I find a lot I mean, a general business coach may be perfect for that. There are people who who help specifically with branding. But one of the things to focus on, I think, in like sort of the mindset shift around hiring and coach is that the first coach you hire should not be the last coach that you hire. I think that's like a very important point to make. Like right now I have a sales coach. And she helps me create my selling process. I actually just had a meeting with her where we like talk through like anatomy of a really good sales call sort of thing. But I also know that as soon as I'm done with my program, I will be finding a different kind of coach. So I think more importantly than just figuring out like, what it is that you need, what is it that you need right now to be that foundation for your next step. And that next step, being the next coach that you that you hire to assist you along your path to entrepreneur magic madness.

Kathleen Shannon 4:30
I totally agree with that. And I think that so for a viewer Alou, I would say like she needs a coach for branding, business and accountability. Those are a lot of things to get coaching around. And so I was actually listening to the Shay lien show. She's like chalene Johnson. I love some chalene Okay, so she has a podcast. Yep. And I'm called the chalene show. And she also has another podcast called build your tribe and that was listening to one of her episodes, I think because I had ordered her Piyo, like, be daddy whenever I was on the Turbo Fire. Okay. So that's how I originally found her anyway, but she's apparently like a genius at building businesses. Yep. So I was listening to her on someone else's podcast, maybe even, um, oh, it was the School of greatness. That's like my guilty pleasure that anyway it would. So I was listening to an interview with her and she was talking about goal setting. And one of the things that she said is that maybe you have 10 goals, that there's probably one thing that you have, that will kind of act as rocket fuel for all of those goals, and finding what that is. And so I think, Veera Lou, it might be figuring out, what is the one thing that is going to make everything easier? Is it branding? Is it just business in general, like, get it? I would say try and get really specific about what you need coaching around, or what that first next step is the thing that will make everything easier and hire a coach for that thing.

Emily Thompson 6:08
I agree. So chalene has actually has a book and it's called 30. Day push. I read it years ago, okay. Yes. And when she talks about that, she talks about creating that, like, big goal she has,

Kathleen Shannon 6:17
she calls it push goals, or

Emily Thompson 6:19
push goal. Goal. Yeah, it's your push goal and how all of your decisions like should always revolve around this push goal. It's like a 30 day thing, you walk through it. I think I read it all in like three days, because I'm one of those people, right. Um, and but it's a really great one, I'd highly recommend it. So 30 day push or something similar by chalene. Johnson. And, and I agree. So I think in this like branding, business and accountability, I think accountability would probably come in. First. In regardless, you figure out what you need for you, but it is about choosing one that's going to give you a foundation for choosing your next one, or sort of taking you to that next level so that you can hire the next one. All right, Kathleen, what else?

Kathleen Shannon 7:00
Okay, so I would say like, what is the style? Do you need support? Do you need tough love? Do you need gentle guidance? Do you need accountability? If you're Alou, it sounded like you needed a kick in the ass. So I would say, read some content of different coaches, if a coach is not putting free content out online in the form of blog posts, or podcasts, or a lot of free content in their newsletters. And I would be wary about hiring them. So or maybe they have a YouTube channel. So I would get to know someone's style before you hire them by reading what they're already putting out there. And that way you can glean their style. And so for example, if I'm reading Emily's stuff, I know that I'm going to get a little bit of a kick in the ass, right? If you're reading my stuff, you might know that you're going to get more branding, personal branding, living what you love, blending work and life advice, maybe from a little bit of a woowoo perspective, but also from like an action, what's the next step perspective. So read the content that's out there to help you determine who's a good fit for you. And I also want to bring up here that there is a difference between coaching and consulting. And I want to make sure that you're very clear on this viewer, Allu. Because if you're searching for branding, and business coaching, and you might actually be looking for consulting, or for someone to just hire to do these things for you. So the difference between coaching and consulting, the way I like to think of it is that coaching is literally like, think of a baseball coach. Like he's just kind of cheering the player along, giving them guidance, giving them tips so that they can be a better baseball player. That's what coaches do. They work with you along the way so that you can make the best decisions in your practice. But you still have to do all the work. Whenever you hire someone like a consultant, or someone to do your branding, they do the work for you. I'm not saying that either one is right or wrong. And I actually Emily and I, we both do both. We do coaching and consulting. And so think about that, too. Another way to get a great coach is to get a recommendation. I would love to shout out a few right now. Like so my very first coach, and he's kind of an executive life coach. And so he works with a lot of people in advertising agencies. And he worked with my sister as she was leaving her advertising agency. And then he worked with us as we started our business and his name is Jay Pryor and you can find him at Jay prior coaching. com. Another coach that I really love and chat with regularly is her name is Tammy faults, and her coaching is called inner travel coaching.com I think that's right and disclaimer, they were both clients of mine, but because they were clients of mine, I got to really know them and have gotten coaching from both of them and they are incredible. And then also, Emily, you are a coach.

Emily Thompson 10:13
I am I do I take on coaching coaching projects sparingly, I'm probably only gonna do like one or two this year. But I do it as Do you, Kathleen.

Kathleen Shannon 10:24
Yes, and the same thing where I only take on one to two per quarter, but I also so I took everything I knew no, and put it into an email subscription series called DIY coaching. For creatives, it's $40 for four weeks of content directly to your inbox. It's a lot of the stuff that I'm sharing with my one on one clients, you just don't get my personal attention and feedback, which is also worth what it's worth. And then Emily, you have your digital product,

Emily Thompson 10:55
get your shit together together a little more tough love. Again,

Kathleen Shannon 10:58
we're going to actually Emily and I are in the works of bundling this up for you all are being boss listeners. So we're going to bundle it up and offer it up to you guys soon at a discount. Anyway, but that's neither here nor there.

Emily Thompson 11:11
Regardless, it talks about pricing. And I think that's an important important thing to think about. Because whenever it is, whenever it does come to choosing a coach, I mean, you are in not only in a relationship with someone, but you're literally investing in what they are going to be able to give to you. So I think the more that you can sort of try out coaches like that, especially if they have small digital products, it's a really great way to get a small peek into, into what it would be like to work with them one on one, because usually coaches like a really good one will be high priced. And the more you can sort of like test drive like coaching styles, the better I did the same thing. So I have myself coaches, Kendrick shope, Kendrick chubb.com. And I do the same thing. I did her group coaching last year, early last year and learned so much from the group coaching that we did that I ended up hiring her on for her one on one coaching and again, a very high price like coaching engagement. But being able to test drive, it really assisted me a lot in sort of wrapping my head around making such a large investment that would and has helped my business so tremendously. So pricing will definitely be a factor. And but it really helps I think to look for people who offer the sales funnel like a way for you to buy into them a little more cheaply. So that you can test drive people before you actually engage with them one on one on a sort of a big investment in both in money, but also when your time and what you're allowing them to influence you to do.

Kathleen Shannon 12:50
And also, this is a good time to bring up there are a lot of people calling themselves coaches now. And you know, Emily, you and I call ourself coaches, and we're not certified through anybody. I don't think it makes us any more or less legit. Yeah, no, you out. Yeah, you do have to be careful because a lot of people are calling themselves coaches, and they don't have any practice or experience around coaching. I didn't feel comfortable calling myself a coach until I got training from Martha Beck. But even then, after that training, I realized it was incredibly valuable. But maybe I didn't necessarily need it to do the kind of coaching that I want to do this is just to say, I don't think that you have to make sure that someone is certified by any means to get coaching from them because anybody can be a coach, but you do need some sort of proof. Exactly. And again, that proof comes down to their content or testimonials, or recommendations, especially if you're investing quality money and yeah,

Emily Thompson 13:51
well and the thing about recommendations too, is ask the potential coach for recommendations. Like that is not something that's completely like unheard of I have clients asking me for recommendations for or for referrals from like, is that what their goal? Yeah, yeah. Like to to be able to chat with clients that I've worked with in the past. That can be a little skewed though. Because I'm definitely going to send you the information of clients that like I enjoyed working with

Kathleen Shannon 14:21
well, and it's interesting too, because coaching is a lot more confidential. Yeah, like typical client work, that I then also have to ask my clients Hey, can I use you? Oh, yeah,

Emily Thompson 14:31
referrals. I definitely always do that. I only send people to clients that I have asked for permission from before because confidentiality is a thing. I think it's perfectly okay to ask your coach for recommendations. And I think of it a coach worth their salt will be more than happy to to help ease any fears you may have diving into it.

Kathleen Shannon 14:54
Okay, let's talk about pricing for a second before hiring a coach can be expensive and that is a fact. But I would not shop based on pricing. I mean, coaches out there who are $5,000? For? Yeah, exactly. But I think that probably expect to pay, I would say, a couple $1,000 Yeah, it like I would, I would be planning on just ballparking and be plan on investing a couple $1,000. And what that gets you it may vary. But um, I think that that's a good place to start with whenever it comes to hiring a coach. And here's the deal, it's always going to feel like an investment, no matter how much money you have. Because it's not just an investment of money, it's an investment in time. Again, even if you hire a coach, you still have to do the work, to make change in your life to make change in your business to make change in your finances. So it's not about just the money that you're investing. But make sure that before you hire a coach, that you block out a good amount of time to work with that coach. And so I again, because I only take on maybe one or two clients a quarter. And I tell them before you sign on with me, I need you to make room in your calendar for this. Yes, because you're wasting your money. If you don't make the time.

Emily Thompson 16:12
Yes, you are, you have to put in the work. And that's going back to what you said a minute ago by the difference between consultants and coaches is that the coach is not going to do it for you, the coach will assist you in doing it and will guide you along but it's your job to do the work. And that's really important. Like it's a weird sort of adjustment to make whenever you're used to hiring like freelancers, and, and contract workers or you have someone who's designing your brand, or whatever that may be the idea of hiring a coach like someone who's literally not going to give you any things can be a hard thing sometimes to wrap your head around. But if you take it for what it is and accept the guidance, then and then you do the work. It pays for itself so well. So it is an investment in time and money.

Kathleen Shannon 17:00
And I think that brings me back to chemistry because I really do think that it comes down to chemistry. And I will say this that a lot of the coaches that really amazing coaches that I've worked with, including Jay Pryor and Tammy Faulds, whenever I'm talking to them, it isn't. It isn't about what they're giving me because I'm in a lot of ways, whenever I'm seeking coaching, I'm not necessarily seeking advice, or even when I'm talking to you, Emily, it's literally just having someone that I trust that I know has my back no matter what, to listen and almost to mirror back what I'm saying, Yeah, and so and then and then sometimes like offering a little nugget of wisdom, or a tool like a different kind of like a new tool of how I can shift my thinking around what I need coaching round. But again, I think it does come down to chemistry. So a lot of coaches offer like a free initial console just to make sure it's a good fit for everyone. If it feels funny at all, don't do it. And make sure that you have that chemistry, and it will be a wonderful engagement. Sure.

Emily Thompson 18:14
The overall hiring a coach is a good idea, I highly recommend literally everyone do it. Everyone there is I can't think of a single person that would not benefit from hiring the right coach for what it is that they need at any given moment. Because it will hiring and coach will elevate you will uplevel either your life or your business to that next place that you could get there if you kept on hustling yourself. But you will simply get there so much faster if you'd have someone there at like sharing a different perspective with you.

Kathleen Shannon 18:45
Oh, I also want to make one more point. And that is the difference between coaching and therapy. I know sounds like a joke, I'm being dead serious. Yeah, like coaching is all about starting from this point and moving forward. So it's all about what you want to happen. So if you keep getting stuck in the past, and you're like dredging up the past or if the past, like his past experiences are keeping you from moving forward, you might need to hire a therapist. And so Emily, whenever you're saying everyone needs to work with a coach, I think a lot of people need to work with a therapist. And that's not a bad thing. Therapy is really wonderful for helping get over some blocks. And a lot of people that I've worked with have been in therapy at the same time so that it's a kind of a one two punch, write of tackling the past experiences that have helped shape your story today and letting go of those stories, but then working with me as a coach to help shape the new story and what you want to happen moving forward. And so I just wanted to make a distinction as well

Emily Thompson 19:48
do a green just talk to someone either past or future. Choose one. No, I think that's perfect.

Kathleen Shannon 19:56
This minisode was brought to you by Twenty20 Check them out at twenty20.com/beingboss, that's t w e n t y 20 as in the number.com slash being boss.

Emily Thompson 20:10
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