Interview: Should you Hire a Coach for Your Business?

Kavita Sahai, CEO / Founder of Have BIGplans, has 10+ years of experience working with entrepreneurs that are looking to better the world through technology, education, healthcare and/or business model innovation. She has worked on over $800M successful investment plans.

Through a proven process, she will help you create a 21st-century business plan and execute on it. She has worked as a professional investor with large investment firms like Sun Capital Partners and TA Associates and as an operator at SOC and BackOps, both companies that she helped grow to over several million in sales!

She has answered a few questions for us:

1)   Why should entrepreneurs hire a coach?

Entrepreneurs should hire a coach so they can get an outside perspective. They can benefit from the knowledge a coach has from helping dozens of companies so they do not make avoidable mistakes.  It’s what you don’t know that you don’t know that gets business owners into trouble. Also, a good business coach will know where to look for problems and have a knack for knowing when you are slacking off or what you are avoiding. It is the best way to get the needed accountability and collaboration to meet your business goals. A Manchester Consulting Group study of Fortune 100 executives found an ROI of nearly six times the money paid for coaching services. Business coaches give you the tools to be the leader you were meant to be.

2)   What should you look for when hiring a business coach?

Coaching is a largely unregulated industry, so it is important that you have a business coach that has business experience and acumen. At haveBIGplans.com, we use the following questions as a pre-requisite to interviewing a business coach:

1. Have you ever run your own company outside of your coaching practice or worked as a C-suite executive?
2. Do you have a  degree in business or a coaching certification accredited from International Coaching Federation, Worldwide Association of Business Coaches, International Association Coaching or from Columbia University’s coaching program?
3.  Do you have at least three client testimonials we can verify?

If the answer is yes to all three, then we go through an interview process. During your own interview process, you should decide if you fit their style of coaching.  Some coaches are more behavioral based and others are more analytical.

2)   How do you know if someone is a good fit for you?

It is hard to know is someone is going to be a good fit, so the best way is to experience them by going to a workshop, hearing them speak or taking a course if they have such offerings. Make sure the person you choose understands and is an advocate of your vision and dreams. We allow subscribers to cancel at any time, so the minimum investment is very low to see if a coach is a fit. You also might want to see if the coach will do a trial month with you.

4)  What are things you should keep in mind if you are looking to finance your business?

Financing your business is a lot like marketing your business. You should put together a basic business plan and financial model as most investors will want to see that. I have an e-book called The Epic Guide to Raising Money that has templates and tips on different ways to raise money. It is free on Kindle and all proceeds go to the Office Depot Foundation to provide backpacks for underprivileged kids.

Link here: http://a.co/6kW6seK

5)  What should you do if you are looking to raise capital for your business?

You need to read my e-book! Raising capital is a time intensive process that should not be taken lightly. Depending on whether you are raising debt or equity, the marketing process differs, but you will have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince so don’t be discouraged. It is a numbers game.

6)      As an investor, what do you look for in businesses that you might invest in?

I look at three things in this order:

1. Team: Has the team executed on a business plan before? Have they ever worked together before?  Do they have the relevant experience and drive to make this business happen? Are they widely passionate about it? It also helps to have an amazing advisory board.
2. Product Market Fit: Does your product or service solve a significant problem for a LARGE market?
3. Traction: Can you prove that people want this product?

The answer has to be yes to all questions above.