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Good question. Here is why people consider investing time, energy, and money into a coach:
The only thing between us, and where we want to be, is some stuff we don’t know yet.
If we already knew this stuff, we would already be where we wanted to be! But we don’t. So, how are we going to learn it?
Well, if we don’t know what we don’t know, how in the world are we going to discover and research what we don’t know? Yes, this can become a black hole. But let’s look at some possibilities.
#1. We can learn by trial-and-error. This is how I started my career. I spent one year and 10 months trying to make network marketing work. The result? Zero progress. Here is an important question: How much money did I miss out on during that one year and 10 months? Potentially, 22 bonus checks.
Trial-and-error is expensive. And there is no guarantee that we will stumble across the solution. We may end up just practicing the wrong things.
Plus, I hated the rejection and frustration. But, I just didn’t know any better. And my budget was nonexistent.
#2. We can read books and take courses. How many books should we read? How many courses should we take? Which courses should we take? Well, if we are on a limited budget, we can start with a few personal development books from our local library. That is free! Yeah!
Then, as soon as possible, my biased opinion is to read some “Big Al” books. Learn some hard-core skills.
#3. If we are in a hurry, a coach could be another option. What is nice about a coach is that a good coach has experience. We can learn from our coach’s experience, and we don’t have to experience all of the personal rejection that comes with trying to figure things out on our own.
Do I do coaching?
No. I don’t.
For me to do coaching, it would require two skills that I don’t have.
#1. Coaching skills.
#2. Patience.
Both are prerequisites of a good coach.
So before we look for a coach, we have some thinking to do. Here are some things we need to consider:
#1. How fast do I need results?
#2. How big is my budget?
#3. Will I listen to my coach or argue?
#4. Will I take notes, or will I take action?
#5. How experienced do I want my coach to be?
There are many more things to consider, but we get the idea.
If we decide coaching is the way to go, answering these questions beforehand will make our search easier.
So imagine we have no budget. That will limit our coaching options.
We can’t expect an experienced coach to stop earning money and work for us for free. However, if that is our limitation, we work within that limitation. Here is where we could go to start our coaching:
Free would fit in our budget. And of course, we would adjust our expectations.
If we were willing to invest money now so that we could earn more money faster, then we would have a bigger range of coaching options.
For example, I am not a LinkedIn expert. If I wanted to build my business on LinkedIn, I would find a coach with LinkedIn experience. Since I know Dale Moreau, and have read his book on successfully building via LinkedIn, I would go to his site, coachingwithdalemoreau.com.
It would be a lot more expensive, but I wouldn’t have to wait months to see progress.
But hiring a coach is only part of the process.
If the coaching is good, and we know exactly what to do, we still have to take action.
That is why our coach should have motivation skills and incredible patience.
So whether the coach is free or full-price, we still have to do our part of the bargain. A good coach will help us be motivated on our down days.
So the questions are:
“Is trial-and-error free?” No, it is expensive. We miss out on months and months of bonus checks.
“Is taking courses and reading books the answer?” For some self-motivated individuals, yes. I personally wouldn’t fall into that category all the time. I get distracted too easily. Knowing our limitations can help us make better decisions.
“Is coaching the answer?” For some, yes. Because there are different levels of competency in coaching, and we should try to get the best competency we can within our budget.