When it comes to engaging a business coach, there are a multitude of choices available. What really matters, however, is whether or not the business coach you engage actually makes an impact on your business.  You’ve made a substantial investment in your business therefore, you’ll want to perform some due diligence in researching business coach candidates and ensuring that the one you select is a valuable asset to your business. In order to do this, you need to know what makes an effective business coach to begin with to give yourself a starting point for measuring potential candidates.

Growing your business in any economy has its challenges but during times of economic uncertainty, it requires the best from everyone on the team.  Although you feel like a team of “one”, you may discover that you have more brain power and skill at your disposal by learning to enlist, engage, and involve vendors or suppliers to help grow your business.

Nothing is more frustrating, especially for a small business owner or entrpreneur with limited time and money, to have a vendor that isn't a good fit. Has that ever happend to you? It's frustrating, isn't it. Time, money, and a few brain cells, are lost as a result of the incompatibilities....not to mention all the energy lost from tolerating a poor fit (but that's for another blog post).

A good service provider can be hard to find. You know the kind…they provide prompt, courteous service with a commitment to doing quality work. They exceed expectations regularly. They provide the “and then some” without having to be asked. The value provided far outweighs the price.

In 1997, when I graduated from Coach University, and in 1999, when I graduated from Corporate Coach University, the professional coaching industry was in its infancy. In fact, there were only 5000 professionally trained coaches internationally. We had lots of questions from the buying public about what coaching was all about, and more importantly, what sort of outcomes coaching delivered.

When you’ve worked with a service provider for a long period of time, it can be difficult to suspend the service being provided. Through the years, you’ve come to rely on the service provider to help you grow your business. They’re like a member of the family!  How could you possibly move forward without them?  But, what do you do when they haven’t kept up with the times? When the service they provide is stuck in 2004?