When I was in high school, I remember my father occasionally attending sessions with a business coach.
A business coach?
That was the first I’d heard of such a thing, and it confused me.
My dad is good at what he does. He has a team of great people and consistently earns awards for his achievements. Why would he need to work with a coach?
Why? Probably for the same reason Michael Phelps has a coach.
Michael Phelps has raw talent but it’s through working with a coach that he’s able to apply it in such a way that’s earned him 23 gold medals throughout his career.
A good business coach is part life coach. She asks questions to get you diving deep inside yourself. “It’s not personal, it’s business,” is a saying that doesn’t apply to entrepreneurs. Our businesses are an extension of ourselves, therefore it’s all personal. Professional business coaches can see the link between your personal life and business life and will help you manage both in a way that feels right.
Recently, I sat down over coffee with one of my good friends, Beryl Ayn Young, a business coach for moms and creative entrepreneurs. She filled me in on all the juicy details about her journey toward coaching, the best time to hire a coach, and how to find the right one.
How did you begin your journey toward becoming a coach?
It actually happened quite by accident after a recommendation to experiment from my own coach! I had been teaching online and in-person photography classes to moms for a few years and reached a point where students were asking me how to start a business or if they could pick my brain.
I wasn’t sure what I had to offer them at that time but I knew that one of my favorite things in the world was to go out to dinner with friends. I decided to offer a foodie coaching package where I’d offer my insight through a combination of virtual coffee dates and weekly email assignments.
I brought the package full circle by sending them a foodie care package in the snail mail during our work together or taking them out for a dinner date if they were local to me. I didn’t think the packages would sell at ALL but the joke was on me because I ended up working with 8 clients that year.
Since then, I’ve really begun to own my role as a coach and it’s been a learning process discovering what my coaching superpowers are and how I can best serve and support women.
At what point do you recommend an entrepreneur to begin working with a coach? Is it worthwhile in the very beginning, or do you think they should have a bit of time in business under their belt?
Oh gosh, start as early as you possibly can! I’ll be the first to admit that you don’t NEED a coach and that it is 100% possible to run a successful business by doing research on your own.
The benefit of a coach is that they can help you press the fast forward button. They have likely been in your shoes and can quickly offer a solution that might take you hours to research.
Or they may see the blind spots that you’re not thinking about. Working with a coach at the start of my business was an investment but I made it back tenfold because I was able to use my time in a much more intentional and focused way!
“I’m several years into my business and my business game is strong. I don’t need a coach.” What would you say to the person who feels this way?
I would first tell them that I’m seven years into my business, my game is pretty strong, and I still have a coach! She helps me brainstorm new programs to diversify my offerings, she helps hold me accountable for what I say I’m going to do, she helps me maintain balance between my personal and professional life.
Even the best and most successful business owners have weak spots. A coach helps us identify those weaknesses and then develop a plan to strengthen them whether that be creating a new income stream that serves us better, developing a plan to add someone to our team, or setting up better systems in our day-to-day.
How does one go about choosing the right coach?
This is such a great question and such an important part of the process because there are a lot of coaches out there.
Most coaches will offer complimentary sessions and my first advice is to take advantage of them. They aren’t a sales tactic. They are there to help make sure you both are a match.
One of the first things I look for when choosing a coach is if I get along with the person. Do I genuinely enjoy their company? Do we hit it off and feel like friends? It’s important to make a connection and feel comfortable because the more vulnerable you can get with a coach, the more they can support you.
The second practical bit of advice I have is to look for someone who you admire because they are a few steps ahead of the game and are doing what you would love to be doing.
My first coach was running successful online classes and I hired her because I knew she could help me create my own. My current coach is a successful coach herself and she has taught me so much about my own coaching superpowers and how to confidently serve and support my clients.
Walk us through a typical coaching call or in-person session. How do you begin your sessions? Do you guide your clients or let topics come out organically?
My coaching approach is a combination of both life and business coaching. Because I’ve found that so much of our commitment and progress in our business will directly correlate to how we’re feeling in our life.
I prefer to work with clients on an ongoing basis and begin at a minimum 2 month commitment. Before our work begins, I send out a pretty extensive questionnaire that dives deep into the heart of where my clients are and where they dream of going next. That questionnaire informs where our email assignments begin and a lot of the external action steps I invite my clients to take revolve around structure, boundaries, commitment, and confidence in both life and business.
We also meet via phone or Skype regularly and those conversations are more organic. I like to start sessions with a simple question, “What’s present for you right now?” We go from there. That open-ended question allows for some vulnerable and surprising answers to come forward and that’s where the real work begins.
One of my current clients is developing her first in-person journaling workshop for women but has some deep fears around being seen and marketing herself as an expert. Our email assignments have been focused around making her course content, scheduling a location, and getting the word out.
But our Skype sessions dig deeper into the fears that surface when she’s asked to put herself out there and be seen in this new way. It’s been incredible to watch her grow in her confidence and book seven people in her first workshop.
Some people may be concerned about the cost of working with a business coach. Do coaches offer options for more short-term coaching experiences?
The beauty of coaching is that there are so many out there with a variety of options. I’ve personally found that I can accomplish so much more with my clients when they invest in a longer commitment. But for former clients I do offer shorter calls and sessions. Some coaches will offer one day intensive experiences.
I think the first step as a business owner is to figure out where you’re struggling so you know where you may need support from a coach. Then do your research. What you need is likely out there!
If one-to-one support is out of your budget, there are also many coaches that will offer small group experiences that are a bit less of a financial commitment.
Finally, what is the one thing you would like to share with readers about the coaching process?
Allow all your quirks and vulnerabilities to hang out. Don’t be afraid to be honest with yourself and your mentor.
It’s their job to listen and help you create a bigger vision for yourself and your life. The progress you’re looking for often won’t happen overnight but change will happen faster when you are willing to bring everything to the table.
Beryl Ayn Young is a photography educator and business coach. She is the founder of Recapture Self, a community for moms wishing to discover and create an identity beyond mom using creativity as a guide. Catch a more in-depth version of this interview on her Recapture Self podcast.
Interview & photos by Alicia Bruce
