Who Can Be A Business Coach?

Who can be a coach? Anyone. You can say you’re a coach and, you’re a coach. There are no regulations or licenses needed to classify yourself as a coach. There are though various certification and training programs available. Here’s what I think makes a great coach.

Personally, I’ve found the best coaches have always been the ones who teach by example. They have the practical experience in those areas in which I wanted to improve and excel.

Here are the professional characteristics you should look for in a well-qualified coach:

1. A coach has personal first hand experience in their field of expertise. In other words, they know what they are talking about. You want your coach to have been in the “trenches” and lived through what they are asking you to experience. Book learning is great but when it comes to coaching, you want to be lead by someone who has real-world experience.

2. A coach is enthusiastic, optimistic and focuses on the future. A good coach is more than a cheerleader; they enable you to go positively forward in empowered ways. A great coach lights your way to personal and professional success by illuminating your natural gifts, talents and strengths.

3. A coach doesn’t dwell on the past. A good coach focuses on the life lessons learned and how to turn those lessons into building blocks for future successes. The past is the past – learn from the past and head positively toward an empowered and successful future.

4. A coach knows how to light a fire of excitement within you and your goals. A good coach is part motivational speaker and part taskmaster. They know how to tap into your inner motivators and then harness that excitement to ensure you stay on track.

5. A coach knows how to set goals. Going forward in positive, powerful ways is generally the cornerstone of any good coaching program. You want your coach to know how to set and achieve goals.

6. A coach charges a fee for their services. You are paying for experience and expertise. You have every right to ask for credentials, past client comments and about the real life experiences that qualify them to coach you.

7. A coach should share the same values and beliefs. There needs to be a “chemistry” between you and your coach – an intellectual bond, an emotional connection. You both need to be on the same page when it comes to achieving personal and professional success.


What Does a Coach Do?

In my opinion, a coach is your guide and mentor to a more empowered and successful future. There are personal coaches, business coaches, job coaches, executive coaches, spiritual coaches and just about every other type of coach. Your job is to choose the right coaching specialty that will guide and empower you in those areas you would like to strengthen and enhance.

I can't speak for other coaches and I can only speak from my personal knowledge. I can share examples of how my business coaching sessions work and this should give you a good idea of how coaching generally works:

· First, there is a “Success Assessment Quiz” so we can determine your current strengths and challenges.

· We analyze the results together so we both understand where you are now and where you want to be in six months, a year and even five years from now.

· Together, we work on setting your business goals for the future.

· We develop a workable plan of action for achieving those goals.

· We then focus on accountablity and how to work consistently toward your goals.

A good coach builds on your strengths and helps you discover and overcome current and potential road blocks toward achieving your goals.

Just by the nature of the coaching process, you’ll be forming a bond between yourself and your coach. That bond needs to be one of trust. I can’t stress strongly enough how important it is to choose a like-minded coach – one who shares your same values and beliefs about achieving success.


If you have coaching questions please email me directly or ask your question on our Business Coach forum.
Link to our Business Coach Forum