96% Of Business Coaches Are Shiny Ornaments

96% Of Business Coaches Are Shiny Ornaments

The other 4% provide real-life experiences and practical useful tools. Unfortunately, they may not be pretty to look at, but which would you prefer?  Saying that you attend programs with the shiny ones, or do you want to make money? There is a huge difference.

With the unlimited barriers to entry in the coaching business, anyone can create social media accounts and websites with shiny-looking graphics and proclaim to be a  business expert. If you’re interested in only working with the best, then check out all advisors before you sign up for programs that waste your money.

Recently one of my clients told me she prefers not to work with the shiny business coaches. I asked her what she meant by that. She replied by saying the shiny-looking coaches with beautiful websites and expensive-looking social media, make their followers feel good by motivating them and making promises that business opportunities are easy, but they don’t teach entrepreneurs real-world business techniques. This is compared to the business advisors that use strategies that get things done.

Whenever I am personally asked where did I learn to become a business advisor and consultant, I tell them on the job. I actually experienced and learned all of the business techniques I share with entrepreneurs through my own companies. In addition to launching, growing, and managing my own four businesses, my management consulting business advised more than 20% of the Fortune 1000 and the equivalent in privately-owned billion-dollar companies.

To prepare for my small business consulting business, I researched my competition. The same task I advise all of my clients to perform. In an attempt to determine how to name myself, I ran a LinkedIn search to see how many profiles use the terms: business consultant, coach, or advisor. The results of member profiles are staggering. There are over 900 thousand business coaches, more than one million business advisors, and over three million business consultants. Lots of shiny business ornaments in my list of competitors.

Another staggering statistic is that 85% of all small businesses in the United States fail by year five. So one must wonder, where did all of these people get their skills, and how many survived beyond year five? I also ask myself, did these people ever own a business before?

The successful statistics are very small. Only 9% of all businesses generate more than one million dollars per year in annual revenue. Less than 4% of women business owners reach this number. Overall, less than 1% of businesses ever reach 10 million dollars per year in revenue.

When researching how I compared to my competition, I realized I’ve made it to the top four times and achieved goals most people dream about. In addition, I reached these goals in less than two years of business. An anniversary where approximately 50% of all startups failed.

When searching for any type of business advisor I recommend every entrepreneur do the following:

• Check out their LinkedIn profile.
• Determine if and how many businesses they own.
• Review their experiences to determine what makes them an expert.
• Interview them by asking, ‘Where have you done this before?’

In your search for help, you may be surprised how many shiny advisors have never owned a successful business before. Be careful of the advice you implement, it may cause more harm to your business than success.

There are millions of shiny ornaments pitching services.

Written by Darlene Ziebell

Copyright 2022 Darlene M. Ziebell All Rights Reserved