Hear the Answers in the Quietness

It seems that the world of Business Coaching is exploding just like Social Media Experts so I’ve put together 6 Key Questions to ask your Business Coach before you hire him/her:

1. How long have you been a coach/consultant full-time? You want to know how long this person has made a living for himself/herself as a business consultant or coach. While the old business paradigm is melting and new innovative ways of doing business online are emerging, the fundamentals of business, i.e., PROFIT are still relevant. Understanding how well someone has made a living for themselves as a coach will tell you volumes about how successful they have been in their profession. What industries have they coached in? What level? Executive/CEO or managerial? Small businesses, entrepreneurs, start-up and non-profits? What size of businesses have they coached? A $30,000 dollar a year company is a lot different than a 3 million dollar a year company.

2. Will you please provide me with your past and current references? I know this seems obvious, but you’d be surprise how many people don’t call on references. Testimonials are good, but you really should talk to someone who has been coached by this person bestowing their expertise. You also want to know how long the person being coached has been in business. In addition, you want to gauge how profitable they are. Now, this information will be a little hard to extract since most companies are private and won’t release that data. What they are more likely to tell you is how much revenue or sales they generated in one year. The problem with that is revenue only tells you one side of the story. An entrepreneur may have generated 2 million dollars in sales last year. However, if their expenses and overhead were 2.1 million, then they lost money. So, you need to do your due diligence and get creative in extracting that information. You may ask, “What’s your industry’s average profit margin and how profitable has your business been in relation to industry standards since you hired your Business Coach?”

3. How well do you understand technology and systems? There is no way getting around having a successful business today without the advice of an expert on key technologies and systems. Technology and systems are essential to business in today’s digital world. So, when hiring a business coach, make sure they know what they are talking about when it comes to advising you on what technologies and systems are best for your type of business. They don’t necessarily need to be the person implementing the systems and technologies, but they should at least be able to point you in the right direction to experts who can. Miss this question and you will certainly go down a deep rabbit hole of frustration and wasted time and money.

4. Will I be working with you or one of your “Trainers?” With the hyper-growth of the coaching business, many consultants are hiring trainers to help them with their clients. There is nothing wrong with that at all. You just need to be clear on who you will be working with. If it is one of their “trainers” then you will want to do your due diligence on that person as well. In addition, some coaching companies offer membership sites and group coaching. You will want to know how available and accessible the coach will be in those programs.

5. Are you in alignment with my values? Here is an example: Let’s say you are a “Green” business and you value the triple bottom line model, also known as the 3 P’s. Planet, People, Profit. So, would you hire a coach who has an over-excessive lavish lifestyle when you are clearly aware that mass consumption is bad for the environment?   Surround yourself with mentors, teachers, trainers, and coaches who are in alignment with your values.

6. Am I clear on the expectations between us? Having unclear and vague expectations is a recipe for the dreaded two D’s: DISASTER and DRAMA! Don’t ever assume anything. If you are not clear on the contractual agreement or offering, then be sure to ask before you buy. Please don’t buy into a coaching program only to find out that you can’t get out as smoothly as you got in.  Any business coach worth their salt will not make it difficult for you to leave the program. It should be an easy-in, easy-out model. You definitely will want to read the fine print. In addition, some coaching companies make an offer where you have access to a lot of coaching material for a nominal fee and 30 or so days later that fee increases substantially. It is a marketing tactic that is used to get you to try before you fully commit. They charge your credit card a low fee to get you started with the hope that you will find value and stick around. The fee then increases after 30 or so days and your credit card gets automatically charged every month. I am not knocking these campaigns, I just want you to understand the marketing strategy behind these tactics.

Here is a bonus tip on hiring a business coach/consultant. It is one that is unfortunately oftentimes overlooked: Listen to your intuition and instincts. Your inner voice is your guidance, your compass. It’s there for a reason, so get quiet and listen to it. If the coach resonates with you, then go for it!

This is not an exhaustive list of Questions and Tips, so if you have some insight on hiring a business coach/consultant, please feel free to add more on the comments below!

Brenda Tello-Horton is co-owner of Hware, an online business training and software company. She can be reached at info@hware.com

Not having a Social Media Plan is like going for a long Hike in the Mountains without any Food and Water.

The point is that you may survive, but it will be a very challenging and frustrating experience that could have otherwise been avoided. In my last post, I wrote about how planning starts with a VISION. In this post, I want to emphasize the importance of PLANNING. When most people think of planning, they yawn, BORING! Who wants to get boggled down with details?! “Let’s just go for it, make it happen and we will adjust along the way. Besides, it’s more fun and adventurous to have some spontaneity in our lives!” I swear, I used to say that and believe that with all my heart, and I still do in some areas of my life, but NOT when it comes to business. Unfortunately, I have had to learn through too many failures to understand why PLANNING is key to a successful business. So let’s dive into some key factors that are fundamental to having a solid social media plan. For the purpose of this blog post, I will be referring to small businesses:

• Know your target audience – Who are you selling to? Who’s attention do you want? Let’s narrow it down further. What  is your buyer persona?  That means, what are your buyers’ preferences, tastes, likes and dislikes. For example, my company, Hware sells software tools that help small businesses. Therefore, I look for entrepreneurs, and Work-at-Home folks to connect with online and try to make myself useful to them. I am laser-focused on the kind of person I want to interact with online. It’s  not that I don’t or won’t engage with anyone other than my ideal client, it’s just that I am very specific and clear about who I need to be talking to online for my business. More importantly, if your target audience is not online, then you are wasting your time being online. You need to be where they are. That’s where market research comes in.
• Spend some time doing some Market Research – It is crucial to find out where your customers hang out. Are they on Twitter or LinkedIn? Are most of them not using social networking sites and still prefer e-mail? The point is that you need to have a clear understanding of where they are so that you can communicate with them.  Occasionally, I enroll my online audience in surveys, which gives me insight into what they need. I then provide them with the results of the polls. By engaging my audience and asking for feedback, I gain tremendous knowledge on who they are, what their challenges are, and how I may better serve them. Here are a few online survey tools: Poll Daddy,  Survey Monkey and Twtpoll (for Twitter). The surveys need to be short, simple and convenient for the participant, otherwise, they will be reluctant fill it out.

• Know your online STAG: I call these your Strengths, Talents, Attributes, and Gifts. You must find and own your STAG and become like the beautiful statuesque male deer I live with here in the foothills of Northern California. They know their own power and beauty.  They grace the land with great ease and confidence. When you know your STAG, you will attract, engage, and be like a magnet to your online Fans, Friends, and Followers. When you are clear about your STAG, it will show in your energy, your presence. We all feed off of each other’s energy and your customers are no different. They will know if you are moving with ease and confidence and when you are putting their best interests first and foremost. (I will write more about STAG in future blog posts.) An example of using your STAG is let’s say that you are better at talking than writing; then perhaps you may want do more vlogging (video blogs) than blogging. The point is that you are playing to your strengths and when you work from a place of strengths, it always much easier.
• Remember that your Social Media Plan - should come under the umbrella of your marketing plan and your marketing plan falls under your business plan and your business plan should be part of your long-term strategic plan, (which I will write about in more detail another time.) So many people get overwhelmed with social media, but it is important to keep things in perspective. Social media is just one aspect of your overall business and as an entrepreneur/self-employed, you wear many different hats – social media is your marketing hat.

On my next blog post, I will delve into more detail about social media planning. I will be writing about some specific automation tools to help systematize and simplify your online presence.

Brenda Horton is Co-owner of Hware, a software company that designs business planning tools for small businesses. She will be hosting a FREE and LIVE Webinar on Social Media STRATEGIES for beginners on September 2nd.

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On 7.1.09 Sierra Adoption Services is becoming Sierra Forever Families. Sierra’s mission… We transform the lives of children in foster care by building and nurturing permanent families. This is a great non-profit organization, check them at sierraff.com.

In recognition of Earth Day this month, April 22nd, I am honoring all the Green businesses who have dared to make our planet and her people a better place to live. This blog post is for you!

I have always been intrigued by anything and everything Green. I grew up in Austin Texas where Whole Foods is headquartered. I remember when the store was just a dinky co-op on Lamar street in the early 80’s. It was the first place and time I had ever seen a White person with dreadlocks. I was fascinated! Noticing food from a bulk bin was a new experience for me. I immediately absorbed the energy in that tiny space.  I allowed it to fill my curious senses. I bought my lunch quite often there because I went to the college nearby. Whole Foods radically shifted the way I thought about food. It opened a whole new world of very cool people and organic food for me. Little did I know at the time that all great movements begin at a grassroots level. Back then, the term "GREEN" had not yet gone mainstream. Today Green is not only mainstream, it has evolved beyond the environment and now includes social responsibility. How grateful I am to have been introduced to organic food at such a young age. It’s no wonder I love talking about food and wine so much.

Triple bottom line

For the purpose of this blog, let’s define what a Green business is. According to Wikipedia, a Green business or a sustainable business is a business that strives to meet the triple bottom line.  Traditionally, the bottom line is what has been used to measure a company’s success and that bottom line was called PROFITS.  The early adopters of the Green business movement wanted more for their business than just profits. They not only had a much bigger VISION for themselves and their businesses, but for their communities, and their world as well.

People Planet Profit

These Green pioneers saw how multi-national corporations were making huge profits at the cost of the planet and her people. They saw how people were being exploited and how our planet was being polluted all in the name of profit. So they stood up, went against the status quo, and started a new TRIBE. They said, "This is not how we want to measure our success. This is not the legacy we want to leave behind."  They then came up with a new definition for measuring the success of a business. It is called the triple bottom line; where not only the financial performance of a company is taken into consideration, but the ecological and social implications are as well. This new way of measuring the success of a business was coined PEOPLE, PLANET, PROFIT, hence the Triple Bottom Line.

VISION

The Tribal leaders followed their instincts, they listened to their inner-voice and today the Green business industry is a multi-hundred billion dollar industry and growing. The Tribal leaders created a new VISION. The followers showed up and together they started a revolution of doing business a better way by not only being profitable, but by caring for the PEOPLE and her PLANET.  The next time you buy something, I want to encourage you to make an alternative choice by choosing a Green product or service. And whether or not you are a green business, I want to encourage you to build the Triple Bottom Line into your business model. It just makes good business sense.

My love affair with Green

On a more personal note, my love affair with Green has led me to build a Green and sustainable home up in the foothills of Northern California. It is a solar powered straw-bale home www.hware.com/sb

Our Solar Powered Straw-bale Home	Our home at night

Resources on Green

www.greenpages.org – Find a Green business

Green America – Our mission is to harness economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.

SustainableBusiness.com – provides global news and networking services to help green business grow, covering all sectors: renewable energy, green building, sustainable investing, and organics.

Greenmaven.com – is your gateway to the Green Web. We’re a search engine that focuses on green and sustainable websites. Use the search box above to search the green web!

yes! – Dedicated to supporting people’s active engagement in creating a more just, sustainable, and compassionate world. Stories of new ways of life that foster community and harmony with the earth’s ecosystem.

Green Business Camp – The UnConference for Green Business Growth and Collaboration

Green America’s Green Business Conference – Green America builds the marketplace for green businesses by connecting like-minded business visionaries at our Green Business Conference

Books on Green Business

Mid-Course Correction – Toward a Sustainable Enterprise: The Interface Model

Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things

The Ecology of Commerce – A visionary new program that businesses can follow to help restore the planet.

Examples of Green Businesses

Interface Inc. – is the world’s largest manufacturer of modular carpet

Wholefoods Market – selling the highest quality natural & organic products

Cliff Bar & Company – As a food company, we know that we have a responsibility to help create a healthier food system. We are committed to adopting practices that support sustainable agriculture, move toward zero waste, reduce our climate footprint, and conserve and restore the natural resources and ecosystems that we depend on

Gaiam – Gaiam invites you to live the life of intention you’ve envisioned. From yoga & fitness DVDs to non-toxic cleaners, we give you the green shopping options and healthy living products to help you live your best life