This evening, I was on a call with a business coaching prospect, and when I disclosed my price, she came back with, “Another coach told me they could help me set my business up for $100.”
Really?
Maybe I'm just getting old and lazy, but I'm not getting out of my cozy bed in the morning for $100. Not unless you lure me out with some bacon, anyway.
She said the other person who claimed they could help her set up her business for $100 wasn't getting back to her. I'm sure they aren't because they are probably flooded with clients at that price if they are any good (which is unlikely) or, more likely, out of business.
I gave her some advice, wished her luck, and sent her a link to zenbusiness, as they make it easy to set up the legal portion of a business.
My kids aren't going to starve if I coach for free; this whole site is just a hobby for me, but that's not the point. It's the fact that I know that if you aren't willing or resourceful enough to find a way to invest more than $100 in your business, our success will be limited.
It's like when I served on the board of directors at a bank; we would never approve someone for a major loan where they didn't have skin in the game. If there isn't any risk to you, you won't take it nearly as seriously. Good coaches know that.
If you're looking for a partnership with someone to grow your business, you can't afford cheap.
Price isn't the only consideration; plenty of people are scamming people for thousands of dollars. But if you want an experienced business partner, you should expect to pay quite a bit.
Rachel, a CPA I'm friends with, put it this way:
“My coach helped me double my income this year, and I paid my coaches about $35K for ONE year.
People tell me.. you paid your coach.. $35K??? Yea.. he helped me DOUBLE my income!! So it's worth it!
Coaches get bashed all the time and it's not fair. Almost all of my clients who make more than $300K HAVE a coach- especially the ones that are really young!”
If you go to the dollar store to buy a suit, you'll probably come out with a Halloween costume. You don't need to buy a Kiton suit to look good; a suit from JCPenny will work fine. But skip the dollar store.
You don't need to pay a million dollars annually for a celebrity like Tony Robbins to help your business. But if you want a decent business coach, don't expect to pay $100, or it'll be like coming out of the dollar store with a Halloween costume instead of a nice suit.
