I seem to have a recurring theme which is – keep your personal views i.e.) politics, religion, etc. out of your business! Maybe the subject is near to me because I did spend some years with a company that mixed their religious views with their business and the outcome was never good. Ultimately the individual franchisees suffered when the parent company held views which were controversial and made it into the media. Sure it is possible that some of the franchisees agree with the views but it is also likely that a good percentage of your existing customers and potential customers do not! Why alienate someone who wants to spend money in your restaurant or other small business? And for sure there are plenty of people who will boycott your establishment if they disagree with your blatant expression of your politics or religion.

Yesterday I stopped into a local pizzeria to pick up a take-out menu. They are a long established business in a small town with less business than they should have – truth be told. As I looked around I noticed an abundance of ultra-conservative stickers on the viewing window looking into the kitchen. These stickers (bumper stickers actually) would have been offensive to what….50% of your potential customers? Why would you do that? If it is so important to get your message out there, do it somewhere else! I have no doubt that any customer who supported the president or is a registered Democrat would think before ordering and just might hit the Dominos down the road. Likewise with a liberal message the reverse would be the case.

I will not divulge my political leanings on this blog because that is not what we are about. I am holding fast to my beliefs that a wise small business person will shy away from expressing his/her personal beliefs in a way that can hurt their business.

Now a motivational speaker is exactly that, someone to stir the blood, to give you the motivation and inspiration to do the things you already knew you had to do and if done well the motivation will last long enough to get some of those tasks completed and hopefully you will retain 10% of that initial motivation over the long term.

A business coach is a different kettle of fish. These people are giving advice that could affect the rest of your life and they are using your money to do it. A business coach must be significantly experienced in your business and have the strength of character to say “Hey that is not my area of expertise; you should get independent advice for that. Here are some people I recommend and have worked with before”

A business coach should be a generalist within your business. Operations is a good basis for a business coach due to the fact that they deal with all parts of the business on a daily basis and will generally be able to steer you in the right direction for those areas where a true expert is needed. Legal and financial are two areas that come to mind.

So if you are looking for a business coach. STOP. Think about why you believe you need one. Lack of experience is a good reason. Running out of ideas to grow sales is not. With some online search and networking you can usually get some new ideas to help with sales. Hey you can even talk to me. It won’t cost you anything…… for now.

If you still think you need a business coach then make sure you do your research. Look for someone who has significantly more experience than you and is in a similar business. If you are in the convenience food industry a restaurant coach may not be the best choice to help you. Check references and make sure they have successfully helped businesses such as yours.

Do you need local help or are the issues you face better dealt with by someone with multi-concept experience. It is sometimes better to learn from outside of your concept. People think differently in different concepts and ideas from one concept can often work just as well in something totally different.

How much can you afford and what return on investment do you expect. Sit down and work it out on a scrap of paper. You may find that it is just not worth the time effort and money.

To tell you the truth, the best business coaches are often peers within your own business. Search out the successful ones and ask them for an hour a week of their time over the next 6 weeks. Take them out to dinner and wrack their brains once a week. You will develop a mentor and friend and save thousands.

Most importantly check the credentials of the business coach. An MBA or experience in presenting means little in our business unless they have done the hard yards just like you. Have they ever owned their own business, worked the 16 hour days, 7 days a week for months on end with their home on the line if something goes wrong. They should at least have an understanding of what the consequences are if their advice is wrong.

Good luck and good hunting.

RSteven