WOULD-BE ENTREPRENEURS: BEWARE!

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By Zoe Oluwabusayo

It is the common trend in recent times that a lot of people, professional and entrepreneurs alike, brand themselves as business coaches, people who have the secrets to business knowledge and growth.


While I am not against the idea of getting a coach to monitor, guide and direct one in the right way to go so as not to commit an error that may be detrimental to the overall health of a business, I would caution that would-be entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs alike be very careful with whom they allow to lead them on their entrepreneurship journey as a lot has fallen prey to these people who have very little knowledge or next to nothing experience about business development and growth.
If you desire to be led by an experienced business coach on your entrepreneurial adventure, you need to measure your would-be coach on the following scale:

- How well grounded is this person in entrepreneurship?
- Has he experienced business failures and setbacks before?
- What about his personal and professional integrity?
- How long has he being in the business of coaching?
- What is his success rate with his own business and how long has he being in business?

Bouncing back from failure, otherwise known as resilience is one of the hallmarks of anyone who desires to be a business coach because failure is a profound teacher of both life and business lessons. Anyone who has experienced setbacks in business will know that there is no one method for entrepreneurial growth even though the principle for achieving success may be the same.

Likewise, be mindful of having a core professional as your business coach, while he may have the tools for business success from his interactions with clients who have come into his office for business loans or deals, a core professional, in most cases, would lack the real hands-on, raw knowledge about what it means to build a business from the ground up.

In searching for a business coach, look for people who have:

- Put in a credible amount of time
- Failed and bounced back with even a greater zeal and achieved success
- Personal and business integrity
- Who have built a business from the ground up and
- Have a wide scope of knowledge and are wise in their interactions with people.
Coaching is very good and commendable, but in getting a business coach, make sure the coach has what it takes to lead your entrepreneurial enterprise to a desirable end.

- ZOE OLUWABUSAYO IS A PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT AT ZOE & PHIL CONSULTING