D (6:25)

There's saving for retirement and then there's living in it. At Fidelity, we can help you make that transition and plan for whatever comes next. With a free personalized income plan, you can view and manage your cash flow across accounts. Plus, you'll get investing insights to help you make your savings. Last Ready to take on retirement? Get started@fidelity.com income planning. Expenses charged by your investments and other costs and fees associated with trading or transacting in your account apply Fidelity Brokerage Services member NYSE SIPC Running a business is complicated.

E (6:58)

There's dozens of software programs that you need, and they're all so expensive. And since they come from different companies, they don't always play nice with one another. But what can you do, right?

B (7:08)

Odoo?

E (7:09)

That's what Odoo has all the software business owners need. We're talking sales, CRM, manufacturing, websites, literally every kind of software. And it's an all in one platform. So it all works together, and it's quality software, so you're not sacrificing. It's simply a better experience than a hodgepodge of programs trying to fit together. You'd expect to pay a premium for it, right? But that's the most amazing part about Odoo. This interconnected suite of business software costs less than the mismatch of disconnected programs you're currently using. So the question is, why spend more on software programs that are less efficient when Odoo's simple software program can handle everything for a fraction of the price? Discover how Odoo can take your business to the next level by visiting odoo.com that's o d o o dot com.

B (8:02)

Now, how do you actually find a coach? Well, you go where the industry gathers. The best coaches aren't sitting on Instagram waiting for you to DM them. They're at conferences, they're at events, they're at masterminds, they're at industry gatherings. When I was running Webinar Ninja, the conferences I attended were like SAS Talk and microconf, and they were full of real founders building what I was building. And the best way to find a coach is to ask other entrepreneurs. Who coached you, who helped you grow, who changed the game for you, who made you see things differently? That's exactly what happened to me. I went to a conference called SaaS Soc. I met up with an old friend named Rob Rossen, who's the founder of Time Dr. Big SaaS Co. At the time. He was a few steps ahead of me, and he knew I was looking for a coach. I was looking for a way to scale my business. And he recommended Dan Martell. He was part of his program. So I thought, oh, if it was good enough for Rob, maybe I should have a call with Dan and see if it's a good fit for me. The point I'm making here is that these conversations mostly don't happen online. They happen in the lobbies of the hotel, in the hallways, in the m, in, you know, the booths where all the sponsors are. And you're just walking around meeting people. So get out there now, in between conferences. And just to get you started, you can go on social media. It works. You might discover someone through their own content, but content is just the trailer to the movie, right? You need to still watch the movie, meaning you need to research their background. You need to look for real accomplishments. Have they done what you want to do, or do they just have a big following online? Are they just giving platitudes with no real examples or experiences. Is all their content just generic hypey motivation? Or do they actually tell real stories from their past, from their journey? Ask yourself, what have they actually built? Have they done anything close to what you want to do? A lot of coaches online haven't built anything except their coaching business. That's not who you want leading you. That's not who you want to invest in. The third method I recommend is asking your existing network. You already have access to people that you probably have forgotten about, or people you're not even looking at, like your customers, like your suppliers, like your investors, like your vendors. I can go on and on. Your partners, your account managers over at AWS and Stripe, your business friends that you see on the regular. These people are tapped into worlds you're not. I've met some of the best people, including advisors, through random introductions from vendors or customers. People that work in these companies like Stripe and aws, Amazon Web Services, they know a lot of people. They know everybody in the industry. They know the leaders in the industry, the thought leaders. They invite them to their own conferences. So most likely the person that's emailing you invoices can help you out. Like I say, business is a contact sport. The more contacts you have, the more contacts you make, the more success you'll have. Now let's talk about the vetting process. Once you find a coach, you need to vet them like a pro. Do not hire after one call. Don't hire them because you like their vibe or because they're famous or because they sound legit or you feel so enamored and lucky that they DM'd you on social media. Instead, have as many conversations as you can. This could be over email, this could be over zoom. This could be on a phone call, I would say at least two conversations. You're entering a long term relationship. Treat it like one. Ask for some case studies, real stories, real success stories. If they're pro, they will have plenty of them. If they're not pro, they'll get offended and say no thank you and you don't want to work with them anyway. They just filter themselves out. Great. For example, when Nicole and I got on a call with Dan Marcel, he willingly gave some testimonials, also some case studies, some real numbers of the growth the companies had that were in his cohort, in his coaching. And he also shared exactly what we wanted to see. People that were able to exit their company after being in his coaching program. Also, make sure your goals match their experience. Don't Hire a coach who grew a coaching business. If you're building a SaaS product, don't hire an E commerce coach. If you're building a membership, don't hire an investor turned guru if they never bootstrapped. Lastly and most importantly, see if they can teach. Not everyone who succeeded can teach how they succeeded. I've seen founders who built billion dollar companies but couldn't explain how they did it if their life depended on it. They just can't. They're not that kind of person. Teaching is a skill and if they don't have that skill, they can't transfer their knowledge to you. If they can't clearly articulate their frameworks and their methods and their decision making, it's going to be really hard for you to get any value. So just run the other way. A business coach can be a game changer for you. I know from experience, but only if they have been where you're going, they have a track record, they can actually teach. They're ready to teach you and you are ready to be coached. You're willing to own the decisions. Whatever those decisions you need to make, you have to own them and you're willing to do the work. It's not going to work if you don't do the work. A coach is not a shortcut. It's more of a compass or a guiding light. They don't walk the path for you. They point the way. They say, hey, go this way. This is the way I went. This is what you're going to find. If this episode gave you any clarity on how to choose the right coach, share with someone who's in the same boat. Somebody that might be your study buddy. Somebody you want to maybe be coached together with. Before I go, I want to leave you with this. Finding the right coach is going to take some time. It might take weeks, it might take months. And that's okay. Okay. Because the wrong coach can derail your progress for years. And when you find someone who has lived the journey that you want to take and teaches you from experience, not from ego or from just selling you a spot in their program, that's when coaching becomes really priceless. I wish you well in this process. And if you got a question for Q and A Wednesday, go ahead and DM me on social media. You can follow me on Instagram and just send me a DM Marzenholm on Instagram. I'll try to get to it as soon as I can and answer your question and make sure that I help you along your path. If you found today's episode helpful and you want more practical business lessons to help you start, grow and scale your business. The best thing you could do is subscribe to this podcast, hit subscribe or follow on your favorite podcast app, the one that you're using right now, whether it's Apple or Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. By hitting subscribe, you get our next episode automatically and it's the best way to support the show. It's absolutely free and it's a way for you to commit to growing your business. And now that you've subscribed, I'll check you in the next episode.

C (15:11)

Hey everybody, Ted Danson here to tell you about my podcast with my longtime friend and sometimes co host Woody Harrelson. It's called where everybody knows your name and we're back for another season. I'm so excited to be joined this season by friends like John Mulaney, David Spade, Sarah Silverman, Ed Helms, and many more. You don't want to miss it. Listen to where everybody knows your name with me, Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson. Sometimes, wherever you get your podcasts.