Solopreneur Business Coaching (everything you wanted to know about hiring a business coach for your solopreneur business)

Thinking about hiring a business coach for your solopreneur business? Let’s go over everything you want to know about solopreneur business coaching, how it differs from general business coaching, why it matters for YOU, and whether hiring a solopreneur coach makes sense for your unique business needs…

Quick background: I am an anti-hustle Productivity Strategist and Success Coach for solopreneurs (with over a decade of experience as a solopreneur, international board certification as a Success Coach, and more than 6 years coaching other solopreneurs — more details in my Solopreneur CEO coaching program).

But what exactly does that mean for YOU, as my client? Let’s break down everything you want to know about solopreneur coaching, and help you decide whether solopreneur coaching is right for your business…

But first!

Here are indicators that YOU can benefit from the coaching that I do with my solopreneur clients…

• You know you "should" spend your time doing particular tasks, but you lack the motivation and desire to do that work — So you just don't do it (and then you feel bad about yourself and disempowered that you aren't "getting ahead" or making the progress you WANT to make on your goals).
• You’re stuck with your solopreneur business, and you keep spinning your wheels but you’re not GETTING anywhere. You’re pulled in too many different directions trying to do all the things, so you become overwhelmed and frustrated — You’re not getting anything done very well or very quickly.
• You can be productive, but it has come at the expense of your energy, personal time, and happiness — You feel as though you live to work.
• You honestly don't know how to fit it all in without dropping the ball.
• You feel like you’ve tried every “productivity hack” or time management technique yet nothing ever sticks.
• You waste so many hours of your life trying a new way of choosing and planning goals, deciding that it doesn't flow well, and starting all over — And you’re frustrated because you KNOW all of that time and energy could have been spent achieving your goals instead of just thinking about them.
• You feel guilty about what you’re working on in your business, and you’re experiencing some shame about your (lack of) progress.
• You’re excited about the projects you’re working on, but procrastination engulfs you to the point that you continue to put that fun project off (because you continue to see other tasks that youI feel you need to complete first), until you are pushing deadlines and must work excessive hours to complete it — You’re BEYOND ready to get off the procrastination roller coaster.

Does any/all of that sound familiar?

...Then keep reading, because this blog post is for YOU!

What IS — and is NOT — coaching?

Coaching is a way to unlock your full potential. Coaches work with you to discover the best answers for you, with you; coaching uncovers the hidden depths within yourself so that you can live the life and experience the success you truly desire.

Coaching is not about your coach giving you all the answers or forcing you to do things this way vs. that way. Instead, your coach should be skilled at asking the right powerful questions at the right time to guide you to the answers you seek.

Why should I care about coaching? What can coaching do for me, as a solopreneur?

Here’s why you should care about coaching, and what coaching can do for you when we work together…

• Coaching enables you to dive deep into the root problems holding you back so that you can finally overcome those issues — For example, if perfectionism is something you’ve struggled with all your life, then we’ll dive deep into that together so it stops being such a big obstacle, once and for all.
• Coaching gets you better results, faster, than if you were doing everything all on your own — And it gives you a “sounding board” and safe space to share your ideas, get feedback, and finally feel seen and heard.
• Coaching paves the way for you to finally live the life and experience the business you desire — So that you have true clarity and focus on your goals, so that everything is aligned fully to your personal values and vision, and so that you feel true joy with every aspect of your business.

What is the difference between coaching vs consulting? 

If you want someone to tell you exactly what to do, hire a consultant. Consultants will advise you on the best path to take based on their expertise. A consultant has knowledge and expertise in your industry, and they will advise you based on what has been effective in their professional experience. They will be able to easily tell you to do this in such-and-such a way vs don’t do that.

Coaches do not need to have an intimate understanding of your industry, because much of the work is internal: coaches help you to overcome your hurdles and the ways in which you might be holding yourself back.

With coaching, the goal is to find the answers within the client, and bring those to light. Coaching, therefore, is deeper inner work, as well: One of the things I focus on with my clients is to work with them so they understand WHY they’ve been procrastinating or caught in perfectionism etc. This is really important, because then they can actually overcome those hurdles.

That’s also why consulting can be great as long as you aren’t getting in your own way… because it doesn’t matter how much you’re told to do, if what you’re told to do from that consultant a) isn’t the right fit for you or b) isn’t something you’re able to truly implement because internal struggles are holding you back.

Consultants are beneficial if you want someone with professional background to tell you how to do a thing, whereas coaches are beneficial if you “know” what to do but have a difficult time DOING it.

By the way, it doesn't need to be one or the other! I incorporate some consulting into my 1:1 Solopreneur CEO coaching program so that you can get the best of both worlds.

In Solopreneur CEO, I use a unique blend of coaching and consulting to provide you with the best of both worlds. Typically we spend the majority of our time coaching during our sessions, however I can also advise you on business management best practices.

(This is also why I work 1:1 with clients in a variety of fields and they all consistently get great results — for example, over the years I have conducted coaching sessions with people in a variety of industries including freelance editors & writers, photographer, sonographer & YouTuber, baker, brand strategist, florist, motivational speaker, and others.)

What is the difference between coaching vs therapy?

Coaching is NOT the same as therapy. One of the main (broad) differences is that coaching tends to be very goal- and future-oriented, whereas therapy tends to be focused more on the past and mental health. 

That being said, one of my Solopreneur CEO clients informed me that **she got more out of ONE session we had together than she had from several years of therapy.** And she has had some really great experiences with therapy over the years! 

Let me be very clear: Coaching is not a substitute for therapy. I believe that therapy can be fantastic and extremely beneficial for the vast majority of people.

However, when we take that above client comment into account, it’s worth keeping in mind: The results you get from either therapy or coaching can be very dependent on *who* your therapist or coaching is, how much you resonate with them, the rapport between you, and the health and strength of your relationship, as well as how ready you are for the experience. 

You don’t need to choose between therapy and coaching, either. Both can be highly beneficial for many people!

What is the difference between solopreneur coaching vs generalized business coaching? Why should I hire a Solopreneur Coach for my solopreneur business, rather than a general Business Coach?

One of the biggest problems I see in the business coaching industry is that general business coaches — who are not well-versed in the solopreneur business model — often view solopreneurship as “less than” other business models. 

In fact, some of the worst (and most frequent) advice I’ve seen in the business coaching industry when business coaches say, “You can’t scale a business unless you have a team. You need to hire employees/contractors ASAP and delegate to them.” 

No, no, no! 

Not all of us WANT to hire a team. Team management is an entire skill in and of itself. Having a team also does not necessarily fix your business problems (in fact, time and again, I've seen business problems escalate as a result of hiring teams). And to be frank, the assumption that you “need a team to grow your business” lacks imagination and vision. 

Psst... I shared more about this topic in an IG video back in summer 2021, and you can watch the replay right here:

Why does solopreneur coaching matter? Solopreneur business coaching takes the highly unique solopreneur business model into consideration, and doesn’t try to force you to change your business model into something you don’t actually want.