It is completely understandable why many tradesmen feel sceptical about hiring a business coach.
Social media is full of self-proclaimed “experts” promising to double your turnover, flood your diary with leads and transform your life overnight. Usually, this is followed by photos of rented supercars, luxury watches and screenshots of questionable bank balances.
The truth is, many of these coaches have never built a successful trade business themselves.
They have never priced a job incorrectly, dealt with an unreliable subcontractor, managed multiple teams or had a client refuse to pay. They have never experienced the pressure of keeping the work coming in while making sure there is enough money in the bank to pay wages, suppliers and tax.
So, why would a genuine tradesman trust them?
I would be sceptical too.
Why my approach to hiring a business coach is different
My approach is different because I have first-hand experience of building a multimillion-pound business in the trade industry.
I grew The Edinburgh Driveway Company to £1.8 million in annual turnover, with 27 members of staff and multiple teams operating at the same time. The business generated around £360,000 in annual profit and could operate for months without me being involved in the daily running of it.
I did not learn business from a textbook or an online course. I learned through experience, mistakes, sleepless nights and solving the same problems that tradesmen face every day.
That does not mean hiring a coach will magically fix your business. You still need to implement the advice and make difficult decisions.
However, the right coach can help you avoid expensive mistakes, improve your pricing, build systems, recruit the right people and create a business that does not rely entirely on you.
The one question to ask before hiring a business coach
Before hiring a business coach, ask one simple question:
Have they genuinely built the type of business they are teaching me to build?
Because good advice should come from experience, not just theory. If you’re weighing up your options, the Federation of Master Builders is a good place to check credentials against wider industry standards.
For more on what to ask before hiring a business coach, see our business tips for trades business owners.
