3 Important Ways I Knew It Was Time to Work with an Online Business Coach

Feb 26, 2024

Coaches need coaches, too! I launched Jeneration PR 19 years ago, so I feel beyond confident in my ability to successfully run and grow a PR agency. But a PR educational platform? Not so much. So, I called in the help of an online business coach for extra support.

I’m passionate about helping other PR pros succeed, but I don’t know as much about how to offer products, programs, and courses. My team and I have done pretty well DIYing it these past few years, but I know I can help even more people by streamlining and marketing my programs better. I’m sharing my story about choosing to work with an online business coach, including when I decided to ask for help, how I got the most from my partnership with my coach, and what I did to find the best coach for me.

Why I Finally Felt Ready to Work with an Online Business Coach Again

Sometimes, you go through phases in your agency where all the focus is on learning and planning. Other times, you’re fully in an implementation phase, consistently taking action for your business. For the past few years, my team and I have been putting our energy behind implementation in Jeneration Academy. We did things like updating all of the content in The Agency Accelerator and releasing Powerhouse Prompts, a product that we love and are proud of, among tons of other projects.

But, as we started preparing for the next year, I recognized that I felt super motivated to transition into a learning and planning phase again. I wanted to work with an online business coach to figure out what was next for me and Jeneration Academy. I had worked with coaches before, but it had been a while since I invested in myself that way. It felt like the right time!

When to Know It’s Time to Ask for Help

As a coach myself, sometimes I feel like I should know all the answers to everything. But, let’s be real: I’m not an expert at running a digital product-based business…I’m an expert in growing successful PR agencies and coaching others to do the same!

There is power in being humble enough to recognize the areas where you need extra support. I truly thrive as a mentor — and to do my best for our community, I wanted to bring in an online business coach to help me uplevel my business skills.

Zoom Out to Zoom In

While working with my Integrator, Miranda, on our annual Project Plan, we reviewed all of our previous year's data and identified a few areas where we could improve. We had a bunch of ideas for things that might work, but when we tried to determine exactly how to move forward, we realized that we were a little out of our depth.

I know there’s killer content inside our programs, but there are a million different ways to get it to the people who need it most! Our goal is to share our content in a way that’s easy to understand and helps everyone get answers to their biggest problems.

Sometimes, you get so head-down into your business that you can't step back and get a good big-picture perspective on it. You’re so passionate about your agency and are so completely ingrained in the day-to-day of running it that you miss things or ignore red flags that are super obvious to an outsider. Here are some warning signs that it might be time to seek out a business coach:

You’ve hit a plateau in terms of growth or revenue.
You have ideas of what to do next but aren’t sure which is the best option.
You feel burnt out and unmotivated.
You want a more defined roadmap from someone who’s an expert at growing your type of business.
You don’t want to waste time on trial and error — you just want someone to tell you, “Do XYZ.”

How to Get the Most Out of Your Online Business Coach Partnership

When I started working with my coach, it helped that I went into this new partnership with clear goals and priorities in mind. With those set, my online business coach and I honed in on what would move the needle most for me. It was important for me to have clarity on my goals and priorities before I even got on the phone with my coach — I wanted their specific, targeted support. This ensured I’d get the most bang for my buck and get the results I wanted…fast!

The annual planning that my team and I did helped a lot with this process. It’s similar to a brand audit you’d do for a client, but internally on your own business — I did a Facebook Live training about how you can execute a successful brand audit for new and existing clients if you need a refresher. You can follow those steps to audit your own business and figure out exactly where you need to focus.

What You Need to Look for in a Coach

Once I realized it was time to invest in an online business coach for Jeneration Academy, I first tried to identify the specific things I wanted from a coach. I didn’t want to work with just anyone!

It was a major priority for me to partner with someone who could help me with the exact problems I had and with a service container that fit my price range.

Before looking for a coach, think about what you want from them. Often, people find a random coach online and think, “Oh, this person can probably help me,” and they work within whatever options the coach has.

But that’s not how you’d hire a contractor for your house, right? Instead, you’d figure out the exact project you want to complete, determine your goals, timeline, and budget, and find someone who can work within that criteria. Finding an online business coach works the same way!

Ask yourself these questions before you start searching for a coach:

What specific thing do I need help with?
What are my main goals with this project?
How long do I want to work with a coach, or how long do I want this project to take?
What’s my budget for working with a coach each month?

How to Find the Best Online Business Coach for You

Once I knew what I needed from a coach, I reached out to everyone I could think of to see if they knew any coaches who would be a good fit. I posted in Facebook groups (like the Powerhouse Pros community), contacted my team, asked my friends, and even considered people I had worked with previously.

Through my network, I found a few options and set aside dedicated time to thoroughly research each candidate. After my research, I reached out to a few potential online business coaches to get a feel for how we’d work together. Some ended up not being a good fit for me, so the process continued. It took a bit of time, but I finally discovered someone who fit all of my needs, and I moved forward with them! My team and I are thrilled to collaborate with an online business coach this year and see where our partnership takes us!

As a PR pro, it can feel like you have to have all the answers to EVERYTHING… but it’s not true! You can be an expert in your niche and also invest in an online business coach to help you uplevel your skills and streamline your work. When you invest in yourself, you also invest in your agency!