Finding a business coach shouldn’t be this hard. The industry is full of self-proclaimed “experts” who’ve never built or scaled anything beyond their own Instagram profile. Yet these are the people selling you “clarity” and charging you for recycled motivation.
Here’s the truth: hiring the wrong coach will cost you more than their fee; it will cost you wasted years, bad decisions, and missed opportunities. The right coach won’t just “support” you. They will challenge you, call out your excuses, and force you to make the kind of moves that change the trajectory of your business.
This article isn’t about hype or hand-holding. It’s about criteria, red flags, and results, so you can choose a coach who’s worth every penny.
Why Finding the Right Business Coach Is So Hard
Business coaching is not therapy, consulting, or motivation on repeat. At its core, it’s about clarity, challenge, and change. A great coach helps you make better decisions, faster, by asking hard questions and holding you accountable. This guide will give you the criteria, the red flags, and the questions you need to find the right business coach, without the hype.
Hiring a business coach is not a casual choice. It’s a financial and strategic commitment that will shape how you think, decide, and act. The market is flooded with self-proclaimed experts, vague motivators, and coaches who have never run anything more complex than their own calendar.
At the same time, there are sharp, credible coaches who have worked with serious operators and can help you compress years of growth into months. The problem is telling the difference.
The coaching industry has no universal quality bar. Unlike law or medicine, you don’t need a licence to sell coaching. Anyone with a LinkedIn profile and a Canva graphic can position themselves as a coach. That lack of regulation means the burden falls on you to sort the real from the fake.
The stakes are high because you are not buying information, you’re buying influence over your decisions. The wrong coach will waste your time and money. The right coach will challenge your thinking, sharpen your strategy, and accelerate your results.
Here’s the blunt truth: you’re about to spend thousands. Choose wrong and you’ll pay for noise. Choose well, and you’ll get clarity, structure, and accountability that will change how you operate. This guide is designed to help you make that choice with confidence.
What to Look For in a Business Coach – What It Is, And Isn’t
Business coaching is often misunderstood. It’s not therapy, not consulting, and not mentoring. Those comparisons sound harmless, but they create false expectations and lead people to waste money on the wrong kind of support. Before you hire a coach, you need to know where those lines are drawn. As the UK’s official Startup Loans programme notes, a business coach can be a critical partner in building and scaling a company. But to really understand the value of coaching, you first need to see what it is not, and why those distinctions matter.
Coaching Is Not Therapy
Therapy is rooted in the past. It deals with trauma, patterns of behaviour, and emotional recovery. It belongs in the hands of licensed professionals who work to heal. Coaching is not that.
A business coach is not there to diagnose, to medicate, or to reframe childhood experiences. Their work is forward-facing. They focus on how you think and act today so you can perform more effectively tomorrow.
That distinction matters. If you walk into a coaching relationship expecting emotional repair, you will be disappointed. Therapy is about healing; coaching is about performance. The two can complement one another, but they are not interchangeable.
Coaching Is Not Consulting
Consultants are hired to deliver answers. They investigate, analyse, and then present you with a plan: a new process, a strategy document, a recommended structure. Their value comes from expertise.
A coach’s value comes from the opposite. They don’t hand you answers. They sharpen your capacity to find them yourself. They create the space and apply the pressure that forces you to see options you’ve ignored, blind spots you’ve normalised, and assumptions you’ve never challenged. That’s exactly what a seasoned entrepreneur coach should do.
Coaching Is Not Mentoring
Mentors trade in hindsight. They say: “Here’s what I did, and here’s what worked for me.” Their advice can be useful, particularly in industries where patterns repeat, but it remains rooted in their story. Coaching is different. Coaches don’t offer a ready-made path. They ask questions that force you to understand your own.
A mentor gives you a map. A coach insists you learn how to navigate the terrain. That’s a harder, more uncomfortable process, but it builds capacity instead of dependency.
Coaching Is Structured, Relentless, and Change-Focused
At its core, coaching is clarity plus challenge followed by change. It’s structured dialogue with one purpose: to improve how you think and how you act. A good coach doesn’t let you stay vague. They don’t allow drift. They press until you make choices, take ownership, and follow through.
That’s why the best coaching feels uncomfortable. It’s not a performance of inspiration. It’s the collision between your current standards and the higher bar a coach holds you to.
Done well, it doesn’t just solve today’s issue. It rewires the way you approach every problem in the future. That is the real value of business coaching, not answers, not cheerleading, but a permanent upgrade in how you operate under pressure.
Step 1: Get Clear on Why You Want a Coach
Most people start searching for a business coach without ever defining the problem they’re trying to solve. They treat coaching like a general upgrade, something that should help in some vague, overall way. That’s the wrong approach. Coaching only delivers impact when it is anchored to a clear need.
The Cost of Vague Intentions
If you begin without clarity, the entire relationship drifts. Conversations feel interesting but rarely create momentum. Specificity is what anchors coaching to real outcomes. Without it, sessions become expensive talk with no consequence. A coach cannot pull results out of thin air. They need a target against which to apply pressure.
Here are some of the biggest challenges entrepreneurs face that usually require clarity first.
Scaling Beyond Your Current Capacity
Growth creates pressure. Many businesses scale faster than their leaders’ ability to manage complexity. Coaching provides the frameworks to expand leadership capacity alongside organisational growth.
Instead of drowning in operational detail, a coach forces you to step back, delegate effectively, and set a higher standard for strategic thinking.
Breaking Mental Roadblocks
Patterns of hesitation, avoidance, or perfectionism often hold high performers back. Left unchecked, they become recurring bottlenecks. A coach’s role here is not to soothe, but to confront. They surface the blind spots you’ve ignored and force you to test the assumptions behind your stuck points.
That confrontation is uncomfortable, but it’s often the difference between repeating old cycles and finally breaking them.
When Decision Fatigue Takes Over
One of the most common reasons leaders seek coaching is the sheer weight of decisions. A peer-reviewed study on decision fatigue highlights how decision fatigue erodes judgment, reduces productivity, and increases stress, leading to slower, lower-quality choices.
A skilled coach helps cut through the noise, build sharper decision filters, and restore the clarity needed to act decisively. The benefit is not just fewer mistakes. It’s the confidence that choices are aligned with what truly matters.
Accountability That Bites
Clarity alone isn’t enough. Even when people know exactly what to do, execution often lags. This is where coaching adds external pressure. A coach keeps the commitments alive beyond the excitement of the session.
They ask why you didn’t act, and they hold you to the standards you set. That accountability converts intentions into action, and it’s one of the most underestimated benefits of coaching.
Why Specificity Is Non-Negotiable
Here’s the blunt truth: clarity doesn’t arrive after you hire a coach. If you start vague, you’ll stay vague. Before you invest, you need to know what’s at stake. Ask yourself: What is the cost of staying stuck? What happens if nothing changes in the next twelve months? Until those questions sting, you’re not ready for a coach.
As MindTools explains, setting clear goals and defining outcomes at the start of any developmental relationship is essential because it ensures that progress can be measured and accountability maintained. Without specificity, even the most skilled coaching quickly drifts into unstructured conversation, leaving both sides frustrated and progress uncertain
A coach is not there to entertain you or keep you motivated in the abstract. They are there to put pressure on your thinking so you operate at a higher level.
If you cannot state, with precision, the change you want to see, you’re not hiring a coach, you’re buying a conversation partner. And that’s an expensive way to avoid doing the real work.
Step 2: Know the Red Flags (And Run Fast)
The coaching market is unregulated, which means anyone can call themselves a coach. That low barrier attracts two kinds of people: serious professionals with genuine credibility, and opportunists who think a few motivational quotes on LinkedIn make them qualified. If you don’t know how to tell the difference, you’ll waste money, energy, and momentum.
Red Flag 1: No Real-World Experience
A coach who has never built or led anything themselves lacks the depth required to challenge serious operators.
If their entire career is “just coaching,” with no track record of running a business, managing teams, or making high-stakes decisions, ask yourself: what are they drawing on? Coaching isn’t about giving advice, but credibility matters.
Someone who has never been tested in the fire of commercial reality cannot push you with the authority needed to create change.
Red Flag 2: Vague, Empty Language
Examine their website, their posts, their sales pitch. If it’s filled with phrases like “empower your greatness,” “unlock your potential,” or “step into your journey,” you’ve found a problem. These are signals of someone with no framework and no process.
Real coaches speak in terms of structure, accountability, and outcomes. If you leave their material more inspired than informed, that’s a red flag.
If confidence is the real bottleneck, work with a dedicated confidence coach, but make sure they connect belief to structure, not slogans.
Red Flag 3: Instant-Result Promises
Coaching isn’t magic. It’s not a 30-day shortcut to a better business. Forbes magazine has repeatedly pointed out the danger of coaches promising instant fixes. The message is simple: you don’t need a wow-moment guru; you need consistency and proof over time. Unrealistic timelines almost always end in frustration, not transformation.
Red Flag 4: The “Mindset-Only” Coach
Mindset is important, but mindset without structure is just a pep talk. If every message they deliver is about positivity, belief, and vague motivation, with no mention of frameworks, decision-making systems, or accountability, you’re dealing with a lightweight. Strong coaches connect mindset directly to measurable outcomes.
Red Flag 5: Over-Promotion and Self-Branding
Finally, watch how they present themselves. If they spend more time posting selfies, hashtags, and motivational slogans than explaining how they actually work with clients, you’re not looking at a coach. You’re looking at a marketer. Over-promotion is not proof of skill; it’s proof of misplaced priorities.
The Blunt Filter
Here’s the simplest way to test credibility: if you wouldn’t trust them to sit in on a board meeting and hold their own, don’t trust them to shape your thinking.
Step 3: How to Find the Right Business Coach: Real Criteria That Matter
If red flags are about spotting danger, this step is about recognising substance. A great business coach doesn’t need to convince you with hype. Their clarity, process, and track record will do the work for them. And clarity always starts with setting the right goals. I wrote more about this in my article on goal setting and planning, because without clear goals, even the strongest process can lose direction.
Goals are the filter for every decision that follows. Without them, even the most talented coach will end up circling around interesting conversations instead of driving real outcomes.
Real-World Experience That Carries Weight
A credible coach has been tested in the arena. That doesn’t mean they must have been a CEO, but they should have navigated real complexity: running a business, leading teams, or holding senior-level responsibility. This context matters because it shapes the questions they ask.
Experience is only valuable if it can be adapted to your world. A coach who thrived in one industry but cannot translate those lessons to yours will offer limited value. The strongest coaches take what they’ve learned in different contexts, whether that’s finance, tech, or fast-growth startups, and reshape it into questions that fit your reality. It’s not about copying solutions; it’s about recognising patterns and applying them with precision.
Someone who has lived through tough decisions knows how to challenge you at the right depth. They understand the difference between abstract ideals and operational reality. Look for strong leadership qualities that show up under pressure, not just on a CV.
Structure Over Small Talk
Coaching is not a random conversation. The best coaches work with frameworks that create clarity, accountability, and measurable progress. Without structure, sessions drift into motivational dialogue with little impact.
A serious coach can explain how their process works: what happens after the first session, how progress is tracked, and how accountability is maintained. If you don’t hear a coach talk about methodology, ask directly. Vagueness is a warning sign.
Personalisation, Not Templates
No two businesses are identical. Industry, growth stage, culture, and leadership style all influence the challenges you face. That’s why one-size-fits-all programmes rarely deliver lasting value.
A credible coach adapts their frameworks to fit your situation, not the other way around. If everything they offer looks like a pre-packaged formula, you’ll get surface-level change at best.
Honesty and Relentless Accountability
A strong coach won’t flatter you. They’ll hold you to a higher bar than you set for yourself. That means calling out procrastination, avoidance, and self-deception, even when it makes you uncomfortable.
McKinsey’s research on leadership development stresses that sustainable growth comes from confronting hard truths and embedding new behaviours, not from passive encouragement. A coach who avoids conflict is serving their own comfort, not your results.
Results Over Comfort
The final marker is intent. Does the coach care more about keeping you happy or about sharpening your decisions? If their goal is comfort, they’re a cheerleader. If their goal is performance, they’re a coach. The true measure of coaching is not how energised you feel at the end of a session, but the quality of the decisions you make afterwards.
The right coach feels less like a friend and more like a force multiplier. They create the space for you to think differently, act decisively, and gain traction on the work you’ve been avoiding. Comfort is fleeting, but sharper decision-making compounds over time.
A coach who challenges you to raise your standards leaves an imprint that lasts long after the sessions end. That’s the difference: cheerleaders boost your mood; coaches change your trajectory. The former makes you feel good in the moment. The latter makes you operate better for the long run.
Step 4: Questions to Ask a Business Coach Before Hiring
The quickest way to cut through the noise is to ask the right questions. Not surface-level questions about pricing or scheduling, but questions that expose how a coach actually operates. Their answers will reveal whether they have depth, structure, and honesty. If they dodge, overgeneralise, or give vague responses, that’s your signal to walk.
At the heart of every strong coaching relationship is feedback, the way progress is tracked, discussed, and acted upon. It’s what keeps coaching from drifting into feel-good conversations. I’ve written more about this in my article on the importance of feedback in coaching, because without structured feedback loops, even the best intentions collapse into vague promises.
In business, feedback isn’t just a coaching tool; it’s the mechanism that drives growth across teams, products, and entire companies. The same principle applies in coaching: without honest review and course correction, performance quickly stalls.
Question 1: What Does Your Process Look Like After the First Session?
A serious coach can explain what happens once you start working together. They’ll describe how they onboard clients, what frameworks they use, and how the engagement evolves.
If all they can offer is “we’ll see where the conversation goes,” expect meandering sessions with little accountability. A credible coach should be able to outline the rhythm of the work, how clarity is built, how progress is tracked, and how pressure is applied when momentum dips.
Without that level of structure, you’re not buying coaching. You’re buying expensive conversations with no guaranteed movement.
The best coaches set expectations early, explains INC magazine. They outline clear goals and structured steps, even if they adapt those steps over time. Structure is proof. Vagueness is a warning.
A coach who resists answering this question is telling you everything you need to know. If they can’t describe their own process, how will they ever help you clarify yours? Clarity isn’t optional; it’s the baseline of any professional coaching relationship.
Question 2: How Do You Track Progress and Measure Success?
Coaching without measurement is just talk. Strong coaches can explain how they track decisions, behaviours, and outcomes. They might use structured check-ins, decision logs, or agreed milestones. If “success” is defined only as feeling more motivated or inspired, that’s a red flag.
Progress has to be visible and measurable, not subjective. A credible coach will show how small wins compound into larger shifts, and how accountability keeps momentum alive. The test is simple: if you can’t look back after three months and see tangible evidence of change, you’re not in a coaching relationship, you’re in a conversation club.
Question 3: Who Do You Not Work With?
A credible coach knows their fit. If someone claims they can help everyone, they’re either naïve or dishonest. The best coaches are clear about who they don’t serve. Whether that’s people unwilling to be challenged, leaders in denial, or individuals looking for therapy instead of accountability.
Boundaries are a mark of professionalism. A coach without them is just chasing fees. A strong coach can articulate who is not a good match because they understand their method, their intensity, and their focus.
That clarity protects both sides: you don’t waste money on the wrong relationship, and the coach doesn’t waste time on clients who won’t do the work. The wrong clients dilute results. The right clients create momentum.
Question 4: What Happens When Things Get Tough?
Every coaching relationship hits resistance. Progress slows. Excuses appear. Comfort fights back. A lightweight coach will retreat, soften their approach, and protect your feelings. A strong coach will lean in, confront avoidance, and keep pressure on. Their answer to this question shows whether they have the resilience to hold the line when they need it most.
If a coach avoids conflict to keep you comfortable, they’re protecting their own popularity, not your long-term results.
Question 5: What Would One of Your Clients Say About You?
The best coaches don’t rely on polished testimonials or scripted soundbites. They can tell you candidly what clients would say, both the compliments and the criticisms. You’re looking for evidence of meaningful change: sharper thinking, better decision-making, measurable results. If all they can offer is generic praise, they may not have a deep enough track record.
If you want the full story, frameworks, results, and media features, you can always check my background on the About Jake Smolarek page.
Why These Questions Matter
These questions aren’t just for you. They’re also a test for the coach. A professional will welcome them, because they know good coaching depends on fit, trust, and transparency. If someone becomes defensive or evasive when asked to explain themselves, you’ve already seen how they handle challenges, and that tells you everything you need to know.
Step 5: Choose the Coach You’re Actually Ready For
One of the most common mistakes people make is hiring the wrong coach for the stage they’re at. The mismatch doesn’t just waste money; it creates frustration on both sides. A coach can only accelerate you if you’re ready for the type of pressure and pace they bring.
Beginner Coaches vs. Advanced Coaches
Some coaches specialise in beginners, individuals still trying to form consistent habits, gain confidence, or bring order to chaos. These coaches focus on structure, discipline, and foundational routines. Others are built for advanced operators already running at speed, who need sharper decision-making, more strategic clarity, and a sparring partner to challenge them at the highest level.
Hire the second type when you’re still at the first stage, and you’ll be overwhelmed. Hire the first type when you’ve outgrown the basics, and you’ll be underwhelmed. The wrong fit slows progress more than no coach at all.
The Role of Self-Awareness
This is where self-awareness becomes non-negotiable. Ask yourself: what kind of problems am I facing right now?
If you’re struggling with basic discipline and execution, you’re not ready for a coach who only works with executives scaling seven-figure companies. If you’re already leading a high-performing operation, a coach focused on productivity hacks won’t move the needle.
Entrepreneur magazine advises that clarity about your current challenges is the single most important factor in selecting the right coach, because it prevents you from paying for support that doesn’t fit your context.
Don’t Confuse Fame with Fit
There’s no shame in not being ready for a top-tier coach. The real mistake is pretending you are, or chasing a coach purely because they’re visible or popular. Popularity is not a proxy for quality.
The right coach is the one whose frameworks and intensity match your reality and desired pace, not the one with the largest social media following.
Visibility is marketing. Depth is earned. If a coach’s main asset is exposure, you’re buying image, not transformation. Look past the noise and judge them on process, track record, and the pressure they can apply when things get tough.
Willingness Over Ego
Coaching is not something done to you. It only works if you’re prepared to be challenged, held accountable, and pushed beyond your comfort zone. If you want reassurance, you’re not ready. If you want clarity and pressure, you are.
That’s the cycle I teach in my Learn → Practice → Master → Become a F*cking Legend Framework. It’s not about quick hacks but about stacking skills through repetition until mastery becomes identity. The final stage, becoming a legend, only happens if you’re willing to stay in the grind long after motivation fades.
The coach you’re ready for is the one who aligns with your level of ambition, not your ego.
How Jake Smolarek Works with Coaching Clients
When I take on a client, it starts with one clear rule: this is not a motivational subscription. It’s a focused relationship designed to deliver clarity, speed, and momentum.
Starting with Fit
Every relationship begins with a free session. That’s not a sales pitch, it’s a test. We sit down, pressure-test the fit, and decide if working together makes sense. If the alignment is there, we commit.
If it isn’t, we don’t. That decision up front saves both sides from wasted time and vague expectations.
One-to-One, Not One-to-Many
From there, the work is strictly one-to-one. Not group calls. Not generic programmes. Not recycled templates. Every client gets my full focus, because no two clients share the same context.
- Vision GPS: the clarity engine: we define where you are, where you’re going, and the few decisions that move the needle. It replaces vague ambition with a concrete map and decision checkpoints.
- 10–80–10 Rule: The first 10% is pure fire, excitement, vision, and energy. The final 10% is recognition and momentum. But the truth is that 80% in the middle, the grind of repetition, doubt, and discipline, is where legends are built. Most people quit here. My clients learn how to survive the 80% and come out stronger, sharper, and unrecognisable in the best way possible.
- No 0% Days: makes consistency non-negotiable: even on low-energy days, you move the ball, so momentum never dies.
These are not abstract theories but proven business coaching frameworks I’ve built and refined with clients over thousands of hours. Together they create a complete system, clarity from Vision GPS, resilience from the 10–80–10 Rule, and daily accountability from No 0% Days. Used in combination, they rewire how you make decisions, execute under pressure, and sustain momentum long after the initial motivation fades.
Designed for High Performers
My clients are not people looking for someone to fix problems for them. They’re already operating at a high level, but they want sharper edges, faster decisions, and fewer wasted moves. They don’t hire me for encouragement. They hire me because they want to be held to a standard they can’t hold themselves to.
AFCPE notes that accountability is one of the strongest drivers of behavioural change, especially for high performers; it keeps progress consistent long after motivation fades. That’s exactly what my work delivers: results that last because accountability makes them stick.
Real-life example
One of my clients was running a company with an annual turnover of around £12 million, but he was drowning in the day-to-day. He was firefighting, micromanaging, and buried in tasks that kept him busy but not effective. He had the ambition of a CEO, but the habits of an overworked operator.
Over twelve months of business coaching, we rebuilt the way he thought and worked. I shifted his mindset from a task-hoarding entrepreneur to a CEO who delegates with precision. Using my frameworks, he learned to focus only on high-leverage decisions, systemise the boring but essential middle 80%, and stop wasting time on distractions that didn’t move the company forward.
The result was a transformation on two levels. Financially, his business scaled from £12 million to £17 million in a single year. Personally, he reclaimed hours of his week, stopped “majoring in minor things,” and finally had the space to lead strategically instead of being trapped in operations. This is the difference between having a coach who pushes you into discomfort versus staying stuck in old patterns.
Momentum, Not Dependency
I don’t believe in endless coaching relationships. The goal is not dependency. The goal is to create a burst of momentum that permanently changes how you operate. Frameworks like No 0% Days protect that momentum long after our work ends. Some clients work with me for months, some for a year, but none for life. When the work is done, you should be sharper, faster, and capable of running without me. That’s the point.
Not for Everyone
This style isn’t universal. If you want a cheerleader, you’ll hate my approach. If you want someone who challenges you harder than you challenge yourself, the work will resonate. My role is not to make you comfortable. It’s to make you effective.
It’s a Relationship That Will Challenge You
The truth about business coaching is simple: it’s not meant to be easy. The best coaching relationships are uncomfortable because they force you to confront the gap between where you are and where you claim you want to be. A good coach will not stroke your ego. They will put it under pressure. They will push you past excuses, dismantle the stories you tell yourself, and challenge you to operate at a level you can’t reach alone.
If you’re looking for another voice to reassure you, coaching will disappoint you. If you want to be challenged, held accountable, and made sharper, then you’re ready. That readiness is not about age, industry, or revenue. It’s about willingness to be uncomfortable in pursuit of clarity and results.
A business coach is not a partner in comfort. They are a force multiplier in decision-making. They won’t promise shortcuts or easy wins. They’ll give you structure, confrontation, and accountability. That’s what creates change. That’s what accelerates growth.
So here’s the blunt ending: if you want a cheerleader, don’t hire Jake. If you want clarity, speed, and results, then the right coach will change how you think and act for the rest of your career.
For a blunt primer, listen to my podcast on mistakes entrepreneurs must avoid.
