The business coaching industry is flooded with people who've never actually built what they're teaching.
Search "business coach," and you'll find thousands of results. They're former corporate executives who've never run a P&L or course creators who made money teaching courses about making money.
They all sound convincing. They use the right buzzwords. They have polished websites and impressive testimonials. They have large audiences and hundreds of reactions on their social posts each day.
But here's the problem: anyone can call themselves a business coach.
The worst part is that coaches with the biggest audiences are often the least qualified. They're better at marketing themselves than actually coaching businesses. They care more about the next deal than the person they just sold.
In this guide, I’ll show you how to separate the wheat from the chaff. Here are a few traits that make a good business coach:
1. They've done what you want to do
The first question you should ask any potential coach: "Show me the businesses you've built."— not the ones they've consulted on or the case studies they've read about. The ones where they signed the checks, made the hard decisions and lived with the consequences.
If you're taking advice from someone who's never closed a high-ticket deal themselves, you're doing it wrong.
Too many coaches built their reputation teaching what they learned in a course rather than what they earned through experience. They speak fluently about strategies they've never implemented and confidently prescribe solutions they've never tested under pressure.
Real operators have battle scars. They've made expensive mistakes, so you don't have to. They know which tactics work in theory but fail in practice. They understand the difference between what sounds good on a podcast and what drives results.
When I evaluate a coach, I want to see revenue numbers, client testimonials, and proof of sustained business success over multiple years. Not vanity metrics like followers or speaking engagements—actual business results.
The best coaches are still in the game, not just talking about it from the sidelines.
2. They offer personalized, context-driven guidance
Cookie-cutter playbooks don't cut it anymore. The right coach tailors their advice to your unique stage, model, and leverage points.
Generic advice kills more businesses than bad advice. When a coach offers the same solution to every problem, they're not coaching—they're selling a one-size-fits-all product dressed up as mentorship.
I've paid for coaching from people 2–3 stages ahead of me. That's when it pays off.
The coaches who've moved my business forward understood my specific context. They knew the difference between scaling from $100K to $300K versus growing from $300K to $1M. They recognized that solo business owners face different challenges than agency owners or venture-backed startups.
Great coaches ask probing questions about your business model, target market, and current constraints before offering advice. They want to understand your situation deeply because surface-level solutions rarely create lasting change.
They also acknowledge what they don't know. If your business operates in a space they haven't navigated, they'll either refer you to someone better suited or clearly explain how their expertise translates to your situation.
3. They help you implement, not just plan
The best coaches aren't idea factories—they're execution partners. They help you ship, iterate, and optimize.
I've worked with coaches who could create beautiful strategic plans but had no clue how to help me execute them.
The coaches who create real value focus on action steps, not action plans. They help you prioritize ruthlessly, overcome specific obstacles, and maintain momentum when motivation inevitably fades.
They ask follow-up questions like "What blocked you from completing that?" and "How can we adjust this approach?" instead of moving on to the next shiny strategy.
Execution-focused coaches also understand that perfect plans fail without consistent action. They help you start before you're ready, learn through doing, and course-correct based on honest feedback rather than theoretical concerns.
4. They deliver tangible business outcomes
You're not buying inspiration—you're buying ROI. Look for proof: more sales, better positioning, or faster decisions.
Results speak louder than testimonials about feeling "transformed" or "empowered." The best coaches track measurable improvements in their clients' businesses: increased revenue, improved profit margins, better client retention, or reduced workload.
For example, here’s my Wall of Love that I’ve built over the past 3 years:
When evaluating coaches, ask about specific outcomes their clients have achieved. They don't just highlight reel cases but the typical results someone at your stage and business model can expect.
Be skeptical of coaches focusing primarily on soft benefits like confidence or clarity. While these matter, they should lead to concrete business improvements, not exist as ends in themselves.
5. They build your confidence in high-stakes areas
The right coach helps you stay sharp where it matters.
Running a business requires making decisions with incomplete information under real pressure. The best coaches have faced these moments themselves and can help you navigate them with composure and strategic thinking.
They don't just tell you what to do—they help you develop the judgment to make better decisions independently. They share frameworks for thinking through complex situations and help you build confidence in your own problem-solving abilities.
This type of coaching is particularly valuable during inflection points: launching new offers, raising prices, entering new markets, or handling difficult client situations. These are the moments when having an experienced guide makes the biggest difference.
6. They help you think clearly and strategically
When you're stuck in the weeds, the best coaches zoom you out and help you make clean, leveraged decisions.
The daily grind of running a business creates tunnel vision. You become so focused on immediate problems that you lose sight of bigger patterns and opportunities.
Strategic coaches help you step back and see your business from a higher perspective. They identify trends you're missing, point out blind spots in your thinking, and help you make decisions that create long-term leverage rather than just solving immediate problems.
They're pattern recognition engines. They've seen enough businesses to quickly identify what's working, what's not, and what needs attention. This perspective saves you months of trial and error.
7. They prioritize practicality over theory
Theory rarely survives first contact with real clients or real growth. Great coaches hand you what works, not what sounds good.
Academic frameworks look impressive on paper but often crumble under the pressure of actual business operations. The coaches who create lasting value focus on battle-tested approaches that work in the real world.
They understand that "best practices" are contextual. What works for a venture-backed startup might not work for a bootstrapped solopreneur. What succeeds in B2B might fail in B2C.
Practical coaches also recognize that perfect is the enemy of good. They help you implement imperfect solutions that move the needle rather than spending months crafting theoretical perfection that never gets executed.
8. They alleviate founder isolation
Coaches aren't just strategic—they're grounding. They reduce mental noise and keep you focused.
Building a business alone creates unique psychological challenges. You carry the weight of every decision, celebrate victories with no one, and second-guess yourself constantly.
The right coach provides a sounding board for ideas, a reality check for assumptions, and perspective during difficult periods. They help you process the emotional ups and downs of entrepreneurship without letting those emotions drive poor business decisions.
It's strategic support that recognizes the human element of business building. Great coaches understand that founder psychology directly impacts business performance.
9. They ask the right questions—then give real answers
You want a coach who helps you think and act, not just one who reflects your thoughts at you.
Some coaches believe their job is to ask questions and let you discover all the answers yourself. While self-discovery has value, you pay for expertise, not facilitated brainstorming sessions.
The best coaches combine Socratic questioning with direct guidance. They help you think through problems while sharing what they've learned from similar situations.
They know when to push you to find your answers and when just to tell you what works based on their experience. This balance between guidance and self-discovery creates immediate solutions and long-term capability building.
10. They have a track record with clients like you
Past results matter. A coach who's helped others at your size or stage is more likely to help you now.
The most relevant coaching experience comes from working with businesses similar to yours. A coach who specializes in e-commerce might struggle to help a service-based solopreneur, even if they're brilliant in their domain.
Look for coaches who can show you case studies, testimonials, or examples from clients facing similar challenges. Ask about their typical client profile and success patterns.
Also, pay attention to the problems they've helped others solve. If most of their clients needed help with team management but you're trying to scale solo, they might not be the right fit despite their overall competence.
Don't get seduced by big names or impressive credentials if they haven't helped people in your situation. Relevance trumps reputation when it comes to coaching effectiveness.
Find the coach who's worth the investment
I learned this lesson after wasting money on coaches who promised everything and delivered nothing. The right coach doesn't just take your money—they make you more than you pay them.
The best coaches have walked the path you're trying to walk. They've faced your challenges and developed systems to overcome them. They can save you years of expensive trial and error by sharing what works.
But they can only help if you choose wisely. Don't let another bad coaching experience make you skeptical of getting the support you need. Use these criteria to find someone worth your time and money.
The right coach is an investment that pays dividends for years. The wrong one is just an expensive lesson in due diligence.
