I once spent thousands of dollars on a business coach who had never built anything real.
A founder friend once asked me:
“Should I hire a business coach or find a mentor?”
I didn’t give him theory. I told him this story.
Years ago, I hired a very popular business coach. Great website. Great testimonials. Looked impressive on paper.
But there was one problem: he had never built a business.
He knew every model and every framework.
But when I spoke about things like:
He turned it into a classroom.
We started talking about “cash flow management principles” and “employee retention strategies”.
I understood the words.
But what I really needed was: “What do I do on Monday morning?”
Around the same time, I met an older founder.
When I shared the same problems with him,
his reaction was very different. He said:
“I’ve been through this.
Here’s what I tried.
Here’s what worked.
Here’s what failed.”
No theory. Just scars and experience.
His advice was simple, clear and very practical.
That’s when I realised we mix up coaches and mentors all the time.
You go to a coach when the main problem is you:
A good coach works on your behaviour, patterns and mindset.
They don’t run your business for you.
They help you upgrade yourself so you can run it better.
You go to a mentor when the main problem is the business:
Here, you need someone who has actually built and run a business.
Someone who has seen bad years, wrong hires, cash crunches, tough clients – and still stayed in the game.
Most founders will need both, but not at the same time.
In the early stage, you usually need a mentor so you don’t crash the business.
Once the business is stable, and you feel you are holding back the next level, that’s when a coach is useful.
So before you pick anyone, ask yourself:
Don’t choose based on titles or hype.
Choose based on where you are and what you truly need right now.