Hello small biz folk, I am a former one of you and am looking to be in the mix again in the relatively near future. I am writing in case someone has a helpful suggestion for, basically…
how to find and get feedback from others that see what I don’t see or know what I don’t know, about myself and the business world/economy.
Now, I am not looking to hire a consultant through reddit- I just am seeking an answer, where to go to find to help that can zero in on my best business options given my skills, knowledge, age, etc. Is this business coaching? If not what is it called? My previous business was the best working experience that I have ever had by far, even if it wasn’t solvent. I want to try again and I have attempted to work with SCORE, twice but there is something off about that program for me. Automatedly, their system wants specifics that I approached them to help me flush out in the first place. I am also considering a college entrepreneurship program, but I sense that it is bs, at least at this jc.
The goal is understanding what the most viable things I can produce and do are in a business sense, not getting caught up in inconsistent, hand to mouth service income or in what is too labor-intensive or not profitable enough. This has been surprisingly difficult to do.
You’re likely to encounter 3 types of things here… in order of frequency:
Experts selling programs is a many-to-one relationship. They’ve taken their knowledge and created a course that teaches you how to do it too (or someone on your team). Prices can be a few hundred dollars to thousands. For certain industries this works. It’s the most cost-effective for you.
Consultants do most of the heavy lifting. They think of the solutions and implement them for you, and report on how it’s going and (if you want) can show you how to do it too. They won’t go into as much detail as someone selling a course, most likely. They are short-term because they are expensive.
Coaches are guides, and is what I do. Most have deep experience and success in entrepreneurship across various disciplines and can point you in the right direction. They can brainstorm with you, but they don’t do the heavy lifting. That’s still on you. They are a sounding board and help to keep you focused on what is most important (i.e. making money) for your business. They are more affordable than consultants and relationships are long-term.
The goal of every one of these options is to be a shortcut to success, so you need to determine what price you’re willing to pay for that shortcut. Or, you can learn the skills/lessons yourself (nothing wrong with that), and the cost to you is time.