In life good vs bad will always exist. You might have to go thru a few options to find the correct fit. I’ll send u a message

I tried a few and they all kinda sucked. Overpriced and offered mostly advice that was pretty useless. I am sure there are good ones but I haven’t found them.

As others have said, I would move forward with a coach / consultant cautiously. When I first got hired as a business consultant, my advice was awful - in hindsight maybe even harmful to our clients.

If you go with a coach / consultant, try to identify one who has been in your industry or at least specializes in it. Anybody can look at your P&L and tell you where the gaps are but without the context of what’s happening in your industry, the feedback will likely fall flat.

One of the most impactful things that I do with my clients is introduce them to people who are successful in their industry. It maybe worthwhile to approach some other business owners in your same field and do something as simple as asking them to lunch. It’s not likely that they’ll share their secret sauce but they may help you identify some areas of opportunity. Also, that kind of relationship can be ongoing and will likely be far cheaper than going the consultant route.

I can only speak to my own experience but I’ve found the best business advice from older successful entrepreneurs who are happy to share advice for free and help out other small business owners. I paid a “business coach” for some advice when starting out and felt completely taken advantage of…no actual real world experience and lots of cliche forward thinking BS…my best relationships from older experienced people came from being involved in my local chamber, customers who liked what I was doing, church, and golf.

I’m on the other side of the equation. I’m a business coach for founders (started & sold my own company, now do it for fun). Happy to answer any specific questions you may have. And don’t worry, I won’t try to sell you. I’m fully booked and not looking for clients.

The good ones will ask a lot of questions, and also give you advice based on their deep experience in certain areas. For example, I’m really good at branding & marketing, so I am able to give more pointed advice on those topics, but I also have experience in many other areas (hiring, firing, priority setting, partnerships, etc.), so I know the questions to ask. This is what you should look for in a good coach.

It’s important to remember that in coaching, you are the one doing the work still. Coaches don’t implement, they guide. Consultants will do the heavy lifting, so if you want that kind of relationship (short-term worker) then that’s the way to go.