Business coaches say they’re ‘a necessity’ in this economy

Like many small business owners struggling with today’s disagreeable economy, Kevin Hanville of Lawrenceville is cutting costs and wondering where his next client will come from.

But Hanville and others in his field have a unique vantage point on the economy.

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Kimberly Smith/ksmith@ajc.com

Business coach Kevin Hanville (left), president of the Quadrant Group, talks with client James K. Sanford II, president of e-Tech Software, at e-Tech’s Suwanee offices.

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They’re the coaches other small business owners hire to help them learn ways to become more efficient and to weather — or even prosper from — a scary economy.

“One of my clients likes to say I’m a partner in his business without any equity,” Hanville said. “I’m down in the trenches with my guys.”

Coaches differ from consultants in that they are business generalists, not specialists in any one area, such as information technology, sales or human resources. They usually spend months working with clients to determine ways to make their businesses more efficient so they can reach growth goals. Their fees vary widely, but Hanville says he typically charges between $1,800 and $2,500 a month.

Like entrepreneurs in most other business sectors, some coaches have been hit hard by what started as a slow, steady slide in the economy, but became a free fall when financial institutions began to fall apart.

Hanville, a self-employed coach, estimates his business is off by half.

Wayne Kurzen of Woodstock, who owns a franchise of the worldwide ActionCOACH brand, has seen his business slump by about 20 percent.

Brad Sugars, the founder of ActionCOACH, said it’s not all bad news. While some coaches are suffering, interest in coaching overall seems to be rising as businesses struggle to find ways to survive.

“Whereas before, having a business coach was a bit of a luxury, now it’s a necessity,” said Sugars, whose Las Vegas-based company has 1,000 offices in 26 countries.

He also expects interest in becoming a coach to increase as layoffs hit more executives, particularly in the financial field.

Coaching can be a tough life, especially in this kind of economic climate.

A prime example is recommending that a client lay off employees. Many small business owners form strong bonds with their handful of employees, and are reluctant to fire any of them, Kurzen said.

So a coach’s suggestion to cut expenses by cutting staff isn’t always welcome news.

“Often times, there is push back on that,” he said. “Often times, they’re not even thinking of the employee, they’re thinking of the employee’s family.”

Sugars, who started ActionCOACH after informally coaching business acquaintances in the early 1990s, said the strategies coaches have to use in a down economy differ from those they would use when times are good.

“When you’re motoring and everything is going well, people are operating on a basis of excitement and growth and they’re having a good time,” he said. “When you’re in a down economy, people are operating on fear and need and to be very blunt, people are operating on very scared decision making.”

Coaches have to go slower in that kind of environment, but can often find it’s easier to get clients to take big steps because they don’t have any other choice, he said.