It can be a wonderful experience to coach youth cheer but you need to be sure you know how to do so successfully. As a coach, you are also a role model. In addition to teaching the children the fundamentals of cheer, you are also teaching team spirit, cohesiveness and kindness. A cheerleader should be someone that others want to be around. They should make you smile and want to cheer. A grumpy cheer coach won’t even be able to instill that in her own squad, much less to the visitors and spectators.

Here are some beginner tips to coaching youth cheer:

Know the Fundamentals Yourself

Use the Internet to find programs that will help teach you what you need to know to be a great youth cheer coach and learn how to do the cheers yourself. You can use videos to help you learn how to do the moves correctly. Mastering the moves yourself will make it easier to teach them to your squad.

Before you allow your cheer team to do any drills, do warm-ups for both their arms and legs. Pushups are good for working the arms and exercises like squats, crunches, straddle-ups and lunges are great for the legs. When performing jumping drills, music can help the squad stay in sync. Counting aloud and calling out the moves can also help.

Make sure everyone on the team has proper training. They should know what position they should be in, what moves to do and how to do them correctly. All spotters should receive proper training as well to reduce the risk of injuries.

Complete Certification Programs

Everyone must be certified before coaching youth cheer and different states may have a different set of requirements. There are certification programs available to help you get the training you need to be certified. However, the state may still require additional training before you can be certified depending on which state you live in.

It is also a good idea and may be a requirement of your state to receive training in first aid before you become a youth cheer coach.

These tips will get you started on the basics but to be a great cheer coach, you should always be learning and growing, right along with your squad. So don’t stop here; keep studying, learning and growing as a coach.

Even the most loving and supporting parents can become frustrated from time to time. Probably the biggest concerns that I hear from parents seems to be the amount of playing time that their child is receiving or that their child is not utilized enough in the actual scheme of things. Whether your concern is playing time, or some other issue, here is a prospective from a coach’s point of view that may help you to better understand how to deal with a problem whenever one arises.

First off, you need to understand that football is a team sport and individual recognition is not the objective. Secondly, people do not choose the coaching profession for the money. To be honest, most coaches are not paid at all and this includes coaches at the high school and college level. So when the pay is minimal or nonexistent, why does someone choose to be a coach? It is for the love of your child with the hopes that as coaches, we can have a positive impact and help instill character traits that will help make your child successful in life. Coaches and parents do have one major objective in common, and that’s the well being of the student athlete themselves.

We are on the same team and when coaches and parents work together, it’s the child that wins. So as a parent, what can you do to make sure your child has the most nurturing experience possible? For starters, give the coach the benefit of the doubt until you talk to them and find out otherwise. There are always two sides to a story, so be sure and get the coaches prospective of the situation before you make any judgments. Next, remember to treat the coach as a professional and with respect at all times.

If you have a concern, make an appointment to come in and talk to the coach in his office at a time that is mutually acceptable to the both of you. Pulling a coach aside to vent your frustrations after a game or on the practice field will accomplish nothing. Delicate issues relating to your child require thought, with a cool head and in an environment that is private. I can assure you that venting your frustrations in the stands and making derogatory comments about the coaching staff always makes its way to the coaches through other fans or parents. This usually happens before you have a chance to have your meeting. Try and refrain from this so there is not the potential for hard feelings before your actual meeting can take place.

During your meeting with a coach, never bring another player into the discussion. The meeting is about your child and not someone else’s. When you bring up another player and make comparisons that demean that player, you will put the coach in a defensive posture and more often than not, the coach will cut you off. Coaches do not like attacks on any of their players and will defend any and all of them when provoked. This will end your meeting abruptly and nothing will be resolved.

Lastly, try your best to look at your child’s ability and performance objectively. In today’s society the reality is that coaches lose their jobs because of their wins and losses. While I do not agree with the wins and loses philosophy in determining a good coach, more often than not, it is a fact. Do you really think a coach can afford not to play his best players?

Your view of your child’s ability and the coach’s opinion may be different but the only way to know and understand his opinion is to communicate with him and not at him. Coaches do value and appreciate the support and opinions of all parents associated within the program. The best relationship is one of mutual respect between the coach and the parent and the role they both play in the child’s development. Sometimes you may both simply agree to disagree. There is nothing wrong with that outcome and at least you will both know where you stand on the issue.

When in doubt, refer to the golden rule and treat others as you would like to be treated. Believe it or not, coaches and parents have the same desire – the love and well being of your child.

As the old year comes to a close, I always look back to see what I did well and what could be improved. Below, I share with you my mistakes, missteps and muckups that I experienced in my business over the past year.

Many of these mistakes, missteps and muck-ups cost me money, so I share them with you so you can avoid these as you make your own New Year’s resolutions.

• Mistake, Misstep and Muck-up #1 – Spending way too much time on my computer, instead of meeting people face to face. Networking online is great, however, it can never take the place of meeting face-to-face or having a conversation over the phone. Sending emails are so darn easy, but I found that I got too wrapped up with the ease of this technology. I even had a huge argument with one of my vendors because I tried to “break things off” with him over email. I should know better.

  LESSON LEARNED – Compliment online networking activities with face-to-face and phone meetings.

• Mistake, Misstep and Muck-up #2 – Spending way too much time on the technical side of my business. I worked in the technology sector for close to 10-years and I pride myself in being a chick that knows her techie stuff. However, my digital knowledge kept me up late at night as I took responsibility for updating the content on my webpages, creating new autoresponders and creating new HTML pages for new products, instead of farming things out to others. For every new product or teleclass I would launch, it would take me 8-hours to get all the technical pieces ready.

  LESSON LEARNED – Hire a techie expert to maintain my website. Let it go.

• Mistake, Misstep and Muck-up #3 – Not delegating my administrative tasks. There are certain things I hate doing in my business – updating documents, making them look pretty, writing content and writing sales copy for new information products. I just can’t stand doing these things and it would take me eons just to write one sentence. Then, that meant I would have to rush and write something quickly because I sat on it for too long and the deadline was an hour away.

  LESSON LEARNED – Hire a virtual assistant or copywriter to do all this stuff for me.

• Mistake, Misstep and Muck-up #4 – Spinning my wheels targeting the wrong market. When I first started coaching, I was on a mission to inspire women to create the career they deserve. Although I was making money, I didn’t feel passionate about helping women climb the corporate ladder. It wasn’t until my mother came to one of my speaking engagements that she gave me the clarity I needed. With her wisdom and her keen eye, she helped me craft my current mission – to help business owners make more money using online media.

  LESSON LEARNED – Really listen to what my clients (and mom) are telling me about the problem they’re experiencing.

• Mistake, Misstep and Muck-up #5 – Creating a bunch of cool information products all at once. Just because I can bang out 5 special reports in a weekend, doesn’t mean I have the manpower or energy to promote them all at the same time. I realized that in order to make sales on an information product, I really need to market them. Until I do that, they’re going to sit on my website, look pretty and go stale.

  LESSON LEARNED – Focus on one product for at least 3-months and use my affiliates to help promote the new product.

• Mistake, Misstep and Muck-up #6 – Attending networking events that weren’t producing results. While networking is about building relationships, it should also lead to some quality contacts. Unfortunately, I attended too many networking events where everyone was like me – an entrepreneur looking for business. Although I made some great contacts, after attending the same networking events for 12-months straight, I noticed that my networking circle was stale and lacked any power.

  LESSON LEARNED – Stick with a networking event for no more than 4 consecutive events, analyze the results, then move on. Also, attend more networking events that puts me in touch with my target audience.

• Mistake, Misstep and Muck-up #7 – Not spending enough on educating myself. As a entrepreneur, it’s so easy to forget that I have to invest in myself by taking courses that can help me learn how to do things better. In the first half of the year, I didn’t spend a dime and my progress showed for it. However, in the latter part of the year, I started to spend a bit on educating myself on new techniques and processes. Doing this put me in touch with how to do things better in my business, as well as meeting some phenomenal people and trainers. Plus, I noticed a spike in sales.

  LESSON LEARNED – Set aside at least 10% of all business income in a savings account to spend on educational materials.

These are what I consider to be the 7 mistakes, missteps and muck-ups that cost me money and I trust that by reading this, you will avoid them as you make your New Year’s resolutions.

Better yet, if you have a mistakes, missteps or muck-up that you experienced in your own business, list them, then write down the lessons you learned from that experience.

The effective coaching of employees by their line managers is fast becoming an expectation from both senior management and from the employees themselves. Many managers are now being taught how best to coach their employees by employing the standard coaching model called G.R.O.W, where G equates to the Goal to be achieved, R to the Reality of the present situation, O for Options available and W for the Way Forward and Will.

G.R.O.W, constructed by Graham Alexander and championed by Sir John Whitmore, is a well-established coaching model and an excellent “starter” model to enable managers to get used to using a structure for coaching. Very competent managers and coaches can use the G.R.O.W. model effectively by taking time and ensuring depth at each of the four stages but busy managers or less competent managers and coaches can tend to “skip” through the stages which, can often result in the following scenarios:

o An acceptance of Goals or Objectives without checking the validity of the reasons behind wanting to achieve these goals or objectives.

o A lack of full understanding of the Performance Gap between the present situation and the desired outcome.

o A lack of exploration in the Options phase meaning that only a few options and probably the more traditional “tried and tested” options are highlighted.

o Not enough time spent checking the Motivation of the employee to move the actions forward and also discussing how the manager is going to provide onward support.

G.R.O.W provides a structure but may not provide enough “discipline” for busy managers to ensure adequate depth of understanding and support.

The OUTCOMES® coaching model has been designed to enable managers and sales managers to undertake more structured and productive coaching sessions with their employees and sales executives than perhaps they have been used to. The increased structure will result in more depth to their coaching and as such will enable an increase in more understanding, motivation and commitment to action than they may have experienced with other coaching models such as G.R.O.W.

OUTCOMES® provides more structure than G.R.O.W simply by the fact that there are more distinct stages that a manager or coach must adhere to. The initial reaction from most managers I have introduced it to has been one of initial frustration in that with it having more distinct stages to go through and check, it can take more time to implement. However, once the managers understand the reasons for the extra steps and the fact that if they use this model carefully, they will get good results, the managers have warmed to the model.

So what are the stages behind OUTCOMES®?

I am going to guide you through the model by way of a “coaching conversation” between Mark, the manager and Jonathan, the employee

O – Objectives

It is important that the objective for the coaching session is established at the onset. What are the specific reasons for meeting and what exactly would the employee look to achieve as a result of the coaching session?

In all situations it is vital that a desired outcome or objective for the session is identified and the manager must take time to fully establish exactly what is to be achieved. Only that way can the coaching session be measured in terms of its effectiveness.

Questions to ask:

What would you like to discuss and what would you like to get out of the session?

What specifically do you want to achieve in this session?

How specifically can I help you?

How will you know that we have achieved our objectives for this session?

Be careful when accepting outcomes or objectives that cannot be realised within the course of the coaching session. Sometimes employees can come with weird and wonderful challenges and ideas and many expect solutions from one coaching session. Manage their expectations and break down the challenge or idea into manageable “chunks” so that you achieve something every session on the way to achieving the overall objective. Some objectives need to be broken down this way into smaller objectives and actions before the overall objective is realised.

Let’s start our coaching conversation between Mark and Jonathan.

Jonathan was a new employee and was attending his first review session with Mark, his line manager. Mark had contracted well with Jonathan in terms of how they were going to work together and he had also outlined that the review sessions were for Jonathan to use Mark’s coaching skills to support him to find solutions to any challenges and ideas that he had within his role. Jonathan’s mindset, based in previous experience of managers, was that this “one to one” was really just an opportunity for the manager to “check up” on what he had been up to. Jonathan did have an issue in that he was way behind with a report which is due to be handed in to another manager the following week and as such he was no way near finished it.

At the start of the meeting, Mark again outlined the aims of the “one to one” and then started the OUTCOMES® process by firstly establishing what Jonathan’s objectives were for the meeting:

Mark: “Jonathan. What specifically would you like to achieve over the next half hour?”

Jonathan: “I thought I would bring you up to date with my overall progress.”

Mark: “Anything in particular you would like support on?”

Jonathan: “I don’t think so.”

Mark: “If there was one thing in particular which if you could find a better way forward it would help your progress, what would it be?”

Jonathan: “Well. I do have to get a report in and I am already behind schedule. I would like some support in getting this finished.”

U – Understanding

This stage is an important one in that it is vital that the manager or coach fully understands the reasons behind why the person being coached wants to achieve a particular goal or objective. It also helps if the person being coached fully understands why they want to achieve that particular goal!

You will find that on many occasions, employees identify objectives which they think the manager wants to hear. This happens if the employee has not fully committed to coaching and/or is suspicious of the manager’s motives and intentions. Perhaps they see the “one to one” as an assessment as opposed to a developmental meeting. If they do then they will be tend to be defensive and not as open to learning as they should be.

A good coaching manager will seek to establish why a particular objective is looking to be achieved. Once this has been established it not only helps the manager to understand but also reinforces the drive in the employee to attempt to achieve the objective.

Mark: “This report that you have to get completed, tell me why it is important to you that you get this report done, and on time?”

Jonathan: “I am new to the company and want to impress, so getting this report in shows that I am both keen and capable. If I don’t get it in on time then there may be some questions asked about my capability and commitment”

Let’s stop the case study there. It would have been the easiest thing in the world for Mark to suddenly jump in and start giving advice as to how to finish the report. This is the typical manager’s response. But, Mark, by asking the question as to why it is important for Jonathan to get the report right and on time, is ensuring that Jonathan is identifying and reinforcing within himself the need to get this report right. He is now more open to Mark’s coaching and Mark is now more aware of Jonathan’s desire to get the report right.

T – Take Stock

If we continue the coaching conversation involving Mark and Jonathan the next stage of the OUTCOMES® model is to ensure that both parties have a complete understanding of where Jonathan is in relation to the overall objective which is to ensure that he has the tools and drive to complete the report.

Mark: “So, Jonathan, it transpires that you have a report to finish by next week and that you feel you are slightly behind with this.”

Jonathan: “Yes”

Mark: “How useful would it be if we worked on this together over the next half hour in order that you went away from here confident and with further information that would enable you to complete the course?”

Jonathan: “Very useful”

Mark: “OK. Tell me more about exactly what stage you are at with the report”.

Jonathan: “I have written the executive summary but I am struggling to find the information I need to complete the report”.

Mark: “What information specifically do you feel you need?”

Jonathan: “I cannot find the sales data for Product X from the last three years.”

Mark: “If you were able to access this data would this be sufficient to complete the report?”

Jonathan: “Well, yes. Although I may also need a bit of support to graph the figures.”

Mark: “If we got you support to be able to graph the figures, would this mean you could now complete the report?”

Jonathan: “Yes.”

Mark: “OK. So basically you have a report to finish by the end of next week and in order to do this you need to access three years sales data for Product X and learn how to graph these figures?”

Jonathan: “Yes”

Again, let’s stop the coaching conversation there. Mark has now established the current situation in other words they have both “Taken Stock”. Mark must now establish and clarify the exact gap that has to be “closed”.

C – Clarify the Gap.

It is important that the manager now fully establishes exactly what has to be done in order for the employee to realise their objective. Let’s follow Mark’s coaching with Jonathan.

Mark: “Jonathan, exactly what sales figures do you require to finish this report?”

Jonathan: “I need Sales per year, quarter and by month along with growth and market share, and of course I need to present these graphically. I would like to do decent line graphs and pie-charts but don’t know where to start.”

Mark: “Anything else you would like or need?”

Jonathan: “Perhaps, some help in putting the report into a nice professional binder”

Mark: “OK. So if we can enable you to get the figures that your require plus support to graph it and present it professionally, you will have achieved your outcome?”

Jonathan: “Absolutely”

Mark is now at the stage where the outcome has been defined, the reasons established and the exact amount that has to be done identified. Mark must now ensure that he continues to coach Jonathan appropriately as opposed to just tell him where to get all these figures etc.

O – Options Generation.

Mark: “In terms of sales figures, what have you done so far in attempting to get these?”

Jonathan: “I looked at the Sales Department’s recent communication but it only gives figures for the last six months. I need three years worth. I left voicemail messages and sent an e-mail but to no avail as I have received no replies”

Mark: “Where else could you try?”

Jonathan: “I could speak to IT, I suppose. They should have all the data on file somewhere.”

Mark: “Anything else you could do?”

Jonathan: “I really should chase up the sales guys. I actually don’t like not receiving a reply to messages that I have left!”

Mark: “What about learning how to graph the data?”

Jonathan: “IT as well?”

Mark: “Could be! You may also find that both IT and the Sales people will have the capability to show you how to present your report.

So, where are you now with a way forward?”

Jonathan: “I am going to chase up the sales guys again, perhaps even go over to their department as opposed to leaving voicemails or e-mails. I will also check with IT.”

Mark: “And the graphs and binding?”

Jonathan: “I will check with both these departments as well in relation to both the graphs and the binding”

M – Motivate to Action

The temptation will be for many managers to leave the coaching conversation at this point but it is important that you check the motivation and capability of the person to carry out the tasks. Otherwise the action may not happen.

Mark: “Great. How confident do you feel about approaching these departments?”

Jonathan: “Now you mention it, I don’t really know anyone there and as I am new they will not know me. So I suppose, not as confident as I would like”

Mark: “What do you need to make you feel more confident?”

Jonathan: “Perhaps a personal introduction. Or even if I could just use your name?”

Mark: “Sure, just say I sent you over and you are probably best to seek out James in IT and Sally in Sales.”

E – Enthusiasm and Encouragement.

At this stage the employee should be motivated to action and now it needs some re-inforcement from the manager.

Mark: “I am pleased with your progress Jonathan since you have been with us. Keep up the good work and thanks for the effort that you are putting in.”

Doesn’t take long to say but it can be worth one “hell of a lot” to an employee to hear these words. Sadly too many managers fail at this juncture. Also very few managers actually offer any form of support and the last stage of the OUTCOMES® model is to ensure that support is discussed.

S – Support

Mark: “Is there any way I can be of support in enabling you to complete the reports?”

Jonathan: “At this stage I have all the information I need to move forward. If, though, I can’t contact James and Sally because of whatever reason, can I give you a call?

Mark: “Sure. Try these people and their departments first. I am sure they will help you out”.

We come to the end of our coaching conversation and we have a situation where the employee, Jonathan has come with an issue and left with action and motivation, coupled with a satisfaction in knowing that his manager, Mark, is there if he ever needs support.

Obviously it is not always this simple and that there will always be situations where the coaching conversation will be more complex but I hope that this example gives you a flavour of how to use the OUTCOMES® coaching model.

Coaching to me is more of a passion then a job. There are a countless number of experienced coaches in the world that I look up to and model my coaching methods after. Some of these coaches are Gregg Popovich, Steve Kerr, and John Calipari. As I said there are a number of coaches in the game of basketball that I admire, but these three coaches methods and styles stand out to me the most. These coaches, as well as me, treat coaching basketball as a passion rather than a job.

Gregg Popovich, the current head coach for the San Antonio Spurs, has been coaching for over 20 years and is one of the most experienced coaches in the NBA to this day. Popovich is known for recruiting young players to his team in hopes of making his players play with poise and precision on the court. Popovich, now 68, has always been a basketball junkie since his days of childhood. Popovich’s 5 distinct pillars of coaching are something that I model my coaching strategies on. Those five pillars are belief in his team, conflict management, involvement, focus and team building.

Steve Kerr, current head coach of the Golden State Warriors, knows a thing or two about winning and leadership. Kerr won a total of 5 championship rings including three with the Chicago Bulls (1996, 97, 98) and two with the San Antonio Spurs (1999 and 2003). Kerr has also led the Golden State Warriors to 2 championships in the 2014-15 season and the 2016-17 season. Kerr’s style of coaching is based on letting his player take control of leading the team. He believes that his duty as coach is to prepare and guide them in practice and when it comes game time, they should be prepared and ready and be able to help one another as team get through conflicts they may face, with as little help as possible from Kerr himself.

John Calipari, current head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats college basketball team, has been coaching from 1988 and currently coaches till this day. Calipari is most famous for his years at Kentucky, leading the Wildcats to multiple championship titles and NCAA tournament appearances. There are many factors that lead to Calipari’s success as a coach but the one factor that stands out the most would be his team building philosophy. This philosophy consists of recruiting most of the top prospects in the country to come to Kentucky to play. Also, his ability to place trust in his freshman players by giving them leadership roles on the team allows them to be better leaders on and off the court. Calipari lets his players natural talent decide the role they will have on the team.

Ever since multiple studies have validated the gains made by executive coaching, the executive coaches have become the toast of the corporate world, with almost every major organisation taking their services. While the business community is now relatively much more open to the idea of executive coaching compared to how it was a few years back, many smaller organisations still give a miss to the idea and consider it as a luxury only affordable by the big corporations. However, the truth is, the kind of impact that the executive coaches make while supporting the staff and individual executives to manage their work and life more efficiently can come in as handy for smaller organisations as it can for the bigger ones.

Executive Coach for development

To sum up, in one single line, the aim of coaching is to enhance the individual’s development much beyond what he or she is currently doing. It is a continuous process of evolution of an executive, helping him become more than what he is right now. The personal skill sets of an individual play as important a role in his development as a business plan plays in a company’s eventual success. This analogy applies to all the organisations, irrespective of their size and areas of operation. An ever increasing need to reinvent oneself puts the executives under exceeding pressure. An executive coach can help the executive in embracing such a situation rather than bowing out due to pressure. It falls in line with the primary goal of executive coaching which is to maximise the executive’s growth.

The idea of an executive coach

There is often a very fine line between dominating and mentoring. An expert executive coach truly understands that whenever needed, he can come up with suggestions which are relevant to the prevailing circumstances, provided that they are mutually agreed and don’t seem like a sudden imposition of an idea. It is important since the official responsibility of the decisions taken by the executive would lie on him and not his coach. Another critical component of a coach’s mandate is to assist the executive in having a razor sharp focus and keeping track of the surroundings, enabling him to take the best decisions.

Many organisations amalgamate coaching and training. While the idea behind training is to impart a new skill, technical or otherwise, coaching does not refer to any new teaching. Coaching focuses on making the best use of the available knowledge and skill set to ensure better performance than before.

Coaching is executive-centric and encourages him to adapt to the changing times while making him feel indispensable. It gives them the confidence and encouragement they need to excel at their task. Coaching is highly flexible and thus finds many applications within the organisations. From one off assignment for solving a particular issue to helping the team set the correct path towards its mission, an executive coach can be helpful in all these scenarios and much more. The end product in all these cases is a highly cost efficient and high performing organisation ready to lead its industry.

Many people are learning about the tremendous benefits of coaching. Unlike therapy, coaching focuses on looking toward the future and accomplishing goals, and asking “how” rather than examining the past and looking at “why?” Coaching is also different from consulting in that the wisdom to move forward is unlocked from within the client, rather than a consultant telling the client what to do. Each of these methods of improving people’s lives and productivity has its place and application, and many people engage in more than one of these personal and professional development processes. So how do you choose a coach? Here are 4 steps to selecting the right coach for you:

1. Get referrals and information on the coach. Ask if friends or family have used a coach, and what their results have been. Read information and articles from coaches and get a sense of what philosophies and issues are important to him or her, and determine how that matches up with the issues you’d like to focus upon.

2. Engage prospective coaches in a sample session. Coaching is often delivered over the phone, which makes the process convenient and easy. Many coaches will offer you a complimentary sample session to determine whether the coaching relationship will be a good fit for both of you. Do you have greater clarity at the end of a session? Some strategies for accomplishing the next step in your goal?

3. Find out if the coach has had any formal training or accreditation. Coaching is a distinct technique, and not all people who call themselves “coaches” use the model widely recognized by most certified or trained coaches. Life and personal coaching is not yet regulated, so be aware of this.

4. Choose a person with whom you have a positive rapport. This is a co-creative relationship and it is important that you feel comfortable and at ease with this person and his or her style of coaching. Do you prefer to be challenged? Do you like lots of endorsement and affirmation? Do you like a softer, calmer approach, or a more energetic and driven mode? There are as many coaching styles as there are people coaching, so choose the person who seems the best fit for you.

Tons of fitness programs, gyms, and trainers out there promise to get you the results that you want by joining their program. One of the choices that is continuing to gain popularity is online fitness coaching services. With more and more people looking for coaches online, more and more people are calling themselves online fitness coaches without any real professional experience. As with everything, not every online coach is going to be great, or even good for that matter. The question is: can online personal training services be worth your investment?

The first thing to consider is the price of online coaching compared to other services. If you are strapped for cash and don’t have much to spend every month, then a simple gym membership will be much cheaper than online coaching. The high end of the spectrum of fitness programs is one on one training locally, which online fitness coaching is much cheaper than. If you were to price out coaching and compare it to something locally, you’d probably find that group fitness programs and bootcamps are about the same price as an online fitness coach. That means you’ll probably need to have around $100 per month available for the coaching program, and you’ll need a few months to really see the results. If you can handle that financial, and time, investment, then online personal training can be a great option for you.

Your online trainer will focus the majority of his efforts in designing the perfect fitness plan for you. There are many things to consider when designing a proper fitness plan, including experience, scheduling, periodization, body composition goals, and much more. If you happen to hire an online coach that sends you a program without ever asking you in depth questions about your goals and needs, they aren’t the right coach for you. That coach clearly didn’t take the effort to make a truly custom program. Cookie cutter programs are not what you are looking for when you are looking into online personal training. Literally hundreds are available for free online. Only pay a trainer who custom designs the program for you specifically!

Nutritional guidance is also a common offering with online personal trainers and coaches. A good coach knows that your success comes down to your diet, not your training program. A lot of coaches are specializing in certain types of dietary approaches, so make sure you pick one that sit well with you. Most research shows that food types don’t matter as much as your calorie and macronutrient intake when it comes to body composition changes. You shouldn’t feel too restricted in your dietary plan, as this usually leads to failures. I wouldn’t hire an online fitness coach that doesn’t offer nutritional guidance, unless you already have your diet 100% locked in. If your diet was already perfect, then I doubt you would be looking for an online trainer in the first place.

A main factor in your success will be the communication you have with your coach so they can audit your progress regularly. Your coach needs to know how to motivate you through emails and other digital forms, since they aren’t going to be counting your reps at each session like a normal trainer does. It can be easier to get motivated with a trainer being at your sessions, so online coaching does require a little more determination from the client. Online coaches happen to be well versed in knowing how to motivate without actually seeing their clients in person, so it can work great if you happen to lack a little motivation here and there. Daily contact isn’t always provided, but contact should be regular and often. Your coach should also be helping you improve your overall lifestyle to fit your fitness goals. Lifestyle coaching is sometimes neglected, but it’s up there with training and diet, in terms of importance for your results!

Remember, you’ll need to invest a few months into coaching to reap the benefits, so make sure you can afford the financial investment! Online trainers provide awesome services on par with the best one on one trainers, but much cheaper. Look into hiring an online personal trainer next time you have a goal that you can’t reach on your own!

Your name can be indelibly etched in the mind of someone you’ve just met. If you’re a marketing consultant or a coach, this could put thousands of dollars in your pocket after just one meeting.

Here’s how…

If you’re at a party, literally there is potential clientele there. Let’s say you’re an author. Go right up to someone and say,

“Hi. What’s your name?”

“John Smith.”

“John, nice to meet you.” Give them your name and say,

“I wrote (title of your book). “You haven’t seen it probably; have you?”

That’s the great way you drill his name into your head and you’ve introduced the fact that you’re an author.

And by the way, every single consultant should be a writer, too.

Unless you’re a TV star, which most of us aren’t, or a radio star, which most of us aren’t, people love to talk with authors – whether it’s the author of magazine articles or whether it’s the author of a book.

The perception of credibility for consulting goes way high when you can say, author of this book.

One of the great opportunities you have when you say that is to ask, “Have you read it yet?” And they’ll say no. You say, oh it just came out.

And then you say something completely unexpected…

What’s your address? I’ll send you an autographed copy in the morning.

You’ve just built a relationship in a way that nobody ever thinks. Basically what you’ve just done is you’ve created a relationship.

You’re giving the person a gift, and the person is going to respond with “thank you.” Follow up on it and literally you’ll build relationships.

Nobody does this kind of stuff.

Two days after you send the book fed-ex, you ask if they received a copy of your book. The guy will say yes, and you get appointments for whatever business you’re in, whether you’re going to be consulting or training or doing a seminar for the company.

You can literally do almost no networking in real life.

You can be like Elvis where they bring you in behind the kitchen, you go out there, do your thing, and you’re gone in two hours. Then you’re off on the plane to the next place.

So the next time you are at a social gathering or business function, walk straight up to someone you don’t know and introduce yourself.

Promise to send something of value, follow up with a note and get ready to sell your products or services.

Coaching services abound on the internet, and since the internet is not the same as stepping in to a coaches office where you have the in person feel or feedback of your surroundings, it can be difficult to figure out if the coaches website you are looking at is legitimate. There are certain things you can look for to determine if the coach you are about to hire will provide you with quality service.

Is there a contract? For your own protection and the protection of the coach, check to see if the coach has some sort of agreement which outlines their services and your rights as a consumer. A contract will set forth the expectations of the services offered, give you a guide to how the service works, and details what to do or if you will be charged if you need to cancel the session.

Are the sessions recorded? Coaching is meant to be private and confidential, but it is very helpful to have a log and recording of your sessions. It protects the consumer from being over billed, and also gives an extra security measure which protects you against any rare disputes with your coach. Its like having an over sight committee available to protect both the client and coach from any possible misunderstandings. If your calls will be recorded for this purpose, it will generally be listed in the terms of the contract. If it is not, ask the coach by email, or look for a policy on their website that addresses how they handle this topic, and how the time is logged per session.

Does the coach provide home work or an action plan? To make the most out of the time that you spend with your coach, and to maximize and measure your growth as it relates to your goals, does the coach provide homework or an action plan of things you can do between sessions? Assignments stimulate your mind and also force you to be accountable to your goals, so a coach who can provide extra assignments gives you something to focus on to enhance your learning experience and achievements.

Look at the coaches credentials and biography. Coaching is not a regulated field, and literally anyone who has extensive knowledge or experience in a given topic can put up their shingle as a coach. But not all expert chefs can teach novices to become gourmet cooks and not all experts in their fields make great coaches.

Look for things like their background information, how long they have been a coach, where they were trained, if they have any certifications in their field, and is there personality compatible with yours. Check their facebook, linked in, or other social media networking websites for their profile to get a larger feel for the coach as a person. After all, although it will be a professional relationship, you will be providing very personal information about yourself to a total stranger.

Keep in mind that you are hiring a professional not a friend or confidante. Coaches should have professional ethics just like doctors and other service-oriented professionals. Most coaches will answer questions like are they married or single, but will not offer up personal details beyond the mundane. Its important to find a coach who knows their boundaries and who won’t cross ethical lines. After all, the time spent with your coach is all about you and nothing else.

Hiring a coach can be a life-changing and very rewarding experience. By taking a little extra time to research your options, you can find expert coaches that will provide you with a wonderful gift of knowledge and help you move in the direction you want to go in a way that is productive and is quality based.