Hey Fabio.

Great questions.

When I say “choose a coach who’s a fit for you” – my goal in this instance was to find a coach whose business was similar to mine. There are several marketers who I really love, but, like you said, they do things that are just not the direction that I really want my business to head.

Tony, for me, was exactly who I needed at this point in time. He’s mostly a writer. Not a webinar guy or YouTube guru. I’m a writer, for the most part, too. He also has a family and likes to travel with them and spend time together. He outsources much of what he does. And, he focuses a lot on product creation, list building, and backend sales. All stuff that I really focus on, too. Plus, he’s got a great sense of humor and ties that into everything that he does. And, he’s a little geeky with testing too – which I enjoy as well.

The three main criteria, in my opinion, are:

* Their business style. I wouldn’t say to find someone *exactly* like you – especially in the beginning, but know the direction that you want your business to head and choose someone who has already been there and done that.

* Obviously personality is a factor as well. Choose someone who you’ll work well with. I’ve heard horror stories of coaches who belittle their clients. Not good. You want good communication.

* Format. The format that the coaching will be done in is important, too. I get on Skype a lot with my clients because I’m a visual person and I want to see their screens on their computers at home. I also offer email coaching for the interim. Others only do phone or only do email coaching.

Obviously there are other factors to consider, but I do hope that helps!

And, I agree. Ronnie is a great guy. Have you listened to my podcast with him? http://www.nicoleonthenet.com/1883/

Nicole, when you said one of the criteria of letting people follow their way was when fear was taking over, it really rang a bell.

I picked Ronnie Nijmeh as a couch and I really like him. And fear struck me twice:

1) when he proposed me to create a business based on the language of my own country (although I’m brazilian, all stuff I have – mostly from Jimmy D. Brown and PLR – is in english; so, although internet marketing in english is waaay more developed and mature, I believed it would be easier to follow this way);

2) I know the theory of “traditional” ways of creating a product and promoting (articles, SEO, blogging…). And, despite making some jokes and getting along well with people, I consider myself a shy person – so, I tend to favor writing skills, instead of social ones. And I almost got paralised when he proposed me webinars… Ouch! I made good presentations, but I feel better talking one-on-one than to a crowd.

Ok, so what’s the point? I believe when you guys told that you should choose a couch that is a better “fit” to you. However, maybe it’s interesting to talk to someone who can take you out of your comfort zone – definitely my case. How am I know? Creating my website (actually, struggling with it, as I hate programming – so, I’m asking for a little (Huge) help) and advancing on my content. I hope I can launch in a month or two.

I hope I could help and best regards.

Fabio VP.

P.S.: Oh, by the way, my theme is Stress.

Jeanette when you said “I’ve stuck with Armand the longest because every time I take a class from him, I make money.” I was thinking about how sick you were at his conference in SF!

Peggy

Oh no, Shannon. I totally understand. I was ready to give up.

I think Tony is perfect for me right now as I mostly want a second set of really smart eyes to rake over my business with me and to say “yeah that’s a good idea” or “I think it would be better this way” or “frankly, I don’t think that’ll fly”. lol.

Who knows what I’ll be looking for next year? 🙂

(( GRIN! ))

Yeah, that Nicole chick is pretty cool 😉

So happy I’m wasn’t the ONLY one who has a hard time finding a good match. I frankly was worried that I would be the oddball in this group.

So thanks for sharing that!

I love Tony too, BTW. But still haven’t figured out if he’s the right guy for MY business.

You’ve got awesome taste in mentors, James! 🙂

My second mentor was Stephen Pierce. I was able to spend quite a bit of time with him at his home and at several major functions. The man is a genius!

I still receive updates from Jimmy and Stephen, as well as you, Nicole.

However, I am in the process of moving onto the next phase of my mentoring and may just check out “The Hippy” to see if he is the right person at the right time for me.

And as you stated Nicole, knowing when to move on is very important.

Be good to yourself,

James