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Is a Business Coach Worth It for Your Microbakery? | Episode 15

  • Nov 12, 2024
  • 6 min read

Updated: 4 days ago

Listen on Apple Podcasts or watch on YouTube


There is a version of you that has been sitting on the same idea for a year. You know the one. The wholesale account you have not pitched, the price increase you have not made, the email list you have not started, the thing you keep telling yourself you will do once everything is a little more ready.


I know that version of me well. Before I hired a business coach, I had this podcast living in my head for months and I could not make myself start it. I was stuck in indecision, in analysis, in perfectionism. I would have stayed there for well over a year, telling myself I had the idea on my heart and I just needed to wait for the right time.


About three months before I recorded this episode, I made the somewhat scary decision to spend a chunk of money on a business coach. In the first six weeks I got more done than I would have in six months on my own. That is the whole case I want to make to you here.


The free information is not actually free

If you are anything like me, you have spent hours in Facebook groups reading every comment on every thread, hunting for the one insight that applies to your bakery. There is very little good information out there about growing a sourdough microbakery. Blog posts, videos, general small business advice, none of it is written for our niche.


So you dig. And in that digging there is a lot of misinformation, a lot of irrelevant information, and a lot of people simply sharing their opinions with confidence. You spend hours to find one tidbit that moves you forward.


Time is the one resource you cannot get back. When I added up the hours I was spending scrolling through those threads, I was not getting any return on that time at all. I could have been producing an actual product to sell in those same hours.


That is what you are really buying when you hire a coach. Someone who has been where you are cuts straight through the fluff, knows which questions to ask, and hands you the answer when you need it instead of six weeks later.


What a coach actually does for a bakery owner

A coach is not a cheerleader. A coach is a guide, a strategist, and sometimes the loving but firm voice that tells you to get out of your own way. Here is what that looks like in practice.

  • Clarity on your goals. It is one thing to have a big dream for your bakery. It is another to break it into steps you can actually do this week. A good coach helps you sort the noise from the things that matter.

  • Accountability with real teeth. You report back every couple of weeks, and knowing that lights a fire under you. I will confess that I have finished my action steps the day before a coaching call more than once. They still got done!

  • Expert guidance on problems you have never faced. Coaches have walked people just like you through the same challenges, and they know which shortcuts work and which ones waste your money.

  • A fresh outside perspective. When you are this close to your own business, you cannot see the big picture. On one of my calls I was worried about the economy and what it meant for my sales. My coach reminded me that we are not Nike. Small businesses are not affected the way a huge corporation is, and there will always be people who want the value of specialty, nutrient dense, made with love sourdough bread.

  • Help with the mindset blocks you are embarrassed about. I had a block against sending an email newsletter. I dragged my feet for weeks on something that takes an hour. I finally sent it, and it took someone outside my head to get me there.

My coach does not do the work for me. That part is still mine. What she does is help me articulate my goals, name my weak spots, and decide the exact next action. And because I have real skin in the game, financially and emotionally, I am far less likely to ignore the guidance. When you have paid good money for an answer, you tend to use it.


Count the cost of staying exactly where you are

Think about where your bakery is right now and what is keeping you stuck. Maybe it is fear. Maybe it is indecision. Maybe you have more demand than capacity and you do not know how to restructure, what to delegate, or what to take off your menu.


Now ask yourself two questions. How long have you been in this same place? And if nothing changes, where will you be in six months, or in a year?


If you are content with your bakery exactly as it is, that is a completely fine answer. But if you want a bigger impact, more money coming home to your family, or more good bread in more houses in your town, then staying put has a price. It is costing you time, energy and money. It is costing you the freedom that comes with predictable revenue. And it is costing you peace of mind, because fear and decision fatigue take up an enormous amount of your mental space.


An outsider who helps you move through that clears up the brain space you need to think about what comes next.


One-on-one or a group, and how to choose

There are two common paths, and both work.


Working one-on-one with a coach is what I did, and it changed my business faster than anything else I have spent money on. You get undivided attention and advice built entirely around your bakery.


Group coaching is usually more affordable and it comes with something one-on-one cannot give you, which is the hive mind. Everyone throws their ideas into the ring, you get the expert leading the room, and you grow alongside people building the same kind of business. I have been part of a group program in a previous business and I carried what I learned there straight into running my bakery.


Whichever you choose, look for a coaching option that fits what you actually need right now, and pick a person you genuinely resonate with. That matters more than credentials.


If you are one to three years in

The bakers I see get the most out of coaching are not usually the brand new ones. They are the owners with real revenue who have hit a wall, running a full pre-order every week and still not sure whether to add wholesale, raise prices, hire help, or cut half the menu.


If that is you, do this before you spend a dollar on anyone. Write down the three decisions you have been avoiding for more than a month. Next to each one, write what it has cost you to not decide, in dollars, in hours, or in orders you could not take. That list is your agenda, and it will tell you very quickly whether you need a coach, a system, or just a deadline.


Final thoughts

Investing in a coach is not only about the money. It is about betting on yourself, which a lot of us find hard to do, especially the women I talk to. You already know the impact you are here to make. Most of the time you just need help getting out of your own way.


Cheering you on,


Caroline


Keep going

If this hit close to home, these three episodes go deeper on the mindset and the growth stages behind it.


Links to things you might like!


 
 
 

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