A couple of Entrepreneurs are seeking to democratize business coaching, training, and education and in doing so are causing an upset in the business coaching industry.
The Best Small Business In the World, a program for small business owners, has just launched on Indiegogo.
Business growth experts Sturdy McKee and Matt Fitzsimmons have teamed up to launch their mission to democratise business coaching, training, and education and in doing so are changing the model of the business coaching industry.
“We’re expecting to get a bit of flak for doing this but it's the right time for small business owners to get the same quality of help to grow their business as big businesses,” said McKee.
“There will be a lot of coaches who aren't happy with us, we’re pulling back the curtains and giving business owners what they want, in the format they want, and finally at a price that makes it a no-brainer.”
Traditional business coaches typically charge tens of thousands of dollars to help owners grow their small businesses, but this new program costs less than a couple of tanks of gas. The Best Small Business In the World not only offers business best practices, but free business coaching and a community of business owners who are on the same path as part of the package.
“Most coaches charge two to ten thousand dollars per month. That’s simply out of reach for many smaller businesses. We’re making it so that they can get the tools they need for less than a nice dinner and drinks. We wanted to make it a bit of a no-brainer for small business owners,” McKee continued.
Over 96 percent of businesses generate less than $1M USD per year, and 99.6 percent less than $10M, leaving them at a disadvantage when it comes to availing themselves of outside resources, including coaching. And most small business owners start their businesses because they are technically good at something or want to strike out on their own and do things differently. They often have little to no formal business training.
The biggest change this program brings is that owners get all the tools on day one. According to Fitzsimmons, most coaches prolong their time with a client by rationing the information they give out. Early in his career the owner of the business coaching firm he was contracting to told Matt that success in this industry was to learn the ‘art of the drip-feed’.
“I had a major problem with that, it just wasn't ethical, not long after that I resigned.”
Sturdy and Matt are also breaking the traditional mould of coaching by not signing owners up to extended contracts.
“This is a ‘pay once’ model. We don't want to lock people into long drawn-out contracts,” shared Fitzsimmons.
“What we’re doing represents a significant shift in the usual coaching model. It’s the material that owners need, along with a community of people just like them, and we’re providing unparalleled access to the authors. And we’re shipping the materials, you know, the actual tangible materials they can hold in their hands, anywhere in the world, for free. No one’s done this before.”
The Best Small Business in the World’s BHAG, or Big Hairy Audacious Goal*, is to help 2 Million Small Business Owners around the world. Finding their BHAG is also taught in the program as part of what the pair call a Vision of Meaning, along with the Higher Purpose and Core Values.
“We both knew we couldn’t achieve our BHAG through continued one-on-one coaching alone. We had to figure out a way to get the tools of titans into the hands of more small business owners earlier in their journeys,” said Fitzsimmons.
“And that’s why we’ve launched a new product and program in a way that we hope disrupts the way business coaching is delivered.”
