Field Guides / Coaching

Questions to ask a video business coach before you hire them

Ask about seven things before you sign up: whether the coach has run a video production business, what their results are and how they're measured, the full terms, what happens in the first month, how the coaching runs between sessions, who else is in the room, and who it isn't for. Then listen for the questions they ask you, and check one claim yourself before you pay.

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What should you ask a video business coach before you sign up?

Ask a video business coach the questions below in writing, so you can lay the answers side by side and see who answers plainly.

What do good answers from a coach sound like?

Good answers from a coach are plain and specific, with numbers where numbers belong and the terms in writing. A vague or deferred answer is information too, and worth a follow-up question.

• Have you run a video production business? Clear: years, size and what the company made. Follow up if the answer moves straight to credentials or "business is business".
• Average client result. Clear: a figure, a period, and how it was measured. Follow up if there are stories but no average.
• How long clients stay. Clear: an average in months. Follow up if there's no figure.
• The full terms. Clear: price, minimum term, up-front fees and cancellation, in writing. Follow up if the answer is "we can go through that on a call".
• The first month. Clear: a diagnosis on your own numbers before any advice. Follow up if there's a fixed plan before they've seen your numbers.
• How long before results. Clear: months, with a reason. Follow up if the promise is a fast fix.
• Who isn't this for. Clear: a specific description. Follow up if the answer is "it works for everyone".

Notice whether they ask about your business before they prescribe for it. The first conversation should feel like being understood, not being closed.

What questions should a good coach ask you?

A good coach asks questions that test whether you're a fit: what standing still costs you, what you changed because of earlier advice, who you check decisions with, whether you're reachable when you're in delivery, and how you handle the uncomfortable part of the work.

• What does standing still cost you, and by when does it have to change? A specific cost with a date attached predicts follow-through better than anything else. "Growth would be nice" doesn't.
• What did you change because of coaching or advice you've had before? Someone with a long coaching history who can't point to one thing they implemented is usually shopping for agreement.
• Who do you check decisions with? It shows where your advice really comes from, and whether it's calibrated to the clients you want.
• When you're in delivery, are you reachable? Not a disqualifier, but if a busy season takes you offline for weeks, it should be raised before you join.
• What happens when the next step means sending a price or making the call? The first ask that requires exposure is where most stalls happen, so a coach will want to know how you handle it.

Notice what a coach doesn't lean on as well. Your revenue tells them you can pay, which is the smallest question. A coach who checks fit is protecting the room you'd be joining.

How do you check a coach's claims before you sign?

Check a coach's claims by picking the most checkable thing they've told you and verifying it yourself before you pay.

That might be a client result you can find in the client's own words, a book you can read, free material that shows how they think, or terms published on a page you can read again later. If the first claim you check holds up, the rest of the conversation is easier to trust. If it doesn't, you've learnt that cheaply.

Who the VBA Elite Boardroom isn't for

The VBA Elite Boardroom isn't for owners still getting the first steady work in the door, owners who attend calls but don't do the work between them, or anyone who needs to win the argument when they're challenged.

There are no refunds. The commitment is one month at a time, and month one is where both sides find out whether it's the right room.

How the VBA Elite Boardroom answers these questions

The VBA Elite Boardroom answers these questions in writing, and the short versions are below.

• Run a production company? Den Lennie spent three decades in production, starting in broadcast TV, and about a decade running his own production company.
• Results. Over eight years, 178+ clients coached and more than $52M in additional client revenue, with average client growth of around $292K in 18 months.
• How long clients stay. 27 months on average.
• Terms. $1,700 USD a month, flat. No onboarding fee, no application, no minimum term, cancel anytime, no refunds.
• The first month. A diagnostic on your own numbers in the first week. Month one is the fit test for both sides.
• How long before results. No business is fundamentally reshaped in 30 days. Real systems and the growth that follows take 9 to 18 months.
• Between sessions. A weekly group Boardroom call, and Den on Signal between calls.
• The room. Owners who sign a written code of conduct: ego at the door, a monthly review of their financials, and permission to be called out.
• Who it isn't for. Owners below the $150K a year baseline (the baseline, not the test), or anyone not willing to do the work between calls.

For how other coaches in the niche answer the same questions, see the comparison.

Related tools and guides. How to choose a coach for your video production company, What a video business coach actually does, When a video production company is ready for a coach, Case study: how a video business owner stopped guessing on every quote.