What’s the difference?
Business Coach
Business mentor
Business strategist
& Business consultant?
What’s the difference between a business coach, business mentor, strategist, and consultant?
When you’re at a crossroads in your business, working with a business coach, mentor, strategist or consultant will show you what you can’t see, give you tried-and-tested shortcuts to get you where you want to go, and equip you to lean into your strengths and unfair advantages to turbocharge your efficacy.
As a business coach of 14+ years’ experience, my bias is towards business coaching. Business coaching is a broad term which incorporates all kinds of different elements, and there’s no such thing as a business coach who’s excellent in all areas. Normally a business coach is stronger in some areas and weaker in others, and a conscientious business coach will share exactly that.
Over 14 years’, I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of coaching thousands of business owners from a wide diversity of sectors, industries and business types. I specialise in digital marketing and online sales for professional services business. I don’t work with retail or e-comm businesses. My background in Public Relations means that I bring a lens of reputation building, storytelling, partnerships and relationship marketing to my coaching.
Bringing an outsider into your business can feel overwhelming. There are plenty of options out there, and lots of social proof that may or not be true or relevant to you.
You want a true partner in your business who you can trust absolutely. Someone who will expertly guide you, and be a strategic thought partner to plot your next high-impact move. Hiring the wrong one isn’t just expensive, it can undermine your self-trust, which is an invaluable asset in business.
Here’s a clear-eyed breakdown of each role, what they actually do, and how to figure out which one fits where your business is at right now.
What does a business coach do?
A business coach is someone who works on you, not your business – helping you make sharper decisions, spot your own blind spots, and break the mental and behavioural patterns quietly capping your growth. I’ve been coaching business owners for more than 14 years at Hustle & Heart, and the honest answer is: coaching isn’t about giving you more information. You probably have enough of that already. Coaching is about closing the gap between what you know and what you actually do, so that you can turbocharge your business results.
There are as many styles of coaching as there are coaches. A good business coach is versatile and intuitive – built over years of pattern-matching across different personalities and business stages. They’ll shift roles depending on what you need in the moment: advisor, strategist, accountability partner, motivator, or “pure coach,” asking better questions that pull your innate wisdom while deepening your self-trust.
I ‘ve worked extensively with other business coaches and marketing experts over many years, who come to me specifically to help them develop their self-leadership and walk their talk. They appreciate that we share a similar background and need specific guidance on how to level up their business. As a business coach or marketer, it can be especially challenging to work on your own business or marketing. This is where an expert outside can be invaluable in equipping you to be the best you can be.
Do I need a business coach?
You likely need a business coach when you’re experienced, highly capable, and know your work is excellent, but also recognise that something internal is getting in your way.
Maybe you’re procrastinating on hard decisions, burning out, struggling to delegate, or you know what to do but can’t seem to do it. A business coach is highly valuable when you’ve already built something solid and want to level up your leadership and capacity.
You don’t need a business coach when you’re very new to business. Lots of new business owners seek business coaches prematurely, rather than developing their skills in marketing, sales and business development.
Training courses and programs are likely far more useful at this point, to develop these key money-making skills. A business coach when you’re brand new in business isn’t likely acting as a coach; instead, they’re giving you a shopping list of tasks to do.
Watch out for: Investing in a coach or a system doesn’t absolve you from responsibility or effort. Investing in a business coach shouldn’t be a cheap endeavour and, conversely, a higher price tag doesn’t necessarily indicate more integrity or talent. Longevity is by-product of integrity so pick a coach with many years’ experience and expect to pay accordingly.
What does a business strategist do?
A strategist is focused on the plan, which lays out where you’re going, and the path to get there, including key decisions that need to be made along the way. Business strategists tend to be great at big picture thinking, particularly in relation to about societal and economic trends, market positioning and competitive advantage, revenue models, growth levers, and how all the disparate parts of your business fit together.
Business strategists often deliver their work in concentrated engagements rather than over a long-term commitment. They may offer intensive sessions, a workshop, or a structured project with defined deliverables. The output is usually a framework, a roadmap, or a set of clear strategic priorities. A strategist likely won’t be involved in execution though they may recommend a few trusted people or organisations to do so.
Do I need a business strategist?
You likely need a business strategist when you’re at a genuine inflection point, launching into a new market, facing a competitor that’s taking significant market share, pivoting your business model, or preparing to scale.
Business strategists are hugely beneficial for owners who are excellent tacticians but lack the foresight or insights required for longterm planning or short-term opportunities.
A business strategist can be great for owners who have the operational capacity to do things but lack clarity on the sequence in which to do these, why, and how to maximise their effect.
You don’t need a business strategist when: Some business owners love big picture thinking and love to do this with others. And while there might be gains to be made hiring a business strategist in this instance, it’s likely not what’s going to give you the biggest return; instead, you’d likely benefit from execution and implementation.
A business strategist doesn’t need to be an expert in your industry or business type, but they should recognise this, and be highly consultative and collaborative with you, the owner, in order to learn and give relevant insights.
Watch out for business strategists that give advice which is generic, too broad to be useful, and devoid of critical or creative thinking.
I offer business strategy through VIP Strategy Sessions
What does a business consultant do?
Business consultants are brought in to solve specific problems for organisations. They variously diagnose, recommend, and sometimes implement changes. Unlike coaches or mentors, they typically come with deep domain expertise – marketing, operations, finance, HR, technology – and are engaged to deliver a particular outcome.
The consulting relationship tends to be more transactional than the other similar roles. You hire a consultant to fix something or build something, and they bring tools, frameworks, and knowledge that you don’t have in-house. Business consultants tend to be focused on the problem, not the business owner.
Do I need a business consultant?
You may need a business consultant when you have a defined challenge that requires specialist expertise that you or your team don’t have.
A business consultant will likely be highly useful if you’ve diagnosed that your sales process needs overhauling, you need a new pricing structure, you have poor customer retention and don’t know why, or you’re struggling to reduce your costs.
You likely don’t need a business consultant if you haven’t diagnosed what the business problem is, or if it’s multivarious and complex. Effective business consultants are highly specialised; they’re not generalists and they’re not business coaches who can help diagnose problems, order these by priority, and create a plan to get stuck in.
What does a business mentor do?
A business mentor has been where you’re specifically trying to go. They’ve built a specific business, navigated a particular industry, made the mistakes, and now they’re sharing that experience, offering perspective, warning you off known pitfalls, making introductions, and providing a kind of apprenticeship-by-conversation.
Unlike coaching, mentoring is usually more informal and oftentimes unpaid, which makes it hard to find a genuine mentor. Most mentoring relationships are built on goodwill, mutual respect, and a genuine interest in someone else’s success. A mentor might meet you for coffee once a month, respond to your emails when you’re in a panic, or introduce you to the right person at the right time.
The limitation of a mentor is, apart from the fact that they’re difficult to find, their advice is filtered through their specific experience. What worked for them, in their industry, their era, their market, may not map cleanly onto your situation. The best mentors know this and offer their experience as data, not doctrine.
Do I need a business mentor?
You would likely benefit from a business mentor if you’re earlier in your business journey and would benefit from learning through someone else’s lived experience. You want a trusted sounding board who genuinely gets what you’re building, because they’ve built something similar.
You don’t need a business mentor if your industry is very new, your target market is a radically different generation from your mentor’s, or you find it difficult to ask for favours or help, then you likely don’t need a business mentor.
Watch out for: A business mentor should never be pushy or domineering, even if well meaning. Because mentors tend to be unpaid, sometimes their advice can be too heavy handed, or too biased to be useful, and can even be harmful, if followed.
What does a business advisor do?
A business advisor sits somewhere between mentor and consultant. They’re typically engaged on an ongoing retainer or equity basis to provide access to their expertise, network, and credibility. Business advisors often work with start-ups on advisory boards – a small group of experienced people who can open doors, provide industry-specific guidance, and lend their names to the organisation’s story and hence, their credibility.
Advisors are less hands-on than fractional executives and less directive than consultants. Their value is often as much about who they know as what they know.
Do I need a business advisor?
You need a business advisor if you’re building a business in an industry or pursuing a goal where domain credibility and connections are very important. A business advisor can be hugely useful for short-cuts and key insights that you can’t readily find anywhere else.
You likely don’t need a business advisor if your business is already well established in your industry and you have developed relationships with significant people.
Make working for yourself actually work.
Self-employment isn’t easy. I salute you.
As a business owner for 18+ years now, believe me when I say I know how you feel.
I’ve met countless extremely talented people who are truly gifted at what they do, with clients who adore them, but still, they don’t earn what they want.
They often believe that they need to figure everything out by themselves. That is simply not true.
So what do you actually need in your business?
Understanding what you actually need to propel your business forward depends on your particular constraint, as well as your preferences in how you like to work.
If the constraint is you –
confidence, self-talk, self-leadership, identity – you need a business coach.
If the constraint is knowledge and experience –
you haven’t done this before and need someone who has – you need a mentor.
If the constraint is direction –
you’re capable of executing but unsure where to aim – you need a strategist.
If the constraint is a specific problem –
something is broken or missing and you need it fixed – you need a consultant.
If the constraint is capacity at the leadership level –
you need a senior operator, not just advice – you need a fractional executive.
If the constraint is access and credibility –
you need doors opened and your credibility extended – you need an advisor.
One more thing worth saying: the best people in any of these roles will tell you clearly what they do and what they don’t. There’s no such thing as a superhuman unicorn who is highly talented at all things.
Take your time choosing who to invest with
And book a call to speak with them before you do so!
When you’re choosing who to work with, consider:
How long have they been doing what they’ve been doing? Longevity is a by-product of integrity.
Do they have social proof in their efficacy? Google reviews, testimonials, client case studies, LinkedIn recommendations?
Have you spent significant time reading, listening or watching their content? Do you have insights from this, into their approach, methodology, style? Are these in alignment with what you can work effectively with?
What vibe do they give you? How did you feel after speaking with them? What does your gut say?
Is me as your business coach the next best step?
Working with me, we’d be a great fit if:
- You’re experienced and you have clients who love you (you just want more of them).
- You’re energetic, driven, and upbeat. You take responsibility for your energy and attitude.
- You’re ready to change (for the better!).
- You’re ready to move beyond old patterns and habits and bring a clear-eyed plan to your growth.
- You’re willing to be open and honest, even if it fills uncomfortable.
This ISN’T for you if:
- You haven’t yet launched (check out my training courses instead).
- You’re looking for a secret formula or quick fix, without any additional effort on your part.
- You don’t want to do any follow-through actions or homework after our sessions, you just want to talk.
- You’re unwilling to look at any problematic thinking and beliefs, self-sabotaging tendencies, or old, unhelpful stories that you might have.
- Please no whiners, complainers, projectors, blamers, nit-pickers, perfectionists, and those looking for a mother figure (I’m not your gal).