Stream of Consciousness

It’s been a while since I posted something on this blog. I had promised myself when I started blogging that I would post something each week. Up until the last few weeks I was doing quite well at keeping that promise. It’s not that I haven’t thought about it. It just seems that it’s been tough coming up with fresh topics. Today, Donna Johnson, a Facebook friend and fellow blogger commented on FB that she was suffering from Blogger’s Blog. By the way, I love Donna’s Blog, by the way it can be found at http://www.unemployedentrepreneur.com/.

Another FB friend of Donna’s, Scott Bradley suggested that she just “stare at a blank sheet of paper and write whatever comes to mind...words, pictures, phrases, quotes etc....this stream of conscience will lead you to your next blog.” By the way you can find Scott at http://www.NetworkingEffectively.com. So excuse me while I write this “stream of consciousness.”

Have you ever noticed the proliferation of personal, business and spiritual coaches recently? Perhaps they have always been out there and I didn’t realize it because social media was not connecting all of us the way it does today. Or maybe social media allowed them to proliferate. I am certain there is a need for coaches or mentors but with so many and no uniform licensing, certification or educational requirements to become a coach, how does someone choose the right one? On Saturday, I had suggestions or requests on Facebook to become friends with over twenty coaches of some sort. By the way none of these were athletic coaches, unless you count the former coach that was running for Congress!

I am sure there are some that provide a valuable service, in fact I know this to be true but it seems that so many are little more than cheerleaders, with a few motivational tidbits and a system to get rich quick. I’m sure this attracts a great many people but I have not found many successful entrepreneurs that have not had to work their tails off and face numerous setbacks before making it big.

A couple of other observations are that at least half of the hundreds of coaches I have encountered through social media are focused on coaching women and the vast majority of coaches are also women. Most of the research on small business formation in the U.S. point to more men starting businesses than women, so is it that more women have an inferiority complex or lack of confidence and therefore feel they need coaching or is it that men do not like to ask for direction (or directions in the case of driving)?

It could also be that more women gravitate to the coaching profession, because of personality or necessity and that they feel more comfortable coaching women. If this is the case, are they all getting a small piece of the “women clientele pie?” Would men rather have women coaches? Do male coaches have more clients than female coaches because the pie isn’t divided into as many pieces or is there just less demand for their services?

As I mentioned this is just rambling about an observation I recently noticed. I tend to research a topic and test my theories before writing because I don’t want to be too severely criticized or tarnish my reputation (whatever that is). But today’s writing is just me hanging out there with many more questions than answers. So what do you think? Am I all wet? Can you answer any of my questions?