Red Flags to Watch for Before You Hire a Coach
null • Sep 23, 2026, 2:19:42 PM • Written by: Erin Aquin
I have worked with many coaches over the years and seen hundreds of them teach and speak.
Some were amazing, generous and taught me a lot.
Some were pure hype that just reworded someone else's work calling it their own.
Others (the worst in my opinion) wasted my time trying to sell me on their next package or program.
Now when I am considering hiring a coach or joining a program, I use these red flags to tell me the program or person is not for me:
1. Their marketing is designed to make their future clients feel insufficient.
I think that "pain sells" is actually lazy marketing.
A good coach should be able to understand my struggles and articulate it without trying to exploit it. If they can't tell the difference, they aren't getting near my mind.
2. They are regurgitating or rewording someone else's tools without citing their sources.
Too many coaches do this and I think it is because they worry that if they give someone else credit it will make them look like less of an expert. In actual fact, it makes me think they have no integrity if they can't acknowledge that the idea they are trying to sell isn't their own IP.
My favourite coaches always share where they learned something and it makes me respect them more for constantly being a student and finding things to help their clients thrive.
3. They have no skills, training or any tools to help me as a human.
If someone's marketing is all about making money, looking successful and maximizing productivity, or they have a "business topics only" policy for their coaching, it tells me they have no skills to handle the holistic person behind the scenes. Money and success mean nothing if they lead to burnout and misery.
4. They have no content I can access to learn about how they work.
They don't have a book, a podcast, a blog, classes or downloads.... SOMETHING deeper than basic social media posts where I can learn how they work and why they are a good investment for my business.
I share this because I have heard so many horror stories from business owners who sank tens of thousands of dollars into programs that had a slick looking sales and marketing process but ended up feeling basic, unskillful, unprofessional or downright scammy for the client.
If I haven't been helped by something they have created already, working with someone feels like a gamble, not a strong investment.
I look for coaches who can not only help me strategize and make vision-aligned decisions in my business, but can go through the rough emotions with me. And as a Coach myself, I work hard to live above and beyond these standards in my business so that people who come to me looking for help find the whole life success they are investing in.
Once a year I open up spots for free consultations for folks who are ready to have Whole Life success. If you have read my book, listened to The Superabound Podcast or found that my approach resonates with you, this is a wonderful way to see if VIP coaching could be the next support you need.