Art Locke, Master Business Coach

12/17/2025

Scaling your business is one of the most exciting and challenging things you'll do as an entrepreneur. But what's your first move? How do you prioritize where you invest your time and energy? How do you up-level your systems and people so that the improvements stick, and become foundations for the next growth cycle? All real-world problems I help my clients with everyday.

08/19/2025

As a coach it's so satisfying when I see my clients put into practice the things they've learned. from me. A client wanted my thoughts on a job ad for a sales position. She knows that words are important and wants to use the right phrases to attract a Kolbe Quick Start, her ideal profile for that role. I love that she's thinking that way!

Words matter! Especially when you're recruiting - you don't want to have Fact Finders applying for a job that demands a Quick Start. Write job ads that appeal to specific Kolbe profiles and turn off everyone else.

08/14/2025

I’ve been chewing on this idea—why are men such do-it-yourselfers? Why do so many of us prefer to go it alone, even when it’s not the most effective way forward?

Because we value choice - independence - self-reliance.

From the time we’re boys, it’s drilled into us:
“Stand on your own two feet.”
“Don’t ask for help - suck it up.”
“Handle it yourself.”

Then we grow up and build businesses that reflect that same wiring:
“I built this myself.”
“I’ll figure it out.”
“No one else cares like I do.”
It’s a point of pride—and also a point of pain.

Because over time, our quest for independence starts to slip. The business grows, but so do the demands. The freedom we crave turns into a job we can’t walk away from. We’re now the bottleneck. The whole thing rests on our shoulders.

Here’s the paradox: The only way to regain our independence is... to redefine it. To entrust capable, talented people with meaningful responsibility.

True independence isn’t about doing it all ourselves.
It’s about building something that can stand—even thrive—without us in the middle of every decision.
That’s business-building leadership.
That’s personal freedom.

That's the key to real independence. And it's worth fighting for.

Call now to connect with business.

04/07/2025

When you’re feeling overwhelmed by your business, what’s the most common advice you get? Clarify your goals and priorities, then defer tasks that aren’t in line with them. Far too simplistic! There are tasks and challenges that we’re naturally wired to excel at, and others we’ll struggle with even if they’re in line with our goals and priorities. Knowing the difference is the key to reducing overwhelm in your life. The Kolbe™ assessment unlocks these insights, and it’s life-changing for overwhelmed business owners. If you're struggling with overwhelm, type "Oh Yeah!"

01/03/2025

When you're hiring an Office Manager in the small business world, how do you know they've got good job fit? All the research I've done on high-performing OM's shows that a Kolbe score of 7-7-3-3 is a good benchmark. High in Fact Finder, High in Follow-Through, but good stabilizers and visual thinkers.

Not familiar with Kolbe? It's the best assessment out there for determining job fit during the hiring process. And if you don't hire a person with the innate instincts to fit the job, they won't succeed. If you'd like to know more about how you can use Kolbe in your business, IM me.

08/16/2024

Why can't small service businesses be more reliable? As a business coach it drives me crazy...
Last week I contacted 4 local contractors for work I need done, worth thousands of dollars to someone. Here's the outcome:

A never returned my phone call.
B and C scheduled an on-site visit and were then no-shows (combined with no communication about why)
D showed up on time and did a fantastic job of walking me through options. (They got the business, duh.)

The lack of follow-through on commitments, coupled with the lack of communications, is small business malpractice.

08/07/2024

You probably don't know this man. He's Bobby Kersee, and he coaches Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the world record-holder in the 400m hurdles. McLaughlin-Levrone hired him because she needed a coach to identify and eliminate her weaknesses, and push her to be even better than she already is. She doesn't like to be told she's doing things wrong (who does?), but she hates losing even more.

Who's your coach? Who's committed to helping you be the best possible business owner and leader you can be? Who's holding you accountable for making the changes that will catapult you to your full potential?

05/08/2024

Make Productivity your Superpower! My latest blog on this critical topic:

PRODUCTIVITY, PROFITS AND SANITY Picture this: you, the mighty business owner, battling through the daily grind, armed with nothing but a to-do list and a can of Red Bull. In such a whirlwind, worrying about productivity seems secondary. Who has time to worry about productivity when the whole schedu...

03/04/2024

There are 3 kinds of chaos business owners may face. External chaos is one kind (weather events, economic and social disruptions, etc.) over which we little to no control, even if we can do some contingency planning.
Second, there's the internal chaos associated with people. We often label this "drama", and it's most often the result of a weak culture into which we hire people who drag our culture down further, or who are simply a bad job fit.
Third, there's the internal chaos associated with immature systems. Missing standards and KPI's, incomplete playbooks, poor role clarity, spotty accountability management and weak feedback loops all contribute to inefficiency, as well as some of the drama noted above.
The good news is that the last two kinds of chaos are within our circle of control. We CAN take proactive steps to minimize the harm inflicted by them on our businesses and our customers. The first step is to ensure absolute role clarity and one-to-one KPI accountability among every member of your team.

12/21/2023

My Holiday message for business owners:

You are greater and stronger than other people realize. You've accomplished more, and had greater impact, than you give yourself credit for. You've only begun to tap the potential that lies within you for an extraordinary life.

You have everything you need within you to create the life and legacy you envision. Devote 2024 to becoming the leader you were meant to be.

Wishing everyone a magnificent Holiday season and a prosperous 2024!

07/27/2023

After reading a dozen articles on setting customer expectations, this one got the Locke seal of endorsement.

When setting expectations for an appointment, the best way to impress customers is to set the right expectations in the first place.

06/21/2023

When you're hiring to fill a key role, consider using assessments, such as DISC, EQ or Kolbe, as part of your hiring process. One, it will give you insight into how new hires are likely to BEHAVE once they're in the job. Two, assessments are FREE FROM BIAS - they are the candidate's reality in their own words. Three, they're great tools for knowing how to COACH a new hire once they join your team.

If you'd like to know more about how to use assessments to improve your hiring, private message me.