Introduction – What is a business coach?
Any business leader can benefit from a business coach. A good test to see if one might be beneficial for you? Simply ask yourself: “On a scale of 1-100, how do I perform right now?” If your honest answer is less than 100 – a coach can help you. But what is a business coach, and how exactly do they help?
A business coach is a consultant, mentor, partner, confidence builder, sounding board, adviser, teacher, and more—all rolled into one. A business coach helps you to set goals, identify obstacles and blind spots, develop protocol and strategies to meet these goals, and maintain accountability. Coaching takes a more global approach to growth and change. Rather than simply identifying areas for development, they look holistically at you and your business to identify solutions and empower you to be the leader you want to be. In addition to their years of experience in the industry and consulting, licensed business coaches embrace a rigorous practice of continuing education.
1- Unbiased, Outside Perspective
Like many small business owners and entrepreneurs, you lean on your friends, neighbors, family members, and spouses for business advice. Of course, this kind of support is essential and collaboration is critical for everyone. A great business coach for entrepreneurs is one that acts as a reliable source for dependable and unbiased feedback. They offer an experienced and professional outsider’s perspective and guide you to develop actionable goals to drive your ideas forward. You should use them as informed participants in brainstorming sessions to harness ideas and work through a plan on those worth pursuing.
2 – Encourage & Inspire
Even the most experienced leaders have bouts where they feel unsure of their direction and might even question their abilities and the feasibility of their goals. Coaches help many leaders through situations similar to yours. Commonly, they’ve been there themselves (even coaches use coaches!). They can empathize with you and understand what you’re going through. An experienced coach can help you identify and play to your strengths as a business leader as well as work through your fears and doubts to develop a digestible action plan. A little encouragement and inspiration from someone who GETS IT go a long way towards overcoming imposter syndrome.
3 – Get Unstuck
If you’re feeling like your business is perpetually stagnant and like you don’t have the same passion and motivation that you once did for your work, be sure to speak with a business coach before accepting defeat or throwing in the towel. First, your business coach will help you to identify the constraints in your business model. Then together you will work to develop realistic steps that will get things moving again. Finally, with the gears turning again and your business progressing forward, you will remember your passion for your profession. And if that is still not true, your business coach can help you design a profitable and satisfactory exit or a smooth succession strategy.
4 – Goal Setting & Accountability
Many leaders get in the bad habit of hopping on the freeway without knowing the exact destination, or in other words, putting together growth and business plans without actually outlining the specific goals they want to achieve. A business coach can help you identify your business objectives and work with you to ensure your procedures and protocols tie directly back to your goals. They also act as an accountability partner to help you stay on track and evaluate upcoming decisions on a consistent, recurring basis with this strategic, growth-driven lens.
5 – The Yin to Your Yang
Every leader has weaknesses or lacks knowledge in personally respective areas. You, for example, might shine with client and employee relationships, while finances may be your Achilles heel. Or perhaps you’ve been in the business for so long that you know it operationally like the back of your hand, but fear being out of touch with the latest industry marketing trends. The strengths of your business coach should complement yours, and they can work with you to bolster the skill sets you’d like to improve. Working with a coach is like having a business partner whose main goal is to supplement your strengths and help you reach your full potential as a leader.
Conclusion – How to Get Started
Finding a business coach online and exploring a complimentary coaching session is a significant first step to learn more about how a coach can benefit your business. It’s good to meet with someone first to make sure your personalities gel together and they feel like someone you could partner with on a long-term basis. Lasting change takes time, so once you choose to embrace the benefits of a coach, expect to work together for at least a year on a regular basis.
Contact us if you could use some additional support or are interested in a complimentary coaching session from a licensed business coach.