What is Business Coaching and Do You Need It?
In coaching over 1,000 businesses since 2005, I’ve worked with companies in dozens of industries, a range of sizes, each of which has its own goals and challenges… but there is one thing every business I coach has in common
You know your business is capable of more.
Your business is perfectly designed to get your current results, but if you want different or better results, it’s time to re-think your approach, and possibly re-think your own role in it. Business Coaching Services are the fastest path to get results.
There are lots of reasons to work with coach, but here are a few of the common sentiments I hear when businesses reach out to me:
- The company is growing quickly and you don’t want to lose control
- You want to remove yourself from the business (either preparing to sell your business, or just want it less dependent on you)
- The business has been stuck at the same level for too long
- The level of profit doesn’t reflect how much work you’re putting in (perhaps due to margins being squeezed by price competition)
- You’re in that phase where the business is “too big to be small, but too small to be big” and it’s not clear how to get beyond it
- The company is struggling to keep up, as opportunities outpace capacity (read: “we’re too busy!”)
Here’s some good news: your challenges aren’t unique and growth constraints are predictable.
So what does a Business Coach do?
One part psychoanalysis, two parts strategy, three parts butt kicking.
Kidding. Kind of.
Step one is to evaluate where your business is now compared to where you want to go next, and what is the gap between those two points.
What lies in that gap could be constraints with your team, systems, sales, marketing, leadership, time, profit margins… or any combination of those factors.
If you’ve been in business for a while, there’s probably a lot that you’re already doing right, and also plenty you know can be improved.
So we evaluate:
- What’s working well?
- What’s not?
- What’s changed?
- What have you outgrown?
- What is missing to get to the next level?
Once we have the plan, we get to work.
Your coaching program will be customized to fit your goals, but could include:
- Regular ongoing coaching sessions with the CEO and/or other key team members
- Strategic planning retreats
- Quarterly planning workshops (private or group settings)
- Access to business education resources, templates and tools
- A community of likeminded entrepreneurs
The benefits of business coaching
Working with the right coach should produce:
- More profit and cash flow
- Less stress
- A stronger team
- More time
- More fun
- Fulfillment of the reasons you started this business in the first place!
While many leaders have their own personal reasons for wanting to work with a business coach, the bottom line is, coaching MUST produce a positive return, or it doesn’t make sense.
That is why I won’t even offer a coaching program until I’m confident the potential for significant ROI exists.
Expectation check:
- Making significant change and creating sustainable growth takes time.
- Coaching is not a magic wand, or a pill that eliminates all your challenges.
- This takes commitment.
So before we get started, it is important that we see a path to some quick wins, particularly in the areas of cash flow and profitability.
While we’ll always be aiming for measurable results, ultimately, I believe that being in business should give you more life, not suck the life out of you.
If you’re ready for that, learn more about 1-on-1 business coaching, and apply for your no obligation, complimentary business coaching session.
