Time For Your Business To Seek The Services Of A Small Business Coach
As a small business owner, you need to keep many balls in the air.
Aside from just delivering your products to customers, you have to know about marketing, sales, finance, production, purchase, accounts, customers, banks and team building. That can be a tall order for anybody. Like most business owners, it can be assumed you’re extremely busy in managing and implementing your day-to-day business activities. When you are in this situation, you may hardly find time for your true role as the business head of your organization, or, as we at ActionCOACH like to say, you’ll spend more time working IN your business than working ON it. Due to this, your job of formulating more effective strategies for the growth and development of your business and taking it to the next level may take a backseat to the things you feel you need to get done so you can open your doors the next day yet again.
This is where small business coaching will come to your rescue.
Many businesspersons have this misconception that only unsuccessful or struggling businesses require business coaching. This is not true. For every dollar invested in business coaching, businesses see a return of $7 and every type of business can use this kind of return on investment.
No matter how successful or well-established your small business is, you will require the services of an experienced business coach to take your business to the big leagues. After all, which successful professional athlete has succeeded without hiring a coach? From Tiger Woods in golf to David Beckham in soccer all world class athletes require the expertise of a coach to hone their skills and help them excel in their chosen field. These athletes understand the importance of having someone to guide them, to point out things they don’t notice, to encourage them to perform to the best of their abilities and to keep them focused on their goals. Just as sports coaches are a necessity for athletes, business coaches are essential for people in business.
How is Small Business Coaching different from Business Consulting?
The basic difference between the coaching and consulting is that all business coaches are consultants but very few consultants can qualify as business coaches. A consultant will merely advise you what changes you need to incorporate in your business strategy or working style. On the other hand, a coach will not only advise you but also provide you with step-by-step guidance to implement the positive changes you need in your business.
A small business coach will be by your side at every crucial step, from when each of your new marketing campaigns is launched to when its time to cater to a new market or when your business faces stiff competition from the other businesses. Small business coaching will provide you with the assistance you need to help your business overcome even the most daunting challenges. Unlike a consultant, whose job is essentially focused on providing you with the right ideas, a business coach will support you, highlight your strengths, point out flaws, push you into putting a little more than your best effort, and hold you accountable for the growth of your success.
How does the process of business coaching work?
When you work with an ActionCOACH, business coaching is a well-organized, step-by-step program. As a business owner, you’ll need to spend anywhere from one to three hours each week with your business coach. Your meetings will be arranged for a specified day, mutually agreed upon by both you and your business coach.
The duration of small business coaching program will mainly depend on your business’ preferences and needs. While your small business coach will offer you all the essential guidance and tips, help you implement the right ideas and strategies and also provide you with the direction and program materials, only you will be primarily responsible or accountable for producing the results. Your business coach will not take the accountability for your actions, only their own. The principle behind small business coaching is to teach you how to fish and not to provide you the fish.
The primary goal of small business coaching is not only to help you find solutions to your existing business problems but also to help you learn how to effectively deal with overwhelming or tricky situations that may come up in the future, to get you out of your comfort zone and prepare you for success.
A business coach will act as your partner, your friend and your confidant. They will ensure and maintain the confidentiality of all the data collected and shared during the business coaching period. Then they will first analyze and document the current state of affairs of your business and accordingly decide on the immediate actions and strategies you need to implement.
How can small business coaching help you in improving your business prospects?
It will thoroughly examine and analyze the various aspects of Sales, Marketing, Finance, Team, Production and Profitability. A business coach will also map your organizational setup and develop efficient systems and flow of work.
It will look at a bigger picture for you and your business and accordingly chart out a clear, focussed business plan. It will help you overcome the obstacles/ fears/ barriers that are currently holding you back and stopping you from realizing your goals.
It will help you develop new, unique and innovative business ideas and enable you to effectively handle the challenges of coping with your competitors in the market.
It can help you make the best possible use of your existing resources- employees and time. It can work wonders for your time management skills besides helping you with effective tips to select the right person for the job.
It will help you better the employee relations. This will create a much better work environment, which in turn will have a significant impact on the productivity of your business.
As you can see, small business coaching will help you in achieving total clarity in both business as well as professional goals. By providing support at every step, business coaching will also bring down your stress level considerably and help you maintain a perfect balance in your personal and professional life.
So if you think your business is all set to enter a new market or to face new challenges or to take that BIG leap, it’s time for you to seek the services of an experienced and a reputed small business coach and help you take your business to the next level.