Who Needs A Business Coach?
The simple answer to the seemingly complex question of “Who needs a business coach?” is … everyone is responsible for operating a business. That’s right. The Fortune 50 CEO to the one-man-band needs a business coach.
Doing Something About It
Not getting any help at all is very often the cause of the business failure statistics we hear so much about. The small business owner will often claim that they don’t have the time or money for outside help. Think about that comment. How can you not have the money to get help from someone who can potentially save or make you more money, since you are not getting it done on your own? Or how about that time you are lacking? Maybe if that owner sat down for an hour with a business coach, they would be able to see why they don’t have time and do something about it.
A coach or advisor gives to small business owners something most of them don’t have; a sounding board and a board of directors to turn to for advice. These are two great resources to use when trying to avoid “trial and error” decisions and processes.
What many business owners do not realize is that they rarely go through any trials and tribulations that someone else has never dealt with. Not to mention that about 70-75% of their business is the same as every other business including HR, finances, sales, marketing and funding. The other 25-30% is industry specific.
Small to mid sized business owners take away much more from an advisor than big businesses. This, if for no other reason, is the case because the smaller companies have owners that wear a lot of hats. Many of those hats take time away from the things the owner actually needs to make a priority to see their company succeed. Things they should be doing that they don’t have time to get to, or things they are taking care of, that they have no experience in doing. These situations take away from them doing what they do best.
How Do You Find A Coach?
The question now is how to find a coach. Here are a few things to think about:
– Have they owned a small business before? Grey hair does not equal business ownership knowledge.
– Don’t worry if a potential coach doesn’t know your specific industry. Remember that a lot of your troubles have nothing to do with your industry. It would help though if the coach had contacts/resources for you in your industry for when specific problems are addressed.
Once you made the very intelligent decision of getting help in making your business a success, keep a few things in mind. You should really commit to working with your coach for a good 6 months. Nothing gets fixed overnight. Also, please do yourself a favour and be open to suggestions, bring important things to your advisor for help in making a decision and make the use of your time with the advisor a priority.
See The wood From The Trees
Working with an advisor can be a very enlightening experience. You will start to see the wood from the trees and not feel like you are the only person on the planet going through tough times as a business owner.
All business owners eventually need help. The successful ones put aside their pride and desire to be at the center of all aspects of the company and get the help.
My Business Coach comes highly recommended and has proved invaluable on so many occasions. Find him here http://www.life-coach-associates.com and have a word with him, to see how best he may be able to help you. His name is Gérard Jakimavičius… and he is a top man!