What Does A Business Coach do?

I’m the first to admit that business coaching has a pretty bad name. You don’t have to look too far to find somebody that’s been burnt by a coach or found coaching less than satisfying.

Business owners enter into a coaching agreement with the best of intentions and it starts out well, but somewhere along the line it turns sour and it’s almost always the small business owner who loses out. There are two reasons behind this.

One: For the most part, business coaching is an unregulated industry and doesn’t really require a formal degree or education  – although quality coaching will be backed by both “on the job” experience and formal qualifications.

Two: Owner-operator business leaders aren’t in a position to know what kind of help their business needs so aren’t able to target the right coach with the right qualifications to target and improve the areas most in need of growth.

Coaching is a growth industry, there’s no shortage of questionable people who want to be involved in the action. You’ll see enthusiastic 17-year-olds on Facebook offering their business coaching ‘expertise’ or others who are clearly only looking to feed their ego and don’t have any plans for your business success – tip-offs are grand statements like “My online course has helped 1000s of small businesses scale to 7-figures in 30-days”.

There’s a lot that genuine coaches need to do to restore public trust in the coaching industry. When used effectively coaching is a proven and fast way to see real gains in any sized business. I can assure you that the majority of business coaches I’ve come across are intelligent, well-meaning and committed people.

This blog is designed to help you identify what to look for in a real coach so you can find the right guide to bring your business to greater success.

How A Business Coach Can Help Your Business

If you’re considering working with a business coach, here’s what a qualified and dedicated coach will do for you:

Build plans to help you achieve goals

Most businesses start up because something isn’t working well in a current service or offer and there is a lightbulb moment where a solution becomes clear that makes the industry better. “I need to make that a business!”

Everyone wants a better service, so it makes sense there will be a market for your incredible new approach.

It is a great motivator and most likely has a valuable market but the missing piece is what small business owners actually want to achieve in going out on their own. What’s the bigger purpose rather than overcoming your frustrations?

There’s a big difference between simply ‘doing it better’ and a real sense of purpose and vision for your small business. While doing it better is easier to articulate and do, it’s not sustainable as a long-term mission statement. Once you achieve that goal (and you’ll manage it quickly, then what? You need a purpose that keeps your business excelling and building beyond being better than what is already on offer.

A great business coach can offer business owners new perspectives on what else is out there that they can achieve and help build an ultimate objective framework, not just on the business success but personally as well. When you have that real internal driver and spark you can do more work in less hours and live the lifestyle you want right now. It’s just a matter of knowing how to clarify what you want.

You’ll get help on:

• Identifying your greater vision
• gathering and analysing your market and competition
• executing a winning strategy
• Implementing a strategy
• evaluating and controlling your business direction both short and long term

A good business coach is a key figure in helping you set goals, track your progress and smash through targets that were previously thought to be impossible.

Hold you accountable

There is a fine line between holding someone accountable to their goal actions and holding their hand. This is your journey and you need to learn, experience and fail on your own terms. If it turns out you’re not motivated to do an activity you defined as important for your business, that is just as telling as if you smashed it out of the park.

Rather than berate you, soothe you or write you off, a great coach will help you figure out what’s stopping you from achieving a certain goal and help you redirect your goals to something you will actually want to see completed.

Your regular coaching sessions will open up conversations and provide action steps for you to take. In order to keep you accountable, your coach will ask pointed questions like:

• When can you achieve this?
• What will happen if you miss your targets?
• Who’s responsible for the implementation of this strategy?
• What results do you expect?

These questions turn lofty ambition into something that can be measured. Knowing you will have to fess up if you don’t complete your tasks in time is usually motivation enough to keep moving forward.

A good business coach also understands that accountability can’t be an ad-hoc thing. It requires consistency in approach.

Provide encouragement and support

Having someone in your corner can make all the difference to what you believe you can achieve. If left unchecked our mind can often become flooded with self-doubt and worst-case scenarios, every mishap is treated as a failure.

It’s not unusual for self-led business owners to feel alone, isolated and out of their depth. 

As much as family and friends try their best to support you, it’s difficult for them to understand what you’re going through unless they’ve owned and operated their own business too.

A huge element of a business coaching agreement is based on the encouragement and support a business coach can provide – although it can’t be general you are amazing, it needs to be genuine, realistic and insightful.

A good business coach knows when encouragement and support is needed and how to ask the right questions that allow their client to discover hidden talents and achievements as well as areas of change rather than being told what’s what.

Evolve to Grow has a ‘celebrate the little wins’ mantra, meaning even when the big achievements can’t be found, little wins can and celebrating them goes a long way towards greater success. This works because it encourages a mindset that rewards being out of the comfort zone and testing the edges of possibility. No matter the result, constantly pushing the boundaries and experimenting with what you can achieve will be the pathway that leads you to greater success with time.

Offer guidance based on experience

To get real value out of the coach you hire to help enhance your business, look for one who actually has experience owning a business either currently or in the past. Coaching doesn’t count as you only have to manage yourself and there is a lot of flexibility to get away with making mistakes. Look for a business coach who’s done the hard yards before and knows what you’re going through. They know how to help you avoid the biggest mistakes as you climb the ranks because they have made them already.

I chose to go into business coaching because I wanted to share what I learned as my business grew and help others learn from my mistakes so they can get their own results faster.

The greatest asset I can provide my clients is the fact I’ve previously been on the start-up business journey and gotten my business to seven figures and more on blood, sweat and tears.

Every turn your business makes will challenge you. Regardless of how chaotic the situation is, it’s on your shoulders to make a solid decision, often based on little evidence. This is where an experienced business coach is truly advantageous.

Businesses have multiple faces. As a sole trader or startup, you need to manage and understand every one of them well in order to make all the moving parts fit. A business coach who has experience in their own business can provide guidance on a wide range of challenges you’ll face including:

• Finances
• Marketing
• Business development and growth
• Staff recruitment, training and retention

Having a trusted coach who can provide guidance and support and who is backed up by real-world experience is a Godsend.

If you’re looking to grow your business and need some help, advice or a new perspective to get you past your glass ceiling, seek help from a business coach.

Make sure they prove their worth before your part with your hard-earned cash or invest time in someone who’s not going to suit your business or goals.

Ultimately, a good business coach will become a valued member of your team and will become personally invested in your business success.

Want more support as you grow your business? Join our free Facebook Group today where you can ask questions and get help from business owners who have been where you are and have the runs on the board.