Do I need a business coach?
There's a quick answer to the question "do I need a business coach?"
NO
No-one needs a coach of any kind.
A coach doesn't actually do anything.
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So why are there so many coaches out there?
Well, the whole idea of coaching came from sport ... in fact, it's accepted that it's impossible to be a successful sports person without a good coach. Because that coach makes sure you turn up, tells you what to do during training, watches how you prepare for things, makes sure you are making the best use of your time and encourages you to beat your personal bests.
Business coaching is slightly different to sport coaching - but essentially a business coach does a similar thing.
There are some differences.
Coaching isn't the same as training - training is where you follow a pre-defined programme of learning, that's laid out in front of you.
Coaching isn't the same as mentoring - a mentor speaks and advises you from their experience.
Coaching isn't the same as consultancy - a consultant will work with you and advise you on a particular aspect of your business, and then will do at least part of the work needed to move you forwards.
Coaching is about finding out what you want and helping you come to your own answers on how to get there. And, most importantly, holding you accountable to make sure you stick to those decisions.
So a better question is "is it worth having a business coach?"
The simplest answer there is I have three. Sort of.
The first is my Profit First coach. He leads me through the Profit First system, helping me pick out and adapt the parts that work well for me. So this is as much a training programme as it is a coaching programme.
The second is my marketing coach. We discuss how I want things to be, what's going well, what's going badly, how it makes me feel. Then she comes up with a list of tasks, some of which are for me, some of which are for her.
And third is my business coach. This is a pure coaching relationship. We talk about where I am now, where I want to be, what is stopping me from getting there and making sure that I approach my business in the right way to get me there.
Personally, I love coaching. Unlike mentoring or training, it's all about the client. I have to discover what they want, I have to help them discover their own answers and figure out what's holding them back. And then I have to keep them accountable, so they actually make the changes that they have decided that they need.
And because of this, I've designed my own coaching programme. 12 weeks to move your business towards financial security.
So if you know anyone who runs their own small business but feels that the road is too precarious, who feels that the business isn't giving them the life they want, who is always short on time - ask them to give me a shout. There are probably some really simple things we can do that will make a huge difference.
