What to look for in a business coach
Understanding your dreams
You will have dreams about your lifestyle as well as for your small business, and they should not be treated separately. Make sure that your small business dreams will actually achieve your lifestyle dreams.
Never losing sight of the need to grow the value of your business
Most small business owners want to grow the value of their business to support their lifestyle dreams, yet most simply work as employees and lose sight of the future they wish for.
Professional small business coaching and small business consulting services are bottom line and value growth focused, as you can’t achieve one without the other.
Teaching you to master your business success
The best business coaches will educate their clients so they can build up the skills they need to ensure their business success in the long term. Look for a business coach that can do this at a pace which suits your individual small businesses. You want to work with a business coach whose is focus is on the success of your engagement and not on making a quick buck.
Aiming to harness both short and long term success
Many small businesses are short-term small business problem focused because that is the nature of running a small business. The best business coach for you helps you shift the short-term focus from business problems to business success because only by addressing the short-term can you make room for the long-term.
Real face-to-face interactions
It is becoming increasingly common practice among small business consulting and coaching companies to spend most of their time dealing with their clients by phone or through internet conferencing. often they promise face-to-face meetings but may only actually visit your premises in the initial stages (especially if you are any real distance from them).
Unless you particularly have some reason to be remote from your business coach find one that believes that a real business relationship is best when developed, maintained and the desired success achieved through regular face-to-face contact.
Visiting your premises also gives your business coach an opportunity to see what has changed that you forgot to mention. Your coach may also find that a visit causes the business to refocus on what you are trying to achieve together.
A truly terrific business coach will balance a small business coaching or small business consulting assignment with the correct mix of visits, internet conferences and phone calls to ensure you achieve the results you are after.
Working with your business on an individual basis
The people working in a small business are what makes it unique and no two small businesses are the same. Find a business coach that considers you and your employees experience, skills and personality when working with you.
Working solidly to bring out your strengths
Small business owners tend to work in all areas of their business, they are often not able to really focus on what their strengths are. Find a business coach or consultant that will help you determine how your business and business processes might be restructured to take full advantage of your strengths and those of your employees.
What makes you different from your competitors
One of the keys to small business success is to emphasise what the key differences between your small business and the competition. Everybody has a “best product”, “competitive pricing” and “warranty”, so what your coach will hopefully look for is what makes or might make your business stand out, so you can better your position in the market place.
Being honest and transparent with you
Find a business coach that believes honesty and transparency is the key to any successful business relationship with their clients because the truth may hurt, but there is nothing to be gained by sticking heads in the sand.
Finding the best opportunities for your business
A well suited business coach knows that business opportunities do not just come from Marketing. Sometimes people are excluded from potential market segments because they lack a comprehensive product or services range that some of their potential customers require. At other times you may be looking to expand your business but need capital.
Taking a positive and fun approach
The time spent related to work is a large part of most people’s lives, accounting for between 30% and 55% of their weekly activities and being able to enjoy their time at work is important not just for the employees, but also for their employer. People work more productively when they are doing something they enjoy and this sort of productivity adds to the bottom line.
