What’s a Business Coach & Why Would I Want One?

Well let’s answer the 2nd part first, because no-one goes into business to be average! (Do they?)

How about we start with the two most common objections first! 

1.     “I’m already successful. What could you teach me about my business? I’ve been in business for years and I’ve done well” I hear you say.

Yes you are and yes you have. You are undoubtedly an expert in your field and there is absolutely nothing I could teach you…. about your business.

However, when was the last time you stepped away from your business and worked ON it instead of IN it?

2.     “I’m only just starting out I can’t afford one” You may well be right but what I would say to you, as I have said to many people starting out on their business journey. You will succeed on your own, however you will do it bigger and quicker if you have someone helping you. Try and find a way to afford it, even if it’s only someone’s time for an hour a month! If you really can’t make it work, then check out your local Growth Hub as sometimes they have subsidised schemes.

Now help me out here if you would. Why is it in the USA business leaders and owners embrace freely the value of a Business Coach yet here in the UK it has taken longer to gain momentum. It’s seen as a cost rather than an investment and they are viewed in the same category as used car salespeople and estate agents!

These same people would think there was something wrong if the sports their children partake in didn’t have a coach/manager advising them how to play and what to do to improve and yet for some reason it’s not so important for their business!

Maybe our inbuilt stiff upper lip prevents us from saying ‘I’d appreciate some help’. Some very wise people will tell you that this is a sign of strength, not weakness.

Taking the sporting analogy further, Dustin Johnson is the best golf player in the world right now. Does he say, “Don’t need a coach anymore, I’m top dog”? Of course he doesn’t. He wants to stay there and be even better!

Does Pep Guardiola say to his players “You guys pick who is going to play and where and work the tactics out for yourself” Of course he doesn’t. If you really want to see how involved he really gets go check out the excellent ‘All or Nothing’ series about Manchester City on Amazon Prime.

 So back to the question – ‘What’s a Business Coach & Why Would I Want One?’

Put simply a Business Coach does 2 things. They will challenge your thinking and hold you to account.

 Running a business can be a lonely place sometime and having someone to talk things through with and bounce ideas off is a positive thing, and particularly when it’s someone who has experience of helping many other businesses so has a good handle on what works and what may not.

Also we all need someone to constantly ask us “Did you do what you said you were going to do”?

Knowing what to do is only part of it. Stephen Covey put it very succinctly when he said, “To know and not to do is really not to know”! Being held accountable is a sure-fire way to make sure things get done.

 Yes, generally coaches have areas of business that they excel in and can pass that knowledge on. In my case its around Sales & Marketing. I wouldn’t dream of training and coaching someone in finance or logistics etc. but I know someone who can

 So ask yourself 3 simple questions:

“What’s Your Biggest Challenge Right Now”?

“So what am I going to do about it”?

“Can I do it on my own or would it be even better if I had some help”?

 Jim Rohn the great American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker nailed it simply when he said “Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better”

 Do YOU want to be just average, or do you want to release your potential and be the very best you can be?

 Ian J Preston

April 2021