Starting a business from scratch can be an overwhelming experience. Sometimes, it may feel like you’re alone on an island as you try your best to keep up with the invoices, customer queries and accounting figures. One of the best ways to reduce the stress from a business launch is to enlist the help of a business coach now. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs and business owners wait until they face insurmountable odds before they seek help.
If you’re interested in coaching, at any stage of your business, you have to be prepared to hear their advice. Coaching is impossible if you can’t open your mind and appreciate some objective and practical advice. While it can be difficult to hear, it’s all the more reason to enlist business coaching help from the very beginning. Let’s look at why.
A business coach makes you push harder
A business coach will make you critically reflect on your business. Sometimes it’s not about finding the answers but more about asking the right questions. By taking a step back and reflecting on your direction and management approach, your business can thrive even with small tweaks.
It’s like a personal trainer at the gym – sometimes you have to put the extra legwork in and get a good sweat on before you realize any rewards for your efforts. Going through the process as early as possible means you set yourself up for success. You’ll adopt good habits early, meaning there will be fewer corrections later down the road.
A business coach asks you to take action
A business coach’s advice is practical and will encourage you to take action. If you’d rather just listen and make a to-do list then put that advice on a shelf somewhere, then professional coaching is not right for you.
Many small businesses are based on a sole ownership model which means that the enterprises start to become reflections of their owners. That’s okay, but it means that entrepreneurs are often defensive of their own decisions.
Your coach might point out a few mistakes you’ve made or some things you can do better. They might ask you to take action and do things differently. It’s important to consider it carefully and know that the advice is objective.
It’s okay to let someone in on your solo enterprise since all they want to do is help. A coaching relationship based on trust, and action, is the only way to excel.
A business coach improves your development
While a coach can help you take positive action, they’ll also encourage you to do some critical thinking. Self-reflection is an important part of your business and a coach might ask you to consider some of the following questions:
- Is the business based on the right model?
- Does the business have the right network to succeed?
- Is the business built on your strengths or values?
- Will the business succeed if exposed to external shocks?
Questions like these help set your business up for a better development process, since they build a good foundation. They also help to manage transitions. Changes to your business can come in many forms – from downturns in the economy, new competition entering the market or the changing behavior of customers.
You want to make sure that your business can navigate the challenges of the business world now and in the future. A coach makes you adaptable and agile in the face of changes. Adopting a coaching model early is the best way to set yourself up to outlast your competitors.
A business coach improves team development
You may have heard the popular business motto: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” The phrase was coined by Peter Drucker, an American management consultant, but what does it mean for your business?
Strategies are great on paper but in reality they rely on people to implement them. Without the right team and culture in place to adopt changes, many new business strategies will fail. A business coach can help your company get the right mindset and culture in order to enact change.
A coach helps with anything from a hiring strategy to building the right organizational culture. All of it adds up to the effectiveness of your teams and their willingness to take on new challenges.
Because any human-related changes to an organization are notoriously slow, acting sooner rather than later is all the more important. Because the time required to put changes in place, the earlier you enlist a business coach to help you, the better.
A business coach unlocks your skill potential
Your lifelong learning is made up of a very long series of development opportunities. Sometimes, you develop skills without even realizing it. Even more frequently, you miss out on learning and development opportunities.
Or, you may not be aware of some of your skill-related shortcomings. A coach can help you, in an objective way, to identify gaps in your skills or knowledge. Doing this early in your business venture means you’ll prepare yourself to tackle many obstacles. If you wait too long before addressing skill gaps and improving yourself, then it may be too difficult to change course or turn back.
A business coach unlocks your executive potential
Leadership and executive coaching is an entire subset of business coaching. If your business is growing and you rely on other leaders to help you make decisions, then you’ve reached a stage of reliance. Relying on others may be unfamiliar to many small business owners who are accustomed to making their own decisions.
Your business development relies on building a good team and a good foundation of leaders in your organization. If you hire or promote the wrong people into executive positions, you may set yourself up for a troubling journey.
You also need to provide your staff with the right development opportunities. Doing so lets your company and its staff grow in stride along with you. Helping staff realize their potential also leads to better employee retention and job satisfaction.
A business coach can lend a hand to empower the people around you early in the process and to make smart decisions in assembling your core executive team. Doing so can improve productivity and business cohesion, which props your business up higher than your competitors.
Set yourself up for success
With the growing list of success stories and the large array of benefits that come from the business coaching world, you shouldn’t be asking yourself how late is too late to get a coach – you should be asking how early can you utilize a coach’s advice? Adopting a coaching program soon is the best way to set yourself up for success.
If you want to check out some more tips on how to set your business up for success, check out our blog with 7 amazing things you can learn from a business coach.
You’ll find lots of ways to upskill for your career and unlock your business potential. Find your business coach today.
To speak with one of our coaches, book a free 15-minute discovery call today to find the right coach for your business.
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Our coaches are professional coaches and experienced mentors
Massimo Borio
I have a corporate perspective because I grew up and know the dynamics of Multinationals and Independent Companies. I do coaching by vocation.
