Are you a new business owner? It’s tough running a business. All the more for a new business. There are so many things to do all at the same time. You have to wear several hats for each department. It can be human resources, finance and accounting, operations, sales, and marketing.
As such, you may lose focus on strategy development and building a solid ground for the company’s future. To help you, you can hire a business coach. How does that differ from a consultant or a therapist?
A company or the owner pays the consultant. He/she looks into the company’s organizational structure and performance. He also provides quantitative answers to problems.
A therapist is usually hired by an individual. He focuses on the past in solving issues. The therapist diagnoses and treats dysfunction.
Role of a Business Coach
The company owner also pays the services of a Business Coach. The role of a business coach is to guide the business owner. He helps by assisting in clarifying the vision of the business. He is involved in goal setting. His focus is not much on the past but the future of the company. In terms of process, the coach helps the company bring the business to achieve the vision or towards its goals.
The business coach also fosters Individual performance within the business setting. The coach tackles various issues with a focus on behavioral change. He helps the company’s executives to discover the path for success.
Note that coaching is different from mentoring. Mentoring is more about giving advice. Whereas, a coach assists the business owner to plan and achieve the goals.
The Business Coach helps the owner grow. They receive payment for their services. They work on a fixed schedule. They share feedback, give advice, and help craft growth plans. This way, the business coach can help the owners improve both his personal and work life. He helps the clients increase the company’s revenue and profit.
In the process, the business coaches challenge executives to bring out their best. The Business Coach helps develop the strengths and lessens the weaknesses. In this manner, clients can grow better as individuals. Being a better person can mean better leadership for the company. This in turn can help bring the company to reach its goals.
Doing Business Plans
A business plan is your roadmap to success and you must have clear goals and vision, well defined within a document. A businessman also has to align the business goals even with his personal goals.
It is best to align the business objectives with the owner’s personal dreams. Otherwise, achieving the business goal will not be as critical to the owner.
With objectives aligned with personal goals, the owner can better provide clearer directions. The aim is to achieve the company’s objectives faster.
For the process, the business coach asks the owner where he likes to take his business moving forward. The coach will help plan. He will help set the right priorities. Together, they will craft goals and strategies to achieve the goals.
A Business Coach usually meets the owner regularly. It can be weekly or monthly to track progress. Regular checking is critical to ensure delivery versus the set targets and commitments.
Business coaches have several years of experience they bring to the table. Hence, they can help new business owners to figure out their goals. They can also create a roadmap that can make the owner achieve the goals easier. He helps prepare clear and smart actionable plans. An outsider perspective can help see the picture better because he has no biases.
Accountability and Focus
A business owner has to be committed. The road is not easy. A business coach can be the partner to help the owner be more accountable and committed. He will help keep the owner in the right direction.
Sometimes, in the course of things, some frustrations can set in. It happens especially when things get rough. Not all the plans happen as they ought to be. A business coach will keep the owner focused on the goal and be on track. He reminds him of his priorities.
A business coach can guide the owner in every major step. He can provide feedback most especially in critical times.
The Business Coach motivates the owner to keep on going. He can also act as a sounding board or as a mirror. He can do a balance check of areas that may have been missed. He can check the blind spots. He can also check the areas that were wrongly implemented. In case there are derails, the coach can help the owner get back on his feet to go back to the right-back. Doing so can help the owner to be more accountable and focused.
Key Performance Indicators
A business coach helps in crafting key performance indicators (KPIs) or metrics. These are objectives and measures to track versus targets. The right KPIs should be set. They should be monitored regularly.
In setting KPIs, these do not have to be very many. Having a lot of KPIs can make the owner defocused. He may spread himself too thinly trying to achieve all of these metrics.
The KPIs can be few but should be those that matter to the business. KPIs normally include sales and profitability measures. The KPIs are usually set as targets for a year. Ideally, tracking should be done on a monthly and quarterly basis. This will ensure that the timelines are followed. Moreover, if there are areas that may be falling, these addressed earlier.
