| reading time – 5 mins |
Running a business alone is a tough thing, and very difficult to do successfully. It’s incredibly easy to lose focus, procrastinate and second-guess yourself. All this can lead to going round in circles, slow business growth, oreven worse you end up calling it a day and shutting your business down. Not only that but it can affect every other area of your life – family and relationships, health, social life and finances.
Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be like that. The most successful business owners have coaches. A great coach is like an extra member of your team – but even better! You can trust that you can speak to a coach without feeling exposed or impairing your credibility or reputation within your business or with your clients. It’s difficult to get an objective answer from yourself, your team or even some consultants about your business, but your coach will challenge you and tell you the truth, even if you don’t want to hear it!
Standing centre stage holds an expectation for excellence. Who can you trust to speak to, without feeling exposed, or impairing your credibility or reputation within the organisation or clients? How would it feel to have a safe sounding board for honest feedback on your ideas and a partner to support you in the process of design, implementation and evaluation?
So what are the real benefits of having a coach on your side?
1. YOU’LL GET UNSTUCK AND FIND MOTIVATION
The no. 1 sign that it’s time for a coach is when you hit that feeling of being overwhelmed or stuck. There is too much to do, too few hours in the day and you don’t feel like you have control of your business. Those times when you find yourself going round in never-ending circles? A coach can help with that. It’s easy for a trained coach to pinpoint very quickly the patterns of behaviours which we repeatedly find ourselves in. Once those behaviours are identified, it’s a matter of starting to change those thought processes. Believe me – it’s possible!
Even if you have a great deal of motivation, imagi
ne what you could achieve with a coach challenging you and cheering you on from the sidelines? Even if it’s a confirmation of what you were already thinking, a coach can give you that validation and second opinion you’re looking for.
2. YOU’LL BE CHALLENGED TO TRY NEW THINGS
It’s very easy to stick with the things that work – and that’s ok for a time. But when it comes to growing your business, you usually have to try new ideas and that’s where a coach can help. It’s usually incredibly hard to step outside of your comfort zone and do what’s necessary to grow. But a coach will help you to gently explore new ideas and ways of thinking and a great coach will challenge you to take those actions, whilst giving you the inner courage to be able to.
3. YOU’LL INCREASE YOUR CREATIVITY AND INCOME
Linked to challenging you to try new things, it’s very easy to get stuck in a rut and the same way of thinking. Going the “lone wolf” route can cost much more in wasted time and money, and that can all be avoided by working with an excellent coach. A coach will help you to see things from other perspectives and open up your sub-conscious to previously uncharted territories. A coach can also help you to have the courage to charge what you’re worth, increase your return on investment and surge active engagement – so start thinking about increasing your prices!
As a coach, I create a safe place for you to hash out ideas, test theories and ensure you showcase your work properly. I know how hard it can be to share your accomplishments and trumpet your brilliance, but I can help you get past that insecurity. And once you get that ball rolling, it will be hard to stop you! Time to hire a coach!
4. YOU’LL GET SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT
You’ll be amazed at the things you can accomplish when you have someone who believes in what you’re doing. Having a support system around you or hearing a few words of encouragement can lift your spirits when you’re down.
With everything going on around you, it can get overwhelming, frustrating and even lonely at times. A coach will be right there with you the whole time, helping you take that next step towards success.
Of course, the point is to get to a place where you have all the tools in your toolbox to handle what life throws at you. But until you’re ready, the encouragement you get from a coach might be just the thing you need to do your great work.
5. YOU’LL IDENTIFY STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
It’s easy to think that we know ourselves really well, and understand what makes us tick, what we are great at and where we’re not so good. But a coach can bring an outside perspective to help you bring out your hidden talents and deep desires as well as helping you exploit your strengths while working on your weaknesses.
6. YOU’LL GAIN MORE CONFIDENCE
You’ll never truly know what you’re capable of until you have someone who pushes you outside your comfort zone. When you work with a coach you’ll build up a lot more confidence in your own ideas, thought process and even the way you approach your business.
Sometimes, you “know” what to do but don’t implement. Typically this will result in a lack of change, because you need to experience some internal shifts which often require someone with an outside perspective challenging your everyday assumptions. Sometimes, you aren’t always sure if you’ve having a good idea or not, and that’s when self-doubt starts creeping in and can slow you down big time. It’s hard to convince yourself that you have the ability to accomplish your business goals, and that’s where having a coach is key.
They can help instil the confidence you need to accomplish your big goals, while offering support and guidance for your (sometimes not so great) ideas.
7. YOU’LL ESTABLISH AUDACIOUS BUT REALISTIC GOALS
It’s not difficult to set goals and create dreams and I’m sure you already have multiple ideas for your business right now. But will you ever achieve them?
With a coach you can! And you’d better be sure you want to reach those goal because once you mention it, I won’t let you make excuses for not trying. I’ll probably push you a little more than you’re comfortable with, because I can see your potential!
Audacious goals are the ones that scare us to death, but for an experienced coach they know it’s closer within reach than you realise. Then once you reach those crazy goals you’ll feel invincible and your confidence will skyrocket!
8. YOU’LL PRIORITISE YOUR (BUSINESS) NEEDS FIRST
As a business owner it’s easy to put your customers, clients and even your family ahead of your own needs. This is especially evident as a solopreneur or freelancer who single-handedly keeps the business going.
A business coach will help you prioritise your business in a way that will enable it to be successful, without sacrificing the other parts of your life, including your mental and physical health.
Additionally, you could even work with your coach to seamlessly integrate your work into your life. With the technology available today, you have no excuse not to take care of yourself so you can give the best to your business and those around you. After all – I know you probably set up your business to create MORE flexibility, not less. Am I right?
9. YOU’LL BE ACCOUNTABLE TO SOMEONE
What did you accomplish this week? Are you making progress on your goals? These are standard questions at the beginning of each coaching session that will get you sweating if you haven’t put in the work.
A coach is a built-in accountability partner that nudges and reminds you of what you promised to do, and what you’re working towards. It’s all too easy to make promises to ourselves and then break them because we don’t feel like it, or it’s too hard.
When you’re accountable to a coach, you don’t have that luxury. If you really want to accomplish your big goals and take your business to the next level, hiring a coach is the right step.
10. YOU’LL HARNESS YOUR IDEAS
The entrepreneurial mind is a beautiful thing, but it comes with it’s fair share of challenges. One of them being the fact that you have so many ideas that you sometimes don’t know where to start. On the flip side, you might be clinging to an idea or direction a lot longer than you should.
Having a coach on your side will help you gain a fresh perspective so you can harness your ideas. They will also allow you to change directions if it’s time to move on and what you’re doing really isn’t serving you.
Coaches are a valuable resource that you can count on and look to when you need guidance or even a friendly ear.