What is Business Coaching?
Business coaching, a relatively new profession, helps business owners plan; take better action and improve their bottom line results. A recent study by the National Federation of Independent Businesses found that 70% of small business owners turn to spouses or family members for the majority of their business advice – and we know that most small businesses eventually fail!
Being great in your area of skill (s) does not necessarily equate to running a business successfully. This is where a Turning Point coaching comes in. Our business and executive coaches meet with you, the owner, on a regular basis for an extended period of time to set goals, create strategy, ensure proper actions are being taken, provide tools, coach the owner/executive and train staff, measure results, and refine strategies.
What do we do when we meet?
Initially, you meet with your coach on a weekly basis, and the focus is getting to know each other so that the coach learns your business strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Together, once the coach and you have identified the areas of greatest need and have identified some untapped opportunities, the coach and you develop a plan of action and milestones (POAM) for moving toward the goals you seek. This is followed by assigning you specific actions to take before next week’s meeting.
Every meeting the coach and you discuss your prior week, i.e. what you did specifically to move your business forward; exchange ideas about upcoming projects or challenges, and assign more specific actions to take during the upcoming week.
Improve me and my business. What does that mean?
As the owner, it is your responsibility to lead your company to where you want it to be. However, you may not be conscious of all of the areas of your business that, if addressed, can have massive positive results. Very often, business owners like you, are too busy doing the everyday tasks.
A Turning Point coach will help you maximize your strengths and strengthen or mitigate your weakness. You will be coached on leadership, relationships, strategies, motivation, productivity, and organizational skills. Your coach also provides guidance on work life balance. The business world has seen thousands of great leaders who are miserable with their personal lives, and the affect can lead to disaster. The line between your business and personal life is too closely connected to ignore how one affects the other.
This sounds like a miracle cure – It has to be to good to be true…
That’s up to you. Think back to the dreams that you had when you started your business. Do you have the same passion now that you did before? Probably not!
The coaching process – by combining your pursuit for personal excellence with excellent business strategies – is the best of both worlds. Once you know what you want in your life, develop a plan that will provide it, and take congruent actions on a daily basis, your enthusiasm returns. It becomes fun again, and your profits climb! There is NOTHING like it!
I’m already doing well. Why do I need a Business Coach?
Ok! So you may not need a coach. You may not even be coachable, i.e., you may already know everything…
However, every top performer in the world – from athletes like Tiger Woods, to the President of the United States – has mentors, coaches and advisors.
In studies of successful individuals, certain characteristics are always found: They are always goal oriented, they are always very persistent, and finally, they always have a person or group of persons whom they meet with regularly to brainstorm and learn!
Simply ask yourself: On a scale of 1-100, how do I perform right now? If your honest answer is less than 100 – a coach can help you.
Why does the business coach process take a minimum of a year?
The process is not a magic wand. Certainly, you have been to a seminar and left recharged and planning wonderful changes. Almost as certain is that you probably forgot everything that you learned from the seminar within ninety days. We all do it.
Creating lasting change is a process of acquiring skills and developing positive habits. As Aristotle said, “We are what we do repeatedly. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.” Turning Point coaching is a process to get you to develop positive congruent habits to help maximize your life and drive your business forward.
The process is important in creating real change that lasts.
How much does business coaching cost?
In most cases – nothing! In fact, you should be able to make more than enough in the growth of your company to pay for the coaching. And, the results last for years after the coaching process has ended. It’s the greatest investment that you will ever make!
But if that’s not a good enough answer, we’ll tell you this: It would cost you more to hire a receptionist to answer your phones for a year than it will cost you to hire a coach. Think about that!
