Starting and running your own business is a great achievement. It’s also one of the bigger life choices you will make. However, managing staff issues, admin challenges and paperwork can slowly eat away at your enthusiasm. And the passion that drove you to go at it alone? The difficult task of juggling hundreds of balls at once can quickly knock you down. Add into the mix that your social and personal life may be dwindling, it shouldn’t be surprising that focusing and setting priorities is proving grim. Hiring a business coach could be the answer.
The Limitations of an Entrepreneur
As an entrepreneur, you have the wherewithal to achieve your work objectives but probably find aspects of running your business challenging. As you can’t be an expert in everything, all at once, this is completely normal.
“Expertise in one area doesn’t necessarily translate into all areas of running a business.”
For example, the new role of staff-management is an integral although frequently not entirely welcomed aspect of owning a business. Not only is it your job to effectively shepherd staff, but you also need to ensure that their professional objectives are addressed. This can quickly become overwhelming and inordinately time-consuming. It’s often difficult to prioritise and find time to develop staff. Especially, as it tends to drain time within your current circumstances. Which you often need to spend keeping your business afloat to ensure a future. However, far from being an unnecessary drain on your time, doing so will assist with crucial staff retention. It will provide you with the future leaders of your business. These are the people, to whom you can delegate some of your responsibilities as they increase with the growth of your business.
What is a Business Coach?
A business coach is someone who is solution-focused. They are someone who assists with the here-and-now in the shorter run. They concentrate on enhancing performance and development with the dual intention of being results and future focused. While coaching is a helpful relationship and borrows skills, such as listening from counselling practices, it is not about healing. A coach may be the expert in the coaching process; however, the client is the expert in their life and ambitions. Thus, clients drive a business coaching agenda and the coach is supporting the client to achieve business objectives. Often this is done by tapping into and leveraging the client’s unique talents and skills. Both always hold the individuals needs and aims in mind as well as those of the business. Thereby, consistently ensuring that all needs and aims are in alignment so as to best achieve results.
Hiring a Business Coach
A successful business coach is someone who is self-aware and has a high emotional-intelligence. They are able to build authentic and trusting relationships with others. Fundamentally, they have the qualities necessary to develop and empower – not train – leaders.
“It’s not business coaching if your business isn’t growing as a result of it.”
While a good coach should have specific character traits, this is not enough to best ensure a success coaching process. When hiring a business coach, confirm that they are well qualified. Coaching qualifications should be from a reputable, well recognised institution which has a reputation for producing good coaches. Coaching is performance focused, therefore ask about their past track record. Your needs will be best met by someone who is results orientated, with success stories to support their coaching approach. Additionally, ask them about how they keep themselves up-to-date. You need someone who consistently updates themselves so that they can harness the advantages of the latest coaching strategies for you.
Coaching – be it for business or for personal reasons – is considered part of a life journey. And as the business owner, you in turn are then able to apply the learnings you gained to your employees. Thus, you become an asset in the job of helping others to achieve their very best.
Choosing a Coaching Course
Are you interested in becoming a business coach? Enquire today about enrolling in one of SACAP’s internationally accredited life coaching courses. With online and part-time options, SACAP allows working professionals to augment their skills or smoothly transition into a new career without a break in employment.
