Everyone can benefit from a business coach. Not everyone will benefit from having a business coach.
What makes someone a good candidate for coaching?
In Acuity’s more than 20 years of experience, there are a 5 broad types of business owners who benefit from coaching.
1. Want to grow; don’t know how
You started your business. Because of your expertise and personal network you gobbled up clients. That was working really well. But things have stalled. You’re not winning new work as easily as you were before. You know how good your services are but customers don’t seem to be getting it.
Simply put: you want to grow more but what was working isn’t working like it was.
2. Been growing and then…
This second type of client is a bit like the first. But you’ve found ways to keep growing. Until you hit recurrent problems. Staff who’ve been great leave. Scaling up for new jobs becomes harder and harder. You know you can do the work. But managing that work is a bigger and bigger problem.
3. I’ve run a successful business, now what?
You’ve been a successful business owner for many years. You’ve weathered ups and downs and become a bit jaded and tired. You could sell your business. But because it isn’t firing 100%, it likely wouldn’t generate sufficient proceeds to retire and maintain your lifestyle. You need to reinvigorate your passion for the business and make it great. Or relearn what made it great in the first place.
4. I’m working 80 hours a week – I didn’t get into business for this
Have you sat on the couch on a Saturday night watching the footy pondering how to fix a problem at work? Or waking up during the night? Not in a panic. But straight away thinking about the issues at work. Those issues are always there churning away, right?
For a lot of people, starting a business meant ‘freedom’. And working for yourself is powerful. But if you’re routinely working 70 or 80 hours a week or thinking about your business every waking – or sleeping – hour, how free are you?
5. I know we are doing well but I know we can do better
You’re the owner of a successful business. A lot of times, you started a business with friends or people who became friends working in a business together. But are your expectations 100% aligned today? Has the business changed from what they originally thought? The business is making money but is it what the partners want it to? If you’re not aligned, can you manage the business to meet or partially meet everyone’s expectations and needs.
Every business is different. Every owner or group of owners are different. But you would be amazed how often the same challenges arise.
A business coach can help each of the business owners highlighted above.
The challenges are hard and they are real. A business coach can help you work through those challenges and achieve the outcomes you want from your business.