Look at any sports team worth following and they all have one thing in common: Coaches. There are a lot of similarities between running a business and running a team. Like an effective coach in sports, an effective business coach can help business owners put the strategies, systems, and processes in place that will grant them more time, more energy and financial freedom.
Finding a good Business Coach, however, is imperative to your company’s success. It does require a little time and effort, and yes, patience both with one’s self and the process. It’s time to become proactive about your success.
Here are some key things to address when looking for a Business Coach.
Self-Analysis
As the business owner, it’s time to take a close look at your strengths and weaknesses. While we don’t like to admit we’re weak in some areas, some business owners are equally as reluctant to identify their strengths! Make a list. Figure out what areas you’re strong in and what in areas could you use help.
Market Analysis: You don’t have to look too far to see that business is moving faster and getting more competitive. Technology is changing faster than seconds on a clock, and it’s hard to keep up with innovations in sales, marketing, and management strategies. Having a business coach used to be a luxury. It’s rapidly becoming a necessity! Investing in yourself may be as simple, initially, as allocating a portion of your advertising budget to coaching.
Education
A business coach is different from a consultant. People often get them confused, but a consultant is generally hired for a short-term project — once whatever needs fixing is fixed, the consultant is gone. A business coach, however, is an Alignment Consultant, Mentor, Educator, and Accountability Advisor. He or she helps business owners install systems and processes that will make your business run more efficiently, affording you the time, energy, and money to do other things, like building your business, spending more time with family and friends, and feeling less like an employee in your own company!
Commitment
When things get tough, even the tough often run, but if you commit to digging in your heels, staying focused, and keeping sight of your goals, you will see results. Everyone gets frustrated, but wouldn’t you rather work through that frustration with a seasoned coach and see positive results, rather than quitting, or worse, continuing down the same ineffective path you’ve been following? An experienced, trained Business Coach may suggest changes, and maybe you’re a person who has trouble making changes. But, as Einstein said, a problem can’t be fixed by the same process that created it—so sometimes change is necessary. The key is to keep an open mind to new ideas and to recognize that if what you have been doing isn’t working, it’s time to try something that will work.
Communication
When working with a Business Coach, it’s important to keep lines of communication open. Good Business Coaches are very much in the mindset of working with you to establish clear-cut goals and then defining and taking the steps to reach those goals.
Just like a sports coach, a business coach helps you pinpoint problems, develop winning strategies, and master the art of testing and measuring everything; including your own progress! In the end, your business will not only be successful, but will practically run itself, giving you time, energy, and the funding to do the things you want to do, when you want to do them.
So, whether you’re just starting out, established, struggling, or highly successful, you can benefit from business coaching by increasing your profits, building a true dream team, managing and marketing more efficiently, and having effective processes and systems in place that will allow you time to work on (rather than in) your company.
This article was written by William Lipovsky and originally appeared on DUE.com.