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You will agree that it isn’t easy starting a small business, and it is a lot harder to run one successfully. When your small business is stuck or is at crossroads and you aren’t sure of which steps you need to take, a small business coach might just be the professional you need to reach your goals. But, since small business coaches don’t usually come cheap, how can you be sure investing in one will be worthwhile? Here are some key reasons to justify any expenses you may incur when you hire a small business coach.
#1. Help in clarifying your real goals
It is often easy to think that you know what you really want, yet in reality, you are being driven by external forces. For example, your peers may be in a certain industry and this unconsciously drives you to start a small business in that industry as well.
With the help of a small business coach, you will be able to tease out what your real goals are. When these goals are extracted from deep in your heart of hearts, you will be in your element and the small business will thrive since it will be aligned with what you really want, need and desire. In other words, the hours you spend will not feel like work at all.
#2. Keeping you focused
I don’t know about you, but most small business owners I know are brimming with lots of ideas about the things they would like to do. The problem is, when you go after too many things, you are unlikely to attain any of them with any degree of excellence.
This is where a small business coach comes in. They act as your compass and keep you focused on the goals you identified as most important. This laser-focus will allow you to take your business to heights you never thought possible. That alone is more than value for the money you invest in acquiring that coach!
#3. Help in identifying your blind spots
It has been said that the biggest enemy of any small business is the business owner herself or himself. This is because the weaknesses of that individual become the weak points of the business, and they can eventually lead to the failure of the business.
For example, if you make rash decisions while hiring or firing employees, that blind spot can keep you stuck because you will always hire the wrong team, and your impatience will lead you to lose valuable team members. Without a proper team, your small business is on a ticking time bomb!
When you hire a small business coach, they will help you to identify your blind spots and work with you to plug those gaps. As those gaps get plugged, the odds of your business succeeding increase significantly.
#4. Helping you think outside the box
Businesses often find success by doing common things in an uncommon way. The problem is, humans like getting into a fixed set of habits, and those habits can quickly become the undoing of your small business.
The reality is, in life, you are either growing or dying. The same applies to your business. As you get comfortable, you get to a point when you are no longer growing because you are cozy in your comfort zone.
A small business coach will jar you out of your comfort zone since growth is to be found outside that comfort zone. In so doing, the coach will nudge and guide you to think outside the box so that your small business really stands out and succeeds.
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#5. Keeping you accountable
Of all the things you should expect of any small business coach you work with, keeping you accountable for the attainment of your goals ranks high up there. You can plan all you want, make the best business plan on the planet or even secure the choicest piece of real estate for your business. However, nothing will happen until you get to work.
Your small business coach will travel this journey with you keeping you accountable every step of the way. This is immense help because it is easy to slack off on doing what you need to do to move forward if no one is looking over your shoulder. With a small business coach by your side, you will be kept accountable for the action steps and goals that you select to move your business in the right direction.
#6. Build your confidence
As a small business owner, a lot of things will be new to you. Is this the right time to fire an underperforming employee? Am I getting a good deal from this supplier? How do I select the right accountant for my business? Is this strategy appropriate for this stage of my business? All these, and more, questions will run through your mind at one point or another as you build your small business.
The small business coach you hire will be a sounding board for all the ideas and questions you may have, and their insights will help you to develop your skills and confidence in your ability to make the right decisions.
Ultimately, your small business will succeed on the basis of who you become (grow into) as you travel your entrepreneurial journey. As your confidence grows, you will realize how instrumental your decision to hire a business coach was.
#7. Offering unbiased insights
We have already mentioned that a business coach helps you to build your confidence, and part of the reason why this happens is that the coach gives you unbiased insights.
To illustrate this point, think about how difficult it may be for your spouse or employee to tell you the bitter truth that you need to know about the way you are running your business. Your spouse may, with good intentions, withhold the truth for fear of hurting your feelings while your employee may remain silent in order to protect their job.
A coach, on the other hand, will say it as it is so that you can confront the reality and make the necessary changes. These candid insights ultimately make you a better small business owner, and success will follow.
#8. Help you earn and keep more money
Hiring a small business coach is an investment and not an expense because this person will help you to earn more money, and keep more money. The coach will constantly keep your eyes on the numbers of your business. How many leads do you generate monthly? What is the gross profit on each sale? What are your overhead costs? How can you convert more leads next month? Why are repeat clients so few?
In asking all those questions, your coach will help you to build a lean and efficient business whose profitability keeps growing. If the involvement of a small business coach results in the growth of your business at a rate you had never witnessed, can you in all honesty say hiring the coach isn’t a smart investment?
Your small business will rise or fall based entirely on what you do as the owner of that business. It is therefore important that you make hiring a business coach a top priority in 2021 so that you can rebuild from the shocks you may have suffered in 2020. Invest in yourself first by hiring coach, and you will have laid a firm foundation for business success in 2021!
To Your Success,
Jairek Robbins