For those of you who have read Michael Gerber’s – The E-Myth Revisited, you will know the difference between technician, manager and entrepreneur.
You started your business to be an entrepreneur but usually end up as technician / manager. There is no school for entrepreneurial skills, they don’t get taught, it’s up to you to figure that out for yourself.
Sitting at the top of an organisation, there is an expectation that you know what you are doing. Technically yes – but building a scaleable and saleable business requires a bunch of skills that you just don’t get taught, you have go find those skills in others.
Enter the business coach.
A business coach oversees and guides a founder, in scaling a business. Like a sports coach, a business coach’s job is to help you develop the skills and resources you need in order to be successful.
Whether you’re overwhelmed, in need of advice, or want to see better results — here are the key signs on your journey to seek out a business coach.
1. You Are Overwhelmed
The No. 1 sign that it’s time for a coach is when you hit that feeling of being overwhelmed. There is too much to do and too few hours in the day. You are overwhelmed by not knowing how much profit you are making at the end of your month or worse still, seeing the profit in your P & L but not in the bank account!. And you are overwhelmed because you don’t feel like you have control of your business, your employees or your suppliers.
2. You Need a Confidant to Talk About Your Business With
Standing on top of the organisation chart holds an expectation for excellence. Who can you trust to speak without feeling exposed, or impairing your credibility within the organization or its clients? How would it feel to have a safe sounding board for honest feedback on your ideas and a partner to support you in the process of design, implementation and evaluation? Time to hire a coach!
3. You Intellectually Know What to Do But Don’t Do It
You need a coach when you “know” what to do but don’t implement. Lack of change typically occurs because you need to experience some paradigm shifts that require someone with an outside perspective challenging your assumptions and because you need someone to help you translate general principles into specific steps that you can take in your own life.
Just write down the top 10 things you know you should be doing but aren’t – its frustrating to know and not to do! A coach will not let you off the hook.
4. You Aren’t Getting the Results You Want
Sometimes we think we know the right path to take in our business growth, but somehow we just don’t seem to be getting there. In order to get the results we want, we may need guidance from someone who can see things from a more objective view. Partnering with a business coach can increase ROI and allow one to remove obstacles that are holding back results you want.
5. You Want Your Company to Grow
Your company will only expand at the rate of your own growth. There, I said it. You are the only obstacle to your company’s growth! If you’re alive and breathing as an entrepreneur, you need a coach.
Over the last 20 years, I’ve hired half a dozen different coaches, been the beneficiary of a several mentors, read hundreds of books, sat in countless hours of workshops and seminars, I have even worked closely with a therapist.
Find a coach you can rely on and get to work. The ROI is ridiculous.