1. You’re Getting Ready to Launch Your First Business
You have a million and one ideas, and you’re raring to go. But in order to turn those ideas into a successful business, you need more than passion—you need practical, goal-oriented plans. Like a business plan. And a financial plan. And a marketing plan. And a growth plan.
Before you start sweating: Here’s where business coaches can be really helpful. They’ll bring a ton of useful tools, resources, and exercises to help you build short and long-term goals. Through weekly or bi-weekly calls, they’ll keep you accountable. And when you’re feeling overwhelmed, they can help you compartmentalize so you’re spending less time having a panic attack and more time getting things done.
2. Company Morale is Low
Companies are made of living, breathing human beings, each with a set of hopes and dreams, quality of life standards, and complex emotions. But sometimes, especially in larger companies, it can feel like you’re just a number on a noisy assembly line. When all the focus is on beating a competitor, launching a game-changing product, and making Q3 financial numbers, people stop feeling like people.
If your company is struggling with morale, there’s arguably no better resource than a coach. Yes, business coaches are focused on helping people build successful businesses, but the human behind the business always comes first. By working with the executive or HR team, a business coach can look at the company holistically and pinpoint the specific issues affecting employees—and how to fix them.
3. You’re Stuck in a Rut
If you’re a small business owner with sales that won’t budge, a budding entrepreneur who can’t get beyond the ideation phase, or an executive at a company who can’t grab more market share from your competitor no matter how many amazing new products you launch, a business coach can help get you moving forward.
Why? First, business coaches are trained to help people change—think of them as a catalyst. And if you’re spinning your wheels, it’s likely that you’ll need to change your approach in order to move forward. Additionally, since so much of business coaching training is rooted in psychology, they can help you identify why you’re in a rut. So not only will they help you get out of it, but you’ll be able to take all that valuable learning to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
If you’re ready to start researching business coaches in your area, keep this in mind: There is no universal training program for business coaches, and certification is not required, so it’s important that you vet their background. What training have they had? What success stories can they share? Do they tend to work with businesses your size? In your industry? The most important part about a business coach-coachee relationship is the relationship itself, so, more than anything, listen to your gut. You want to leave that initial meeting feeling energized and inspired. It means it’s working.