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Regardless of where your company is at now, there are certain things you can do that will aid you in taking it to the next level.
One of those things is hiring a business coach or mentor.
Hiring a business mentor offers benefits that you could never get from a course, book, or class. Regardless of whether you’re running a multi-million dollar corporation or you’re just starting out, the right business coach can help you bring out the best in both yourself and your company.
Because the benefits are so diverse and so powerful, I wanted to dedicate an article to covering these benefits in detail. This way, you can decide whether or not the fees involved with hiring a business mentor are worth it for your business.
1. They Will Provide Expertise And Insights
Perhaps the most obvious, when you hire a business coach, you immediately gain access to their vast pool of knowledge and expertise.
Business coaches have the advantage of working with a diverse set of companies, at all stages in their life cycle. Chances are, they’ve already been faced with and worked through the challenges facing your business at this specific moment.
When I began taking on coaching clients, I had already read hundreds of different business books, on very specific topics. While not every book was applicable to me personally, having that knowledge available to me allowed me to apply it for clients when it mattered most.
As I actually began implementing things for my coaching clients, I gained experience and true expertise on how to implement a wide variety of strategies.
I will admit, this is not something that entrepreneurs can easily experience on their own. There is true value working with a wide variety of businesses that only an experienced coach or mentor can offer.
An experienced coach will be able to see problems, issues, and solutions that you may have never noticed, and that’s insanely powerful.
2. You’ll Make Quicker Decisions
Have you ever got hung up on making an important decision for your company?
I know I have. We care so much about our companies, and we don’t want to make preventable mistakes.
The problem is that time we spend contemplating decisions is time we could’ve spent actually implementing them and building our companies. And it’s amazing how quickly this time adds up.
Good business coaches are easy to get in touch with, and can help you make these decisions quickly. Personally, in addition to weekly meetings, I like to give clients my Skype for quick little chats as they’re needed.
Business coaches will listen to your thoughts and concerns, provide their insight, and help you make a confident decision straight away.
3. You’ll Have Someone To Bounce Ideas Off Of
Business coaches will listen to all of your ideas, regardless of how grand or strange they may seem.
They will do their best to understand your vision and intentions, and even contribute follow-up ideas of their own that can help you to fully fledge things out.
At the same time, they can help you develop a road map to actually executing on that idea, which is often just as important as the idea itself.
4. They’ll Help You Prioritize
At the same time, business coaches will help you to prioritize all of your ideas and goals, to help you achieve as many as possible in the most effective manner.
Although business coaches can be blunt or harsh when they need to be, the reality is that they’re in your corner, 24/7, 100% of the time. They truly want the best for you and your company.
Because entrepreneurs tend to be ambitious and passionate people, we also tend to suffer from a lack of focus. Ultimately, the ability to focus and prioritize is one of the most important skills entrepreneurs need to succeed.
Coaches will never force you to run your company a certain way, but they will certainly help you channel your energy and resources to things that will ultimately help you attain your goals.
5. You’ll Expand Your Network
When you hire a small business coach, you’re not only gaining closer access to them – you’re also gaining access to their entire network.
Business coaches are often very well connected, and have valuable connections in a wide number of areas. When it makes sense to do so, they will be happy to connect you with somebody that can help move your company forward.
Not to mention, you’re likely to become a lot closer with your coach or mentor themselves. I consider some of my coaching clients – both current and past, some of my closest friends due to the time we’ve spent together.
6. Accountability
Do you have anyone holding you accountable?
Studies have shown that a sense of accountability improves performance, and this is not only true in business. We see this all the time in fitness (where having a workout partner drastically improves weight loss) or in all form of education as well.
It’s human nature – when other people are counting on us and holding us accountable for our action (or lack thereof,) we work harder and do better.
Business coaches will check in on you and track your progress, to ensure you’re actually making progress towards your goals. They will cheer for your successes, and identify problems when production drops.
Better yet, they will analyze these and their causes to help you do more of what’s helping, and less of what isn’t.
All of us can improve in one way or another. Business coaches can help bring out the best in you, and part of that is due to accountability.
7. You’ll Receive Unbiased, Authentic Opinions
Business coaches will tell you what you need to hear, even if you don’t want to hear it.
Your family and friends have the goal of strengthening their relationship with you. They want you to like them, feel good towards them, and spend time with them. They will tell you what you want to hear, even if it’s not entirely truthful.
Business coaches aren’t like that.
Coaches have the goal of bringing out the best in both you and your company. They want you to make more money and end up in a better place than you were before hiring them – even if getting there is a tad bit uncomfortable.
Businesses operate in reality, and reality doesn’t care too much about your feelings. This isn’t to say your business mentor will be rude or overly harsh – it just means they will be realistic.
It’s with the best of intentions, I promise you.
Sadly, nobody else wants to tell you what you want to hear. They believe that they are protecting you by doing this, when the reality is that entrepreneurs need someone to be honest with them if they actually want to succeed.
8. You’ll Expand Your Boundaries
I know I’ve said it several times already, but a good business coach will push you out of your comfort zone.
They will challenge you and push you to do things that make you uncomfortable. You will likely try things out that you may not have done before, and your coach will be right there alongside you helping you to push through that fear – offering the encouragement and support you need to expand your skill set.
It is the act of pushing through fear that helps us grow as entrepreneurs and as people. Often times, we quickly find out that our fears weren’t anything to worry about in the first place, and we grow even more confident in our abilities after pushing through them.
Running a business is scary, and we all hit points where fear can cripple us. Because coaches will push you to do better, many entrepreneurs feel that hiring a coach leads to one of the most significant growth periods in their lifetime.
[easy-tweet tweet=”It is the act of pushing through fear that helps us grow. Often times, we quickly find out that our fears weren’t anything to worry about in the first place, and we grow even more confident in our abilities after pushing through them.” user=”JamesMOnline” usehashtags=”no”]
Conclusion
There’s a reason that business coaching is talked about so frequently – it works.
The benefits hiring a good coach or mentor can provide you are incredibly valuable and incredibly diverse, and just about everyone who goes through with it feels that the money and time are well worth it.
Remember, the lessons and experiences you gain with your coach will stick with you forever, even if you two eventually decide to part ways.
I’d love to answer any questions you may have about business coaching, and how it can benefit you and your company. And of course, if you’re interested in learning more about my own coaching service, please click here for more information.
To your success,
– James McAllister
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