You became an entrepreneur to go out on your own. You believe in yourself, want to work hard and have the drive to succeed. Why then would you want someone else telling you what to do?

Here’s why;

Someone who has started out on their own and seen their own business grow, suffered through the challenges and celebrated successes, has learned how to do things right and more importantly, how not to do things. A new entrepreneur would likely not even consider using a coach because they may feel like they already have a fair understanding of the business they are in or that they should just know off the bat how things should be done. Even when things get hairy, it can be hard to overcome your sense of pride and ask for help. However, getting to know the benefits of hiring a business coach will help you take advantage of one of the greatest resources you have at your disposal.

Doing business has got more complicated over the last decade and is ever changing. More and more entrepreneurs are turning to expert coaches and they are willing to invest in the plethora of knowledge and experience they bring. Trying to learn while doing or learning from mistakes are fallacies that one can no longer afford.

Here are several ways that an expert coach can help you succeed in your venture.

A coach can help you recognise your priorities.

Why did you become an entrepreneur? Most likely because you are inspired by creativity. It led you to start up your own company and it goes without saying that you want to follow your instincts when it comes to your own ideas. But what you may not have considered is, that having many great ideas can also slow down your growth, because it’s that much harder to keep focus on your priorities.

Point in fact, the leverage of the newest and greatest technology that you think will help grow your business. It drives focus away from what you already have that works. This holds true for your marketing strategies as well.

You need to be able to focus on what is working right now. Hiring a coach to keep you on track will pay off faster than you can imagine.

Recognising tunnel vision

When starting out on your own, it’s very easy to get caught up in the day-to-day nitty-gritty of running a business. So much so that you lose sight of opportunities that are right in front of you. Hiring someone who constantly has a bird’s eye view of your business will catch any missed prospects that you may otherwise not even recognise.

Stand out from the crowd

One of the biggest challenges new business owners face is standing apart from their competition. Even if you are first to market, it will be necessary to leverage yourself in such a way as to stand out from the crowd of newcomers to the market.

By helping you brand yourself in the correct way, a coach can help you get to your end goal much fast than you would on your own.

A coach has the innate ability to gauge your strengths and weaknesses better than you can and thereby help you showcase your business in the best possible light.

Pay attention to your personal growth

Not only should your business grow, so you should you as a person. Helping you see yourself in a different light and getting over your self-limiting beliefs, as well as meeting whatever challenges you may face head-on, is something an expert coach is trained to do. By creating a safe space and understanding your own unique circumstances, treating you with respect and having an objective perspective, a coach can help you strive to be the best you can be.

Many of us have entire areas of potential that we’ve never explored or pursued. A good coach can recognize those areas and help you address them and expand them.

The keys to your success may not lie in your outer environment, such as the market or your competition, rather in your way of thinking and how you act. A trained coach will help you recognise areas in your thought or behavioural process that may be hindering your progress and help you correct them before it affects you and your business in an adverse manner.

Time is money

This is an adage that has stood the test of time (pardon the pun).

As a business owner who has just started out, it is very easy to let things get out of control. Wasting time on activities that would be better spent on far more productive endeavors, is something that can hit your bottom line quicker than you realise. By helping you plan your time in an effective manner, a coach will steer you towards what is necessary to run your business. Too often new entrepreneurs will waste time on things that don’t really help their business, such as procrastinating or micromanaging.

Another very important area a seasoned coach can help you with is money management. Often, new business operates on a tight budget, which makes finances a precious commodity.

Saving what little money you have by spending frugally is a great way a coach can help you.

For example, to gain knowledge that they think they may need, a business owner may feel the need to spend on various quick learn courses and training programmes that are rampant on the internet. Those funds are better invested in someone who will be hands-on in your business and help you save money, as well as your valuable time.

This brings me to another point; learning by yourself can sometimes have a steep curve, especially if you are new to the business, not to mention the inevitable mistakes you make while digesting all the new information thrown at you. Because a coach has already jumped over these hurdles, they can eliminate or at the very least mitigate these mistakes and help you learn what you need to in the shortest possible time.

Be accountable to yourself

You would think that this is a given, considering that if someone goes into business for themselves, they are automatically accountable to themselves. This is usually not the case.

Without the guidance of a coach, it’s very easy for one to lose focus due to all the ideas they have. By defining specific goals and developing action plans and milestones, a coach can help the entrepreneur be accountable for completing the necessary steps to reach those goals. Doing so give the business owner better focus and a higher chance to succeed.

By following a set of tasks they need to complete to move forward, the coachee is motivated to follow through with assignments that they know will help them become better businessmen and grow as individuals.

Learn to communicate better

One of the hallmarks of a good coach is the ability to communicate effectively. This doesn’t mean just being articulate but also being a great listener. That is a transferable skill. Through a coach, you can learn not only how to speak with confidence but also how to listen more mindfully. With these skills, you can not only motivate your own employees but also reach out to your customer base.

There is nothing that gives a potential client more incentive to buy your product or service than the ability to create a real connection with them. When someone knows and likes you, they automatically build trust and that’s when they buy your product or service.

Leave your comfort zone

People start their own business to follow their passion. At the start, they are very motivated and are brimming with ideas and new concepts. Over time that can overwhelm them. It can become very easy to sit in front of your laptop the entire day doing what you think are ‘business activities’. As you get into this routine, it can be almost impossible to break away from that habit and go out and do what really needs to be done.

Recognising these behaviours, a coach will gently nudge you in the right direction. You may have brilliant ideas but lack the motivation to follow through. This is where a coach can really help you. You can learn to push your boundaries with the support and mentorship of a coach.

Support and encouragement

It’s not always a rosy picture. Anyone who has been in the game for a while will tell you this. There are times when things don’t go according to plan, which leads to discouragement and depression. These are times when a coach can help boost your confidence buy lending a thoughtful ear and reminding you of what you have already accomplished. It’s as you if you have your own personal cheerleader.

Building a business takes time and effort and at times you may feel the need to quit. Through positive reinforcement and encouragement, a coach will help you learn patience, grace and courage when you need it the most. Something as simple as bouncing a new idea off someone is all you need at times. A coach will give you the support you need to help you decide if it’s in your best interest to proceed.

For more on how we can help you succeed drop us an email or give us a call.