A business coach provides valuable expertise and knowledge in various areas of business, holds entrepreneurs accountable for their goals and actions, and provides an objective perspective on business challenges. Additionally, a business coach can offer emotional support and encouragement to help entrepreneurs stay motivated and focused, while also fostering personal development to improve communication, time management, and leadership abilities.
I have hired a bussiness coach and experienced the major benefits of doing so, and I have personally helped artist entrepreneurs achieve their goals, overcome obstacles, and saw first hand how their businesses grew in a more efficient and effective way.
Hiring a business coach can be a valuable investment for entrepreneurs for several reasons:
1. Accountability
There is nothing quite like paying a coach to check in on you to help motivate you towards achieving your goals. Having someone hold you accountable is one of the best things you can do for your business.
When you tell your coach, “My goals are to make two videos this week,” you will be much more likely to actually do them. Accountability is huge for making steps towards your larger picture goals. Your coach should not only help motivate you to accomplish tasks, but ensure you are focusing your efforts on the right tasks that will work towards achieving your goals. Knowing that your coach is going to check in on you and your progress is quite motivational.
2. Invest in Your Business
When you invest in your business by getting a coach, you should be hiring someone who you trust and who will in turn invest in you. When you and your business succeed, it means your mentor is also succeeding. It’s such a fantastic mutualistic relationship.
Having dedicated time to talk about you, your business, your successes, your failures, your worries, your pain points, and your ideas makes ALL the difference.
When you invest real money and time in yourself and your business, the results will show. I invest in coaching monthly, and see first-hand how it has benefitted me, my life, and my business. It is one of the best things I have done for my business, and I know my coaching clients feel the same.
3. Motivation
A coach will not only provide you with accountability, but they should inspire and motivate you to go after your biggest dreams and goals. They are your cheerleader. Your wins are theirs, and it should be clear they want you to succeed. They will help you break down the barriers to your success, and help you relinquish your fears.
Your coach should be able to help you break down your biggest dreams into tangible, attainable, and specific steps. The simple act of talking about goal setting with someone for a dedicated period of time will motivate you in ways you never imagined. Preparing for a coaching call is motivating, too. I always come to my own coaching sessions prepared with a list of questions, pain points, ideas, etc so the time with my coach is well spent. Every time you have contact with your coach it should and will feel motivating, because they are your motivator. They will help keep the fire lit, and the energy focused.
4. Dedicated Time to Talk Business
Coaching time is dedicated time where someone you trust and respect is spending their energy and focus on you, your business, and your success. It almost feels like therapy.
So much mental energy, time, and love goes into owning and operating a small business. Having someone that you pay for dedicated time to discuss your business will help you see it from an outside perspective. Their knowledge will help you find focus, help you grow, solve problems, and learn faster. Coaches are like cheat codes.
5. Focus Efforts
This is one of the best things that a coach can provide. Being able to sit down with a coach, talk about your dream life, and sort out ways to achieve it is so much fun and so valuable.
Without focusing your efforts, you will find yourself being pulled in all the different directions owning a business will pull you, but aimlessly. Having defined, well thought out, specific goals that lead up to your big picture goal will ensure that your time that you are spending on your business is focused time, and time well spent. This is what good coaches can do, and something I specialize in.
A coach provides that outside perspective to help their client not only identify but accomplish their goals.
6. Optimize Business and Life
A good coach won’t just provide you with sound business advice, but they will also help with other aspects of life. You are hopefully coming to them not just for their business skill set. They should have tools to help organize, and optimize your life, too. Because work is affected by life, and vice versa. They are not mutually exclusive.
In order to have a successful business, there are some practices you can put in place to free up time, and mental space to succeed in business. For instance, batch working, time blocking, 3 things, goal setting, to-do lists, ta-da lists, and so much more. A coach should be offering you great advice regardless of the topic and it should all be specific to you.
I personally read an unhealthy number of self-help books and have implemented them in my own life. I have found success with many things I have read in them. I bring that advice into my coaching sessions, because you need life to allow for you to have the mental space, time, and energy to work on business. Coaching is so much more than just business advice.
7. Outside Honest Perspective
If you are looking for an honest perspective from an outside source, a coach is a fantastic choice. They are on your team, are knowledgeable, and willing to share their knowledge, but most importantly want to see you succeed. A good coach should be able to motivate you and also provide honest and constructive feedback to improve your business and get you closer to your goals.
Remember when they are giving you constructive criticism it is because they have your best interest at heart. They want to see you succeed.
8. Earn More
If you want to earn more money sometimes you need to spend it. Your business should grow with a coach, and so should your income. That is the goal, after all. Yes, a business coach should help you feel good about your business, and help you create an authentic business for your specific voice, but the bottom line is they should also be helping your bottom line.
It can be a simple suggestion on scheduling, a tactic for accomplishing tasks, a specific tip about Pinterest, connections to other people/businesses, or one of the other myriad of ways a coach will help you grow financially.
9. Talking One-On-One with an Expert
This is HUGE. They have done it before. They know what to expect. You can learn so much faster the proper ways to do things from someone who has already done it, then trying to figure it out for yourself. This is also why I am a huge fan of information sharing. We are all better when we help each other out. #communityovercompetition.
Getting the opportunity to talk in a focused manner about your specific business and your specific problems can solve so many issues, answer so many unknowns, and help guide you to making good choices for your business. A good coach will do their research into you, and your business. They will listen to your needs, questions, worries, and goals and cater their coaching to you.
I like to have my new coaching clients fill out a survey so I can get to know them better, their goals, and make sure I am the right fit for them before I take them on as a client.
10. Grow Faster
If you want to grow faster, and make fewer mistakes in the process, a coach is for you. A coach will save you time and money. They will help guide your decisions to help you grow towards your dream, and provide feedback along the way. Your success is also theirs.
Coaching is one of the best things I have done for my business to date. I have seen my growth in myself, personally, in my business processes, in my numbers, in my motivation, and in my pride when it comes to my business. I am not just working without a clear goal as to why, I am now working with purpose and intention.