Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. What is business coaching?

A. Business coaching enables the small business owner to be in a position to grow and achieve goals that they consider important. Business coaching is an interactive process that expands the small business owner's effectiveness at both business and leadership skills and allows them to identify obstacles that can hinder them from moving forward and attaining their goals.
A business coach enables the business owner to establish focus, determine best strategies and action plans, establish next steps, implementation, and follow-up. Business coaches ask questions, listen, and make suggestions; they explore, challenge, encourage, probe, facilitate, focus, stimulate, and hold you accountable.

Coaching is:

Centered on the business person’s needs and wants
Enabling the business person to reach his/her goals
Short term and specific
Done in person or on the phone.

In practice, coaching is a series of conversations between two people; one intent on making progress in some area of business and leadership, the other a skilled and empathetic person. The goal of coaching is to help the business person move from where they are to where they want to be.

COMPONENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COACHING RELATIONSHIP

The Business Coach takes the time to understand the owner’s business and provides systematic developmental methodologies that help the business owner succeed.
The Business Coach respects the confidentiality of information received from the business owner.
The person being coached looks to the Business Coach for guidance, encouragement and feedback, but does not place on the Coach the responsibility to produce change. Change is the responsibility of the client.
The person being coached must be self-motivated, have a clear sense of leadership, and be willing to set and accomplish goals.

Q. Is Coaching for me?

A. As a business person, you can prosper by working with a business coach if you are:

Too busy putting out fires every day, rather than purposely building a business that will run profitably – WITHOUT you needing to be there.
Stuck - and can’t seem to make any progress.
Overwhelmed with too much to do, and would like to find CLARITY.
Frustrated that your employees come and go – and they don’t have the same passion that you have for your business.
Confused that your business has grown – and continues to grow – but you haven’t seen the MONEY.

A Business Coach enables you to make progress in your business and life and grow at a pace that is reasonable for you.

Q: Is this another name for consulting?

A: No. While a business coach definitely does some consulting, a consultant does not coach. A pure consultant is basically a specialist dealing with a certain area of a business. For example, a consultant might be able to tell you how to eliminate waste in a manufacturing process. Typically, a consultant is project/problem specific, and details his/her findings in a report.
A coach doesn’t concentrate on a single area, doesn’t necessarily prepare formal reports, doesn’t concentrate on ONLY the business, and doesn’t leave once a specific project is completed. A coach is there for you:

24 hours a day
to help you
to guide you
to motivate you
to improve you
to improve your entire business

Q. Next: "Improve Me and my business." What does that mean?

A. As the owner, it is up to you to lead your company to where you want it to be. However, you may not be conscious of all of the areas of your business that, if addressed, can have massive results. Very often, business owners like you are too busy doing the everyday tasks.
We will help you maximize your strengths. Your own skills will be honed to improve on leadership, personal effectiveness, strategy, motivation, productivity, and organizational skills. The coaching process – by combining your pursuit for personal excellence with excellent business strategies – is the best of both worlds. Once you know what you want, develop a plan that will provide it, and take congruent actions on a daily basis, your enthusiasm returns. It becomes fun again, and your profits climb!
There’s NOTHING like it.

Q. I'm already doing well. Why do I need a coach?

A. You may not need a coach. You may not even be “coachable,” i.e. you may already "know everything." However, every top performer in the world - from athletes like Steve Nash and Tiger Woods, to the President of the United States - has mentors, coaches and advisors.
In studies of successful individuals, certain characteristics are always found : They are always goal oriented, they are always very persistent, and finally, they always have a person or group of persons that they meet with regularly to brainstorm and learn!
Simply ask yourself: On a scale of 1-100, “how do I perform right now?” If your honest answer is less than 100 – a coach can help you. Period.

Q. Why does the coaching process take time?

A. The process is not a magic wand. Certainly, you have been to a seminar and left recharged and planning wonderful changes. Almost as certain is that you probably forgot everything from the seminar within ninety days. We all do it.
Creating lasting change is a process of acquiring skills and developing positive habits. As Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.” Coaching is a process to get you to develop positive congruent habits that maximize your life and drive your business forward.
The process is important in creating real change that lasts.

Q. What about the rest of my team? Do you offer anything for them?

A. Absolutely. We have seminars and workshops to improve every area of your business depending on your needs. In addition, we have assessments to ensure that you are building the best team possible.
For our seminars, we offer topics such as team and morale building, developing the mission and vision, strategic planning, marketing more effectively, sales effectiveness, customer service excellence, personal effectiveness, leadership, goal setting, and many more. We can custom design them for your particular business.
Getting input from your employees in each area of your business goes a long way to them taking a level of “ownership” in the success of the business and it empowers them. Since they will have ownership in the ideas that develop, they will have a personal interest in the success. The results can be incredible.
In addition, we are available to work one-on-one with some of your key people in areas that challenge them!

Q. I'm not sure that it applies to my industry/market...

A. Coaching only applies to your business if you want:

To plan for growth
To know which few actions make a big difference on your business and your life
To grow your business by using more effective marketing and sales strategies
To serve your customers so that they buy more often,
To have better control of your profit margins,
To be a better leader,
To have better systems to run your business,
To have more effective, engaged employees,
To make more money and work less hours.
To go on vacation worry-free and know your business is in good hands.

If these don’t apply to your industry – then perhaps coaching won’t apply to your industry/market

Q. How much does coaching cost?

A. In most cases – nothing! In fact, you should be able to make way more than enough in the growth of your company to pay for the coaching. And, the results last for years after the coaching process has ended. It’s the greatest investment that you will ever make!
But if that’s not a good enough answer, we’ll tell you this: It would cost you more to hire a part time worker to answer your phones for a year than it will cost you to hire a coach. Think about that.

Q. Here's how working with us helps you and your company grow...

A. We work with you, the owner, on a regular basis (weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, or quarterly as needed) to set goals, plan, strategize, prepare action plans, and hold you accountable, to get you and your business performing at the highest levels.
We are not magicians. We will not promise that by simply hiring us or attending one of our workshops that you will achieve instant prosperity. But we do promise that the application of successful business strategies geared for only your business that we implement will do FAR more to move you to your goals than any consultant, seminar, or workshop can!
In working with us over the next year, we will help you: drive more people to your business, sell to them more effectively, service them better so they buy more often, and manage your finances, and systemetize your business – better than you ever have previously. In addition, you will have more money and free time to do things outside of work that you enjoy. Therefore, it is important that we only work with business owners that are serious about winning the game of life and the game of business.

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