Going into business for yourself is exciting. Not having a boss, controlling your own schedule and taking control of your life is what most people want. Making the transition from corporate worker to the business owner is romantic until the first day you are sitting in your empty house with no one to call, no sales leads and in some cases you may not even have a website. The reality is that, while you have a great idea, you may not know exactly what you should be doing with your business to develop it into a sustainable business.
Over the years, I have had many coaches and I continue to learn from them. They can help you as well, ranging from support to make certain business decisions to help you gain certain partnerships. A coach can help guide you through your entrepreneur journey.
HERE ARE FIVE OTHER REASONS WHY YOU NEED SOMEONE LIKE A COACH:
- Coaches provide information and knowledge.
When I was starting out, I suffered from sensory overload. I knew how to make a business plan, create a budget, handle daily operations and make strategic decisions. I even knew how to run a marketing campaign. Most of this information is readily available over the internet. What I didn't learn from the countless hours of YouTube and blog sites was where to start. A coach, showed me how to organize and prioritize the workload so I could actually get something accomplished.
“Don’t judge a man by his intentions, only by his actions.” - Chinese Proverb
- Coaches can see where we need to improve where we often cannot.
Coaches can bruise your ego. After all, it takes a high level of self esteem to become an entrepreneur. A good coach can tear you down and lift you up. Having a good coach will put you ahead of your competitors and without a good coach, you will spend your wheels working inefficiently.
The constructive criticism from my coach helped me to see things in myself that I could not recognize. I appreciated that insight. I wanted to know exactly where I was lacking so I could improve those areas.
- Coaches find ways to stimulate personal and professional growth.
When I work with clients, I often pose questions to think about, but ensure they come back with answers. We work together to set various goals, but I don’t micromanage or "mother" the client. Success or failure is completely up to the client. We have touch points to discuss the project and what they learned. I would provide my observations and finally conclude with an action plan. I also spend time to focus on character and values because these are the true drivers that determine how fast one will succeed in their business.
- Coaches offer encouragement and help keep us going.
"A coach is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself." - Tony Robbins. They are there no matter what and offers moral support sprinkled heavily with cheerleading. There were times that, if there wasn't a coach there I would have given up myself. Business is emotionally draining, it’s lonely and it's hard to know who to trust. However, the coaches I’ve had in life wouldn't let me stop, but provided the encouragement and guidance that gave me hope and confidence that I could do whatever was asked of me.
- Coaches are disciplinarians that create necessary boundaries that we cannot set for ourselves.
The life of an entrepreneur can be challenging when it comes to self-motivation and self-discipline. A good coach will take on the role of parent to teach good work habits and provide boundaries to work within. This will hopefully solidify your work ethic, sharpened my focus, and clarified my priorities in a way that I could not do on my own.
Having a coach is not a sign of weakness. In fact, it’s one of the smartest decisions you can make in your entrepreneurial career. I feel fortunate enough to have had this experience and am now in a position to return the favor to others that are just starting out. If you are interested in a coach, please contact me at michael.drayton@21kgroup.com.
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