By Melitta Campbell, www.melittacampbell.com
Why have a business coach when there is so much great FREE information and amazing ‘virtual mentors’ on YouTube?
I was asked this question by a business owner, and I thought it was a fantastic question. It’s true, there is a lot of great people and content offering free advice on YouTube and I whole-heartedly encourage you to find one or two of these ‘virtual mentors’ to help you in your business education. However, their advice will be limited in its ability to move your business forward for these five reasons:
1. A Video Offers Advice – not Feedback
When you work with a business coach, you get access to someone who can give you feedback and advice on everything you plan and everything you do within your business – a video can’t provide these valuable insights.
2. Great Advice is not always the Right Advice!
Businesses go through different phases and, while there are certainly no-fail strategies that work for all businesses, knowing how and when to implement them is an art that will save you time, effort and money.
On the flip-side, not knowing when or how to adopt these strategies will lead to overwhelm and cause you to feel stuck, and can destroy your mindset.
Your business coach knows you, your business and your ideal clients, so can help you understand when to implement certain strategies, and guide you in adapting them to your business. Saving you hours, weeks or even months of trial and error – not to mention saving you money and a lot of frustration!
3. No Accountability
We do two things in life. We do what we love and we do what we are being watched on.
As your own boss, you are accountable to yourself and, as you’ve probably already experience, this often leads up to get caught up on doing the little things, instead of remaining laser-focused on the important activities that really move the needle in your business.
This is where your business coach is invaluable, in helping you stay focused and consistent in your business.
4. No Personal Insights, and therefore Growth
Part of a business coach’s role is to help you identify your blind spots and use these to guide your personal growth and improve your market positioning (i.e. your business growth).
The advice in the video has been designed for a mass-audience and therefore will never give you specific, tailor-made advice or observations.
5. No Context or Mindset Support
When it comes to learning something new, or taking action on something for the first time, our confidence isMoving through the Aha Zone - your business coach can help typically low and our anxiety high. It remains this way until we move through the ‘Ah-Ha Zone’ – the moment when we’ve learned and practiced our new skills or knowledge enough to start feeling confident.
Without getting personal support and encouragement to move swiftly towards and through the Ah-Ha Zone, you’ll often get stuck feeling that you are not good enough or feeling overwhelmed, and never put your new knowledge into action; and no action = no results.
I encourage you all to work on building your business understanding by reading books and watching expert videos every day.
But this is only part of the puzzle. Without a clear plan and support to help you consistently put this plan into action, your success will always be limited.
I personally learned this lesson the hard way. While my first business was a success on paper – I had consistent clients and a great income – but I wasn’t working in my zone of genius, keeping my life in balance, or achieving personal or business growth. As a result I was not happy and I started to show the warning signs of a burn-out.
Since I pivoted my business, I’ve never been without a coach – and I’ve seen a huge difference in my health and wellbeing, many ability to perform at the highest levels, and my results.
And that’s why I became a business coach myself, so I can use not only all of my 25 years of study and real-life experience to help other women excel in business – but also to help them understand that it’s only when we have the courage to be our true-selves that we really experience meaningful success.
No video will help you achieve and maintain that position – nor will it be there to celebrate your success alongside you : )
Finding the Right Business Coach
There are many Business Coaches out there, each with a different set of skills, experiences and ideals. It’s important for you to find the one that best matches your needs, therefore I recommend you ask the following questions:
Questions to ask yourself:
- Why am I looking for a business coach right now?
- What would I want to achieve and within what time-frame?
- Who would I want to involve in my final decision?
- What am I willing to invest (time, effort, money) to get the results I want?
Do you initial research and either create a short-list of 2-3 business coaches that you’d like to approach to learn more about them and their offer.
All business coaches, and all coaches for that matter, offer a free initial call. This could be anything from 15-90 minutes.
Personally, I invite potential clients to an initial 15-minute call to jointly assess whether we both feel we could be a good match.
If so, then I will offer you a full 90-minute Complementary Coaching Session, in which I will help you start developing the strategies needed to take your business forward, before deciding if we feel there is value in moving to a full business coaching relationship to improve your results and profitability in the shortest possible time frame.
Once you’ve booked your initial call with your business coach, you’ll want to ask them:
Question to ask your potential Business Coach
- How could you help me get the results I seek?
- In what time-frame do you feel we could achieve these results?
- What would you expect from me?
- How do you run your coaching relationships?
- How much access will I have to you personally?
- What guarantee do you offer?
You want to be sure that you get answers that match your requirements, and that you feel that your chosen coach will nurture you – and challenge you – in equal measure.
It’s essential that you trust your coach and feel comfortable working with them – after all, you will be working closely together for several months as you move your business to the next level and beyond!
Enjoy Your Coaching!
Author's bio
Melitta Campbell
Melitta is a Business Coach and Mentor with nearly 3 decades of business experience and a passion for helping women confidently build a business they love.
She is also the founder of the Swiss Entrepreneurs Club and even held a position in 2019 as the president of the Swiss Riviera Toastmasters Club in Montreux. Not to waste any energy, Melitta is an integral part of theTEDxLausanne team. She recently foundedNew Female Entrepreneurs Clubwhich boasts a podcast of the same name.
Originally from Wales, she now lives in Montreux in a chalet she has renovated with her husband overlooking the Swiss Alps.
www.melittacampbell.com
www.facebook.com/MelittaCampbellCoach
www.twitter.com/MelittaCampbell
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