This is the year. This, you have decided, is the year you skyrocket your business to great success. Congratulations! It’s a worthy resolution for the new year. But I’m here to make sure that instead of simply setting a goal, you also work toward making it a reality. Too many business owners throw out goals and then wonder why they never achieve them. Perhaps it’s because they don’t put in the hard work to accomplish those goals? Hmm. But that’s not the problem with you. You’re ready to put in the work, whatever it takes. One way to help your business grow? Hire a business coach.
A business coach can help you see your company from a different perspective. She can share her experience working with other startups and small businesses to advise you on what you can do to improve operations.
Yes, it’s an expense, and depending on who you hire, it can be a large one. But if the investment helps you elevate your business, isn’t it a worthy one?
Related: You Don’t Need a Business Coach, You Need a Pro
Here are a few reasons to consider working with a business coach:
- You’re not sure which direction to go next
Perhaps you’re at a crossroads. Your business has been doing well, and you’re ready to grow it, but you’re not sure how to do so. Should you offer additional products or services? Increase prices? Go after new markets?
A business coach, who is by default unbiased when it comes to your business, can see a clear path to your growth, and can advise you on steps to take to get there.
- You want to be pushed
Just like you’d hire a personal trainer to get your body fit, working with a business coach can work your business out. Without one, you may just focus on your daily tasks and rarely come up for air to assess strategy or consider your next move.
But that’s a business coach’s job: to get you out of your comfort zone and thinking about how you can do more.
- You get the benefit of her experience
Your experience is limited to what you know from running your own business, as well as any jobs you held before you were an entrepreneur. A business coach has worked with dozens of other businesses, and has seen it all. She can share what she’s learned in working with other people or even give you cautionary tales of what not to do.
- You can bounce your ideas off her
It can be isolating when you’re a one-person operation. Who is around to tell you if something is a rotten idea? Who challenges you? Who realigns you in a better direction when you get off course?
Right now, probably no one fills this role. But a coach’s job is to be that sounding board so that you can ensure you’re doing what’s best for your company, even if you can’t see what that is.
- You’ll be held accountable
Another drawback to working solo is that there’s no one to hold you accountable. If you say you’re going to increase sales by 25 percent this year, who’s there to gently nudge you to take action to make that happen?
Having a business coach is like having a teacher. You may be assigned homework. You will have regular check-ins where you discuss your progress on a particular goal. There is always someone there ensuring that you’re staying the course, and that’s going to help your business growth.
- Doing it alone is hard
You’re proud of how you’ve started and grown your fledgling business all on your own, but consider how much easier it would be (and how much faster you could grow it) if you had help.
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Hiring a business coach isn’t admitting failure. Not by a long shot. In fact, it’s one of the smartest things you can do because it says you’re dedicated to helping your business thrive, and you know that you may not be able to do that on your own. Hiring the right professionals (whether that’s a writer, an accountant or a coach) indicates that you’re serious about success and won’t let your own ego stand in the way.
If you’re serious about growing your business this year, put hiring a business coach at the top of your list.
Originally published Jan. 18, 2018.
