As a Business Owner are you :
Trying to become more self sufficient?
Longing for the day when you no longer need to rely on any one and you’re free to run your business without any worries?
Doing the best you can to be self sustaining?
Well…. All of these desires will potentially be taking you away from the benefit and help of small business coaching!
I come across many business owners who are very self reliant. While this is a real strength it can also be a significant impediment to them being able to take on fresh ideas.
It can be a struggle for them to realise that they don’t have the answer personally to every problem that they encounter.
Is it easy for you to be sceptical and questioning rather than welcoming and trusting when it comes to taking advice on your business.
Many times of course this is completely justified because the so called advisor knows less than you do! But when it comes to small business coaching it is difficult to get any real benefit without having an open mind to learning from someone who probably sees the world a little differently to you.
Now let’s jump on the other side of the fence for a moment and think about this issue from the coach’s point of view.
What’s their biggest nightmare? Remember they are in business too and have many of the same hang ups that any business owner would have!
Their biggest hang up is that clients are always trying to get to the point where they don’t need them any more and as a result they try and make themselves critical to the business. A great place for the coach is where the business owner can not do without them
BUT…
This will never satisfy the business owner because they inherently do not want to be reliant on any one. They want to call the shots and be their own boss.
While this is not often verbalised between the coach and the business owner, this clash of needs is often what brings about a low level of satisfaction in small business coaching.
The coach is trying to hang on and control the situation and the business owner is trying to get free and run their own show.
So what should they do?
How could they get better value from each other?
Firstly the coach should realise the aspirations of the business owner and set about trying to help them be self reliant.
What does this look like?
Having a focus on freedom rather than control.
Making sure they focus on what they can do rather than what they can’t do.
Focus on strengths rather than struggles.
What will happen to the business owner?
My experience with business owners is that when they like something and value it, they have no problem coming back for more and more.
The funny thing is that the minute you try and set them free to do their own thing they want to come back and get more of that freedom ‘potion’ because they like it.
It makes them feel good and they can’t get that feeling from anyone else.
Customers can’t give it to them, suppliers can’t give it to them and employees certainly can’t give them that felling of being set free by a coach who is cheering them on to do the very best they can.
What’s your experience of small business coaching?
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