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Business Coaching for Success

It seems to have been a bit of a trend recently with a number of my customers, that being that they are looking to branch out and find new challenges, this is partly because we have coached them to a stage whereby the business is more or less working without their input, and partly because the sort of business owners I work with are naturally entrepreneurs and they get bored with the everyday running of a business.

When I first start working with my clients, I always explain that the point of any input is to help them to create a business that can work without them. The idea is that this then allows them to free up their time, and creates flexibility and freedom of choice. Once we near or reach this stage the entrepreneurs that I work with are then wondering what to do next and how best to keep busy. In fact for many it is this feeling of no longer being “needed” which drives them to invest in new ideas and challenges.

This has helped to create quite an interesting situation for me also. Because I work with businesses ranging from start ups to those which have been going 15 or 20 years (or more sometimes), I have some clients looking for investment, and others who now have spare cash to potentially invest. Being in the middle allows me to be the go-between, identifying opportunities and effecting introductions. Whilst I am still maintaining my coaching role, it means that I too have new challenges, in what I suppose is a natural progression for my business.

So if you are a start up business, or are one in its early development, or indeed a business owner who has lost their direction or drive, then perhaps you need a coach who can help you get what you want, and allow you to achieve the wealth you require to reach your life goals.

I have been speaking with my accountant recently about the forthcoming changes to the way tax will be paid i.e. once a quarter instead of once yearly. It still hasn’t been widely published so a lot of people are unaware or at present are giving it no real thought. However, it would be very unwise to stick your head in the sand about this if anything you should embrace this as a chance to improve the way you control and manage your business.

On the whole I find that the majority of business owners I start working with do not keep a very close eye on their numbers. They know that their sales are up or down, and they have a general feel for whether things are going well or not, however, if I challenge them on details, they seldom know the right answer.

The new system of reporting will ensure that you have to have control over your figures, because without that you or your accountant, simply wont have the time to get your numbers in order, and no doubt there will be fines to pay.

So why not start making changes now, before the pressure really starts. To change the way you manage, report and analyse your figures often takes quite some time. For many it is an unsettling and even scary thing to have to do, and in my experience will find any number of reasons for avoiding it. Even when they can see the benefits of reporting the figures immediately after the month end, very often they still let it lapse because it’s just another job, which they don’t feel brings benefit to them or the business.

This is so clearly not the case. When business owners finally start working on their numbers regularly it is amazing what they find. Time spent on this can make and save you huge amounts without even having to find new business.

Don’t leave it too late. If you’re not sure what to do, talk to your accountant, or perhaps better still get a coach to help you.

Recently I have been calling old leads, who I either called or met sometimes up to 2 or even 3 years ago. These are people who showed a lot of interest in the coaching programme, and who said they wanted to go ahead, but not right now. I always warn these people that delaying the start is probably not a good idea, but they are convinced that they can straighten out one or two things first, and will then be in a far better place to use my services. The sentiment is entirely understandable, but seldom justified.

So I will agree to call them a couple of months later, and of course nothing has changed, and so on and so on, until I start to point out that in fact I have been chasing them for 2 or even 3 years, and nothing has changed to any significant level.

I recently had two meetings with new prospects who both used this excuse not to start straight away, and even though they agreed that the chances are in a year’s time nothing will have improved, they still procrastinate and delay the start date. Of course I understand that some people are worried about paying out money for an intangible, but these are business owners who by their own admission acknowledge that their business is not under control, they are not moving forward, and they are not making the money that they want to be making.

So if you are stuck in a rut, frustrated with your business, and wondering what you should be doing next why not contact a business coach. However, before you do so, be sure that is what you want, and that you are prepared to let someone come into your business and your life.

If not you will be just another business owner who wondered if things could be better, but who wasn’t prepared to do anything about it.

What a great couple of weeks we have just had. The best ever haul of medals at the Olympics, some pretty good weather on the whole, and lots of good economic news – unemployment levels the lowest ever, retail sales well up on forecast, and the FTSE performing close to 7000.

Good news on good news is likely to create further good things, so let’s hope people start to ride the wave of optimism and build on that. It was fascinating to see how well our athletes were performing, and in so many different disciplines. In fact although we came second overall, I think we got gold medals in far more different sports than the Americans did. This was because of the feel good surge that was going round the Team GB camp. It is amazing how uplifting success can be for others around you, and their determination to match other people’s achievements, make them strive even harder for a medal.

Being part of a team is a great feeling, and building a united and efficient team in your business is just as important as any other aspect you work on. Getting the right people with the right attitude, doing things the way you would do them, is a huge skill. It is all about setting goals, creating a positive culture where you all work together for the collective benefit of the team, being fair and consistent in both praise and criticism, and rewarding your team appropriately.

So congratulations to the Olympians, be they medal winners, or not. They all had a huge role to play in the overall achievement of the team.

Business Life Ltd

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Colchester
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Telephone: 01787 229908
Email: info@yourbusinesslife.co.uk

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