Networking Now

I had a taster coaching session recently with The Efficiency Coach, Heather Townsend. It was brilliant, really focused me on a particular aspect of my business I was struggling to understand, and as a result I have gone from strength to strength.

Anyway, during this conversation Heather asked if she could interview me for an upcoming Teleseminar aimed at start up businesses, it's all about how to save money on your start up costs for marketing and IT. Trust me, being a Yorkshire lass I know a thing or two about saving money!!

Details of the teleseminar can be found here if you are interested: http://ow.ly/zZ1H

loving that Helen, i think we could all do with that, i am about as efficient as a slug!

Hello Helen
I hope you don't mind me asking this but would you have taken on a business coach if you hadn't won your competition, if so what made you want to try one and if not what where your reasons, i find it interesting why business owners choose the routes they take in business. i hope you have every success with Heather, you sound as though you are enjoying the whole process of having a coach, the more people who experience it and tell others the better for the profession.

kind regards

Hi Colin

I actually started talking to Heather before I won the competition. Winning has just meant that I can now continue.

Heather offered me a free conversation on Skype to see if she could be of service. In normal circumstances there is no way I could afford a coach and have personally always been sceptical of them. However, I have former employers and Clients who have both benefitted from coaching in different guises.

I think the key to whether coaching will work for you is to find the right coach, someone who doesn't just tell you what is wrong with yoru business and what you should do.

My initial experience with Heather was extremely positive, she had a couple of projects in mind that she wanted to get me involved on, which I think is one of the reasons she approached me in the first place. Obviously on that first conversation we really hit it off and I really feel that with Heather's help I can make some subtle changes to my business and take it to the next level, even though it is already doing well.

In terms of cost are you aware that in certain areas you are able to get funding for coaching and mentoring, be it from a business coach, consulatant or accountant. You can get advice on this from your local Business Link. Also, you should be aware that the choice of consultant is yours. They may offer suggestions but if you have someone in mind who is approved then you can use them.

What I have found interesting is that be it the coaching or the training courses that I attend I am able to filter through this knowledge to my Clients. It's a great feeling being able to offer a fresh perspective on a situation sometimes, and have seen positive results for my Clients as a result.

Coaching as I have said, to me is not about criticising or finding fault. It's looking at a situation from the outside, then showing that business/individual certain information or asking the right questions. You almost feel on the receiving end that you came up with the answers yourself. It's a weird feeling.

I also think, from having seen coaches working with previous employers, that you still need to retain your identity, your ethos, it is fine to accept new ideas and new methods but not when it comes at the expense of losing your essence, what makes you the success that you already are. If it aint broke dont fix it, but there is nothing wrong with adding a tweak here or a tweak there.

I have also seen instances where business coaches were offering advice on businesses that they didnt understand. Whilst there are certain things that are the same throughout any business, there are also things that are unique to particular industries, if you don't understand those unique qualities then how can you expect to be able to comment.

As I say these are just my experiences. I am approaching my coaching prizes with all of my mentors with an open mind. I am sure that there will be conflicting advice. I will listen to everything that is said, evaluate it and then, only after careful consideration, go with advice that works for me.

I will keep you updated though, and would also be interested to hear about other people's experiences. I believe we have people on here who are mentors and coaches outside of their day jobs and would be grateful to hear about it from the other side of the fence so to speak.

thank you for the quick response, i'm a business coach myself, and like to hear from business owners about there experiences with coaches in general, i agree with your comments, what do you think would make coaches more enticing to business owners who believe they can't afford one.

again thank you for your advice.

Just re-read your reply and noticed this comment:I have also seen instances where business coaches were offering advice on businesses that they didnt understand. Whilst there are certain things that are the same throughout any business, there are also things that are unique to particular industries, if you don't understand those unique qualities then how can you expect to be able to comment.
I have to challenge this one, i've coached owners of hair dressers through to a vet surgery, the only experience of either is that i've used both as a customer, i don't need to know the ins and outs of the business,i don't consult a business owner i coach them, i keep everything nice and simple and use the owners ideas to push their business forward, your right in saying about the right coach will make it seem that you came up with the idea, but realistically you did, they just asked the right question to get the idea out, nobody knows your business as well as you do, so i don't pretend too, the decisions that the owners make will be lead with emotion and the knowledge of where there business needs to go, in my opinion a coach is there to question a opinion to give an un-emotional view, and make the owner think whether it's the way to go. They might give ideas as a different route but it's the owners decision and they have to learn what works or what doesn't. This will mean mistakes will happen, but isn't that the best way to learn and push your ownership to the next level. Most top business owners Sugar, Branson, Cowell (yes simon), have all been on the brink of failure, but the decisions they make for ther companies turned out right in the end.

kind regards

I guess that answers the question I was about to ask:

Are there Business Coaches and Business People Coaches?

Before I started this malarky called design up, I came from sales & sales training and have set up two successful call centres in my past, and I know I can train anyone to be twice what they think they are, but that's the people not the business, I guess a mentor that knows your industry could help your business, whereas a great people motivator and mentor could create a great business person!

Seems i am answering my own question :roll:

spot on kip, the business is the people who work in it lead by its owner. they make the business work, Consultants provide instruction on how to improve your business, a coach gets the owner to improve there business, Wayne rooneys coach didn't teach him how to kick a football, he just makes him fit enough and strong enough to play till the whistle and remain completely focused.

kind regards