How my business coach helps me (and I'm a business coach)

In 2020, there were about 6 million small businesses in the UK, and about 75% of these businesses had no employees apart from the owner. This army of small business owners keeps the UK economy going day in, day out, and for the vast majority of them, it’s a tough world out there. 

Some small business owners love running their businesses. After all, that was always the goal, to be a business owner! They just needed to work out what their business would be. While they welcome the cut and thrust of running a business, there will inevitably be a few bumps in the road.

For the rest of us, we may have chosen the career path that we wanted, and the business came as part of the deal. The ‘free gift’ we’re not sure we ordered. Builders, landscapers, hairdressers, coaches, personal trainers, property developers, independent retailers, consultants, writers, musicians, artists, and so many more talented and skilled people find themselves spending time doing ‘business things’ when really, they just want to be doing what they do best, creating.

When I’m running my business, it’s challenging but rewarding. I give it everything, but most of the time, there’s some return on the investment. However, when my business runs me, it’s different. It’s all-consuming, overwhelming and lonely. For every hour spent ‘in’the business, there’s at least another hour that needs spending ‘on’ the business - the marketing, the finances, a customer service issue, a website update, an IT problem, a delivery that needs to be signed for and so on. I love my business most of the time, but only when I feel like I have a firm grip on the steering wheel. 

So, like every small business owner, I need support. For those big decisions like how and when to expand, to introduce new products, to change course. And for those perennial challenges, such as work-life balance, managing stress and difficult relationships. For when motivation, energy or confidence seems to have deserted me. And for those times when it would just feel better to have someone else alongside me. I need a coach! 

How has coaching helped me and my business?

My coach helps me find the resources I need when I need them

Sometimes I need to be brave. Sometimes I need to be cautious. Sometimes I need to be decisive. Sometimes I need to plan. Sometimes I need to find an extra gear. Sometimes I’m lacking motivation. Whatever I need, my coach can help me find it. They can’t make me a lawyer, an expert marketeer, an IT guru... but if I have the tool in my toolkit, I can always rely on my coach to help me find it. 

My coach is my sounding board

I have a lot of ideas, and they’re not always good ones. I don’t have a team to consult with, yet there’s so much value in chatting initiatives through, seeing things from different perspectives and having my views challenged. This is where my coach is invaluable. They never tell me what to do, but it’s amazing how many times I’ve made better decisions having had the opportunity to work things through with my coach.

My coach keeps me focused on my goals

I know where I want to get to, in my business and in life. But when I’m up to my eyeballs in admin or dashing from one appointment to another, I have a tendency to lose sight of why I’m doing what I’m doing. When this happens, I stop enjoying my work and I resent my business. Coaching reconnects me with my goals and reminds me to see things in the context of what really matters to me in life. Accountability is key too - I never want to turn up to a session saying I haven’t done my homework! 

My coach is always on my side

Sessions with my coach are always challenging. I spend time ahead of each session thinking about what I want from the time; where my priorities are, where things are going really well, where I feel stuck etc. I do a lot of reflecting afterwards too, making sure I take as much insight as I can from the session.

What’s really important to me is that I’m never in doubt that my coach is on my side. For me, it’s about having the right balance of support and challenge. So, what are you waiting for?