How Business Coaching Helps Entrepreneurs Succeed Faster

Business is challenging in the best of times, and you might think business is even tougher in the worst of times. Not so. Why?

When times are tough, the tough get going!

Entrepreneurs and business owners find it’s easy to get discouraged when business isn’t going well. Adding COVID-19 to the mix makes business even more challenging. 

The good news is, when times are tough, this is the perfect opportunity to change up what you are doing, and business coaching will uncover the barriers to success. What might be holding you back is one bad habit you are unaware of, and a business coach can identify this instantly set you on the path to success.

Many entrepreneurs start their business on a whim and hope they learn as they go along. This is known as having an entrepreneurial seizure. It’s not enough to start a business, set a few goals, and hope you will become profitable. If you want to succeed faster and not waste time and money, you might need to hire a business coach.

But first, we need to examine why you decided to become an entrepreneur. Some of these reasons are great; others not so great. 

10 Common Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Start Their Own Business

1. They lost their job and couldn’t find another one.
2. They wanted a work-life balance, therefore, could work the hours they wanted.
3. They hated their boss and decided to work for themselves.
4. They wanted to break away from workplace politics.
5. There was no career path and were passed over for promotion.
6. They have a unique business idea and believe it will work.
7. They want a change of pace and to try out a new field.
8. They want to turn their hobby into a real business.
9. They want to reap the full benefits of the profits and tax benefits.
10. They want to call the shots and not play by someone else’s rules.

All these are perfectly valid reasons for starting your own business. 

The motivation for starting your own business can significantly contribute to your success or failure as an entrepreneur. If you lose your job and buy a franchise, you might just be buying yourself a job with all the associated risks. You might think you have a unique idea and quickly find out there is no market for your products or services. You might think you will reap the profits, but what if your business struggles with cash flow and it isn’t profitable? You might consider calling all the shots is the way to go and quickly realize, running a successful business takes exemplary leadership and management skills.

What many entrepreneurs don’t realize, starting your own business is also very risky. 

Why Businesses Fail

There are many reasons why businesses fail, and here are a few to consider.

Lack of Leadership and Management Skills

You might hate your boss and think you can do better. A common problem for new entrepreneurs is having no experience in recruitment, training, management, and leadership. This is a major reason those new to running a business fail because they either micro-manage their people, adopt an autocratic style of leadership, or fail to manage performance. A business coach can conduct an independent assessment of your leadership and management style and help you recruit and retain high-performing employees.

Lack of Cash Flow

Running out of cash is another primary reason why new businesses fail. Not understanding the relevance of having enough working capital to get you through the initial start-up stage can leave you short of cash. Cash flow is King! If you aren’t managing your cash flow, one day you will run out of cash. Controlling your expenses and cutting costs can increase your bottom line by 50%. A business coach will see things differently because they aren’t emotionally tied to the business the same way you are. They will scrutinize your expenses along with systems and processes in a way you might not.

Lack of Sales and Marketing Skills

Many who go into business have a specific set of skills, which leaves them open to doubling up on their weaknesses. In addition to management and leadership skills, it’s essential you know how to drive your sales. Those new to business often think sales is about “build it and they will come! Not so.

Marketing and advertising is an essential element of driving your sales; it is also costly if you get it wrong. If you don’t like selling, it can be very cost-prohibitive to hire a top-notch salesperson, which means you must learn the skills you don’t have to drive your business. Again this is where a business coach can help. 

If you don’t like selling, a business coach can help teach you the basics to get you over the line. They can also help develop a marketing plan that doesn’t have to cost you thousands of dollars and set you on the path to success. If you aren’t comfortable attending networking events, consider all the contacts a business coach working with various businesses. They can connect you to others just as they can connect others to you.

Lack of Vision

It’s not enough to have a business idea, put together a business, marketing, and financial plan complete with goals and objectives. This alone will not keep you in business. It might, but it won’t give you all the things you desire, financial freedom, lifestyle balance, or a change of pace. Passion is one thing; a great business idea is another, but what happens when times get tough? Without a vision, you lack the motivational power to keep going. Business coaching not only helps you create a vision for the future, but they also help define your values, set SMARTER goals, and keep you accountable towards working on your business plan.

Why is a Vision so Important for Entrepreneurs?

A vision is not like a mission statement or a set of goals and objectives. It’s a mental picture of where you see yourself and your business in five-ten years.

Your vision is a picture of what your ideal life as an entrepreneur looks like as if it were perfect in every aspect. With the help of a business coach, the process of creating a vision allows you to unlock your personal power because it creates a blueprint of where you are headed, the starting point of a successful entrepreneur.

Your vision is more than espousing your ultimate dream for the future because entrepreneurial dreams are emotional, not rational. When times get tough, that’s the motivational power a vision has over you. A compelling vision keeps you connected to the emotional brain in ways goals alone can’t. The more powerful and compelling your vision, the more likely it will inspire you to make good choices and follow through with the execution of your plans; the key to self-leadership self-awareness and self-management. 

Visionary leaders are the ones who inspire and motivate others in the execution of their dreams. A vision guides the future direction of your business, illuminating the way ahead and, when kept burning brightly, keeps you on track. As John F. Kennedy says, “Those who look to the past and present are certain to miss the future.” A vision means you are looking ahead to the future, not living in the past or the present. 

What is the Dream?

When you start a business because you lost your job or made redundant, it is not motivational. When you buy yourself a job, it’s not motivational. When you want to call all the shots and not play by someone else’s rules, is this enough to start a business and keep you motivated? 

When your vision paints a picture of an irresistible future in business, you will wake each day, knowing, “What is the dream?” You will wake every morning knowing what you need to do that day to succeed. When you have a dream, and you keep the dream alive, it helps you through the tough times, urging you to never ever ever give up.

Not only should a vision motivate you, but it will also provide you with an ongoing daily focus because you know exactly the direction you are headed. As the American scientist Alan Kay says, “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”

How Business Coaching Will Help You Succeed

A business coach helps you develop a compelling vision that conveys your hopes, aspirations, and dreams in a concise manner that appeals to your emotions. Consider business coaching your third eye; they see things you don’t. They stretch in ways you can’t push yourself. They help you communicate your vision to others in the team, so it becomes a shared vision your people buy into, a vision that comes to life, not just a bunch of words on a piece of paper.

Unlike the how, which is everything contained in your business plan, your vision becomes your inspiration and ongoing motivation for change and the catalyst for innovation. A powerful vision is the one thing that keeps entrepreneurs in business during tough times. Because with business coaching, entrepreneurs learn how to stay on track and execute their dreams by gaining the momentum they need to get the results they want.

On a final note

It’s the emotional brain and not the logical brain that creates the fire in your belly to pursue your dreams, achieve your goals, and overcome any challenges that present themselves. Your vision gives you a purpose for owning and running your own business. With no purpose, by default, you abandon your unique gifts and talents and destroy any motivation to become a successful entrepreneur.  Learn how the Strategez for Success Coaching Model gets you there faster.

If you want to improve cash flow, drive your sales, employ the right people, and learn the seven steps to entrepreneurial success, then explore the Strategez for Success coaching model. Book a non-obligation appointment here and find out if coaching is right for you and go to our free resources to help take your business to the next level.