Talking to business owners all across the world it is clear that there are some people that have used business coaches throughout their business journey, some are on the fence and some believe that it is not for them.
On the whole, I think that business coaching is under used in our industry. You might say, “of course you are going to say that you’re a business coach John”. This is true, but I do not expect to work with all of you, in fact I probably only have time to work with less that 1% of you. That does not mean that I don’t believe that you should all work with some sort of coach/mentor to further your business. You must find someone that resonates with you and your approach and there are many great coaches out there both inside and outside of our profession.
When I speak to entrepreneurs outside of physiotherapy, many of them will have at least one coach that they work with and many will have one for their business and one for them personally.
So, back to the question in hand of why I would use a business coach. There are of course many reasons, specific to your personal strengths, business needs and present challenges. But on the whole with the clients, I have worked with over the years these would be the main three:
Recognition
Firstly, for many it is the simple reality that for them, they recognise that they do not have all of the answers. Without question they have done well to create and grow a business. But as the saying goes “you don’t know what you don’t know” and as with any business, physiotherapy is complex and there are so many components that go into making a business high performing and profitable.
Having the mindset and honesty to recognise that you do not have all the answers and to seek out assistance from others is often what sets apart the really successful entrepreneurs.
Strategy
Of course, of the biggest reasons that someone goes into a coaching relationship is for help with their strategy. As mentioned, there are so many factors that make up a high performing physiotherapy business. The key is understanding; where the big wins are for your business and its bottom line, the steps you need to take to make progress and the elements to avoid that can act as distractions/roadblocks along the way.
Having someone to guide you through that process can save a huge amount of time, frustration and ultimately lost revenue.
Speed of Implementation
In the end all success comes down to implementation. How quickly and how effectively can you implement the strategy that you have created. Working with a coach can help with three vital things here:
- Speed – Often they will have already put in place the process, procedure, task etc that you are trying to do and therefore have a template for you to work from
- Mistakes – They will advise you on how to implement things to avoid mistakes of the past that they or businesses they have worked with have made
- Accountability – Most of us know we should be spending more time on the business and in a more focused way. Having a coach provides an inevitable increase in accountability in what otherwise can be a lonely role as a business owner.
So as mentioned having a business coach is not a luxury for highly profitable businesses or a necessity for those who have hit hard times. It is something that all entrepreneurs should use to advance themselves personally and professionally.
Charge on!