New Business Coaching Certification
On being a new coach
Back in last October I started on a 6 month training course to be certified as a Small Business Coach. This April I got my certificate - along with some lovely feedback - which feels very exciting.
It’s not my first business qualification.
When my kids were little I studied at Manchester Business School and got an MBA - and then went on to be employed as one of 3 directors running a Business Incubator at the Business School.
But small businesses are very different from the corporate world that most MBA students go on to work in. This qualification actually feels more meaningful and exciting than my MBA.
It teaches a systematic view of small businesses, and has a set of ‘tools’ or approaches designed to help tweak, and improve, business performance in 5 key areas.
Research - ways to understand who your customer is, and what they are looking for from you
Strategy - work on your vision for your business, and get a plan for getting there
Marketing - how to speak to your customers (‘messaging’) and how to communicate consistently
Operations - defining what needs to be done and when to run your business, including tracking the money side, and looking at where your strengths lie, and how to think about the areas you don’t like doing
Energy (for the founder)- an approach to support you in managing your energy as a small business owner who is constantly facing challenges!
In my experience, most successful small business owners are not running their business as their first rodeo. They have learnt a fair bit along the way and already have established ways of managing all these areas of their businesses.
However - it’s also true that business owners tend to lean more to some areas of their business than others, and as a result it’s not uncommon to find that a small business is performing more strongly in some areas than others - simply because this reflects the interests/skills of the business owner.
Do you think this might be true for your business? How can you tell? Here’s a quick overview of each of the areas when they are working well, and when there’s room for improvement.
Research
Already working well 😊: If you know your customers well already, and have enough of them coming to keep you busy and making the income you are happy with, you may have got this sussed enough.
Room for improvement? If you are struggling to get new customers and don’t yet have a good understanding of who is the right type of person to buy from you (and who is not!) then the Research tools will help.
Strategy
Already working well 😊: If you know your business well - and like it! - if it is ticking your boxes in terms of a good return for the time you invest in it, and its looking to a future that you feel good about, then you may have got this sussed enough already!
Room for improvement? If you aren’t in love with your business, if you feel like it takes way more from you than you are happy giving and doesn’t give you enough back … then this could be a good place to start and the Strategy tools will help.
Marketing
Already working well 😊: If you know what your customers want to hear about from you when you are communicating with them on your website, in emails or on social media then you may have marketing sussed. If you also have some of your marketing working on automation, so it doesn’t take up too much of your time, you are definitely strong in this area!
Room for improvement? If you aren’t sure what you need to be saying to your customers that helps them understand they are your people, then the Marketing tools will help. If you know what to say, but find you’re spending a fair bit of time on it and are not using any automation for your marketing, then the Marketing tools could show you ways to save time by using a system.
Operations
Already working well 😊: if running your business feels relatively straightforward and predictable, and you are already in the habit of involving others in key areas of the business so that it doesn’t rely exclusively on you, you may already be strong in this area. If you have successfully reduced the time you spend in the business while sales stay the same or grow, and you have successfully had holidays uninterrupted by work, then you are definitely strong in this area already!
Room for improvement? If you do everything in your business yourself, hold contacts/info about key relationships/access to key software & documents mostly in your head then Operations tools will help. If you are like this it is likely that you might find it very difficult to show someone else how to do things if you had to - eg if you wanted to sell the business, or if you needed to take leave to have a baby/care for a partner/had an accident. Applying them could also streamline the day to day work you do saving you time, and improving the behind the scenes working of your business so it runs more smoothly (and relies on you remembering things less!). Can you tell I am a particular fan of getting operations side of things to run better!!
Energy
Already working well: If you recognise that your business does better when you are feeling well resourced, and you have established ways that help you with the personal development that all small business owners need to go through if they are to be successful in finding ways to navigate the numerous challenges that small business owners present their owners with, energy work may not be a priority for you.
Room for improvement? If you often feel overwhelmed, or struggle with some areas of your business which push you out of your comfort zone, the Energy tools could help. Alternatively, if you are happy because you successfully avoid doing all the things you don’t like doing … Energy work could help you here too! Helping people to take on new challenges with more ease (rather than avoid them!)
Does this ring any bells for you?
If any of the symptoms I describe above ring bells for you, and you would like some help on changing things so that your small business runs (even) better then please feel free to email me to find out more about the coaching I can offer in any of these areas!