Starting your own business can be one of the most invigorating and terrifying experiences of your life. This is not something that happens suddenly. It is the result of careful consideration and some serious research and probably discussions with those who are more experienced than you. Your idea will be scrutinised, examined, and transformed with each step of this process.
There’s an image of the start-up entrepreneur paddling his or her boat alone in a vast sea. This metaphor resonates with many who feel they are their sole resource in starting up their business. Lifting the entrepreneur out of their own situation provides an array of options and information usually unavailable within the ocean. The perfect partner to assist in this self-assuring process is a Business Coach.
Here are 5 reasons why start-ups need a Business Coach:
1. GAINING CLARITY
Thinking up a great idea is one thing, planning how you will structure and implement your idea is quite another. When you’re out in your little boat, you may be able to see a certain distance in front of you, but not much beyond that. A Business Coach can refine your idea with you. Testing various scenarios and helping to clarify your offering to deter if it will add value in the marketplace. Without clarity you are standing in the dark shooting darts at a dartboard that you are unable to see. Your Business Coach illuminates the board for you and gives you direction as to how to hit the bullseye.
2. UNDERSTANDING THE BUSINESS WORLD
Business is about analysing, understanding, and responding to numerous dynamics in the external environment. The savvy business then needs to adapt their internal resources to create a sustainable competitive advantage to ensure the longevity of the business. Within the ocean live both sharks and food. Both are necessary for the eco-system to survive. Similarly, in the business world there are competitors, market shifts, and opportunities. All of these will impact the business directly and rock the boat. The seasoned Business Coach who, is experienced in swimming in the water, is able to help you avoid the sharks, for the most part, and capture the food.
3. PLANNING YOUR BUSINESS
All businesses have some vision and a strategy to achieve it. Often a business plan is seen as an academic document that serves no purpose. The reality is that your documented thoughts are the opposite of that. It is a project plan which serves as a blueprint for you to consider how you will identify yourself and be branded; how you will overcome obstacles; how you will be supported; and what competencies you require to be successful. Putting together a plan once you know where you want to steer your boat, is a great start. Just how treacherous the water may be will be is somewhat negated by the solid compass you have created in your plan; which tells you where you want to go and how you plan to get there.
4. SCHOOL FEES
Those who have been in business have learnt lessons the hard way. Most Business Coaches have been in businesses that have failed and have learnt how expensive those mistakes can be. This is a huge advantage to the person who is starting up in business. You get to reduce your time to business-competence because your Business Coach has been there before you. Moving faster while taking fewer risks; leaning from others’ experience. The trick to managing your boat in choppy waters is to have a solid operational framework that is supported by systems and processes. It is here that your Business Coach uses their lessons of experience to support you.
5. IMPLEMENTATION
When you make the decision to launch your start-up, it should be with great enthusiasm and excitement. The path that you have followed gives you a sense of security and confidence in how to remain afloat. The homework that you do provides your ores with power, to hone your actions so that your boat, albeit small, has the capacity to grow and strengthen; the more you resolve the threatening waves along the way. Your groundwork provides you the control you need to become a formidable vessel, regardless of your surrounding conditions.
Research has shown that start-ups are more successful and have a greater return on investment when they make use of an external Business Coach. To find out more read this article from Fintexec on How Coaching Changes What’s Possible For Your Startup.
To build your start-up into a sustainable business contact a professionally qualified business coach at SA Business Coaches.