What Does A Business Coach Do?

“You could do it alone if you want to cap your potential, but why?”

What does a business coach do?

A business coach, at their core, helps your business run better. Business coaching is the process of hiring someone with specialized knowledge to help you with your business, in whatever form you need. A business coach helps you set business goals, work towards those goals and guides you through whatever blocks stand in the way between you and your business goals. There are business coaches who specialize in anything you may need - from mindset and leadership development to systems and customer experience. Since you are the one who knows your business best, you will be the person deciding what expertise you want a coach to bring to the relationship.

What can a business coach help with?

Business coaches vary as much as any profession, and because of that, their methodology will differ from coach to coach. There are a few things every business coach should be doing, which we will cover in this article.

1. Builds a trusted relationship with you.

Your business coach needs to dive deep into your business in order to get a full picture of how it’s working and what you’re wanting so they can help you fill in the gaps and make a solid plan. This isn’t a job you want to give to someone who you don’t trust or who isn’t trustworthy. They are going to be pushing you, challenging you, holding space for you and guiding you - you absolutely need to trust them and their guidance. Make sure any coach you’re considering walks their talk.

2. Helps you set clear, achievable goals. 

Your business coach should help you get clarity on what it is you want for your business and help you develop a plan to get to those goals. If neither of you have a plan you are going to be the blind leading the blind, but in a field with no landmarks, just wandering forever. If you’re feeling unclear and you’re worried about hiring a coach because you think you need to be clear in order to take advantage of them; let me give you permission to bring your full mess to the table and they can help you get clarity. Don’t mistake that for having no idea though, you are responsible for your business and as such need to at the very least have a direction.

3. Holds you accountable.

Your coach should be checking in with you on the goals you set and the work you are putting towards them. While ultimately you want to be accountable to yourself, your coach should be holding you accountable as well while they teach you how to hold yourself accountable. A good coach checks in with you and helps you celebrate your wins and problem solve when things didn't go as planned. There is something just different about knowing that someone will be checking in on you, and if you are someone who works better with external accountability then amazing, a business coach will be very helpful for you.

4. Gives valuable, insightful feedback.

A good business coach is not only a mentor, but a mirror reflecting things back to you (which sometimes you will hate fyi). One of the reasons that you need a meaningful relationship with your coach is because insightful feedback takes someone understanding you deeply and also a deep level of trust. A good coach will sometimes hurt your feelings by telling you a truth you may not want to hear but need, and while you never have to do what they suggest, they should be giving you feedback that helps you along your journey. One of the reasons you hire a business coach is for their perspective, so when they tell you something you don’t love hearing, thank them and know that you asked for it and it will make you better.

5. Holds space for your growth and humanness.

This is a change I have seen more and more in the industry and it's SO welcomed. Gone are the days where every single coach taught stoicism and leaving emotions out of running a business (hi patriarchy, nice to see you rearing your ugly head). More and more coaches are not only understanding the role that emotions play in running a wildly successful business, they’re embracing them. If you don’t learn to let your feelings inform you, you will kill your business. Follow your heart but take your head with you, as they say. Your business is always an extension of you, and if you are holding yourself back from the full human experience, you will always be capping your potential. Your coach should hold space for you to be fully human while holding a vision for what you can achieve.

6. Provides customized, personalized coaching.

This skill speaks to the difference between a coach and a consultant. Consultants are typically teaching/giving a specific framework while coaches help you find your own path and blend hard and soft skills. They should be helping you personalize systems, frameworks and solutions to your business. While each business is similar, no two businesses are exactly the same and a coach should help you apply what you’re learning.

7. Teach you the fundamentals.

Every business has the same core foundations.: marketing, sales, product, operations, finance. These fundamentals never change, but they way you build them will differ from other companies. A business coach needs to have a solid education in the fundamentals in order to help you grow. You are never too good to focus on the basics, and the better you get at the basics the better your business will run. You don’t want to build a gorgeous house on a shaky foundation right? Right.

8. Helps you problem solve.

When a problem comes up, your business coach will help you explore options and find a solution that fits. This is one of the biggest benefits of coaching, you have someone who is trained to solve business problems and to teach you how to do the same. Business coaches are able to take a birds eye view of your business and get a much broader perspective, they will see things that you can’t because you’re on the ground. This perspective helps you plan better and can open your mind to possibilities you can’t see from the ground.

There’s more to business coaching than just these of course, and you are ultimately the person who needs to decide if hiring a coach is the right decision. For what it’s worth, I think that a business coach helps you grow faster and with more ease, because you have someone with more experience guiding you along. I cannot recommend enough the benefits of getting help from someone who has been where you want to go, and if you think that looking into coaching sounds like a good idea, you can apply to work with me here.