Final post in a 5-Part Series on Small Business Growing Pains from a Business Coach Perspective:
Top 5 Leadership Growing Pains Seen by This Business Coach
You Don't Need a Business Coach – Bullshift!
Oh, if I could count the times a thriving client has told me how hard it is to talk a fellow business owner into contacting another business coach or me. Even after hearing that my client grew her business from low six figures to a multi-million-dollar business while engaged in coaching. It makes me sad because many more entrepreneurs would succeed if only they had a good coach or mentor at their side. Entrepreneurship is lonely!
After leaving the stage at a speaking event a few years ago, an audience member came up to me and said, “Y-D-K-W-Y-D-K, brilliant!”
Huh?
“Those six words will change my life,” she said.
I still needed to figure out what she was talking about. Finally, she said I had used the term, “You don't know what you don't know,” and that it had never dawned on her. There is so much she doesn't know, and she is critical of herself because of it. But of course, she doesn't even know what she doesn't know, but it's natural, and it's ok–there is an answer! So, she created the acronym as a reminder.
You can only get the answers if you know the questions to ask. How could this entrepreneur learn to become a leader and grow sales if she's never done it before? How could she learn to balance her life as an entrepreneur, mom, wife, friend, and daughter if she's never run a multiple six or seven-figure business before? How could she get out of her own way to realize there's another way to find the answers? She didn't have to know it all; how could she?
You don't know what you don't know–but your coach can teach you.
If you're like this audience member, who by the way became a successful client, and you've never scaled a company to this level before, there are countless things you don't know and wouldn't ever give a second thought to unless someone brought them into your purview. The in-depth, ongoing process of building a full-blown, thriving culture might be a good example. In coaching, you'll learn about things you've never even known to consider, and you'll have the support to step into a whole new world.
Growing entrepreneurs are challenged by things like:
- Clarity and creating a long-term vision, goals, and plans.
- How to manage an overwhelming workload and stress.
- Moving from the self-employed space to the leadership role.
- Understanding the difference between culture and brand identity and how to develop both.
- Hiring for culture fit, not only skill.
- Finding the financial means to hire staff.
- How to handle difficult conversations.
- The nuts and bolts behind converting your team from 1099 status to full-time employees.
- When to hire an accountant, a lawyer, or other outside professional.
- How to balance their life and personal needs with the demands of a growing business.
- How to remove themselves from everyday operations.
- Creating fee structures and policies, both internal and customer-facing.
- How to manage guilt, low self-confidence, fear, and other common emotions.
This list is just the tip of the iceberg; every business owner is different in terms of personality, business experience, vision, and baggage from past experiences. There is magic in a good coach/client relationship. The simple act of externalizing your problems and ideas with someone who's experienced, who gets it, and who is a good listener makes the whole endeavor worthwhile.
Still not convinced? Take a moment to read one of my past articles, Should I Hire a Business Coach? 3 Signs That You're Ready. And remember this: A coach with integrity will not accept a client they don't believe they can help, including recouping the cost of coaching (in most cases). A conversation usually costs nothing, so it can't hurt. I'd love to hear from you, but mostly I would love for you to explore the idea—with me and/or other coaches. You deserve it!
