How can I find the right support, coaching, advice in my business?

coaching

How can I get the right support?

7 Types of support to help you build a beautiful business

You can not do it all on your own, but what type of help do you need?

No human being has ever achieved anything of note on his or her own. In business and in life, humans need other people for support, guidance and belonging. We are wired that way. A mentor of mine used to say, “Right now, there’s a monkey somewhere in Africa dying because he’s been kicked out of his tribe.”.

We cannot function in isolation. That doesn’t mean we don’t sometimes like being on our own (and some people need more alone time than others), but we all need support – especially in business.

The 7 Big Questions of Small Business

This page is all about the first of the 7 Big Questions of Small Business about building a beautiful business and life. The Big Questions are:

  1. How can I Grow my business? (this page)
  2. How can I make more Money in my business?
  3. How can I get Unstuck in my business?
  4. How can I create a better Work-life-balance in my business?
  5. How can I become a better Leader in my business?
  6. How can make my Family Business work better?
  7. How can find the right support in my business?

It takes a village; The story of Narinder

People who build beautiful businesses and lives know it takes a village, and they are always looking for the right business support.

My oldest and most successful client has three different coaches, and he cycles between us. He does 6 months with me, then he works with his business coach in New Zealand before doing a stint with his executive coach and then coming back to me again. (Read about the story of Narinder from QE food stores here)

Narinder has also developed important relationships with his external accountant, his HR consultant, a marketing consultant, an IT consultant and a property adviser.

He’s involved all his advisers in every big decision he’s made over the past 10 years, and he credits this team with the fact he is so successful. 

(He’s a humble man, so let me put it on record now that his success is at least equally due to his incredible passion and determination, but the point remains, this is the link to QE Food stores.)

Download my Free Guide to finding the perfect coach to help you build a beautiful business and life.

As I said above, we all need support when developing our businesses. And what’s more, we need different kinds of support at different stages on the journey. I have personally engaged numerous mentors, coaches, consultants, counsellors and therapists over the past 15 years, and I’ve joined various business support groups as well.

Below I’ve listed the major forms of business support and what you can expect from them. At different times you might try out all of them.

The 7 different types of support to help you build a beautiful business:

  1. Mentoring: Advice from people who’ve been there, done that.
  2. Business coaching companies; Specific programs, systems and templates to implement in your business.
  3. Business-Life Coaching: Personal development and change, and support to become a better business owner and leader.
  4. Executive and leadership coaching: Specific leadership support programs
  5. Advisory Boards (virtual or in person): Group accountability and advice
  6. Business courses and training: Learn about the skills of business ownership and entrepreneurship
  7. Government business support programs: Various short programs to offer help and advice with specific challenges.

Click on each of the links above to jump to that section on this page

Mentoring:

Coach and client

Mentors are often people who’ve “been there, done that”. They’re usually a bit older, they might even be retired, and they often have direct experience in your specific industry or business type. Some mentors work on a volunteer basis, others get paid a little or a lot.

Mentoring can be very powerful in the early years of developing your business. I believe the most effective method for finding a great mentor is to identify someone you look

up to in your industry, then approach them and simply ask.

Many senior business owners really enjoy being asked to “give back”. I have taken the role of mentor for some young business owners in the past and you can feel free to contact me to discuss a mentoring relationship. There are also several small business mentoring organisations you can contact. One of them is the Small Business Mentoring Services.

Whether you work with a volunteer mentor or a paid one, there is one thing you must keep in mind to get the most out of the relationship: You must drive the agenda. When you sit down with your mentor, you should know what specific questions you want to address and what input you need from them. If you don’t control the agenda, you’ll waste enormous amounts of time, and the mentor will start to feel uncomfortable. (More about the secrets of great mentoring relationships).

Download my Free Guide to finding the perfect coach to help you build a beautiful business and life.

Business Coaching Companies:

Business coaching companies generally have developed a system for growing a business and their coaches will teach you the system and help you implement it. One of the best organisations I’ve come across who do exactly this and don’t stray outside of that model are EOS. Contact EOS here.

I believe it can be very useful to work with the right business coaching company for a while, to learn their systems and get help with integrating them into your business. However, to build a beautiful business that stands the test of time, you can’t ignore the personal side of growing your business.

My advice is to find an executive/leadership coach, or someone like me (see below), to support you in the journey of personal development and leadership that is integral to creating the business you dream of.

Business-Life Coaching:

I am a Business-Life Coach. What that means is that I start from the principle that:

“Your business is what it is today, because of who you are today”.

This means that if you want your business to change, you must be prepared to change first.

That’s why I, and coaches like me, combine the “hard” business systems with the “soft” personal skills. I will teach you about the latest business management systems and techniques. I will also design new systems customised for your business and help you implement them.

But here’s the difference: at the same time, we’ll be working on what it takes to be a great business owner. We’ll focus on leadership skills, self-management skills, developing your vision, prioritising, goal setting, strategic thinking, planning, communication, people management and learning how to get out of crisis management mode. (More about my principles of business-life coaching here)

Free Five Step Discovery Process:

Before we engage in any of my full coaching programs, I always advise we follow my “Five Step Discovery Process”, starting with a free initial chat and then a free 60-minute Discovery Session (via Skype or similar) combined with a short business discovery survey and report. You can book these through any of the contact forms on this page.

In the Discovery Session, we’ll get to know each other, and I’ll gain some insight into what stage you and your business are at. We’ll also discuss your challenges, allowing me to tailor the next steps in the process for you.

Download my Free Guide to finding the perfect coach to help you build a beautiful business and life.

Coaching for specific industry groups:

There are also pages dedicated to specific industry groups, the unique challenges and opportunities of those industry groups and how my coaching programs are designed to meet those.

More about my form of Business-Life coaching:

  • Why you need a business – life coach

    Why you need a business – life coach

    What’s the greatest bottle neck in your small business? Is it your lack of systemisation or are you actually the one that holds your business back?Read more Why you need a business – life coach ›

  • Why I don’t believe in business coaching and why it works

    Why I don’t believe in business coaching and why it works

    We all love the idea that as long as we think positively, the Universe will provide somehow. It won’t. That’s why we need good business coaching.Read more Why I don’t believe in business coaching and why it works ›

  • The Ten Priorities; Priority #6: Asking for Help

    The Ten Priorities; Priority #6: Asking for Help

    You can’t do it all on your own. Asking for help, getting support and advice from others means you’ll start to feel more in control. Priority #6Read more The Ten Priorities; Priority #6: Asking for Help ›

All articles about support. advice and coaching on this site

Other resources and pages about coaching and support:

Executive Coaching/ Leadership Coaching:

An executive or leadership coach is skilled in helping people develop their leadership skills. Executive coaches are more often engaged with executives of larger organisations than with small business owners, but one of the advisors that Narinder Singh (who I talk about above) works with is an executive coach.

There are many executive coaches to choose from. The best I can suggest is to do an introductory session with a few different executive coaches and make your assessment based on how you feel at the end of each conversation.

Choosing an executive coach is almost entirely about how you click with him or her. Feel free to send me an email to ask for a referral to a trustworthy executive coach. You might also have a look at the website of the International Coach Federation, it’s the professional body of record for executive coaches worldwide.

Download my Free Guide to finding the perfect coach to help you build a beautiful business and life.

Advisory Boards:

advisory board meeting

Pulling together an advisory board can be a highly effective strategy for getting the support you need to drive the development of your business forward.

Here are some suggestions for creating your own advisory board:

  • Ask a bunch of people you trust (with varying skills and experience) to become part of your board.
  • Meet with them once a month for 2 or 3 hours.
  • Pay each member a fee for their time/input or ask them to sit on your board voluntarily (and then you may in turn do the same for someone else).

These kinds of advisory boards are often very valuable and offer great support, but they can sometimes be short-lived because of time pressure on various members.

You can also join an advisory board program run by specialist organisations. These programs are usually led by a professional facilitator and there might be anywhere from 5 to 15 members on a board, all of whom are business owners that want to support each other.

I run a board program like that from time to time called The Business Growth Club and various other organisations do the same thing, such as TEC, The CEO Institute and Coraggio. I’ve also written a White Paper you can download about benefits of Advisory Boards.

Business courses and training:

At different stages along your journey of entrepreneurship, it may be important to improve your skill and knowledge levels. When moving from solopreneur to small business owner (and beyond!) it can be beneficial to go back to school and learn about the latest business management techniques and philosophies.

You can go to university and take post-graduate or summer school courses on specific topics in marketing, innovation, management, leadership, etc., or you may want to enrol in a full MBA program.

Alternatively, it might be more relevant for you to engage with the Vocational Education and Training system (VET) via TAFE or one of many registered private training organisations in the country more here. The Business Growth Club program I mentioned above often incorporates a VET training component that leads to a Diploma of Business or Diploma of Leadership.

Find more information about the Business Growth Clubs here.

Download my Free Guide to finding the perfect coach to help you build a beautiful business and life.

Government business support programs?

There many state and federal government programs available for small, medium and large businesses around Australia.

Federal programs:

State programs:

Every state has it’s own programs, below, I’ll list some of them for Tasmania, Victoria and Queensland, but the other states will have similar programs available

Tasmania:

Victoria:

NSW:

Queensland:

Your next steps:

Hiring a coach, mentor or adviser is a big step. There’s a lot riding on getting it right. Hence, I have created the 12 Questions Guide and Cheat Sheet for finding and hiring the right coach for you!

You can download the guide by filling in the forms on this page or you can go straight to the special 12 Questions page on my website.

Besides the guide, there is also a comprehensive video to help you through the whole process of finding, interviewing and selecting the perfect coach for you and your business.

Download my Free Guide to finding the perfect coach to help you build a beautiful business and life.

Further reading about business support

How can I find the right support in my business?

We all need support when developing our businesses. And what’s more, we need different kinds of support at different stages on the journey. I have personally engaged numerous mentors, coaches, consultants, counsellors and therapists over the past 15 years, and I’ve joined various business support groups as well.
Below I’ve listed the major forms of business support and what you can expect from them. At different times you might try out all of them.

The 7 different types of support to help you build a beautiful business:
1. Mentoring: Advice from people who’ve been there, done that.
2. Business coaching companies; Specific programs, systems and templates to implement in your business.
3. Business-Life Coaching: Personal development and change, and support to become a better business owner and leader.
4. Executive and leadership coaching: Specific leadership support programs
5. Advisory Boards (virtual or in person): Group accountability and advice
6. Business courses and training: Learn about the skills of business ownership and entrepreneurship
7. Government business support programs: Various short programs to offer help and advice with specific challenges.