Simply put, coaching is about growing the person, the business owner, from the inside out. Coaching helps you to determine goals that match your highest potential, create a realistic plan to achieve those goals, discover how you self-sabotage your business, and be accountable for achieving goals within a planned time frame. While your coach might offer you insight and advice, the primary purpose of coaching is to empower YOU to learn how to create the business of your dreams.
Consulting brings the expertise of the consultant into the mix. A consultant offers information, advice, brainstorming and training. Look for a consultant who has achieved what you want to achieve, someone who is willing to share all their knowledge, wisdom and practical tips with you.
Let’s work with an example:
Say that you are working on your task plan for next month. A coach might ask you, “What tasks do you need to complete in the next month in order to achieve your monthly goals?,” encouraging you to set your own priorities. A consultant might say, “Here are some of the tasks you need to consider for the next month in order to achieve your monthly goals,” offering advice based on experience.
A coach-consultant does both. At Passion For Business, we work both as a coach and as a consultant, to give you the best of both worlds.
Read our article, “What Is The Difference Between a Small Business Coach and a Consultant?” to help understand which service best fits your needs. Whether you’re on your own as a solopreneur or have many employees, we can help you create and implement a realistic and powerful plan.
Click here to learn more about using a small business coach.
Click here to learn more about using a small business consultant.
You need a coach if you want help:
organizing your thoughts
creating a practical and effective plan
prioritize goals and tasks
being more accountable for following through on tasks
maintaining high motivation even in the face of difficulties
understanding how you sabotage your efforts (and figuring out what to do about this self-sabotage)
You need a consultant if you want:
the advice and experience of someone who is successfully self-employed
to understand the basics of business planning and marketing
to learn business and marketing skills in a rapid fashion
to find ways to manage and follow-up on your business success
If you want help in both areas, you need both coaching and consulting. I strongly encourage my clients to use me as a coach-consultant, the best of both worlds.
In all cases, I will:
Ask thought-provoking questions to stimulate you to look at things in new ways
Really listen to what you say. Not only to the surface content of what you are saying, but also listening for the patterns, beliefs and feelings behind content
Give honest feedback on what I observe
Assign you “homework” to do between coaching sessions
