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According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), Americans launch approximately 543,000 new businesses each month. Seven out of 10 new small businesses, survive for the first two years, about 50 percent survive five years, a third will survive at least 10 years and 25 percent stay in business for 15 years or longer. Although there is no magic bullet to ensure a small business owner can survive and thrive over the long term, those who do succeed have some startup strategies in common. Bringing in an effective business coach in a startup’s earliest startup stages is one of them.Even though there are no statistics available yet to determine the impact executive coaching has on the success rates of startups, the merits of bringing in a coach early in the process are better understood today than ever before. Selecting the right business coach, however, can be challenging since the profession is largely unregulated, and every coach comes with their own training history, experience roster and niche strategies; business coaching is not a one-size-fits-all strategy.
For a business coach to be effective, solid experience and proven results with other companies in the small business owner’s niche industry are critical. Bill Baren, a business coach and founder of Bill Baren Coaching in Oakland, says the coaching industry has had its share of scoundrels who sell themselves as experts when in fact they may have no experience or knowledge of a potential client’s industry.
“Because of the unregulated nature of the coaching industry, small business owners have to look beyond the motivational marketing copy and enthusiastically worded CV to find an experienced expert who can actually help,” he says. “Business owners should demand to see proven results, request referrals from every coach they interview to make absolutely sure they’re getting the real deal.”
Part of the problem is the growing number of independent contractors out there calling themselves business coaches, often with no better credentials than a certificate received for attending a seminar. Experience and proven coaching success should be the main determining factors when it comes down to hiring a coach.
Today’s new small business owners are taking their cues from some of the largest and most successful companies in the world that have been using executive coaches for decades.
As an abundance of talent streams into early stage startups, today’s small business owners are catching on to the ROI of enlisting a coach early on, before unnecessary mistakes are made.
Most startups generally attempt to put their best ideas and initiatives to work as quickly and as efficiently as they can, hoping to scale their businesses in short order. The problem with this approach is that burgeoning companies too often become so consumed with the minutiae of their own business plans that they overlook the value of getting advice from an expert outside the firm.
An experienced corporate coach does far more than deliver motivating “pep talks.” He or she has no magic wand to wave, but they can bring valuable objectivity and expertise to balance the owner’s emotional perceptions when red flags appear. Understandably, most small business owners view their enterprises as their “babies,” and although passion is important to launching and operating a successful startup, an effective business coach can identify potential problems, work with the business owner’s leadership team, and help make effective choices based on evidence-based practices.
At the end of the day, running a business is hard work. Depending on which studies you cite, startup failure rates are estimated at 50 – 70 percent in the first two years alone. And many businesses that do survive aren’t profitable.
The right business coach can help startups navigate complex regulation requirements, advise on when and how to bring on investors, and help make sure that each new hire is a good fit. The right coach will not only schedule and oversee high-level, strategic planning sessions, the can be invaluable when it comes to helping with the softer issues as well, such as handling employee disputes or personality conflicts and other everyday problems small businesses face.
Contact Info:
Name: Bill Baren
Email: Send Email
Organization: Bill Baren Business Coaching
Phone: 415-362-8502
Website: http://billbaren.com/
Source URL: http://councilofeliteadvisors.com/liftmedia
Release ID: 86573
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