Why Small-Business Owners Need More Coaches And Fewer People Telling Them What To Do

There are a lot of business coaches out there. In fact, when you are a small business owner, it can sometimes feel as though everyone you meet is a coach. And yet, when I talk about coaching, I mean something quite specific. I am talking about professional coaching as a way of communicating, grounded in the ethical standards and core competencies of the International Coaching Federation (ICF). That distinction matters to me. This blog post continues the conversation that started in Business Coaching For More Clarity, Structure And Momentum.

 

Coaching Is Not Fixing

One of the things I find most challenging about coaching is also one of the things I value most about it: I cannot fix things for you.

I can’t make your decision for you, I can’t give you the answer and call that coaching. And I certainly can’t take responsibility for your business, tell you what you should do, or quietly steer you towards the outcome I think would be best.

And sometimes, that is really hard, especially when you can see a possible solution. As a coach, I have to resist the very human temptation to jump in and make things better for someone else.

Instead, I have to trust the client. Trust that they are capable of thinking, trust that they have resources and that they can make decisions. Trust that the answer doesn’t necessarily need to come from me.

So What Does The Coach Actually Do?

Quite a lot, although perhaps not always in the way people expect. A professional coach creates and holds a space for the client to think.

That means listening deeply, asking questions, reflecting, and noticing patterns. Challenging assumptions when appropriate, or helping the client explore perspectives they may not have considered.

It means being present without taking over. And it definitely means staying aware of the ethics and responsibilities that come with that role.

The client owns the agenda, makes the decisions, and above all, takes the action.

My job is to facilitate the process. That can sound simple, but it isn’t at all.

This is why I find (life) coaching the hardest type of communication I have ever engaged in. And a little scary. But it is also beautiful beyond words when a client gets to experience their own aha moment. Everything changes in that moment.

Why Does This Matter For Small-Business Owners?

I think micro and small-business owners are particularly interesting in this context. When you are running a very small business, there may not be a management team around you, or a colleague with whom you can test an idea.

You may be the person making the strategic decision, implementing it, dealing with the consequences and then deciding what to do next. So, you can become very good at figuring things out alone, but being able to figure things out by yourself doesn’t mean you always should. And I don’t think the answer is necessarily to find another person who will tell you what to do.

Sometimes what is missing is a genuinely independent thinking partner who isn’t trying to sell you a particular strategy. Someone who isn’t measuring your situation against their own business model, or trying to turn you into their ideal client. Rather, someone who can help you think.

Coaching Instead Of Another Piece Of 10X Advice

There is absolutely a place for consultants, mentors, teachers and other specialists. 

If you need expert knowledge, hire the person with that knowledge. If you need someone to design a strategy for you, a consultant may be exactly what you need, and if you want to learn a skill, find a teacher.

But there are also moments when you don’t need another answer. You need to work out your own answer. That is where I believe coaching can be particularly powerful, and I think we could use more of it in the micro-entrepreneur space.

Plot twist: I do offer consulting and mentoring among others. It is just that coaching deserves its spot in the limelight, too.

Why I Created My Business Coaching Programme

This is ultimately why I created my 1-month Business Coaching programme. I wanted to offer a focused, structured opportunity for small-business owners to step out of the daily noise and think properly about their business.

Not because I believe every business needs fixing, or because I have a five-step formula for making a business successful. And absolutely not because I think I know your business better than you do. Quite the opposite.

I created it because I believe you are the person who knows your business best. You may simply need some space, structure and a skilled thinking partner to hear yourself more clearly.

The (Wonderfully) Challenging Part About Coaching

Coaching has taught me to become much more comfortable with not having to solve things for people. That isn’t passive, it isn’t indifference, and it certainly isn’t “just having a chat”.

It is an intentional way of communicating that asks a lot from the coach: ethically, professionally and personally. And when it works, it can be extraordinary, because the insight belongs to the client.

What else belongs to the client? The decision and the action. And when someone moves forward due to genuinely having found their own clarity, rather than because someone told them what to do, there is something incredibly rewarding about that. Which is the kind of coaching I believe small-business owners deserve.

If you haven’t read my earlier post presenting our Business Coaching programme, you find it here: Business Coaching For More Clarity, Structure And Momentum. And if you are more eager to read in-depth about this service, please head over to its own page, Business Coaching: