Business Coaching and Mentoring

Business Coaching and Mentorship

No matter what field you’re in, the principles of coaching or mentoring remain the same and are extremely important for 3 reasons. One, stay focused. Two, continued education, and Three, keep growing. In that respect, the need for business coaching and mentoring in your business or personal life in important. It’s very similar to sports coaching. In sports, a coach pushes an athlete to achieve optimum performance, provides support when they are loosing and keeps them in check when they are winning. Coaching teaches an athlete to outplay and out smart their competition with technique and strategy. A sports coach will make you work harder than you would on your own, even when you don’t feel like it. A sports coach will tell it like it is, and will not sugar coat the challenges you face. But, more importantly, a good sports coach will listen advise and support you in many ways.   

Fortunately, a Business Coach does many of the same things, but in a way that is focused on creating a successful business. The role of a great Business Coach is to coach business owners through guidance, support, accountability and encouragement. Today, professional business coaching helps owners of small businesses with their sales, marketing, management, team building and so much more. Most importantly, just like a sporting coach, your Business Coach will make you focus on your business game like your training for the Super Bowl…

Coaching with a professional coach makes you the “Coachee” LOL… Sounds funny but so true when it comes to a title. The structure and method of coaching are manly asking questions and challenging the Coachee to perform at levels that are seemingly very hard to attain on their own.

There are a variety of approaches when it comes to coaching! Coaching is performed with individuals, groups, in person, on line or over the phone. Its much the same with Mentoring!

Today, coaching and mentoring is widespread and is being practiced all over the world with tremendous success. In 2009 the Chartered Institute of Personal and Business Management said that 51% of small to midsize companies consider business coaching as a key part of their overall business development, business plan strategy and their success.

As it stands today, there is no real certification or accreditation in the United States for Business Coaches or Mentors so don’t be fooled or mislead with fancy certificates or printed collateral. There are however many schools teaching the art of Business Coaching and with that being said there are at least people practicing there coaching profession with an educated approach and with a private Certification or some sort of achievement type program. Certifications can only be obtained through privately held or privately owned organizations.

The origin of Business Coaching has historically evolved and influenced by many other fields of study including those of personal development, sports, spiritual, and social… Since the mid 1990’s, business coaching has developed into a more independent discipline similar to Martial Arts… The International Coaching Federation has helped in the development of the business coaching standards.

Applications and uses for Business Coaching are now widespread and very sought after. Another way to look at this is that Business Coaches help to build skills and business techniques without having to worry whether or not you need to go back to a traditional college to spend years to learn what you need to succeed. A great Business Coach can put you on a much faster tract of business success by applying basic business skills and techniques that have been proven and tested over time, without having the actual industry skills that you may have. Business is business and its, in most cases, all about the same when it comes to business development, planning and strategies.

There are many functions of coaching and should not be confused with various other styles of education. For example:

• Managing is making sure people do what they know how to do.
• Training is teaching people to do what they don’t know how to do.
• Mentoring is showing people how they are really good at doing something and then get them to do it based on experience.

Business Coaching is none of these. Business Coaching is helping the small business identify the skills and capabilities that are already held by the company or individual which, enables them to become the best they can be. It helps increase a form of independence and reduce relying on others for their success or failures. Business Coaching uses specific range of techniques to help the small business person put proper perspective in the business issues at hand. The open up the doors and unlock potential to show that the small business person can discover, on their own, to discover solutions and options to grow both mentally and in their business at hand, to achieve their goals and see success they may have not been able to do on their own.

Business Coaching is and has been proven to help anyone interested in the self improvement, accountability, sales and communications and of course, goal setting, strategic planning and much, much more. Business Coaching is not the same as “Mentoring” But Mentoring is a great way to move ahead in any business or personal endeavor!

Mentoring involves a development and a relationship between a more experienced “Mentor” and a less experienced “Partner” But, it is true that a Business Coach can be a great “Mentor” provided that Business Coach holds the experience or expertise necessary to be able to support the individual or small business he or she is providing the information for. However, on the reverse side of that, “Mentoring is not to be considered a form of Business Coaching. A good Business Coach need not have the expertise or experience needed to perform his or her services. Mentors do!!!! This is very important to understand when getting coached or mentored. Business Coaches usually run their programs based on proven and structured formal education whereas a Mentor coaches through many years of experience and many successes and failures in a like type of business or business relationship.

A mentor is a smart choice providing you can find one that has truly paid the price of their success. One that has been down similar roads of failures, trials and challenges and yes, successes as well. A great mentor will lead by example and will be sure to lead you away from the pitfalls and failed endeavors already tried and tested over many years of the same issue you would normally face in the same business.

Finding a mentor is not difficult but can be time consuming. Be aware of the “know it all” or the person that has claims and knowledge but no real experience or track record you can obtain. Especially if he or she is going to be charging you for their time or services. A great Mentor will have 10 years plus in the same field of interest. Anything less can fall short of what you are tying to do or what you may be trying to accomplish.

Check the fruit on the tree and look at some of the professionals in your business market or industry. There are some great people out there that will offer some great advice, share some of their experiences and offer a service that may be well deserved and supported by their track record.

Becoming part of a Coaching or Mentorship program in a group format can be extremely beneficial. The business world today is seeing more success for the small business men and women simply by becoming or partnering up with a group or organization of people all headed in the same direction, preferably in the same business for the best results.
Anyone interested in becoming a part of a program like this must go through an interview process, must be willing to put in the time and willing to comment to this dynamic program for a minimum of one year. Mentoring and coaching is not something that happens over night. It takes time, your participation and a very powerful commitment on your part in order to get a Mentor to want to help and support you. A “Mentor” will work with those that work with him.

Keep in mind, a great mentor or business coach is and has committed to help you in anyway they can. But, if your not willing to follow, listen and be Mentored then this program is not for you. Just as you have to make a commitment, a great “Mentor” is willing to commit to the same investment of time and is willing to spend the time to help those select individuals that qualify and want to become the best that they can be.

Auto detailing professional are no different then any other business professional. Most auto detailers never reach their true potential because they never treat their business like a real professional business. There is a lot more to the auto detailing and reconditioning business then the actually hands on labor! There is way more involved then making the vehicle look great. Why is it true that some detailers make a great living and others do not.

Don’t get hung up on what competition is doing. Don’t get hung up on what products you have or don’t have. Any professional business man or woman is going to be professional in every aspect of their business and not single out any one segment. Your auto detailing business has several business functions that need your equal attention in order to have a truly successful business.

Now, go find a great Mentor or Business Coach you can count on and trust that will be able to explain what you can truly accomplish. Be willing to swallow your pride, set aside your ego and be willing to be taught. Take off your blinders! Get committed and put the time, efforts and energy it takes to be the very best at what you do. Put you`re 5 year business plan together. Go achieve goals you never knew existed. Put all of this into action and it will change your life forever!

MEL CRAIG
The Detailing Pros