What is a business coach and why would you want one?
Specifically, if you’re a tradie or a builder and you run a business, why would you want to get yourself a trade-specific or construction-specific business coach?
Because you want to do the business part properly…..
If you’ve built your business to where it is today and you feel like you could be doing better – maybe a business coach will help.
(Maybe I will help)
You learned your trade and you became an expert in your trade and you started a business and you didn’t really learn business – you kind of had to wing it.
That’s not unusual but it is probably costing you. If you are not doing the business part of running your business very well, it’ll be costing you:
- Money – you’ll probably be making less than you should be
- Time – you’ll probably be working harder than you should be
- Freedom – you can never get away and relax without being needed.
So you might get a business coach for tradies and builders (like me) if you want to do business better, make more money, have more time and more freedom to enjoy that time.
How does that sound?
Does Business Coaching Really Work?
Of course it does, it’s amazing !
Seriously, it’s effective in helping you learn business and apply what you learn into your business – so you make more money, work less and are able to leave your people without them having to call you all the time with questions.
But it has its limitations – it’s only business coaching.
- I can teach you the business and support you to change the way you run yours
- I can help you be brave and make decisions.
- I can hold you accountable for doing the new things so you can’t let yourself off the hook.
- I can support you and push you and keep you on track.
(One of my clients said I’m relentless and then he said – that’s your job though – to keep us on track)
But there’s only so much I can do – you still have to do the work, change how you operate yourself, be brave, keep going and commit to it.
It works – if you do it.
The doing it is up to you.
How Does it Work?
There are a few levers we can pull to help you:
On-Boarding
We’ll check your set up so your tech doesn’t get in your way, show you round our infrastructure so you can find everything you need when you need it.
We’ll look for quick wins – money and capacity so you can get moving quickly.
We’ll use my framework and your current situation plus your goals to make a plan to fix your problems and give you the business you want.
And we’ll pre-warn you about the barriers and speed bumps you’ll face along the way so you’re prepared when you encounter them and better able to deal with them).
Training
I’ve made training videos which are available as a podcast so you can listen or watch the things you need to learn in your own time and at your own speed – much better for you than listening to me explain something live on a call. You’ll learn better and absorb the learning better.
Coaching
There’s group coaching and one-one-one coaching so you can always get access to me (and David – there are two of us).
We’ll help you make decisions, deal with situations and problems. We’ll support you, help you be brave, cheer you on and encourage you. We want to get you the wins.
Accountability
We measure your progress and check in to hold you accountable for doing the work you have agreed you need to be doing.
(This is not a course where you step through lessons – it’s a coaching program where we agree what you need to do next and give you the support to do it – to build the systems into your business, so it serves you better.)
What is a small business coach?
A small business coach is a business coach for small businesses. Most business coaches would be for small businesses.
Small Fish Business Coaching certainly is – hence the name.
It’s for tradies and builders who want to grow from small to not so small.
I’m talking $1,000,000 to $15,000,000. If you’re much bigger than that and you’ve outgrown my services – you’re a small-medium enterprise now and you’ll hire different and specialised advisers.
What Does it Cost?
It’s $2200 + GST per month and you do it for as long as you feel it’s helping you make more money
– there’s no minimum commitment.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What does a business coach do (specifically for tradies and builders)?
A business coach will help you make sure you get enough work in to keep everybody busy – that’s marketing to find the work and sales to win it; he’ll help you make sure you charge enough so that the work you do is profitable; he’ll help you make sure jobs go well, to plan, on-time and to-budget and help you set up your back office so the money is managed and your compliance obligations are met; he’ll help you manage yourself and be a good leader and manager for your team.
Business Coach vs Mentor - what’s the difference?
A mentor gives advice based on their experience (usually someone who has run a business like yours and shares what they learned along the way. A business coach brings business knowledge and business experience and provides a structured program whose role is to make sure you actually do the work to make your business better.
How do I know if I actually need coaching?
If you’re busy but not very profitable, that’s a big clue. If you don’t know your numbers or how profitable you are, that’s another sign. If cash flow is patchy, work sometimes isn’t there, you’re quoting at night and always on the phone, chances are you could benefit from some coaching.
How Long Does it Take to Make Progress?
That’s a tough question to answer because it will be different for everyone and different for everyone’s business. If there are problems we can fix quickly – we’ll fix them quickly (and we’ll look for them first, we’re not silly).
The faster you implement, the faster you’ll make progress, so much of it depends on you and your situation.
I would expect to have covered the cost of the coaching by month 3, unless your situation is really hard to shift.
Can Coaching Help if I’m already doing decent revenue?
Yes. You can have decent revenue and shitty profits or be working too hard or losing your mind with busyness and stress., Coaching is valuable when you’ve outgrown the old way and need a new way to run your business- when you need structure and systems to make it work better.
What Should I ask before hiring a business coach?
Is he a curly haired pom with a smart mouth? No, scratch that. Meet him or her and see if you think you can work with this person, if you believe they care about you and your interests, if what they say makes sense to you and for your business. This coach is going to be telling you what you should do for a while and trying to make sure you do it – you need to think he’s got the right ideas.