The professional service businesses I work with are usually between two and six years old, and have a few staff. Alternatively, they may be passing ownership on to a new generation, or adding partners to take the business in a new direction. They have an office and an existing customer base, but for whatever reason neither is quite what they want. Examples include accountants, lawyers, marketing agencies, architects, mortgage brokers, insurance agents, and more.
Understand your challenges
These businesses are often unsure of how to move up to the next stage. They need a bit of help to target the customers and jobs that they want, and they may not be as profitable as they would like to be. Internally, they may have staffing problems – perhaps their structure isn’t robust, or doesn’t hold the right expertise. On a personal level, the business owner will be spending much more time working in the business than on it. They may also be worried that they are straying from their initial vision, and not getting the best outcomes for their customers. This can leave them feeling a bit over it all, because they have lost their passion for what they’re doing. Sometimes, that can cause a team culture that isn’t very positive or supportive. On the other hand, they may just want help to implement a new product, service, strategy, or direction for their business.
Take the right approach
First of all, systematically reviewing the inner workings of the business is vital. We’ll get together to unpack all of your different processes, such as IT, recruitment and marketing. We’ll strip it back even further than that – rediscovering what the business is really about, why you started it, and what your end goals are both in the business and personally. That usually involves deciding on who your ideal customer base target is then targeting and specialising for them, and creating the internal systems and office space to match
Coaching tailored for you
There can be a few complex factors at play, so after your free Introduction & Assessment Session, a full day’s planning session is a great start. I’ll then write up a formal Action Plan with specific achievable goals, and set timelines. Going forward, we’ll then do some sort of regular catch up, depending on what you need. That could be weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, or annually – to measure your progress, help you stay on track or make adjustments as new challenges come up, and deliver on your targets. In addition, I’m here to support you when you need it – I can work
directly with staff, attend important meetings, help with recruitment, or just put out the fires!
Create new success
You’ll have a reignited motivation, passion, fulfilment and excitement for your business – which can only lead to better outcomes in all areas. You’ll have clarity of direction, with a measurable plan to target your dream customers, boost growth, and create the new working space you can see in your mind’s eye. The way the whole business looks in terms of resources, staffing, systems, and branding will be in line with your initial vision. You’ll be taking on the jobs that are most appealing, and which bring the right return for your time, and your customers will receive better a service too. Your staff will have more buy-in, and clearer understanding of their roles and targets going forward – with a better team culture and internal systems. Getting tapped into my tremendous professional network means you will also gain working relationships with highly-capable service providers. You’ll feel more confident that your business and personal life is on the right track, and know that you have the team to carry the business forward if you take a step back from the day-to-day tasks – or even take a well-deserved break!
The Challenge
My business is LittleMonkey Ltd. We are a software development company, mainly focused on apps, websites, games and education. Being a service-oriented business means we’ve had to earn every dollar through hourly rates. We’ve had fairly flat growth, and our income fluctuates a lot. We figured that bringing in products to sell was a new way we could generate ongoing revenue. So we recently launched a specific new product (a conference app). We were a little unsure of the challenges we’d face, and the steps to take, so we were getting pushed towards having an advisory board to help my out. I was quite reluctant though, because the whole reason I started a business was to make the key decisions. Having a business coach was an alternative I wanted.
The Solution
Steve got on board initial to help us make the transition to selling out new product. We felt much surer about the steps to take, had a clear roadmap, and found the right people to help. We created a dedicated new product website to avoid muddying out core service offering, and planned for trade shows and expos. He also saw new ways to get more benefit from what we were already doing, so we started meeting with Steve every two weeks. Steve has an effective but gentle approach, which makes sure projects are moving in the right direction. More than that, it’s so easy to get stuck head-down, so having Steve reinforcing the positive outcomes we are achieving is invaluable for us – it really lifts the whole team. He also brings an enormous amount of connections, so when I have an idea, Steve can put me in touch with the right people.
The Outcome
Starting the new product while still running the whole business is an ongoing process. So far we’ve made it pay its way, and know how we can continue to make it profitable. I’m feeling positive that is has a lot of potential. We continue to work towards out long-term business plan, and are really happy that we’ve getting in front of the audience that we wanted, and are finding higher-value projects. We’re more excited about our work, and I believe that we’re heading in the right direction. What’s so important for me as well is that I’m still running the company, and I can make the big decisions. The extra level of reinforcement, discussion and accountability Steve brings has helped us find the path that we want to take, and keeps driving results.
Recommendation
“Steve has a really good approach. It was never a hard sell from the beginning, he is very friendly and makes the process easy. We don’t just talk about the business either – also my personal family and financial goals. Finding somebody you’re comfortable talking openly with, and whose advice you trust, has been really beneficial. As a sole director, or perhaps being in a situation where you have a couple of directors, I can definitely recommend Steve as a business coach. It’s really good to have an external view about what you’re doing from someone with a new set of skills, experience, thought processes and contacts.”
We’ll discuss your business, review your systems, and consider your goals. It’s a great chance to take a fresh look at your business, and discover how coaching can add real value for you. I look forward to chatting with you, and finding out more about you and your business!
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