Small business development through coaching: A practical guide for beginners

Small business development through coaching: A practical guide for beginners

Have you started a small business but feel it's not going the way you want? Or maybe your business has been running for a while but has stalled? Business development coaching offers an approach and tools that can help you break through barriers and give your business a new boost. In this practical guide, you'll learn how to apply coaching methods as a start-up entrepreneur, without external help or with the support of a coach.

Quick Tip: What do we mean by small business coaching?

Spoiler Alert! In short:

Interested in the full guide? Read on and discover how you can apply the coaching techniques to develop your business!

Why can a coaching approach be effective for small businesses?

Small businesses are in a special position. They operate with limited resources, and often the owner is also a manager, salesperson, marketer and financier - all in one. This complexity creates unique challenges where coaching approach can be particularly effective.

"When I started my business, I thought the hard part would be finding customers. But I realised that the biggest challenge was myself and my mindset." - shared with us by the founder of a small web development company.

Key benefits of coaching for small businesses:

1. Focusing on real priorities - Helps you separate urgent and important tasks
2. Concrete setting goals and achieve - An effective target helps avoid fragmentation
3. Identifying and overcoming barriers - Hidden blocking factors become visible
4. Self-reflection skill development - You can learn from your experience
5. More efficient use of resources - You can make more of the opportunities you have

Coaching vs. Consulting: what is the difference and when to choose?

Coaching is often confused with counselling, although they are fundamentally different approaches:

In CoachLab's experience, the most effective solution is often a combination of both approaches: sometimes specific advice is needed, sometimes a coaching approach is the breakthrough.

Five practical coaching tools that you can use immediately in your business

1. The art of effective questioning

A basic principle of coaching is that good questions are more important than quick answers. Try these questions during your next entrepreneurial dilemma:

• "What is the most important result I want to achieve?"
• "What is the main obstacle to achieving this?"
• "If I had unlimited resources, how would I deal with this situation?"
• "What advice would I give to a friend in the same situation?"
• "Looking back in a year's time, what would I like to see is how I handled this situation?"

These questions help you step outside your daily thinking and provide a fresh perspective.

2. GROW model for problem solving

The GROW model is a basic coaching tool that you can use on your own:

• G - Goal: What exactly do you want to achieve?
• R - Reality: What is the current situation? What facts are available?
• O - Options: What are your options? List them all, even the less obvious ones!
• W - Will/Way Forward: What will you do specifically? When? How?

An example: A café owner using the GROW model realised that although his aim was to increase turnover (G), the reality was that he already had a lot of customers, but the average basket value was low (R). He considered the options (O), from premium products to combined offers to a loyalty programme, and then drew up a specific action plan (W).

3. Time management matrix

As a small business owner, you probably also struggle with time constraints. A time management matrix with a coaching approach can help:

In the experience of CoachLab's clients, most small business owners spend too much time in the "urgent and important" field and little time in the "non-urgent but important" field, which would bring the greatest improvement in the long run.

4. Strengths-based development

According to the coaching approach, the greatest potential for growth lies not in correcting our weaknesses, but in developing our strengths. Try this exercise:

1. Make a list of your top 5 strengths (e.g. creative problem solving, relationship skills)
2. Identify how you can use them more consciously in your business
3. Plan how to develop these strengths further

One of our clients, the owner of an online marketing business, realised that he had been using his excellent networking skills mainly for customer acquisition, but had not been exploiting the potential of partnerships. When he focused on this area, his business grew significantly.

5. Methodology for successful delegation

Many small business owners struggle with the "I do everything better" syndrome. A coaching approach helps to overcome this obstacle:

1. Make a list of all the tasks you do in a week
2. Identify the ones where you create unique value and that only you can do
3. Prioritise the other tasks: which are the easiest to delegate or outsource?
4. Prepare a precise process description for the tasks to be delegated
5. Build in checkpoints, but give appropriate autonomy

When should you seek the help of a professional coach?

While you can use the above tools on your own, there are situations where you may want to seek expert help:

Signals that you may need support from a coach:

• Recurring problems: You keep hitting the same walls over and over again
• Growth plateau: The development of your business has stagnated for a long time
• Motivational trough: You are losing your enthusiasm
• Difficult decision situation: You are facing a strategic decision that could determine the future of your business
• Work-life imbalance: Business is starting to eat away at your personal life
• Conflict management difficulties: You have problems with colleagues or partners

How to choose a coach as a small business owner?

Choosing the right coach is key, especially as a small business owner with limited resources:

1. Specialisation: Find a coach who works specifically with small businesses and understands their unique challenges
2. Experience: It is preferable if the coach has run or is running a business
3. Compatibility: Personal chemistry and trust are essential
4. Flexible designs: As a small business owner, flexible scheduling and pricing can be important
5. References: Get feedback from entrepreneurs in similar situations

CoachLab Coaching Services pays special attention to the unique needs of small businesses and offers specially designed coaching programmes that take into account limited resources and the specific situation of the owner-manager.

How to build a effective coaching process for small businesses?

If you decide to hire a coach, you should know what to expect. A typical small business coaching process usually consists of the following stages:

1. Assessment of the situation and objectives (1-2 sessions)

The first step is a thorough assessment of the current situation of the business. A good coach will help you clarify:

• Where is your business now?
• What are your short and long-term goals?
• What are the main challenges and opportunities?
• What resources are available?

2. Development plan (1 session)

Based on the situation assessment, a personalised development plan is drawn up, which includes:

• Specific objectives of the coaching process
• Areas for development
• The methods to be used
• How the results are measured

3. Regular coaching sessions (usually 6-12 sessions)

The backbone of the coaching process is the regular (usually fortnightly) sessions during which:

• You work on concrete challenges and situations
• You learn new attitudes and skills
• You prepare action plans and evaluate the results achieved

4. Implementation and practical application

Coaching does not end at the end of the session. The real value happens between the two sessions, when:

• You put new approaches into practice
• Experimenting with new methods
• You reflect on the results

5. Evaluation and ensuring sustainability

At the end of the coaching process, it is important to evaluate the results achieved and ensure sustainability:

• What have you achieved of the goals you set?
• What new attitudes and skills have you acquired?
• How can you apply them in the long term?

A shoe shop owner put it this way at the end of the coaching process: "The biggest value has not been the concrete business results - although our turnover has increased by 27% - but learning to think differently about my business and my role."

Three small business stories about the power of coaching

1. The transformation of a one-man web design business

Mark had been running his one-man web design business for three years, but he was constantly overwhelmed and couldn't break out of the "hourly rate" trap. During the coaching process:

• Rethinking its service portfolio
• Package deals instead of individual works
• Building partnerships with other professionals
• Developed an efficient customer management system

Result: After six months, Mark was working with fewer clients, but still earned 40% more, while his weekly working hours dropped from 55 to 35 hours.

2. Repositioning the family bakery

The turnover of a two-generation family bakery had been stagnating for years, and the owners were in constant conflict over the direction of development. The coaching process helped:

• Clarify the vision and values of different family members
• Setting common goals
• Clarify roles and responsibilities
• Develop a specific range of products based on local ingredients

Result: In one year, the bakery has achieved a 35% increase in turnover, communication between family members has improved significantly and roles have been clarified, allowing everyone to do what they do best.

3. Scaling a startup selling online courses

The founders of an online training start-up are stuck in growth. Although they had some successful courses, they didn't know how to move forward. Coaching helped:

• Identify bottlenecks in the customer journey
• Develop a leisure-friendly marketing strategy
• Optimise processes that can be automated
• Build a virtual team with subcontractors

Result: The business has doubled its client numbers and revenue in eight months, while the founders' working hours have not increased.

Integrating a coaching approach into everyday life - step by step

The real value of the coaching process is when the approach is embedded in everyday operations. Here are some practical tips:

1. Establish reflection routines

• Daily level: 5-10 minute evening reflection on the lessons of the day
• On a weekly basis: 30-60 minute planning and results assessment
• Monthly level: A deeper look at progress and priorities
• Quarterly: Strategic redesign and correction

2. Create a supportive environment

• Join an entrepreneurial mastermind group
• Find an "accountability partner" with whom you regularly share your goals and progress
• Attend networking events where you can be inspired by other entrepreneurs

3. Continually develop your coaching skills

• Read literature on the subject
• Listen to podcasts with successful entrepreneurs
• Attend workshops where you can learn new methods

Summary: Coaching as an investment in the future of your business

Applying a coaching approach and methods is not just another task on an entrepreneur's endless to-do list, but an investment that can have a positive impact in all other areas:

• A clearer vision and strategy
• More effective time management and prioritisation
• Better leadership skills and teamwork
• More balanced entrepreneurship
• More sustainable growth

As one of our clients put it: "Coaching is not a luxury or a crisis management tool - it's the most important investment a small business owner can make in themselves and their business."

A CoachLab coaching services are specifically tailored to the unique challenges of Hungarian small businesses. To experience how a coaching approach can help you develop your business, visit CoachLab.hu or contact us for a free, no obligation preliminary discussion.

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