Running a business or practice can be a daily challenge. Everyone else seemingly does it so easily, so why does it sometimes seem like so much hard work? Business owners don’t always have someone they can turn to for answers to daily frustrations, which is why more and more are looking to find a business coach. The most common issues revolve around people, money and time. In particular, the lack of it. This question and answer series of articles provides scenarios for practice and business owners to find answers to those frustrating situations.
If you’ve been following this blog series, you may have noticed that the answers are not always cut and dried. A coach’s role is not to ‘tell’, it’s more about introducing sound business principles and asking the right questions to stimulate the client’s thinking to lead them to uncovering or developing the right solution for their business. In our coaching business we are principles-based rather than formula-based. That is to say, instead of taking either a “best-practices” template, or the “cookie-cutter” model (one-size-fits-all) and imposing it on our clients, we want them to understand the underlying business principles and then work with those principles and apply them so that they have a solution specifically tailored to their own business. In this way, both the business and the client can reach their full potential.
Q: My company has been operating for around four years and I am making steady progress. However, I think that I could ramp up from a small business to a mid-sized one by buying a competitor or two, with staff. What are the pros and cons?
Big question. And an entrepreneurial one at that. Instead of giving you pros and cons, I will pose questions for you to consider. How ready is your current business to double or treble in size? Are all your systems in place? Are you clear on your future organisational structure and what needs to be in place to get where you want to go? Leadership and people management are going to be key. You can have great entrepreneurial skill and fantastic technicians, but you also need tremendous management skills to tie the two together. Every business – even in the same field – has a different way of doing things. Be aware of the pitfalls of blending cross cultures. Do you have a clear strategy to merge the cultures and do it in such a way that everyone is comfortable and still feels reasonably safe and willing to buy into your vision and way of doing things? Mergers, particularly with smaller businesses where everyone knows everyone else, are like impending marriages. Once you have identified your prospective ‘partner’, spend some time getting to know them. In other words, date first, then get engaged and learn more about each other before walking down the aisle. Do you have training systems in place? How are you going to position the change with the clients so they still feel important and cared for? The last thing you want is a mass migration of unhappy clients. With the right elements in place, your strategy can certainly ramp your business up.
Watch for Part Eight…coming later this week!
Until next time…
P.S. Learn more about working ON your business with my FREE eBook! Get it HERE!