Is a Business Coach worth the money?
I have been attending networking meetings since I started my business and I have met so many people who offer a business coaching service – some specialise in supporting Executives, some Senior Leadership Teams, others on Mums in Business.
Why do you need a business coach?
At the start of the year, after returning to work after having my first child, I recognised that in order to move my business forwards, I needed a sounding board. I needed someone to challenge my thoughts and ideas for the growth of my business and someone who could ask ‘Have you thought of this?’ and ‘Why do you do that?’. Working on your own makes this hard to do – you can ask friends and family but they sometimes just tell you what you want to hear.
BUT, whilst I had previously recognised this is what my business needed, the cost was always a factor which got in the way. However, this year when I set my budget for my business I factored in an amount for business development and training, and spent that on joining the Exeter Mumazing Success Group, hosted by Lucy Flanagan.
After a couple of months as a member, Lucy asked me to work with her as her Virtual Assistant, mainly supporting her with managing her Facebook Groups, general social media support and also helping get Mumazing Success online. I had already seen and heard the amazing results that Lucy was getting for the members of the group, and once I started working with Lucy as her VA, I knew that she was the right business coach for me.
It’s so important to work with someone who gets you AND gets your business. I had previously worked with a business coach in one of my previous roles, but their style did not match mine and I found them very hard (read ‘impossible’) to work with. Lucy gets me. She understands what I do as she has first-hand experience of it. She also understands the competing priorities of being self-employed, and a mum – as she is too.
“It was quite a liberating and uplifting exercise and made me realise that my ideal life was not out of reach”.
My first session with Lucy was around my ideal lifestyle. In the surrounds of the lovely Hotel Du Vin, Exeter, over coffee, Lucy drilled down into what in an ideal world my world would look like. We talked about where I wanted to shop, where I wanted to holiday, where I wanted my daughter to go to nursery, what I wanted my business to look like and then worked out how much I needed to earn to make this happen, and how realistic that was. It was quite a liberating and uplifting exercise and made me realise that my ideal life was not out of reach.
My second session with Lucy was focused on identifying and targeting my ideal customer. We again drilled down to the type of person that would be looking for the services that I provide and the type of businesses that I enjoy working with. As a result of this I have a very clear image of who may ideal customer is and where they hang out, and now am ready to go and meet them.
As for session three, we don’t have that booked in yet but I’m really looking forward to the journey that Lucy will be taking me on in that meeting.
My business birthday
I am soon to reach my business birthday – two years as a Virtual Assistant! It feels like a significant milestone and one which I am celebrating with a rebrand. The two sessions with my business coach has given me all the information and tools that I need to move forward and grow my business and I am very excited about the years to come.
Have you worked with a business coach, was it a good or bad experience?
What did you get out of it? Please let me know.
For details on how we can help you to find the space to grow your business, call us on 07814 218142 or email joanne@joannemanville.co.uk
If you are a business coach looking for a VA, you can download our free guide, 30 ways to use a virtual assistant: a guide for coaches, trainers and consultants here.
To find out more about Lucy Flanagan and Mumazing Success
To get a guest Pass to the Exeter Mumazing Success Group