As a business owner, you’re used to wearing many hats: developing and delivering your products or services, marketing, sales, HR, operations, finances, etc. It’s safe to say that you’re being pulled in many different directions, especially in our current economic climate. 

But do you know how you’re spending your time? And whether or not those tasks and activities align with your strengths and preferences to help grow your business?

My guess is that, ironically, you haven’t had enough time to consider this because you’ve been so busy. And spoiler alert, you’ve probably not been as productive as you’d like.

There comes a time in every business owner’s life when trying to do it all becomes too much. They raise their hand in defeat and yell, “I need help!” What they need is a coach, partner who can complement their skill set.

As an entrepreneur and owner of multiple businesses, I know I have, and what’s helped me most was first to have an awareness of what I enjoyed most and do best as well as what I dreaded doing and things I felt less confident about. For instance, my strengths are finance and operations. Unlike most CPAs, who focus solely on financial matters, I’m also a management consultant, certified globally in OKR, “Profit First,” and take ongoing education courses from Harvard and Goldman Sachs. I love capturing and analyzing data to help my clients increase the profitability, efficiency, and longevity of their businesses. With that clarity, I’m free to stay in my lane of expertise and seek out coaching for those things that fall outside of my specialty.

With so many different types of coaches out there, how do you know with whom to partner?

Let’s start with a business owner’s four basic needs, and the coaches who can help with them:

1. Mental: This pertains to your mental health and your mind— are you feeling happy? Depressed? A mental coach or psychologist can help the most.
2. Physical: Your physical health can be enhanced with trainers, nutritionists, and fitness coaches.
3. Spiritual: If you’re feeling lost and vulnerable, and your mind is restless, a spiritual coach can help you find your center through meditation and prayer.
4. Knowledge: This is all about business, and covers a wide array of topics, from finance and operations to sales and marketing. 

When looking for a coach, most business owners find themselves in the last category, but the problem is that business “knowledge” covers a lot of ground. And because it does, you’ll find lots of coaches claiming to be the one-stop-shop answer to your company’s woes.

However, it’s important to recall that much like a business owner identifying and knowing their “lane,” a coach should do the same. A coach who specializes in marketing probably isn’t the coach you’d want advising you on operational matters.

In my business coaching practice, I use a framework I call the “3P Formula,” which stands for:

Passion – The energy you feel for your core business

Profit – The financial success of your business

Purpose – Why you have your business

When I work with clients, I ask them, “What breaks your heart in business? Which of these three areas cause you the most pain?”

If they’ve lost their passion or have no clarity of purpose, I refer them to other coaches who can assist them. But if they lack profitability, I know I can help them; that’s my specialty. Their need aligns with my offering.

Make sure whatever coach you work with has a clear lane of demonstrated expertise. No one coach can do it all, despite what they might promise.

And finally, if you want to grow your business, the other thing to consider as you search for a coach is to think big. It’s easy to get stuck in small-minded thinking, believing that your business is too small for a certain partner. Instead, pick a coach that’s in the space you aspire to be. 

When I decided I wanted to take my business global, I realized I needed help positioning myself to a different audience. The writing coach I had used to achieve an intimate, local feel had been great but was no longer the best fit for the global presence I was building. 

Don’t be afraid to up your game by aligning yourself with a quality coach specializing in your area of need and who will help you take your business to the next level. After all, you wouldn’t trust a general practitioner to perform a surgery on your heart, so take the time to hire the right coach to ensure that profitability is the heart of your business.