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Business Coaching
Benefits of Business Coaching
2024-06-04
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have shown supremacy in their business operations and have a promising future in the world of business. And have been identified as productive drivers of inclusive economic growth and development in South Africa and around the world. Some researchers have estimated that, in South Africa, SMEs makeup 91% of formalised businesses, provide employment to about 60% of the labour force and total economic output accounts for roughly 34% of GDP.
However, they lack a well-structured network of people to consult with about where to start and how to manage their businesses. The result is businesses that don’t survive for long. Business coaching becomes crucial, and a coach is a tremendous help for entrepreneurs and business owners. But what precisely is a business coach, and how can South African SMEs benefit from them?
What is a Business Coach?
A business coach is a professional mentor or expert who works with companies or entrepreneurs to help them improve their business performance and offer recommendations for a company’s vision, objectives, and goals. They identify strengths and weaknesses and convert them to actionable success to help the business grow.
What Does a Business Coach Do?
A business coach can be given a variety of responsibilities, and their duties can include:
- Providing entrepreneurs with advice on business plans and strategies
- A coach must ensure the entrepreneurs are motivated and liable.
- They are responsible for proper clear, concise communication and understanding of goals and objectives
- Business coaches create a plan with metrics to help entrepreneurs with their businesses.
- They also assess the entrepreneur’s strengths and weaknesses and offer guidance in development.
Benefits of Having a Business Coach
While a business coach helps SMEs with different aspects of business, the main focus is generally on the SMEs ' overall growth. The more growth a business sees, the more successful and profitable it will be. Entrepreneurs want their businesses to be successful and profitable, thus business coaches work with them to make it happen.
Other aspects may include financial planning, marketing strategies, or basic planning. A business coach also helps with the following:
- Troubleshooting business problems or inefficiencies in business ideation
- Creating a business plan, company mission statement, and values
- Marketing and promoting strategies
- Developing financial plans
Key Benefits of Business Coaching
Personalised Guidance and Mentorship
Business coaches offer tailored advice to entrepreneurs who need personalised guidance and mentorship while instilling leadership and management skills for them to put to use in their business operations.
Better Strategic Planning
Entrepreneurs also get assistance with setting long-term goals, while getting made to improve business strategy and execution.
Enhanced Responsibility
The business coach often does regular check-ins and tracks the progress of tasks given to the entrepreneur. This is done while offering motivation to the entrepreneur to stay focused and committed to the goals and objectives
Acquisition of Skills
Training is also offered in specific areas, such as marketing, finance, and operations. And enhancing problem-solving and decision-making.
Opportunities for Networking
Entrepreneurs can access a comprehensive range of networks of business professionals and potential partners. There is also room for opportunities and collaboration that an entrepreneur can get for their businesses.
The Future of Business Coaching in South Africa
Since technology is evolving, there has been a significant shift from conventional coaching, which involves the business coach and the entrepreneur having face-to-face contact, to remote coaching. The relationship between an entrepreneur and a business coach can easily be facilitated through technology such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and virtual and remote coaching. Here’s how they work:
Virtual and Remote Coaching
There’s an increase in remote coaching creating a global network, virtual coaching is a tailored approach to professional development delivered remotely through digital platforms
AI-Powered Coaching
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are actively reshaping the coaching industry and gaining increasing influence. It is a machine-assisted, systematic process that helps clients set professional goals and construct solutions to achieve them efficiently
The business world just got better for entrepreneurs in South Africa who can now access services from business coaching to help them with their businesses, in terms of personalised guidance, enhanced responsibility, acquiring skills, and networking opportunities. As an entrepreneur, you should take advantage of this and get yourself a business coach.
Schedule a coaching session with one of our many professionals with over ten years of experience to guide you towards success.