Why get business coaching?
Your business should work for you, not the other way round
Business coaching for business owners who want a business that supports the life they chose.
You started your business to share something you love. Somewhere along the way, it became the boss.
You’re working long hours and it still doesn’t pay you the salary you want.
You’d love to delegate, but no one is as capable as you need them to be.
Holidays are stressful. There’s no one you trust to cover, and every day away is income lost.
You feel stuck, and working harder isn’t changing anything.
The issue isn’t effort. It’s that the business was built around you doing everything, so it can’t run without you.
There’s a way out that doesn’t mean working harder
A business that runs without you needs three things: customers who value what you do, well thought through operational systems that get consistent results in less time, and a team who care as much as you do.
I have learnt this process works through a process of trial and error. Both my husband and I have spent the last 15 years building our family businesses, Harland Works and Eyeye Opticians. We spent many years working long hours with few staff to hand tasks on to. Today we work 1 or 2 days a week and the businesses are still growing strongly with a small but mighty employed team.
The way we got here included:
Building the business around what customers value. At Eyeye we offer luxurious amounts of 1 to 1 time with eye tests of an hour. People are not rushed and we can get to know them well enough to support them properly. At Harland Works, our old factory buildings have meant we have had the robust infrastructure to be able to offer incoming tenants the chance to adapt units to suit their business needs. If their business does well here, it will mean we do well.
Using technology as a partner. Customer databases, high tech equipment, online bookkeeping updated daily, email systems - investing in implementing these help us to be accurate and consistent - while eating up less time.
Hiring for values. We build close relationships with customers who stay with our businesses over a long time. At Eyeye, the team greets customers by name as they arrive for appointments. Our systems help them get this right - but they bring their own motivation to care for customers. Putting value for customers at the centre of the business and aiming to be consistent is not easy. But the right team find this challenge rewarding.
With a business background that includes an MBA and teaching business start-ups, I can support you to find the way to unlock the potential your business has to to support you in the life you want to achieve alongside your business.
What we’ll work on, depending on where you are: your offer and profit, the systems that give you time back, the roles you need, and the people who’ll look after your customers as well as you do.
How we work together
Discovery call. We talk through where your business is now and what’s getting in your way. No pressure, no obligation.
Your 90-day plan. If we’re a good fit, we agree a clear action plan around your goals, whether that’s profit, time off or handing over responsibility.
Fortnightly coaching calls. Every two weeks we work through the plan, solve what’s in the way and keep you moving.
What you’ll have after 90 days
At the start, we’ll agree what success looks like for you: perhaps fewer hours, a higher salary, a task handed over, or a week away with the business running without you.
After 90 days together, you’ll have:
A clear understanding of what’s keeping the business dependent on you
A practical plan built around your goals
At least one real change in place and working, with my support
The confidence to keep going, because you’ve already done it once
This approach is the one I’ve used in my own businesses. If you’d like to talk about what it could look like for yours, email me to book a free 1 hour consultation and we can explore your situation and possible solutions together. Email me to book a free consultation
Not sure where to start? My email programme is a practical first step: it helps you build trust and sales with your customers without feeling pushy. Link to: Good Email Programme
