Business and life coaching are separate entities in their own right and each has the ability to transform an aspect of your life, whether it be professionally or personally. But, combined they have the potential to completely upturn and revive your world! Yet many are still tentative to actually embrace these two practices, and a willingness is vital to achieve results.

So, how exactly can these two methods transform your world? In this article, we’ll be looking at the different features of both styles of coaching and addressing how they have the potential to change your perspective permanently. Of course, neither is an overnight miracle but is instead a process and ultimately, an investment in yourself. It’s important to note, however, before we begin, that these coaches should not be one individual but should be considered as different tools that do not overlap.

Business coaching: What is it and who needs it?

As you may have expected, business coaching focuses on an organisation. Typically, a managing director, owner or senior executive will seek out a coach to help them set better goals, reach these faster and make more successful decisions to benefit the company.

It’s, however, very difficult to define exactly what a coach will do for your organisation as each is widely different – no two companies will be the same and therefore, neither will have the same coaching experience. But, some of the key features are:

• It’s a 1-to-1 bespoke programme aimed specifically at accelerating the success of the individual and business engaged in the process.
• Performance-driven, you will focus on what is fundamental to achieve the desired outcome but more importantly you will also take consistent action towards this goal.
• A coach will drive you to achieve more in less time, supporting and encouraging you which leads to an increase in productivity levels (which can also aid your personal life too!)
• The business owners will have access to tools, knowledge and skills to assist the short and long term success of the company that otherwise would not have been available without a coach.

Many people can benefit from using business and life coaching, but some may find they only need to use one of the practices. So, how exactly do you know? Generally, a business coach will be used for those:

#1 Starting a new venture that requires expertise and experience to ensure this is a success when launched (entrepreneurs).

#2 Those who feel their business has hit a wall and want to take it to the next level but are struggling with how to do so.

#3 You need new structures and operational strategies in place to improve the overall running of your business.

As you can see, these clearly focus on business needs – your coach won’t provide you with the tools to motivate you to get out of bed earlier but will be able to put a concise, achievable yet challenging strategy in place that will transform the way your company functions.

Life coaching: What is it and who needs it?

Life coaching has become far more popular in recent years, coming to be known as a sort of talking therapy that actively turns people’s lives around. A life coach will look to empower others by helping them make, meet and exceed goals both personally and professionally – in terms of career development rather than an actual business.

There are three main pillars that makeup life coaching:

• Guidance: providing the tools and support for someone to broaden their perspective and open their mind, enabling them to reach their goals.
• Empowerment: largely down to the individual to realise their own self-worth and self-belief that has, for one reason or another, diminished but supported and encouraged by the coach.
• Improvement: aiding an individual to go from where they are to where they want to be, in effect reaching their goal.

You’ll learn specific tools that will see you elevate yourself as an individual, and this may crossover into your family, relationships or work life too. Much like business coaching, together with your coach, you will create an actionable plan with specific end goals in sight.

As previously mentioned, business and life coaching can be combined to completely upturn your lifestyle, but not everyone will suit both methods. You may just need a life coach if you:

#1 Feel lost and lack direction in life, ultimately sabotaging your own self – instead, you are seeking focus.

#2 Fear you are not good enough and let this hold you back – you want to be more decisive and confident.

#3 You need better time management and organisation in your life.

#4 You are facing a major transition, i.e. going through a divorce, or changing career paths.

In contrast to business coaching, the concentration is on you. Together with your life coach, you’ll formulate a plan that will see you improve your everyday lifestyle; removing obstacles that previously held you back and ultimately flourishing to be the very best version of yourself.

Using business and life coaching together to transform your world

Utilising a business and life coach can completely alter the way you go through life day-to-day. When you combine the two, you are covering all major aspects of your life; this may seem daunting initially but if you can conquer your fears, you will be able to spend your precious time in a better way, ultimately enjoying life more.

A life coach will focus on motivating you, transforming your daily routine into one that promotes healthy habits and produces higher levels of productivity. A business coach can also improve productivity rates but will do so by targeting the way your business functions, allowing it to thrive. Let’s have a look at some of the goals you may set with a life coach and business coach to clearly highlight the differences:

*NOTE: These are all SMART goals!

Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-framed.

Life coach goal examples:

• By June of this year, I will have completed a course at my local community college in social media marketing and have applied for at least three jobs in the field.
• By the end of September, I will have lost 2 stone.
• For the next two weeks, I will wake up at 7 am every morning and complete a 30-minute yoga session before I go to work.
• Every day this month, I will dedicate 15 minutes to communicate openly and honestly with my partner to talk through anything that is bothering us about each other.
• Each week, I will spend at least 2 afternoons with my son to do whatever he wants to do.

Business coach goal examples:

• By the second quarter, we will have achieved a 10% increase in profits.
• By the end of each month, I will have 3 new leads and will dedicate 30 minutes to following each up fully.
• Next month, we will see a 5% increase in conversion rates via the website.
• For the next two weeks, we will trial a no-email policy between office staff members to improve communication skills.
• Every day, I will dedicate 45 minutes to focus time and concentrate on building at least 5 new, valuable network contacts in the time.

Of course, these goals alone are not enough – remember, to succeed you must also have an actionable plan to break these down into manageable tasks that can be checked off once complete. This will see you propelled forward, eventually leading you to the end result.

Finding the right coach means finding someone you can connect with not only on a professional level but personally too. After all, coaching is an investment in you! And, whilst the two are separate entities, there is some crossover should you find the right connection as a business coach can help you to stay motivated and passionate about your daily life within your organisation.

Final notes as a business coach: How I can help you

Business and life coaching are highly effective practices that develop an individual or business. The focus is on achieving a specific goal and working towards that using proven techniques that provide the right results. A coach will guide, advise and train to upskill where necessary but, at the end of the day, they can not take the action to see you succeed for you. It is up to you to action these steps and put them into motion, however, with the support and motivation from a coach this will become more achievable.

As a business coach, I understand how to create an actionable plan that can see your business thrive – but, I’ll also be able to provide you with advice that has helped me as a business owner in the last 30 years too to ensure you remain motivated. If you are ready to take the next steps and transform your world, get in contact with me now at graham@grahamgarman.com or complete this contact form, and I’ll be happy to discuss how I can work with you.