Over numerous conversations with a range of business owners, the idea of engaging a business coach often meets with a high level of resistance.  As the coaching industry is largely unregulated, business owners worry about whether they will get real value from coaching and whether they can do anything about it if the coaching goes wrong.

A more fundamental issue for many business owners is that they are concerned about whether business coaching will be able to help them create the business and life to which they truly aspire.

In 2018, the Journal of Management Development published the outcomes of a survey conducted across 87 companies who engaged with business coaches.  The survey found that:

• 89% saw increased employee engagement
• 82% experienced customer satisfaction
• 50% reported ‘extremely positive’ return on investment

I believe this research, which is supported by the outcome of other similar research, should reassure business owners that engaging a business coach does work.

In circumstances where business owners do not know everything about running a business, engaging with a business coach can help business owners improve their skills in a wide variety of areas such as leadership, marketing, planning, management structures and succession.