Light Up Your Business

The Power of Guidance: Why Hiring a Business Coach Can Transform Your Success

• Tammy Hershberger • Episode 54

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Are you ready to elevate your business? Join me, Tammy Hershberger, as we delve into the game-changing impact of hiring a business coach. In this episode, we explore how personalized coaching can unlock your full potential as an entrepreneur, providing you with invaluable insights, accountability, and unmatched support. Discover the significant benefits that business coaching brings to the table, from strategic goal-setting to improving work-life balance and self-confidence.

I share my experiences as a coach and business owner, highlighting the transformative moments that can occur with the right guidance. If you're considering taking your business to new heights, this episode is tailored to inspire you and offer practical advice on finding the right coach for your unique needs.

Stay tuned as we break down the difference between coaching and consulting and how understanding this can impact your business success. Engage with me as I lay out essential strategies and tips that have worked for my clients. Let’s transform the way you think about growth in your business and make the process both rewarding and enjoyable.

Are you ready to take the leap? Let's embark on this journey together. Remember to subscribe, share, and leave a review to help us reach more entrepreneurs eager for growth!

Say goodbye to overwhelm and self-doubt, and hello to confidence and success. Join the Faith Filled Coaching family today and step into the abundant future you've always envisioned.
Visit FaithFilledCoach.com to schedule your free 30-minute consultation. Let's make your business dreams a reality, together.

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Tammy Hershberger:

Welcome to the Light Up your Business podcast, the show where we dive deep into the world of small businesses.

Tammy Hershberger:

I'm your host, Tammy Hershberger, and each episode will bring you inspiring stories, expert insights and practical tips to help your small business thrive.

Tammy Hershberger:

Whether you're an entrepreneur just starting out or a seasoned business owner, this podcast is your go-to source for success in the small business world. Let's get started to source for success in the small business world. Let's get started. Hi everyone, I want to welcome you back to another episode of Light Up your Business podcast. I'm Tammy Hershberger and I am the host here, and this is my show. Today. I want to talk about the power of guidance, why hiring a business coach can transform your business. So in this episode, we're going to delve into the invaluable role of business coaching and explore why entrepreneurs should consider hiring a business coach to accelerate their growth and achieve their goals, from personalized guidance to accountability and strategic insight. Join me as we uncover the numerous benefits of working with a business coach. This episode will shed light on how business coaching can unlock your future and full potential and propel your business to new heights. Okay, so let's dig in. Let's talk about what is a business coach. So I believe and this is first, let me just say I am a business coach. I obviously have this podcast and it's one outlet for me, but I also own Faith-Filled Coaching, and the reason I call it Faith-Filled Coaching is because I am a believer and in my small business coaching I do life coaching as well, but small business is really my passion. Those two kind of play together, though, because life is business and business is life. Right, you're going to have, you know, times that you're struggling in your life or things are happening with your kids or your schedule, and like it all intertwines with each other. And so the faith-filled coaching is because, as a believer, and if you coach with me, we're going to have moments where we talk about God, and so if you don't like that, I'm probably not the coach for you. Now I'm not saying it has to be talked about, but God has just done so much for me, and there's times I want to help you remind you that, like you need faith and you got to believe in your faith and you got to stand strong, and so I bring that into my coaching because it's such a huge part of my life and my businesses. And so, you know, I've found that I've been through coaching programs. I did Conquer when I was with the window cleaning company. I've done Dave Ramsey's coaching. I've went to Summit with Dave Ramsey multiple times.

Tammy Hershberger:

Um, I'm always reading growth books and business books and I'm listening to podcasts. Podcasts are harder for me because I'm so busy and you have to sit and be quiet and listen. I don't know I that's a little bit tougher, but I do do it. I obviously went to. Um, I am licensed or not licensed. I obviously went to. I am licensed or not licensed. I am certified as a master coach and so we learned a lot about coaching and how to get things out of people.

Tammy Hershberger:

And the business side is easy for me because I've owned so many businesses. You know. I've owned a trucking company, I've owned a furniture company, I own a window cleaning company, I have a shed building business. We manufacture and retail sheds. I do bookkeeping for clients. I have this podcast, obviously. I do phone dispatch for certain companies that I enjoy working with. So I do a lot of different things and I've got a lot of experience. I've worked for offices my whole life or other people. I did bookkeeping for other people and so I've got a lot of experience in all of this.

Tammy Hershberger:

I've built businesses from nothing. I've, you know, bought businesses. I've done kind of all of it, and so the only thing I haven't done is like corporate. So I'm not a corporate coach. I don't know anything about the corporate world. That is not for me, it's a little too big for me. But small business, I would say, from starting out, I can help you with that all the way up to several million dollars. I mean, my own company averages about 1.3 million in sales. We're growing all the time and so you know, I kind of fit in that realm really well, I think, and a lot of it's mindset and belief and systems and procedures and that stuff that not everybody's familiar with.

Tammy Hershberger:

Budgeting, you know all that. So that's kind of what I offer to you and I can work through Zoom. I can have you come into my coaching studio and we can work there. I can come to your business. Obviously, if you're out of state there's going to be some costs with that, but sometimes just doing a Zoom or a phone call can be enough to get through that. There's definitely lots of options. We can do a phone call and hammer out some problems.

Tammy Hershberger:

You know my coaching. I have clients who sign on for three to six months at a time. I have coaching clients that, like you know, we've only worked together a month, or they have a problem that they just got to sort out and that takes a few sessions and then we don't work together for a while. They kind of come back as there's issues. It just depends on where you are and how much work you need to do to help sort out the business. And so, basically, a business coach works collaboratively with an entrepreneur so me with you to strategically develop and grow a successful business. A business coach is there to help guide you towards clarity on your bigger vision and support you in aligning with that vision by helping create actual steps to reach those goals.

Tammy Hershberger:

Now, sometimes it can be as simple as, like you've got some self-limiting beliefs that I need to get brought out and we need to discuss those. You know, coaching is not therapy, especially with life coaching. We don't go into the past, we go into the current, the present, and we deal with that stuff right. We don't talk about when you were a kid. Now there may be, like, some self-limiting beliefs from that, but, like there's, we don't dig into all that stuff we just go with, especially in business. It's like, well, maybe, maybe you're not a good communicator from your past, that's fine, but how do we work on it today to change that? So there's different things out there. There's a coach, there's consultants and there's mentors. Now, let's kind of just break that down. So, if you're not sure and again I would love to work with you, but there's tons of coaches out there and there's there's people.

Tammy Hershberger:

I mean I've listened to coaches who charge a hundred thousand dollars a session. That's, that's kind of a lot. Uh, I typically am, depending on what we're doing. Uh, consulting, about 150 an hour for local consulting. If I have to travel, that's going to be figured in. Um, I also do coaching. That is around $100 an hour typically and I try to make it realistic and affordable for small businesses because I understand, you know, grant Cardone is amazing, he's rich, he's got tons of property, he's fantastic, but he's $100,000 a session. Well, that's like not realistic for most people.

Tammy Hershberger:

And so I never said I know everything, I don't know everything. There are some things I never said I know everything, I don't know everything. There's some things I don't know. And if I don't know, we'll do research, I'll see if I can connect you with someone who knows. But back to my original was the different things. So coaching, basically we offer guidance and advice, but we leave space for you to find your own answers. Right Now in business coaching, we're going to kind of work together to do that in my space. You're going to kind of work together to do that in my space. You're going to usually come to me or on the phone, but I kind of leave it open so it's not just like do this, do this, do that right, because there's some things I want you to learn, I want you to figure out how to do, or maybe it's something that we see that you need to hire out for, or something like that.

Tammy Hershberger:

Consulting is where you provide expertise in a certain area and so starting the business, growing a business of your size, putting systems and procedures in place that's something I can help you with. Again, growing you to $20 million I've never done that, so that's not going to work for me. I don't do tons of consulting. I kind of sometimes mix coaching and consulting together. I have a client here locally it's a franchise that I work with and I go up and I do some consulting with them where I actually go to their business. We dig into stuff, we work on creating systems together.

Tammy Hershberger:

Now I don't like to do it where it's just straight me putting stuff in place because it's your business and you have to want to do it, you have to buy into it, because I could put all these systems in and if you don't follow any of them, I leave and it doesn't change. And so I try to really get buy-in from you to help create it and then get you in the mindset of, like, this is what I have to do. Okay, so you start to understand that. So then, when I'm not there, you can create your own systems, your own procedures.

Tammy Hershberger:

And then there's mentoring and that's more focusing on the development of the individual. Usually mentors work for free, I would say. They spend time with you, you know, once a month or once a week or whatever, and you're kind of digging into you as a person more. You know once a month or once a week or whatever, and you're kind of digging into you as a person more. You know, maybe somewhat directed. I don't do a lot of mentorship, I don't. I guess it's never really come up for me Because I don't character development that kind of stuff is. I'm not saying I can't do it, I guess I just haven't had the opportunity to do it so much. Maybe I do that some in my friendships, I don't know. But I focus more on coaching, some consulting.

Tammy Hershberger:

The number one benefit is you get personalized guidance and support. So the greatest aspect of a business coach is that they provide personalized guidance customized to the unique needs and goals of you and your business. So what does that mean? So let me just give you a quick outlook here. So if you call me for business coaching, first phone call other than maybe like okay, let's thank you for calling, let's set up a time.

Tammy Hershberger:

We do kind of a consultation, if you will, and I try to get you in person or on the phone, whatever, and I kind of want to get to know a little bit about you and you can get to know me a little bit, because some personalities do not work. Now I would hope if you're really wanting to change and try things, you're going to be more open. But if I can tell like your personality does not work with mine, we're not going to be a good fit and I'm not here to just take your money. I have other things to do. So if we're a good fit, though, and I can see that you have a real passion and desire for your business, I will work with you all day, and I'm excited to work with you.

Tammy Hershberger:

I love growing business. If you come into me and you're like I just want you to do everything, that's not really interesting to me because you're not taking any buy-in, especially as a small business. You have to do that at this stage, and so that's probably not the fit for me either. Um, and if you have this mindset of like I know everything and you're just going to try to help push me to know everything, that's not going to work either, because that's I don't like that personality. I want someone who's open, willing, willing to change, willing to try things, willing to open up, like all of that. That's what I'm looking for, because I don't just take every client. There's some I don't want to work with and there's some that I just don't find. Maybe we start and I can tell, like you're just you're not putting an effort in, you're not really growing, or maybe you're not in a place where you can, and I don't want to just take your money. So then I'll, you know I'll say it's not working out. Maybe you should try something different. Maybe you should, you know, do whatever Now. I will work with you for a while before I say that. But I'm just not here to just take to run and I want to invest in you and your business. That's what I'm looking for, okay, so what that then looks like is I then will usually come, we'll sit down, we'll have some conversations. It's good for me to, if I can, spend some time in your business, if it's local or available for me to do so. I can kind of.

Tammy Hershberger:

Until you get in a business and you look at it and you see the people interacting, you start looking at the systems and how things are run. It's hard to look at a business from the outside and know like, yep, these are all the problems. You have to almost get in there a little bit right and see, like, what's happening. I picture it like a mechanic. You can tell them the car's making the sound, but until they drive it or openly, you know, get the hood open and start looking at stuff they don't. They probably don't know what's going on. Maybe they have to attach a scanner to it or whatever. So that's kind of me on the scanner.

Tammy Hershberger:

I come in and I'm watching and you know it takes me a little bit that's kind of where the consulting comes in a little bit, because I'm like I need to see what is going on. Now, if you're just coming to me, I need I can see you in, you know, real life, like treating your people the way you do or talking to them or flipping out or whatever. Then I get a feel of like this is really what's going on. It's not surface. I want to get off the surface, because surface nothing changes on the surface. Right, it's the stuff below that you got to work through. And then you know, through some of that we can start to meet and we'll have meetings and we'll talk about it and then we get a plan of like these are the things that are icy happening. You may or may not agree and maybe you don't want to work on those things, but if you do, then we can sit down and make an action plan to start fixing these things.

Tammy Hershberger:

I mean, there's a company I work with, I sat down with their are and some things can be changed, and so these people, we sat back down and they were gracious and humble and they were like we want to fix these things, we want a great place to work, and so that, to me, is invaluable, because you're getting insights from people that are sometimes scared to tell you because you're the boss and they don't want to tell you that. And so someone like me coming in is really great for that. Because some people are so burned out. They've built these great companies but they're just, they don't. They don't even love it, they don't want to do it, they don't know what they're doing, they're struggling, they're just sick of the company, and it's like these things can be turned around right, maybe we turn it around and you sell it. If you're that burned out, maybe we turn it around and someone else wants to buy it. Or maybe you just need to hire more. A lot of times I see that I'm like you guys are so overloaded. You need to hire some people and then show them how hiring can relieve them to either become, you know, better salespeople or grow their company or find more of what they're passionate about, or whatever. So that's kind of how it works on the coaching side.

Tammy Hershberger:

Now, the benefits other than what I just said is you have a trusted advisor who understands your business. You have someone that's not out it's not your friend telling you advice, because they're not even business owners, right, they're not someone that's going to go spread your business around town. They're someone that, like we sign you know contract confidential agreements so that way everything is safe. And then someone like me comes in and we find the blind spots Because you get lost in the weeds. Right, you're so knee-deep in stress and jobs and problems and money and you just can't even see other than just surviving. I don't want you guys to survive, I want you to thrive. I mean, having a business is exciting because that glass ceiling goes away. It can be so much fun. It can be so much fun to watch and grow, and it's financial freedom and it's time. Time is so invaluable. You don't get it back.

Tammy Hershberger:

And then we can unlock your self-imposed limits, right, a coach can thoughtfully guide you to see and process a circumstance or feeling in a new way, in a different way. Right, I can see the things that you're limiting yourself on that sometimes we don't even see. And then we can find ways. And then when I see you doing it, I'm like you're doing it again. You're eliminating yourself, you're not allowing yourself to open your mind up to that or you're playing small. And then the other thing that's really valuable is we hold you accountable. I can't make you do anything. I don't want to make you do it, but I can help you face those things that often feel scary in business. Right, and with my help, sometimes you realize like this isn't so scary, this can actually be fixed and done, and these are things that are really doable. The other thing is number two would be accountability and goal setting.

Tammy Hershberger:

So, business owners, it can be easy to put things off, especially the things that challenge us and force us out of our comfort zone. And if you can't just hire someone to do it and you have to still do it a coach like me is great because I can in there and help make it, break it down and make it not so scary. Or by forcing yourself to sit with me once a week or whatever it is, you work on your business. In that hour you get something done. It's not like you just come here we talk about and you have to go back and do all this homework. Well, sometimes there's homework, but the faster you just get it done, it's off your list and you can focus on other things, and then I usually check in with you on a regular basis, which helps you to stick to something, helps you to get things achieved and done, and then I can, you know, support you along the way. I can celebrate with you as you achieve these things, I can encourage you and then, this way, you're getting your follow-through, you're growing, you're expanding that business and, with the support of a coach, it's easier to set and achieve goals.

Tammy Hershberger:

I help you brainstorm ideas. We'll help find creative solutions to challenge. You know the idea or the belief or the problem, which is super helpful as well as helping you to create. You know actionable steps to execute to the vision that you're wanting right. Sometimes, if you don't have a business partner and your wife is sick of hearing about it, there's no one to talk to about what your business is trying to do. And sometimes some of this stuff you can't talk to your employees about because they don't. Maybe it's something they shouldn't know about, or maybe it's something that's not quite ready to be presented to them, but you need to bounce the idea off someone. So strategic planning and problem solving comes up. We can help you leverage your ability to overcome setbacks or challenges. Well, you know me, or the right coach will help you evaluate and apply the skills necessary to navigate challenges because we have lived the experience. I would not want to do business coaching with someone that's never run a business because I don't believe they can have some general ideas. But I always say until you've been in the trenches, until you have to make payroll and you have no money, you don't know what that's like. You don't even know what that's like, trust me. So, due to the lived experiences that I have had or these business coaches have had, we can help you navigate a strategic and well-thought-out plan to achieve the you know, the vision, the dreams for your life and your business.

Tammy Hershberger:

The fourth benefit is building confidence and self-awareness. So, according to this was an article in entrepreneurcom says. According to a study by the International Coaching Federation, the ICF, which is actually where I was originally coached, that's where my certification comes from 80% of people who receive coaching reported increased self-confidence and 70% saw improvements in work performance, relationships and communication skills. So a coach can help you enhance your self-awareness by guiding you through reflective practices and targeted questions. Processing something out loud with a coach can really help you see an aspect of yourself or a situation that maybe you couldn't see on your own. The fifth thing is skill development and growth. A business coach can help you develop the essential skills needed to run a successful business. If you're just starting your own business, you don't know what you don't know right. So having someone to help you hone in on those skills and acknowledge you need to succeed can help you not just grow your business, but kind of grow it to be a profitable one, an enjoyable business, but kind of grow it to be a profitable one, an enjoyable business right.

Tammy Hershberger:

Number six objective feedback and perspective. Receiving honest and objective feedback from a business coach can be invaluable. Constructive feedback it definitely helps you to identify areas for improvement which allow you to develop new skills and enhance your performance. Positive feedback and reinforces your strengths, boost your confidence so you can be. You can basically make more positive and strategic risks, because sometimes we're too scared to make that move and maybe a business coach can kind of help you walk it through to see that maybe it's really something that would help you. And then they give you honest feedback. It fosters self-awareness, leads to personal and professional growth as you learn to adapt and evolve, because sometimes even your friends don't always give you full, honest feedback because they don't want to hurt your feelings and, as a coach, it's not about like destroying you, but it's like I see this is happening consistently and we need to change that because of why, right? Sometimes, the ones around you that love you the most. They protect you almost, and it's not always good, because a coach's objective feedback can be a catalyst for significant growth and success, helping you to make informed decisions and reach your potential.

Tammy Hershberger:

Number seven work-life balance and well-being. Man, if you listen to my podcast, you know I died on that one. A business coach can help entrepreneurs achieve better work-life balance and overall well-being. So how Well? Prioritization. So we, as coaches, can assist in identifying what really matters, guiding you to prioritize those tasks to align with your values and your long-term vision.

Tammy Hershberger:

Time management I see this all the time People don't manage their time well. Coaches provide tools and techniques for effective time management, helping you allocate time for work, family and self-care. Reducing stress by encouraging mindfulness and stress management techniques. Coaches help you develop strategies to cope with the pressure of entrepreneurship, and that's something you know. If your friends aren't in business, which most people don't have other business owners that are friends. They just don't know because they work eight to five and they leave. Well, my job never ends. I still have to think about it at night, on weekends. You know money and growth and all this stuff, and so by talking to another business owner, especially a coach, we're investing in you to grow right. It's not just there's two business owners getting together to have coffee to complain. I am here to help you grow. I am here to help you find the pathway to success right. Boundary setting A coach can support you in establishing healthy boundaries between work and personal life, preventing the burnout, ensuring time for relaxation of hobbies which was the very thing I didn't do, and so I am like an expert in this. Now I am not doing that anymore. Long-term vision they help you create a substantial plan that incorporate both business aspirations and personal happiness, ensuring that you thrive in all areas of your life.

Tammy Hershberger:

Number eight maximizing efficiency and effectiveness. A business coach can help you implement systems, processes and best practices to improve business efficiency and effectiveness. Customize frameworks so coaches can develop tailored frameworks and processes that fit your unique business model, guiding you in establishing systems that streamline operations. Again, every business is a little different. One system for my business maybe has to be tweaked some for your business because yours works a little different or you use different programs or systems. That's kind of the beauty we get in there and kind of help you figure out what's going on, how can we change this. And then we work with you so that way it's not just thrown at you Best practices. They meaning the coaches introduce industry best practices and proven mythologies, equipping you with tools that have been effective in similar contexts.

Tammy Hershberger:

Training development we can set up training sessions for your team, ensuring that everyone understands new processes and it's equipped to implement them effectively. Technology integration we sometimes have knowledge of tools or software that could automate your task, enhance communication and improve project management. Guiding you through the selection and implementation of these technologies. Sometimes we just need to push you to buy it. People are so cheap they don't want to buy the program and I'm like do you know what that's going to do to change your life if you do your business networking? Sometimes we have extensive networks that can connect you with valuable connections that can further help your business.

Tammy Hershberger:

Marketing. Roi and success we can talk to you about measuring your return on investment, which is roi for business coaching in terms of business growth, increased revenue, personal development, calculating costs. We can talk about the total cost of the coaching, the fees, the time invested, any other resources needed. And then we can look at like but if we coach and we get you, you know, you systematize and your processes are faster and you're not losing money everywhere, that will first off pay for the coaching and it'll pay for the growth that you're going to have in your business. We can help track those progresses and help kind of get these milestones as we coach together.

Tammy Hershberger:

And so I'm watching, I'm working with companies now that they're doing their budget and they're like I didn't realize I'm spending this much money here, or geez, I knew there was no money, but I didn't know why, because they had no idea where their money was going. So we are working together. We got the budget set up, we're working together to cut expenses right, figure out how to become more efficient with their routes, the raising prices. I mean we've dug into that and realized they're they're not making money and it's like well, that's why there's no money left, because you're not charging enough right and long-term that's going to drastically change our business. To kind of wrap this into a pretty little bow for you. I just say I hope you take time to think about it.

Tammy Hershberger:

If you're wanting to start your business, someone like me can help you do that. If you're wanting to grow your business or you just you have a good business but it's got some issues and they're stressing you out and you just want to dig into certain things, I can certainly help you with that. Again, my business is Faithfield Coaching. I'm in Grand Junction, colorado, but you know I'm happy to work with you locally. If it's travel something and it's worth the investment to you, we can talk about that. If it's something we can work on the phone or through Zoom or whatever, I'm happy to do that. Give me a call. My number is 970-210-7512. My website is faithfilledcoachingcom. My email is faithfilledcoach at gmailcom, and so give me an email, call me, you know, let me know and we can talk and see if my fit would be good for you. If it's someone else and it's not me, that's cool too.

Tammy Hershberger:

Man, get out there and get the help that you need to grow this business, change the business, get the burnout gone, make it fun again, because that's kind of what the point of all this is Make your business fun again. So I thank you for listening. I invite you to share your own experiences and insights on working with business coaching by visiting my podcast website, which is wwwlightupyourbusinesscom no, I always mess it up Lightupyourbusinesspodcastcom. This podcast episode highlights the benefits of why entrepreneurs should consider hiring a business coach, and I hope that you learn something from it by exploring the diverse benefits and transformative impact of coaching. I hope that it empowers you to make more informed decisions and to accelerate your growth and achieve those business goals.

Tammy Hershberger:

Until next time, keep working hard, keep your head up, be relentless and do great things. Thank you for listening. I'll see you next time. And remember in the world of business, every success story begins with a passionate dream and ends with a strategic billion dollar handshake. Stay ambitious, stay innovative and keep making those deals that reshape tomorrow. Thank you all for tuning in and until next time, remember. Proverbs 3.3 says let love and faithfulness never leave you. Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. That way, you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. And remember. If you like what you heard today, click the follow button so you never miss an episode.

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Jay Stoltzfus

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Tammy Hershberger

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