3,2,1. Get ready. Set. GO!!!!

COVID-19 is almost under control and it’s time to make preparations to return to work and get back to running our small businesses again. 

According to the media we’ll now be living and working in a new normal. So are you ready to face that, and if so, what is your business’ new strategy going to be? 

You can read business books, or sign up for online courses to help you transition into your new model, but the phrase “one size doesn’t fit all” has never been truer. 

The way that you pivot your business to face the new challenges is quite possibly going to determine your ability to survive.

I wish I could give you a formula that applied to every business, but unfortunately each enterprise is individual – and it isn’t even about the type of operation that you have, it has a lot more to do with the values of the company’s leadership. The bottom line is that too many leaders don’t understand that true leadership isn’t about power, it’s about humility. The ability to recognize when you need help and to seek it out. Yes, I’m talking about coaching, and I know that many people don’t see the value in engaging a coach, but I can pretty much guarantee those same people have never had a coach.

When things are going well, most owners don’t think they need help, believing that it is their decision making that is leading to the company’s success – which is often a mistake, because most are just riding the economic wave.  But when the tough times come and those same owners are considering enlisting some help, many are then afraid to spend the money. So what should they do?

At Jager Consulting, we have noticed that around 80% of our clients don’t have a college degree, so that got me thinking. Does having a degree give business owners a false sense of security, or is it that graduates are embarrassed to ask for help in a way that those without a degree aren’t? 

I believe that the answer is based on the characteristics of the individual business owner. Even those that didn’t go to college, had the intellectual ability to do so – they just chose not to. The decision to take a different path shows that this group was willing to take risks and had a vision to do something different, by building a business, while their peers were building a resume. When they were introduced to Jager, the members of this group had built sustainable, successful businesses, but were “stuck”. Generally the businesses had plateaued because the founder was busy trying to fulfill too many different roles and they needed help bringing in the right team members that could continue to move the vision forward.

If you talk to any of our former or current clients, they will all tell you that having the right coach means:

1. They have somebody that understands them and has their best interests at heart which means they are not fighting their battles alone.
2. They have a confidential 1:1 relationship where anything and everything can be discussed
3. They have someone to keep them accountable
4. That they are now part of the coach’s network which is a great source for referrals to other professionals that the business may need
5. That their coach is able to refer them to new clients 
6. That they have a sounding board for new ideas
7. That their coach really helped them in producing new processes and procedures
8. That the coach helped them to structure their organization, so that they could concentrate on what they were good at and delegate the rest.
9. That their coach helped guide them through some decisions that were tough for owner to make, but made sure that they achieved the best outcome

It’s obvious that there are a lot of advantages to having a business coach, so why don’t more businesses engage them? 

Maybe it’s the cost. So ask yourself, honestly, if coaching was free would you do it? For the majority of business owners the answer would still be “no”. Which leads us back to the conclusion that many business owners are reluctant to accept help, even when they know they could use it.

Don’t be that guy (or girl). Be smart and let qualified and experienced people help you. No one – and I mean, no one, ever built a successful business entirely on their own.

Jager currently has space to take on two new clients, please contact us at info@jagerconsulting.com or call (440) 385-6737 soon so we can help you with your transition and bring your business to where it needs to be!