Business Coach News

The Growth Coach Franchise

A new name to me but big in the United States, The Growth Coach ® is a franchise for business coaches.

The Growth Coach was formed in 2002 and now has 130 franchise owners in 140 U.S. markets and 38 states according to this report announcing new The Growth Coach in Philadelphia. 

What Not To Expect From A Business Coach

I found this article which talks about what not to expect from a business coach and the contrarian approach appealed.

Five Things Not To Expect From A Business Coach

To summarise, the five things you won't get from a coach are:

Add Public Speaking To Your Coaching Skills

Public speaking aahhh... no wonder death came third in the poll of fears people have.

And this is where the opportunity lies because public speaking skills can be important for coaches:

1. To promote their own services - expert status is given to anyone who is brave enough to be a speaker and make a good job of it.
   
   
2. To help clients overcome their fears about public speaking and making presentations to groups.

That's why I think the idea of becoming a public speaking coach is an interesting for any coach who wants to stand out from the crowd a bit more - and have an extra non-technical service to offer to attract clients or to offer to existing clients.

Check out How to become a public speaking coach on my main small business blog.

Brain Research & Coaching

I don't think I understood everything in this article from Psychology today

How brain research can change coaching

Worth reading though.  

From Sports Coach To Business Coach

Who hasn't used the analogy of a sports coach to promote their business coaching practice?

I know I have to make it clear that:

1. Even Tiger Woods has a coach to help his golf game
   
   
2. You don't have to be a great golfer to coach great golfers. In fact it can be the other way around. A sports star with oodles of natural talent finds things incredibly easy but doesn't understand how they are done.

I was interested to read the story of Tom Steitz.

Top 3 Reasons Coaching Doesn't Work

I bet that headline got your attention.

It's to draw attention to a new teleseminar from master business coach and former top executive Lynda-Ross Vega and master personal coach and human psychology visionary Gary Jordan, Ph.D called

"The Top 3 Reasons Coaching DOESN'T Work and What You Can Do About It"

Goldman Sachs Mentoring & Coaching Traditions

OK Goldman Sachs may be at the very top of the tree of big, bad bankers who get paid far too much but I thought this article from Business Week on how they develop their next generation of talent very interesting.

Goldman Sachs Committed To The Next Generation

Not much of a role for external coaching but a big commitment to personal development.    

Coaching MasterMind Group

I see a huge cross-over appeal between business coaching and mastermind groups.

Of course the emphasis is different since the accountability and feedback comes from a group of peers rather than a business coach but the focus is still on improvement and creating continual momentum.

Personally I see masterminds as potentially be a front end and a back end product for business coaches to sell.

The Impact Of Coaching Feedback

Interesting blog on the impact of feedback from a coach inspired by the assessment of a nine month old guide dog puppy (called Ajax).

While feedback can be helpful, a research project has shown it can be damaging in one third of cases.

Family Issues Impact On Small Businesses

Interesting survey information from Mass Mutual on the impact of family issues on small businesses.

Divorce is bad for business

Dan Bradbury Coaching Super Conference 2010

Last week Dan Bradbury ran a one-off webinar where he explained in detail the SIX Coaching Superhero Personality Profiles, and why if you're attempting to build a Coaching business without using your "core" profile you're DOOMED!

Interestingly enough, the results from his 16-month research project into super-successful coaches show those who use their core profile seem to attract clients, fill seminars and sell products almost as if by magic!

Dan is promoting his Coaching, Training & Consulting Super Conference 2010 and you can read details of this event (affiliate link)

ActionCoach California Free Webinar Series

To help small businesses survive the recession, the Action Coaches in California are putting on a series of free webinars.

This gives you a chance to see what Action Coach's version of business coaching is all about from the comfort of your own desk and at no cost.

Life After ActionCoach

If you are interested in becoming a business coach and you have looked at the franchise option, you may have had two thoughts:

1. Ouch - these business coaching franchises are expensive.
   
   
2. There's some bad publicity out there about the market leader and there has been an aggressive marketing campaign to knock the critics back down the list.

The truth is probably somewhere between the claims made when selling the franchise and the active agitation of the unsuccessful.

Still I thought it would be useful to start a series of "Life after ActionCoach" for those considering investing in the world's number one business coaching franchise firm.

It starts with Peter Robinson, in Henley On Thames in the UK.

Brad Sugars "Business Is Booming" Tour North America

Love him or hate him, the founder of Action Coach Brad Sugars is on the road again with his Business Is Booming tour.

Sugars is in Australia in February 2010 and takes the "show" to North America in April to September 2010 across 52 cities.

AdviCoach Offer Expense Reduction Strategies

AdviCoach have combined business coaching with is often targeted at revenue generation and bringing a business under control through systems with expense reduction strategies.

Several times I have tried to get a tie up in the UK with the expense reduction people without success. OK I haven't tried too hard but I do like the idea of the two blades of the scissors approach to increasing profit.

Coaching Firms In 2010 Franchise Business Review Awards

Each year, Franchise Business Review surveys thousands of franchise owners to prepare its Franchisee Satisfaction Awards.

Coaching firms have been honoured in the 2010 FBR Awards lists 

How To Find A Business Mentor

If you need a guiding hand to help you to start and grow your business then the answer may be a business mentor.

INC.com feature a nice article on how to find a business mentor.

Six possible sources for a mentor are suggested:

How To Make A Website For Business Coaching

I found an interesting article on how to make a website to promote business coaching services.

While I don't agree with every written, I think it is well worth a read.

Tips On How To Make A Website For Business Coaching

Coach Continues To Help Clients After Going Deaf

I know the difficulties of coaching when you have a long term health problem so I thought I would share this inspiring story of a coach who continues to work with clients after waking up one morning deaf.

This is the story of Michele Alexander, a business coach in the ActionCOACH business franchise.

Welcome To The Business Coach News

Welcome to my new blog, Business Coach News.

This is a breakaway from my main Business Coaching Blog which is written mainly to help small business owners and entrepreneurs find ways to increase profit.

In contrast, this blog turns the spotlight on the business coaching industry and related fields and is written for people who earn their living from providing coaching to businesses and for people thinking about becoming a business coach.

All comments are appreciated.

My editorial stance is intended to be neutral although, since I am a coach, you may detect a little pro-coaching bias.

While I want to promote the business coaching profession - which I believe is still in its infancy - I also want to expose the bad practices.

Do You Have Some Coaching News That Should Be Featured In Business Coach News?

I'm not talking about self-serving press releases but if you have something that is genuinely of interest to business coaching professionals and want to be business coaches, then let me know by emailing me at paul@plancs.co.uk