Business coaching vs. life coaching.

While it may seem obvious that business coaching and life coaching are different, its important to understand both the differences AND similarities if you want to get a fix on what your client really needs.

Take the case of a businessman who has some sort of problem in his personal life. Do you deal with his situation as a business coach? Or from the perspective of a life coach? Well, although I hate to use these words, they are appropriate . . . “It depends!”

Depends on what?! It depends on how you advertise yourself, and how the client approaches YOU, of course.

If this businessman calls you up and says “I heard you’re a life coach. I need help understanding how to get the love of my life back” then you respond with “How can I help?” That’s it. Your job is to listen, not educate the client on your own status!

Even as a business coach, you still have a responsibility to a client to understand ALL the factors that go into making his business successful or not. If personal problems are getting in the way, then guess what? They have become a business problem . . . and one you should feel competent dealing with!

As either a business coach or a life coach, you are involved with your client AND his or her business. This dual focus may sound difficult, but think about this: when you help your client to succeed, you will inevitably benefit the business as well.

The difference between the two is this: a business coach approaches the problem primarily as getting the business straight so as to positively affect the life of the client. The life coach, on the other hand, approaches the same problem from the standpoint of getting the CLIENT straight so that the business will also prosper.

What’s interesting about business coaching is that you will likely apply both life coaching skills and business coaching skills. In other words, you will be working on the personal goals of your client as well as affecting the overall success of the business. As a life coach, naturally you will need strong business coaching skills to bring about this transformation.

Business Coaching Skills and Goals include:

•  Improve communication, working relationships, and teamwork in the client.
•  Help your client develop time management skills.
•  Provide strategies for organization and goal achievement.
•  Increase your client’s overall job satisfaction.
•  Help your client to reduce conflict in the workplace.
•  Provide techniques for increasing quality and productivity, and
•  Have a working knowledge of your client’s specific type of business, i.e. if you’re coaching executives, you need to be familiar with management techniques.

We all hear about the leading executives who receive business coaching to become even more successful, so get a good business coach yourself. If you are self-employed or working in a small business, finding and hiring good business coaching will make a tremendous difference in both your life AND business!

As someone who is still learning the ropes about becoming successfully self-employed, I can tell you with certainty that coaching will give you a little bit of all the things you never knew were missing. A good business coach makes all the difference.

To be a great life coach, become good in your own business. You can then coach business people as well on so many levels. It takes a special kind of person to be able to see the immediate goals of your client and the larger, long-term goals of a business. So if you’re prepared to dive in, don’t pass up Dr. Craig’s FREE report on the Mistakes Life Coaches make in business… and how to avoid them!