As a creative professional, you may feel that you don’t need to hire a specialist business coach for creative professionals. You’re your own boss, right? You’ve built your company from the ground up and can handle any challenge it throws at you—right? However, even successful entrepreneurs can benefit from working with a business coach.
A good coach will help you develop skills and strategies for growing your business beyond where it is now. If you’re ready to take your vision from dream to reality but aren’t sure how to get there yet, here’s why hiring a business coach could be one of the best investments of time and money for your career:
1. A business coach can create structure for your goals.
As you consider how a business coach can help your creative career, it’s important to remember that the most important thing is defining your goals. This is the first step in setting up a successful business plan, and it’s also the first step for any kind of personal development.
A good coach will always start with this question: “Why do you want what you want?” If someone says they want to get into shape, for example, and their answer is “because my friends say I’m fat,” then there are some serious problems ahead.
It’s not just about knowing why you want what you want; it’s about being specific about it. So instead of saying “I’m going to lose weight” or “I need to exercise more often” (both statements have been heard from literally every client I’ve ever worked with), try saying something like “I will lose 30 pounds by June 1st.”
This may seem like an arbitrary goal—and maybe it is! But being specific helps keep things simple and focused on what really matters: achieving your goal as quickly as possible while still maintaining an accurate sense of self-worth along the way (which can be hard!).
2. A business coach can help you overcome challenges
As a creative professional, you’re probably used to facing a lot of challenges. You’ll have to deal with problem clients and difficult contracts. Sometimes, your workload gets overwhelming and you feel like you can’t keep up with all your projects.
There are so many things that could go wrong! It’s easy for creative professionals to doubt themselves when they’re faced with these kinds of circumstances—but if they were able to find solutions instead of just feeling frustrated or overwhelmed by their problems, they’d be able to save themselves tons of stress and anxiety. A business coach can help them do just that!
3. A business coach can keep you accountable to your goals.
Setting and achieving goals is a major part of business coaching. A good coach will help you set realistic, achievable goals that are specific and measurable. This helps you measure your progress toward achieving them, which will motivate you to keep going when things get tough.
A good business coach can also help keep you motivated by implementing strategies for staying on track with the things that matter most to your success, whether that’s working out or writing an article or whatever else matters most to getting where you want to be professionally.
4. A business coach can inspire you to accomplish more
You can’t do this alone. You need help, support and cheerleading to accomplish your goals. If you’re a creative professional in the business of making things, a coach can help you tap into your creativity and motivate you to see what is possible.
A coach will help you:
- Break through your excuses for not getting started on a project or idea
- Remove the limiting beliefs that keep you stuck in a rut
- Identify what success looks like so that it becomes tangible rather than just an idea in your head
A good business coach will also inspire you by asking questions like “What if?” “Why not?” and “How come?” These prompts are powerful tools for getting out of old patterns of thinking into new ways of being, creating change and ultimately achieving success!
5. A business coach can help you find peace with the entrepreneurial roller coaster
If you’re an entrepreneur, running your own business can be a roller coaster of emotions. One day you may feel on top of the world with a major accomplishment under your belt; the next, you might be in despair because things aren’t going as planned. A business coach can help you keep your head above water during those tough times and give advice on how to keep moving forward. You’ll have someone who has been through what you’re going through now, or knows someone who has, so they can offer real-life wisdom about how to navigate through stressful situations like these.
A good business coach will help keep you focused on achieving your goals (for example: “You need this much money saved up by this date,” or “It’s time for us to hire another person”), while also reminding you that it’s still ok to take time off when needed (for example: “We don’t need to stress over today’s numbers—let’s just focus on getting back into the swing of things tomorrow”).
They’ll also make sure that relationships are maintained throughout all areas of life so that burnout doesn’t happen at work solely because nobody else understands!
What makes a good business coach?
When you’re looking for a business coach, it’s important to find someone who matches your style and personality. A good coach will understand what you’re looking for and know how to provide it. They should be able to listen to your situation, understand your goals and challenges, give actionable advice, hold you accountable when necessary (but not all the time), keep things positive and upbeat, have a network of other professionals they can refer clients too if needed (and whom they trust), be a good listener themselves (they should get excited about your ideas!) and flexible enough that they can adapt their coaching style depending on what works best for each individual client.
What is a creative business coach?
A creative business coach is someone who helps creative professionals with their business. They can help you with your marketing, sales, and project management. A creative business coach can also help you find work-life balance by helping you manage your time and emotions while running a small business.
There are a variety of approaches that coaches take when working with their clients. Some coaches focus on specific areas of the client’s life or career; for example: “I am only going to talk about how we can sell more art!” Others may have an overall approach that is broader in scope—for example: “I will use my coaching skills to help you achieve happiness in all areas of your life!” The choice is up to each individual client what they want out of the relationship they have with their coach and whether that fits into his/her goals for this partnership.
What is the difference between a business coach and a business consultant?
The difference between a business coach and a business consultant is that the former is focused on helping you achieve your goals, while the latter is more experienced in helping you implement those goals.
When deciding whether to work with either one of these professionals, consider how they will best serve your needs. If you need someone to help you lay out a plan for achieving your goals and think through challenges that might come up along the way, then hiring a coach may be right for you. On the other hand, if what’s holding back your business success is simply implementing plans without knowing how best to do so (for example: which marketing strategy should I use?), then hiring an expert could be better suited for this situation.
How much do creativity coaches charge?
The average cost of a business coach for creative professionals fees usually start from around £150/hour and rise to over £200/hour, but some coaches charge by the project or by the month. A few offer a free initial consultation to get your business on track.
A reputable coaching service will have an extensive online presence and will be able to provide testimonials from past clients.
How can a business coach help a graphic designer?
As a graphic designer, you can benefit from having a business coach. A business coach will help you with marketing and sales, financial planning, time management and productivity, goal setting and achieving those goals, overcoming challenges and much more.
If you’re ready to work with a business coach on your design business but aren’t sure where to begin or what type of service would be best for you—or even if hiring someone as an employee is feasible for your budget—read on!
Conclusion
If you’re a creative professional and want to take your business to the next level, getting a business coach can help. A good coach will be able to help you with everything from setting goals for your business to finding peace with the entrepreneurial roller coaster.
Also read: What Is Transformational Leadership?
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