Where Do You Turn When You Have Questions About Your Business?

The best business leaders are not those who always have the right answers to everything, but rather those who know when to seek guidance and often have trusted advisors to consult. Some of these relationships between leaders and advisors may be informal, but many business owners seek formal consulting relationships with local associations, independent advisors, and business coaches.

Larger businesses benefit from having a board of directors, but where do smaller businesses turn for external perspectives? This was the question posed in a recent global survey of small business owners.

In this survey, business owners were asked whom they turn to for guidance and how that guidance has impacted their business.

Whether you run a small family business or a large corporation, this survey clearly shows that having a trusted advisor helps businesses achieve success. This finding aligns with other published data and my personal experiences working with small business owners in the UK, Europe, and the Middle East, including Iran. Read on to learn about the benefits and how to find the right solution for your business.

The study revealed that most small business owners seek guidance from a variety of sources.

Nearly one-third (31%) of business owners identified their peers—other business owners—as their most trusted advisors. These relationships range from informal friendships to professional associations and advisory boards. At the ICE in the UK, we have created a community of coaches who are either small business owners or professionals working in small to medium-sized enterprises and large organizations. We have observed that this collaborative environment provides tremendous value, as members share knowledge, learn, and support one another.

Almost a quarter (24%) of respondents selected business coaches as their most trusted advisors. In fact, 80% of respondents stated they had used some form of coaching in their professional careers, and 41% had engaged with a coach in the past six months. In Iran, as small businesses have come to understand the difference between coaching and consulting and experienced its impact, more and more business owners seek to have a business coach by their side or develop coaching skills for their interactions. Additionally, this mindset shift over time has freed business owners from limiting beliefs, leading to the rapid growth of their businesses.

The third most common response was family members, with 18% of business owners relying on them for guidance.

No other category received double-digit percentages, though a small proportion of business owners identified accountants, employees, consultants, friends, and lawyers as their most trusted advisors.

We have also observed that accountants, consultants, and business advisors are increasingly enhancing their value by integrating coaching skills and mindsets into their service offerings.

Peers and business coaches together accounted for over 50% of respondents’ choices as their most trusted advisors. This indicates that a significant percentage of business owners actively seek coaching services and external expertise over informal conversations with employees, friends, and family.

An interesting insight from the study was that business owners who had previously worked with a business coach had a much stronger belief in the potential impact of coaching on their business.

• 71% of business owners who had used a coach in the past rated the impact of coaching as 7 or higher on a scale of 10.
• In contrast, only 18% of those who had never worked with a business coach gave coaching a rating of 7 or higher.

This suggests that the potential impact of business coaching is difficult to grasp without firsthand experience. Many business owners are simply unaware of how effective a business coach can be until they work with one. As a result, they may be missing a valuable opportunity to enhance their business operations and drive positive change.

As part of the training provided to Persian-speaking coaches at the ICE in the UK, coaches learn essential competencies, including how to build trust and strong relationships. A coach can quickly demonstrate their value to a business owner, even in a trial session, by identifying the owner’s needs—sometimes revealing that the owner themselves is the biggest barrier to success. Through coaching, business owners can take gradual steps towards growth, improving both their personal leadership and business performance.

Ultimately, we have found that the main obstacle to growth in any business stems from the limitations that its leaders impose upon themselves. A coach partners with business leaders to break through these self-imposed ceilings.

To learn more about training, professional coaches, and free resources, visit www.icoachingeducation.com or contact our program advisors—your trusted resource for finding the best approach that fits your needs.

Taymour Miri is an ICF master coach and a Gallup certified strengths coach and more recently one of the first 136 coaches world wide to be awarded an Advanced Certificate in Team Coaching. He has 30 years’ experience in leadership roles and 20 years of experince in coaching. Taymour has trained over 1,500 coaches across five continents and is the founder of International Coaching Education (ICE).