MOMENTUM August 2020 | Page 16

FROM THE BUSINESS COACH MIKE HILDERBRAND BS MBA Owner | Managing Partner M.B. Hilderbrand Associates LLC Business Consulting | Coaching 409-789-0072 | [email protected] KEEPING SCORE in BUSINESS The job of a business coach is to coach business owners from chaos to control, with the ultimate objective of creating a commercial, profitable enterprise that works without them. To do this, it generally requires a lot of hard work, the ability to initiate and sustain change and an attitude and desire to create a business, which will help owners reach their goals and dreams that they had when they first started in business. At the start, most businesses are in complete disarray. The initial steps in getting control is through what we term the “Mastery Level”. And the first step is Money Mastery. What is money mastery? When it comes to money, it is amazing how many business owners aren’t aware of the basics. They don’t know their revenues or for that matter even their breakeven points. Most owners don’t set themselves any sales targets or budgets; most don’t have cash flow figures and don’t have any idea about how many leads they get (and from where), their conversion rates, or their profit margins. Here’s the thing: Owners absolutely must know where they are in the first place so they can establish a benchmark from which they can set goals and expectations. Unless you know where you are, it is very difficult to set specific strategies to make positive changes. Therefore, getting mastery of all the key financial areas of the business is essential, and once the owner understands these aspects, it makes it so much easier to start working on other areas of the business. Knowing your figures Very often, business owners are reluctant to admit to not knowing their figures. However, once they realize their issues are the same for most businesses, they are much more willing to acknowledge their situation and start learning. Of course, none of these changes can be done with the flick of the switch, and it takes considerable determination and persistence to make the changes happen and part of a successful business. A business coach works with owners on a weekly basis to take the journey from chaos to control step by step. In the end, it is amazing how much change can take place in a business that is willing to adapt and to learn. It is equally gratifying from a coaching point of view. The question is, as an owner, do you have control of your business? Do you own your business or does your business run YOU? If you’re no longer enjoying your business or are working long hours with little return perhaps it’s time to make a change. It starts with the acknowledgement that there could be another way to do business. Then, it means taking action to make the changes for a more profitable business. 14 MOMENTUM