Blended Business Coaching ™

Blended Business Coaching™ is an approach that I’ve devised to make the best use of the different tools and methods available whilst staying cost effective for most businesses. As the name suggests, it is a blend of approaches. To illustrate the point let’s look at the pros and cons of two approaches: one-to-one coaching and training.

The gold standard of business coaching is of course one-to-one coaching. A business owner working directly with a business coach in a series of sessions over a period of time, completely bespoke and tailored to fit the needs of you and your business. Clearly this is the most expensive option. It’s a great option if you can afford it.

I enjoy working with one-to-one clients, but I understand that not everyone wants to afford it, doesn’t have the available cashflow or is not convinced that they will get a positive return on investment (especially if it’s the first time using a professional business coach).

Those not looking for one-on-one business coaching might look at business training courses instead.

If you can’t afford ongoing business coaching, then you might look at a one-off training course. That is, learning a set curriculum of theoretical knowledge and maybe some practical tools. It has the advantage that it is cheaper as it is standard content delivered to several people all at the same time. The downside is that the training course ends and you’re then on your own with how to apply it all in real life. Good luck!!

Knowledge decays or isn’t applied

What also happens with training is that the knowledge has a “half life” – it decays over time. What was absolutely clear when explained by the trainer, doesn’t quite make sense a few days later. We tend to learn best with spaced repetition, reinforcing what we heard again and again over a period of time.

Blended Business Coaching™ as the name suggests blends different approaches – it takes the most appropriate approach to achieve the desired result, using a cost effective blend, so as to make business coaching more accessible. It is a mix of standardised content to teach the relevant concepts and one-to-one or group coaching to apply them.

It aims to create results described by the simple acronym TEA:

• to TEACH – there are some basic concepts, principles and insights that you will need to know about whilst running your business, they will stand you in good stead both now and in the future. The most efficient way to deliver this is often via video and in writing, showing, telling and explaining. This is the training element of the blend.
• to EMPOWER – learning is all very well, but you need to feel empowered and confident to use this new learning in your working life. So this approach includes some tools and workbooks, that take you step by step through how to apply them, coupled with some one to one coaching to ensure that you have understood the most relevant concepts and principles and feel able to apply them in your business context. Coaching sessions provide the necessary spaced repetition to reinforce the learning.
• to APPLY – finally and most importantly – application. There’s no point in learning new ideas and concepts if they are not actually applied. Changes will only happen in your business if you take action. One to one business coaching sessions help you plan out what action to take, to reflect on the results afterwards and revise your approach as needed.

If that sounds like your cup of TEA, then contact me about my range of Blended Business Coaching™ programmes.

Blended Business Coaching™ is a cost effective approach as it uses the most appropriate method to get the required results.

One on one time with your Business Coach is reserved for adding real value, for example:

• dealing with practical challenges in your business
• working with you to clarify your direction
• providing a focus for your actions
• acting as a sounding board for ideas
• brainstorming new ideas
• applying key concepts to your situation
• problem solving
• strategic planning
• and the list goes on!

Online modules, videos, tools and workshops are used for teaching core concepts and helping you to see how they could be relevant to your business and encouraging you to apply them. The results can then be reviewed in the individual business coaching sessions.

We can of course cover all the basics in a coaching session – and it can be very effective, just bringing in the most relevant concepts as needed, it is ultimately more expensive than this blended approach.

The Blended Business Coaching™ approach has been developed to make business coaching more accessible to smaller businesses by providing a more cost effective approach without losing the main benefits of business coaching, of which there are many!

Finally, Blended Business Coaching™ is mostly online, which is more convenient, less time consuming and more cost effective than face to face coaching at your offices or a local venue.

We are able to cut out travel time and travel costs and also (by special arrangement) hold coaching sessions outside normal working hours, maybe in a quiet room at home early morning at the start of the day, or later in the evening.

Meeting via video conference (via Skype, Zoom or similar) allows us to have a good one to one conversation.

Using this technology also allows us to share screens and look at documents together. All you need is a computer, internet connection and a quiet place to work.

The learning modules are also online and can be accessed at your convenience – although it helps if you’ve covered the necessary content before our coaching sessions in order to get the most out of them.

As it’s all online you can continue with the coaching programme even if you are travelling.

Online Business Coaching is a convenient, flexible, time efficient and cost effective approach to growing and developing your business and building your skills and capabilities.