By Helen Williams
Our columnist Helen Williams of Helping Entrepreneurs Win (HEW) says while the ‘personal’ in ‘personal development’ is there for a reason – sometimes you need a professional support squad to get you where you want to be, in life and in business.
The best way to demonstrate a service that is sometimes difficult to grasp to the untrained and inexperienced eye is to showcase the findings of others.
Coaching is often misunderstood due to the lack of tangibility, especially when focused on the soft skills and mindset side of things, before making the transference into business. This is because it often represents something a lot more linear by encompassing figures, stats and identifiable outcomes.
Yet we totally appreciate this only goes a fraction of the way because everyone’s situation is different, with a different set of variables at any one time.
Yes, we are all human and spin the many plates of modern life – holding down a job, claiming a career, raising a family, investing in our future, running a household, staying as healthy and sane as possible, learning new skills, being a friend, upholding our responsibility as a family member… And let’s not even mention being ourselves and living to our own values and principles while we are at it!
Wow. And breathe. No mean feat, hey?!
Things can become chaotic – we can often lose a sense of focus, prioritisation, and balance in the process of the juggling all things life and business.
But the ‘personal’ in ‘personal development’ is there for a reason – it is personal to you.
It’s never easy, particularly when you have a nature that pushes for more and isn’t satisfied with the status quo. You desire more from yourself, from your business performance, from life overall. We totally get it!
Coaching, then – what is it? It is a service that allows you to develop, helps you learn more about yourself and your business, to enable you to grow professionally and interpersonally.
At HEW we support and educate. We are an empathetic ear, a boot of discipline, and we mentor from our own knowledge and experience. We coach from our toolkit of practical tips, tools, and techniques and we become part of your team.
Does it mean you’re incapable? No – not at all, it means you are okay with holding your hands up and asking for help. The alternative is struggling through on your own and hoping for the best, usually to the detriment of a plate you are spinning which is most likely the one with your name on it – you. The person behind it all. And where is the sense in that?
People come to us from a whole host of different starting points, from founding a business, to growing it, from ‘finding’ themselves and claiming ownership of their own identity, to needing a support squad on their books. Sometimes it is a mix of all of the above!
Here are a couple of insights from our clients:
John Sutcliffe, Relationship Impact Coach, Sheffield
John originally attended one of our day workshops at Sheffield City Hall in March 2020 and then took the plunge to work with us one-to-one at the start of this year.
The main objective was to gain clarity and direction of how to best structure his coaching business. He needed to identify his target market and to drill down into specifics and core messaging to ensure he could confidently push forward into delivering a product and service that he was passionate about and highly skilled and experienced within.
John said of HEW: “Every session is insightful, engaging, structured and fun – plus being held accountable and having a high level of positive challenge is just what I needed.”
We Can Grow, Doncaster
Having listened to the podcast interview Helen conducted with James Coppinger, former Doncaster Rovers footballer, We Can Grow (WCG) business development director Peter Norman started to follow HEW online.
He subsequently introduced the coaching concept into the company to help with employee development and strategic business growth.
Peter said: “We have gained strength and improved resilience from the personal development perspective which in turn has given us a huge positive boost in our confidence and business outlook. As a direct result of the coaching, we have secured some additional new business and we have hired a new full-time member of staff.”
Sarah Holland, Lou Belle Photography, Bolton
Sarah was bought a ticket to an online goal setting workshop as a gift by her partner at the beginning and decided to engage our services on an in-depth one-to-one basis to focus on herself and gain support and direction to launch her photography business.
We have covered so much personal development ground around confidence, self-belief and money mindset which has proven invaluable when Sarah began operating within the photography sector.
Embarking on a new venture as a business start-up can be a daunting experience despite the passion and vision you may have. HEW are an ongoing team member here alongside Sarah’s continual development and growth.
To book a consultation call with Helen or fellow HEW business coach Lauren Brady please visit the website at helpingentrepreneurswin.com
