...Setting Priorities!!

Sept. 18, 2008 - PRLog -- A son turns five, but reports needed writing and the weekend was the only time available. A daughter has her first horse-riding lesson, but a conference got in the way. A wedding anniversary dinner is postponed to make way for the sales campaign.

Sound familiar? Brad Sugars, founder and CEO of ActionCOACH- the world’s number one business coaching firm, says it is a story that happens all too frequently in small-to-medium sized businesses.

“People let business take over their lives,” said Sugars. “Sometimes, it’s because the business started as a small operation, which becomes almost too successful. Sometimes, it’s not successful enough and owners put in long, long hours trying to do everything themselves in a bid to cut costs and boost profits. And sometimes, it simply grows, outstripping the owner’s ability to manage.”

“In all these cases, a Business Coach can help owners restore their life-work balance, and work towards the ultimate goal of building a business that will work well (and profitably) without the owner even needing to be there,” Sugars said.

“When business owners come to ActionCOACH for help, they usually have similar problems,” Sugars commented. “The problem of cash flow – or lack of it – causes major headaches. Owners can’t find anyone to relieve them of their work burden, which often includes ridiculously simple tasks. Finally, because they have worked so hard, they no longer enjoy their business; the excitement that was there at the beginning is long gone.”

Sugars believes that owners face four choices. They can:
•   sell out and go and work for someone else (not a popular option)
•   downsize (which could increase the problem of cash flow)
•   stay as they are (which won’t make the current problems go away)
•   restructure their business and regain control.

“Owners choosing the last option need to change the way they do things, which can require independent professional advice,” Sugars said. “A Business Coach is ideally qualified to take an objective view of the situation and give honest advice. They can hold owners accountable for the changes that need to be made. Most importantly, they can give owners their lives back – what other investment can do that?”

A survey carried out by ActionCOACH showed that one in eight businesses would consider turning to a Business Coach for help with running some aspect of their business, including phone sales and phone etiquette.

Business Coaching is now the second fastest growing industry next only to IT.  ActionCOACH has 20% of the market share and is the world’s number one business coaching firm.

ActionCOACH is the world’s number one business coaching firm, with more than 1,000 offices in 26 countries. To learn more about business coaching and ActionCOACH, go to actioncoach.com