In this sequence, I’m exploring the consequences of making money for the heart-based or values-centred business owner. Last Wednesday, I covered earning, saving and giving money and business overheads and costs recently. So, today I focus on training coaching and marketing services.
Support Services in the Local Economy
There are thousands of support service offers online and in-person. One decision you need to make is the extent to which you use local services.
In-person services mean face-to-face or online meetings between a coach or consultant and their customer. Face-to-face meetings are popular, although sometimes online meetings are an advantage, for example if you are working on a website together.
In addition, many prefer local in-person services so that their payments support their local economy. If you are a coach or consultant yourself, there may be self-interest supporting a marketplace between business to business suppliers.
Local businesses engage in their local economy. They can help you build contacts and find customers. Another advantage is there may be opportunities for collaboration. Many offer follow-up services to clients too.
There are advantages sometimes to using online services. If the support you need is not available locally, you must go elsewhere. You will bring new skills, learned online, to your locality.
Another advantage is online programmes do not need you to be somewhere at a specific time. If the course is video or audio based, you take part at times that suit you. You can use downloads in your car or whilst walking or jogging.
Using Support Services
Training
There are many training opportunities, some free and so it is worthwhile exploring what is available locally.
Usually, training courses run to an agenda set by the trainer. They will have done their research and designed a programme that meets demand as they understand it. There may be opportunities to request items on the agenda. These experiences may be opportunities to try something new. Maybe you can engage a coach if the topic proves relevant to your business.
Some courses are accredited and this can be an advantage. A certificate can be used to enhance your credibility. It is possible to badge your website with some training providers as evidence you have a particular skill.
Coaching
The first point to make is coaching is not for novices. Think of coaching as an opportunity to explore issues in-depth and confidentially with someone knowledgeable about your work but not directly involved with it.
Yes, of course, you may need a coach to work on some difficult period in the life of your business but successful businesses often engage coaches over the long haul.
There are two types of support: expert and non-directive. An expert consultant usually offers a Done-for-You service. They save you time and money because they know how to do something and will do it for you. The assumption is you do not need to learn the skill they use.
Non-directive consultancy, often called coaching, is a Done-With-You service. They may introduce new ideas and concepts but the focus is on equipping you to do something. The key thing is you are in the driving seat. The coach will help you decide a course of action, implement and evaluate it. This is one reason some coaching schemes are better over a longer period, so you can see through a course of action together.
Marketing
Marketing services are usually expert consultancy and perhaps the big issue here is what you get for your money. Are you seeking a DFY or a DWY service? Is your priority to save time and get a job done or to learn it yourself?
You could engage a website designer, for example, if you have no interest in learning how to design and build a website. You want someone who will design, build and test it for you. Perhaps this is a less likely approach today when there are so many out-of-the-box website themes but it does depend on what you want. A good theme may not always meet the needs of your organisation.
If you are planning to engage a marketing service you need to be a good consultor. If you do not know what you want, you cannot brief the consultant. the consultant will need certain information to do a good job.
Do your homework so you know if the consultant has met their brief. If something doesn’t work, there are at least two explanations. The expert is not necessarily as expert as they first appeared. This is a tempting explanation but not the most likely one. More likely, you did not provide an adequate brief or undermined the expert by constantly chopping and changing. It’s your business, your money and so your responsibility.
Your business costs provide opportunities for other businesses and you can support a range of people by making good choices for your business support services.
Has this post been helpful? Please tell me if it has and ask any questions you may have. I can’t cover everything in a single post, so it is helpful to receive questions about issues I may have missed.