My Journey through Life as a Coach
I have been reflecting on my journey in life and my career and the successes that I've had as a Corporate Senior Manager, Business Owner and with my clients as a Certified Business and Executive coach.
In 1982 I graduated with a Diploma in Dairy Technology and very shortly after I was promoted to my first management role in my chosen field of added value cheese manufacturing in the dairy industry.
It was at this point, that I realised that my coaching career really began, as this is where I began coaching my team members in improving themselves personally and professionally, in how they could improve efficiency and productivity in their roles.
Over the next 25 years my career quickly progressed into senior management roles, specialising in Operations and Supply Chain, within the corporate food industry working with a number of well recognised food companies.
In 2006 I decided that I wanted to take control of my own destiny and made a decision to move from Mildura to Nelson Bay. This was a real sea-change move for my family. With my wife and son we opened a luxury boating membership based business where we taught our members how to operate the luxury boats so that they could book them and take the boats out on their own. This enabled them to experience the boating lifestyle that they had always dreamed of, at a very affordable level.
Most of our members were retirees or getting close to retiring when the global financial crisis hit in 2009. Without exception, the members became nervous and commenced reducing their discretionary spending commitments. For us, this which meant they cancelled their boating memberships. We reluctantly closed our boating business and I then self-branded myself as an Interim Manager, taking fixed term project roles back in the food industry.
These fixed term projects resulted in me living away from home for extended periods. In 2013, I decided I would start looking for another business to invest in that enabled me to be closer to my home in Cobram, so I could reconnect again with Robyn, the love of my life, on a more permanent basis.
At the end of January 2014 found myself in Las Vegas ready to start 10 days of the most intensive training in my life with ActionCOACH as a new franchisee. Coming out of the training as a Certified Business Coach, I went through a period of what I call “a cloud of fog and mist “, in deciding what direction I would take my coaching business.
One of my biggest fears, at that time, is “what am I going to teach a business owner”, especially a business owner who already has a successful businesses.
I have to especially thank my first clients, for their openness in sharing the challenges that they were facing, as this quickly dissolved my fears that I would not be able to help them. This was when I quickly realised that these business owners were great at their profession or trade, but when it came to running their businesses, this is where they were seeking the help and assistance that I could help them with, especially with the experience I had gained in my senior management roles in Corporate and also in running my own businesses.
In short, the key areas that they were looking at wanting to improve their businesses in, included:
- getting back their time to do the things that were most important to them
- improving their financial position ,even understanding how to read and interpret their financial numbers
- developing their team and organisational structure so they could achieve sustainable growth, that would enable to have a business that could run without them
- identifying and implementing systems into their business that would improve efficiency, productivity and profitability
Bringing us back to where I'm at today and looking at my coaching journey as now a Certified Business an Executive coach, I now have clarity around my WHY and PURPOSE in life, why I get out of bed every day.
The reason I get out of bed every day is to work with business owners and inspire them to make positive and simple changes in their business and personal lives, so that, they minimise risk and avoid mistakes, mistakes that cost them TIME, ENERGY & MONEY. Doing that, then allows those businesses to get on a positive growth track that allows us, together, to create more local jobs and as a result build stronger local communities that simultaneously impacts lives positively, with everyone achieving greater success, One Step at a Time.
Why am I relating my business life journey with you?
I believe that it is important for every business owner to take a moment to reflect on their own journey through life career and business and really gain some clarity on where their journey has taken them and what they have achieved. it is getting clarity on things like:
- they wings in both personal and business areas
- the struggles in both peace personal and business areas
- what are the key things that I have learned in both life and business
- How have they developed as a leader what is their leadership style
- what is the vision for the business and themselves identifying why their business exists and what purpose does the business serve for their customers in identifying the Y and purpose of their business it must also include the importance for their own team members and their community and what impact that has holistically
It can be very lonely in business as a business owner. You are the person who is making the decisions that have an impact on the direction and future of the business, your customers, your team and your community. The tough bit, is that most people will not see the anxiety, the fears, the self-doubt that you may be going through, in your decision making processes.
The loneliness in business ownership, is that you may not have the right network of people around you that you can confidentially bounce your thoughts and ideas around with in a professional environment, who can give you unbiased feedback that will lead you to making “the right” decisions in your business journey.
Again, reflecting on my own journey as a business and executive coach, I have identified that this is one of the main areas where I have assisted my clients as their coach, mentor and teacher. In other words, as an unreasonable yet compassionate friend, I will tell them the things that they may not want to hear, but need to hear, in order for them to grow personally and professionally.
As their business or executive coach, my clients often see me as being their Chairman or CEO of their business. What this means is that I am available to:
- brainstorm and discuss new ideas, and techniques, as well as strategies for team development, systems, sales, profit and cash flow
- someone who they can confide in and provide an outsiders perspective
- Be a source of quality human resource contacts for areas that they may need additional direct assistance with
- praising them when they do well, consequences if they do not
- critiquing their work and providing honest feedback and communication
- Being a knowledge base to answer the tough questions and having a global network of other coaches who may also assist
- Someone they will be accountable to and keep them focused on doing and working on the “right things”
In summary, my decision to become a certified business and executive coach has been the best decision of my life, other than the decision to marry Robyn in 1978, of course …!
When I see the results that my clients achieve, both personally and professionally, the fulfillment I get out of that reinforces my WHY and Purpose in life, which is to inspire business owners to make the small changes to their personal and business goals that allows them to minimise risk and avoid mistakes, mistakes that cost them TIME, ENERGY & MONEY.
Every top level sports person, entrepreneur and other highly successful people, all have, or have had, a coach in their careers.
I encourage all business owners to seriously consider engaging a business coach who will support them on their journey in building a successful business that can operate without them. Please reach out if you would like to explore how a business coach can help your journey in business ...
Phil Badura
Business Coach
ActionCOACH -Business Steps
