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When I announced to my family in 2019 that I was becoming a full-time business accountability coach, they had questions, including “What the heck is a business accountability coach?” It sounds like a made-up job. Business coaching is an $11.6 billion industry, and business accountability coaching has surged, as more and more people start microbusinesses. This ultimate guide to business accountability can answer all the questions you {and my mom} have about this business coaching niche.
What is Business Accountability Coaching
As the CEO of your microbusiness, you are the ultimate decider. You decide what the goals are, what the strategy is, what the timelines are, what the budget is, what is a priority, and what is not.
That level of freedom sounds amazing, yeah? It is, until it’s not. Starting and running a business isn’t unlike moving into a dorm for your first year of college. If you haven’t had the opportunity to flex your freedom muscles before, it can be hard to be disciplined when there are few, if any, repercussions.
If you’ve been in business for a while, you may have developed bad task management or prioritization habits that keep you from moving forward.
Or, you may have forgotten that you are, in fact, human and cannot achieve 30 hours of work in 24 hours.
As the CEO, the only person to hold you accountable is you. And whether you are struggling with your new-found freedom, using ineffective productivity habits, or expecting too much from yourself, business accountability coaching can provide a layer of responsibility with a side of actionable strategy to get you unstuck.
What Does a Business Accountability Coach Do?
A business accountability coach works as your partner to provide tools and strategies that help you set and achieve your business goals
She isn’t your personal Drill Sergeant screaming orders in your face, you filthy maggot. That type of fear-based motivation is exhausting and won’t produce results in the long-term. After all, how will you get shit done if she’s not screaming at you?
Rather, a business accountability coach will help you focus, prioritize and take action.
Focus
As a microbusiness owner, you are a dreamer, a visionary. You imagined something that did not exist and brought it into the world. And as a visionary, you see new products, new markets, new opportunities, a million shiny objects around every corner.
Ping, ping, ping goes your attention.
So many distractions make it impossible to focus on your top priorities- those actions that will move you closer to achieving your goals.
A business accountability coach is your partner in achievement, and she will help you laser-focus on the best next steps.
Peer Pressure
We tend to think of peer pressure as inherently negative. Peer pressure is what causes teenagers to try drugs or become bullies. But positive peer pressure can influence someone into doing good things out of her innate desire to belong to the group.
If you’re in a running club, you find a way to get your miles in, so you don’t let your club members down.
If you’re in a book club, you find time to finish reading the book, so you are prepared at the next meeting.
Business accountability coaching provides positive peer pressure to encourage you to complete your top priorities for the week.
Without any peer pressure or accountability, time can become irrelevant. Have you ever decided on Monday that THIS IS THE WEEK that you will complete a project or task, only to declare the same goal the following week? No one was holding you accountable to finish it that week. Heck, no one even knew you intended to complete it that week.
With an accountability coach, the peer pressure comes through providing weekly goals and check-in calls. You declare your priorities and then report back to your coach.
Guidance
Providing guidance is what makes business accountability coaching invaluable for microbusiness owners.
Sure, anyone can provide positive peer pressure, but you wouldn’t ask your car mechanic for advice to meet your physical fitness goals or your personal trainer for gas-saving tips.
A business accountability coach is a business professional. She specializes in working with business owners to craft achievable goals, milestones, and action plans.
As a business professional, she works with you to:
- clarify your goals,
- find and eliminate the time-sucks in your routine,
- develop positive productivity habits,
- focus on the tasks that move the needle in your business.
When you get stuck, your accountability coach will provide possible solutions and help you get back on track.
Can’t a {free} Accountability Partner Do The Same Thing?
Not really. A good accountability partner can provide positive peer pressure, but accountability partnerships are only effective as long as they are all committed. And, frankly, most microbusiness owners are stretched too thin. Accountability partnerships can be powerful in the short-term. Still, as life gets busy, projects go awry, and other issues bubble up, regular check-ins become less of a priority, negating the positive peer pressure.
And an accountability partner may not have the knowledge and tools to help you focus and prioritize.
Bottom line: If you need a short-term solution for positive peer pressure, an accountability partner may be useful. But your partner may not be reliable long-term and are not invested in your success.
Is Business Accountability Coaching Right for Me?
While everyone can benefit from accountability, not everyone is a suitable candidate for accountability business coaching.
Do you know what you want?
It sounds like a trick question, I know, but if you don’t know what you want, any path can potentially lead you there.
It sounds like a trick question, I know, but if you don’t know what you want, any path can potentially lead you there.
You don’t need a detailed five-year goal, but you need to have a vision for what you want to accomplish. Ideally, you have a 90-day goal in mind that your accountability business coach can help you achieve. It can be a specific business objective like complete an overdue project, or a more personal/leadership intention, like to stop procrastinating or develop a task management style that works for you.
If you know what you want to achieve in the timeframe, accountability coaching can be beneficial.
Do you take ownership of your time?
We can’t manage time, but we can manage our tasks and prioritize the mission-critical tasks. We can own our time, even if it feels like we can’t.
At the end of the workday, if you’re not sure where your day went, working with a business accountability coach could be helpful for you.
Is procrastination a problem for you?
We all battle procrastination from time to time, but if you find yourself chronically procrastinating, accountability coaching can help you.
Do you feel overwhelmed by your business?
It’s lonely and hella stressful at the top. No one tells you that when the buck stops here, it brings an enormous amount of stress and decision fatigue with it.
The sheer volume of opportunities, tasks, ideas, projects, and deadlines thrown at the microbusiness owner regularly can leave her drained and overwhelmed. Working with a business accountability coach can help prioritize #allthethings.
What to Expect Working with a Business Accountability Coach
Prior to your initial call with your coach, you’ll provide her with basic information that helps her understand your current challenges. Questions from my intake form include:
- What is your normal work schedule? Please list the days and times you work on your business.
- What is your top goal for the next 12 months?
- What is the pain for you of not achieving this goal?
- Do you have complete control over whether or not this goal is achieved? (Is achieving this goal tied to the actions of other people?)
- How will achieving this goal impact other areas of your life?
- What resources do you already have to help you achieve your goal?
- What resources do you need to help you achieve your goal?
- What might you have to change or give up to achieve this goal?
- Who will you have to be to achieve this goal?
- How do you tend to sabotage yourself?
During your first call with your coach, she will dig into your answers from the intake form and share the most effective strategies for you to implement. She will make suggestions, but ultimately, you identify which strategies and tactics are best for you, and choose a course of action.
At the end of your first call, your coach will give you homework to be completed before your next call, typically held one week later.
During the second and subsequent calls, you will report back on your progress and share any stumbling blocks, so your coach can help you work through them.
How Much Does It Cost?
There is no standard pricing model for business accountability coaching. Prices can range from $100 – several thousand dollars per month for one-on-one coaching.
Most coaching packages are non-refundable, and many coaches offer a low-cost or free consultation call to see if you are the right client for them, and if they are the right coach for you.
How to Find an Accountability Coach Near Me
If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that virtually {pun intended} anything you can do in person, you can do online, and meeting with an accountability coach is no different.
You can meet with your accountability coach via video-conferencing or via phone. Some accountability coaches offer their services through email.
Personally, I prefer connecting with clients on video calls. By meeting at a specific time, both coach and client commit their full attention to the conversation and eliminate all distractions. Plus, video calls allow the coach to read the client’s body language and non-verbal cues.
You don’t need to be in the same city, same state, or even the same country as your coach. Thanks to technology, I’ve successfully worked with international clients who are 5,000 miles away from me. Bottom line: Location isn’t all that important.
Investing in a relationship with a professional business accountability coach can provide one of your most substantial ROIs. If you’re ready to invest in your success and work directly with me, schedule a 15-minute consultation call here.
Ready to get your small business budget under control? Snag my free Cost-Cutting Checklist here.