Author page: Laura Bechard

What business consulting and coaching experience do you bring? Coaching and consulting are different skill sets. In a business coach, you’re looking for sound business knowledge, ideas, alternatives, advice (consulting) as well as the ability to step back and challenge you to step up to greatness, be accountable for your actions and ask you great questions so you get unstuck in order to achieve your goals (coaching). You want someone with both skill sets. Check out the recommendations and testimonials from those they have worked with. What kinds of work does your coach write / publish? Is this coach the expert you need? Tell me about your experience as a coach and a small business owner. Working with a business coach who also has experience as a business owner can make all the difference to you. Coaches with prior or current business experience just “get it”. They have walked a…

You don’t have to think very hard to find examples of careers that mentor newbies with experienced practitioners. Most professions along with apprenticeship trades know the model is effective, not only at passing along knowledge, skills, professional judgment, but also for building confidence and having a safe “sounding board” in a peer that’s walked a mile in your shoes. As business owners, we often follow the path of the lone wolf, fighting off the predators that threaten our livelihood – competition, cash flow woes, bad contracts, and changes in the political and economic environments we operate in. Our friends don’t “get it”. Our loved ones “don’t get it”. Our friends and family feel slighted and annoyed that we aren’t spending enough time with them. Even with a family that’s cheering you on, they often don’t have the knowledge or skill to REALLY help! You might be fighting the good fight…

I love it when we win the game. I feel the rush of adrenalin. My heart pounds, muscles tense and I feel tremendous satisfaction. You may be wondering, “What game is she playing?” I’m playing the game of business. Agriculture is like many businesses that need to predict demand for their goods and services months if not years before the sale will be made. An entire market has evolved to trade in commodities. Can we accurately predict global prices for our crops prior to seeding? If we are wrong and excessive supply drives market prices down, we might have trouble recovering our input costs let alone realizing a profitable return. Can a retailer predict demand several months prior to the season and place effective orders? If the forecast is accurate, then inventory management costs can be optimized. If the forecast is wrong, lost sales, excessive inventory carrying costs or liquidations…

If you find yourself saying something like, “I said so” to get buy in, you might get compliance, but are unlikely to increase engagement. Any parent identifies with challenging situations where all attempts to reason and influence their child’s behaviour failed. Out of exasperation or frustration, the words, “Because I said so” are uttered. The same is true for business owners. As Simon Sinek reminds us, “Start with why”. Understanding why it is in my interests to act differently is the quickest way to get buy-in. Being aware of the need for change as well as a desire to change are essential before change can happen. Aristotle provides even more wisdom,“A fool tells me his reasons. A wise man persuades me with my own.” That’s often where we fail in our communication. We forget to explicitly align our reasons with the other person’s, giving them a reason to commit to…

It doesn’t matter how wonderful your idea or project is if no one uses it. As digital mail takes hold in our business, I, as the bookkeeper, need to change the business routines so I get the statements and business documents needed for record keeping. These documents used to arrive in the physical mailbox but they now arrive in my business partner’s inbox or via an online portal. I’m still managing this change as my success (getting the documents for record keeping) is dependent on both of us doing our work differently. Likewise, initiatives you start in your business rely on people to adopt the change and use it. Impactful change leads to improved profitability, time savings or decreased stress. Success might require a change in others’ attitudes, beliefs, behaviours or maybe all three. As creatures of habit, people revert to old behaviours even when they agree that the change…