ENTREPRENEUR HUB / 28 JANUARY 2024

Excelling in Entrepreneurship: Coaching vs. Consulting

If you’re looking to kick start your own business or scale up an existing one, hiring a business coach or consultant might be the boost you need to accelerate you towards your goals.

Since navigating my own entrepreneurial journey, I discovered that many people struggle in understanding 1) what coaching is and 2) the difference between what a coach vs consultant can offer them. When used in the right context, they can both offer high value and incredible insights. Knowing when to employ the services of a coach or a consultant can be crucial for your entrepreneurial journey. They can provide support you in develop your leadership skills or provide advice on upcoming projects head-on.

To help clarify some of those uncertainties, this article will explore the essence of roles. It will highlight their similarities and differences so that you can partner with the right person for success.

What is business Coaching?

First things first. What is coaching?

Coaching is a process of collaboration between a coach and a client to maximise the client’s potential. The International Coaching Federation (ICF) defines coaching as a thought-provoking and creative process that empowers clients to achieve their goals. Coaching focuses on enhancing personal and professional skills, increasing self-awareness, and enabling clients to make meaningful changes.

When you hire a coach, you should expect them to be able to support you with your specific goals. These are to be determined by you. The coach will encourage you to engage in self-discovery and create your own solutions that align closely with your core values. They will hold you accountable for your actions and progress all whilst helping you identify any blockers along the way. Consider them your accountability partner.

Coaches are experienced professionals who help individuals or groups achieve their defined goals. They excel in developing relationships, enhancing soft skills, and will guide you to become the best version of themselves. Through coaching, you can set achievable goals, clarify their vision, and maintain accountability to reach their full potential. The topics you will cover will focus primarily on growing you as an individual on topics related to improving your skills such as time management, mindset and communication.

Coaching Essentials:

• Personalised Focus: Coaches engage in one-on-one interactions, tailoring guidance to individual requirements.
• Empowerment for Solutions: Coaching instils self-reliance by empowering clients to discern and implement their own solutions.
• Holistic Development: Beyond professional skills, coaching encompasses personal development, goal setting, relationships, and overall well-being. Research shows that those who engage in professional coaching also see a drastic improvement in their personal lives.
• Goal-Oriented Emphasis: Coaching is underscored by the strategic pursuit of specific goals, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
• Individual Skill Augmentation: Coaching elevates each unique individual’s skills, goals, and mindset.

Key Takeaway: Coaches will offer you the space for exploration, building your capacity for clarity and long term growth. You’ll feel empowered to take action. If you are looking for someone to provide you with the solutions and answers, then you might be disappointed.

What is Consulting?

Consulting refers to utilising subject matter specialists’ expertise to help businesses or organisations achieve specific goals. They are usually experts in a particular field, collaborate closely with organisations to identify and resolve business-related issues. Unlike coaches, consultants provide targeted solutions, including advice, training, or acting as facilitators. They usually work on project-based assignments, focusing on short-term or long-term initiatives that require industry-specific or technical knowledge. Consultants leverage their education, industry experience and expertise within a specific industry to provide objective insights through an external lens, supporting businesses from a more advisory and strategic standpoint.

Consulting Essentials:

• Collaborative Team Engagement: Consultants collaborate with teams or entire organisations, addressing collective challenges.
• Direct Problem Resolution: Consulting involves providing explicit assistance in problem-solving through targeted and strategic solutions.
• Data-Driven Methodology: Consultants adopt a data-driven approach, focusing on specific issues that will offer solutions for immediate attention.
• Industry-Specific Expertise: Consulting demands specialised proficiency aligned with the client’s industry for tailored and effective solutions.
• Project-Centric Engagement: Consulting projects are characterised by a defined commencement and conclusion, ensuring timely and impactful delivery.

Key Takeaway: Consultants offer expert solutions and laser-sharp advice on your business whether you are looking to launch, pivot or scale. They offer recommendations and provide possibilities.

What are the key differences between Coaching and Consulting?

Coaching and consulting are often looked as two unique approaches that provide specific benefits based on your needs and challenges. The range of areas covered across the professional development scope can include anywhere from improving your skills and performance in the workplace, such as time management, decision-making, and problem-solving skills as well as addressing any limiting beliefs that are holding you back from advancing in your career.

Depending on where you are currently in your professional journey, 1:1 coaching could be a great way to get the personal and professional development that empowers you to navigate challenges independently and achieve your goals. If you are a self made entrepreneur or aspiring to be, personalised coaching can be extremely powerful, allowing you to hone in on your inner abilities, such as self-confidence, and leadership skills, improve time management skills, communicate authentically with confidence and build strong relationships that will allow you to develop into a well rounded (and profitable) business owner.

On the other hand, consulting is a problem-solving approach that provides industry-specific or technical solutions to help you overcome challenges. Consultants are experts with in-depth knowledge and skills specific to your industry and challenges. They take a data-driven approach to analyse your situation, provide tailored solutions, and help you implement them. Business consulting focuses on improving your business operations, such as marketing, sales, finance, and operations, to help you increase revenue, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction. Technical consulting focuses on improving your technical infrastructure, such as software, hardware, and networks, to help you increase efficiency, security, and performance.

Whether you need personal or professional development coaching or business or technical consulting, it’s important to choose the right approach that fits your needs and goals. A professional coach or consultant can guide you through the process, provide expert advice and feedback, and help you achieve your potential.

What do i need? A coach or a consultant?

When deciding whether to engage a coach or consultant, it’s essential to consider the type of change you want to achieve. Coaches are best suited for individual-level changes and long-term problems. They offer a collaborative and personalised approach. On the other hand, consultants are more appropriate for one-time problems, company-wide changes, or situations where an expert is needed to complete the work. When choosing between coaching and consulting, consider your level of influence and willingness to put in the work, and align your choice with your desired outcomes for professional growth.

Ask Yourself:

• What are you wanting to achieve specifically?
• What are all the things you need support with to help you get you there?
• Are they inside or outside your scope of skills, resources or current mindset?

What about finding someone who can coach and consult?

Professionals who can serve as both a coach and a consultant possess a powerful combination of skills. They offer a hybrid structure that blends the empathetic and developmental approach of coaching with the expertise and problem-solving capabilities of consulting. This unique combination enables them to provide comprehensive support to you, addressing both personal and professional aspects while offering targeted solutions to specific challenges. The key to success in this dual role lies in effectively blending coaching and consulting methodologies based on your needs.

When it comes to professional development, choosing between coaching and consulting can be a critical decision on your journey to success. Whether you’ve been considering investing into a coaching program or seeking the strategic expertise of a consultant to promote business growth, the ultimate goal is always to achieve extraordinary success. If you are a business owner or looking to take start your entrepreneurial journey, a hybrid model combining coaching and consulting will offer you a harmonious blend of empathetic guidance and targeted problem-solving giving you the competitive edge to stand out.

As you progress on your journey, choosing a professional who shares your values, communication style, way of working and expertise is essential. Remember to ask a lot of questions – this will ensure a partnership that aligns effortlessly with your aspirations to set you up for success. If you’re still in doubt, I would suggest to connect with at least 2 coaches, 2 consults and 1 professional offering a more hybrid approach, get to know them and understand if what they can offer you aligns with your goals. If you walk away from that conversation feeling like they will be able to bring out the best in you, then you’re on the right path!

At Refine, we customise consultations with a hybrid approach, tailoring to your needs. To find out more about what we do, read our story. If you’re ready to take the next step reach out directly to arrange an initial consultation call here.