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What Is The Difference Between A Business Coach & A Business Consultant?
163 Plays1 year ago
In this episode, I am excited to dive deep into a topic that is often very misunderstood but incredibly important for entrepreneurs – the difference between Business Coaching and Business Consulting.
In this episode, we talk about:
- The difference between a Business Coach and a Business Consultant and the specific goals that each will aim to achieve.
- Whether it is possible to have a Business Coach and Business Consultant in one individual.
- What to look for when looking for a Business Coach or Business Consultant.
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Transcript
Introduction and Host Background
00:00:00
Speaker
You're listening to the CEO's Wingwoman podcast.
00:00:05
Speaker
I'm Olivia Jenkins, your host and virtual coach, helping you scale your brand to cult-like status. Since 2019, I've helped over 100 clients generate in excess of $45 million in revenue. And now it's time for me to share my tips, tricks and strategies to help you supercharge your growth. I'm here to help you step into your power to develop a bulletproof strategy and growth mindset to match. Consider me your secret weapon to scale. Let's get started.
Business Coaching vs. Consulting
00:00:35
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of The CEO's Wingwoman. Today, I'm excited to dive deep into a topic that's often very misunderstood, but incredibly important for entrepreneurs. The difference between business coaching and business consulting.
00:00:51
Speaker
Now, this is a topic that I could honestly speak about for hours, but I am going to keep it short today. I've promised you snack size content, so I'm going to keep it short. But essentially, a lot of people do not know the difference between a business coach and a business consultant, and they often can believe or think that they are the same thing.
00:01:10
Speaker
I really want to dive deep today into the differences between a business coach and a business consultant. For the record, I identify as both. I'm primarily a consultant. That is how I started the business initially. However, I have actually done business coaching from the very beginning in the context of strategy sessions as well, which do present a lot like a hybrid structure, in all honesty, between coaching and consulting. But we'll dive into that a little bit deeper.
Role and Focus of Business Coaches
00:01:36
Speaker
So let's first talk about business coaches and business coaching and what exactly a business coach is. So the first thing that I want to point out in the context of business coaching is that generally speaking a business coach will primarily work with the individual as opposed to the business.
00:01:56
Speaker
So when you think about business coaching, a lot of the time with business coaching, the business coach is working with you as the individual as opposed to the business. So they are focused primarily on the one-to-one relationship that they have with you as the business owner or as the leader in the business. And their primary goal with you is to extract the greatest potential that they can out of you so that you can ultimately make the decisions in your business and carve your own path.
00:02:26
Speaker
Sorry, the easiest way to think about this is they're developing you and you are developing your business, right? So it's a very one-on-one working with you as the individual. Yes, they may provide some generalized advice around the business as well, but for the most part, a coaching relationship is very much about building you up as the business owner so that when the business coach is removed from the situation, you are the one that's in your business day by day.
00:02:53
Speaker
in a day-to-day situation and therefore their work with you, their goal with you is to build you up, help you reach your full potential so that you can act in your business with as much confidence and clarity as you possibly can.
Regulations in Business Coaching
00:03:07
Speaker
Now, in the context of business coaching, it is generally unregulated. So a business coach doesn't actually need to have specific business education or experience. Okay, so albeit very helpful in the field, a business coach doesn't necessarily need to have business education or experience to provide coaching services to clients. And
00:03:31
Speaker
This is what I'm seeing a lot of in the industry. Now, I am not going to make a comment around whether I think that that's good or bad. It's just an observation that I have that there are definitely a lot of business coaches in the industry that do have experience, that don't have experience, that do have business education, that don't have business education, and there's a real mixed bag out there. So I will touch at the very end of this episode about what to look for.
00:03:56
Speaker
So I'll just stick a pin in that. But generally speaking, as I said earlier, a business coach is focused on working with their client to help empower them to unlock their full potential and help them overcome any mindset blockages that are holding them back. And a lot of the time what I see in the context of coaching and working with CEOs and working with clients is there are often times where there are mindset challenges that are holding them back in the context of business.
00:04:22
Speaker
So I'm very passionate about business coaching and overcoming limiting beliefs and limiting decisions. And I absolutely love what business coaches stand for. And as I said earlier in the episode, I also identify as one, but generally speaking, they're focusing on you as an individual.
Expertise of Business Consultants
00:04:40
Speaker
Now, turning our attention to a business consultant now. Sorry, what is the difference between the two? A business consultant is a subject matter expert who works with the business and delivers expert advice. Sorry, they primarily work with the business through the lens of advisory and strategy.
00:05:00
Speaker
They are often a subject matter expert providing very specialised knowledge and strategic advice to address specific business challenges. So where a business coach will ask you lots of questions to help you find the answers yourself
00:05:18
Speaker
a business consultant will provide laser sharp advice to help you devise a winning strategy for your business and expert solutions to overcome key business challenges. So a business consultant is very much concerned around cutting straight to the chase and working with the business owner through the lens of advisory and strategy, but working very closely on the business alongside the CEO or the business owner or the client to do the implementation a lot of the time as well.
00:05:53
Speaker
Attention visionary CEOs, ready to elevate your business IQ? Introducing the Business Academy by Olivia Jenkins, setting the gold standard in business education. Launching this November, this pilot 12-week program is perfect for startups, scaling businesses and seasoned CEOs aiming for long-term growth.
00:06:14
Speaker
Get ready for bi-weekly live group coaching calls led by yours truly and bi-weekly masterclass drops on CEO mindset, leadership, strategy, marketing, sales psychology and branding. But here's the catch, the pilot intake this November has limited spots available so visit www.OliviaJenkins.co forward slash academy to secure your spot now.
00:06:45
Speaker
Now, as I'm chatting through this, you can probably see that through being a subject matter expert and providing specialised knowledge and providing strategic advice to address very specific business challenges, you do need to have a business education.
00:07:02
Speaker
and you do need to be very experienced and well versed in that specific industry that you're consulting into. So a lot of the time you'll see that business consultants are often MBA educated. So they have a master's degree within their specialisation. So for example, I have an MBA and I majored in marketing for that degree. I have a very high level of experience in the specific industries that I serve, which is health, beauty, fashion and lifestyle.
00:07:31
Speaker
So as a business consultant, generally highly educated, often MBA qualified, they are subject matter experts and they're often armed with over 10 years of experience in their field in order to be able to devise and execute an overall strategy. So it's not to say that a business consultant has to have over 10 years experience, but they often do because in order to be a subject matter expert, in order to be an expert at anything in life, you do need to have done it for a long period of time
00:08:00
Speaker
to have lots of different experiences with lots of different businesses in, you know, in lots of different facets of the industry or the several industries that are being served. So, very educated, very experienced. In terms of is it possible to have a business coach and a business consultant in one, the short answer is yes.
Hybrid Approach: Coaching and Consulting
00:08:21
Speaker
And while it is very rare to find a hybrid that can fluently transition between the two archetypes of coach and consultant, it is possible. So this is a very powerful combination because it allows the client to harness the potency of personalized coaching alongside strategic consulting for business success.
00:08:43
Speaker
And this allows the client to really benefit from dual expertise. They've got the coach archetype that's really working with them one-on-one as an individual to help them overcome limiting beliefs, limiting decisions, call them out on certain mindset blockages that are holding them back in business, but equally having that consulting dynamic as well to be able to provide laser sharp advisory, create the winning strategy for the business that's
00:09:12
Speaker
personalized to the business and the exact stage of business as well, because this is really important being able to consult and provide advice to meet the business where it's currently at in order to help shape the roadmap of how they get to achieve their destination or how they bring their vision to life. So yes, it is possible. It's very rare. However, it is possible to have a hybrid situation. And if you do find that it's incredibly powerful.
Choosing the Right Consultant
00:09:39
Speaker
Sorry, I want to finish up on what to look for in the context of a business coach or a business consultant. What I would say first and foremost in the context of a consultant is you really want to find someone that has the education.
00:09:57
Speaker
So for me, if I was receiving business consulting, I would absolutely want to receive consulting from somebody who had a very high level of education in the context of business, who had a lot of expertise in my specific industry, because I'll give you an example. If I was to go and consult to an industry that I know very little about, I will say not-for-profit as an example, it would be very challenging for me to provide
00:10:25
Speaker
laser sharp advice given I've not had much experience in that specific industry. So this is really important. It's what I would look for. If I was hiring a business consultant, I would be looking for experience within the industry. And number three,
00:10:40
Speaker
I would be looking to find a consultant that has a shared set of values to me and also had a similar communication style. Communication is super important in any relationship but in particular in a business consulting relationship because you really want to make sure that you're speaking the same language, you're on the same page and that you're understanding each other when you're communicating and that you do have a very open and honest relationship that's built on a foundation of trust.
00:11:10
Speaker
So they are the three things that I would look for in the context of a business consultant. Turning my attention now to a business coach.
Selecting a Business Coach
00:11:19
Speaker
What I would look for in a business coach is similar but a little bit different. Number one, I would be looking for a business coach that has achieved the level of success that I'm aspiring to achieve.
00:11:32
Speaker
Number two, I would be looking for a business coach that has proven success and has a high degree or high level of case studies and happy clients that they've worked with where you can really see that they've demonstrated a lot of success with those particular clients.
00:11:51
Speaker
And number three, I would be looking for a business coach that I don't foresee that I'm going to outgrow anytime soon. So absolutely finding someone that, you know, has achieved a level of success that you're aspiring to achieve or greater, has a proven track record of success with their clients. And number three, someone that I don't foresee that I'm going to outgrow anytime soon. Sorry, they are the three things that I would look for in both a business consultant and a business coach.
Summary of Key Differences
00:12:21
Speaker
To recap today's episode, and I promised you a short one, so I'm glad that I've delivered on this. A business coach primarily works with the individual to help them reach their full potential. They focus on personal development, including mindset, leadership and skill building.
00:12:37
Speaker
They place an emphasis on goal-orientated coaching to help clients achieve specific objectives. They offer motivation, support and accountability as a mentor, but they don't necessarily need specific business education or experience a lot of the time.
00:12:55
Speaker
What is a business consultant? A business consultant primarily works with the business through the lens of advisory and strategy. They are a subject matter expert and they provide specialised knowledge and strategic advice to address specific business challenges.
00:13:11
Speaker
They offer objective insights, problem solving abilities and practical solutions to improve business processes and performance. And they're fully capable of devising a winning strategy and implementing it as well. Now, I did want to recap as well on the fact that yes, it is possible to have a business coach and business consultant in one, albeit very rare to find that hybrid, it is possible. And that powerful combination allows you as a client to harness the potency of
00:13:40
Speaker
personalised coaching alongside strategic consulting for business success, which really allows you to benefit from dual expertise.
00:13:50
Speaker
So hopefully that answers a question that I receive very often around what is the difference between a business coach and a business consultant.
Business Academy Launch and Call to Action
00:13:59
Speaker
If you want to learn more on how we can work together in the coming year, please head to my website www.OliviaJenkins.co and check out the services that I have available there.
00:14:11
Speaker
I am currently booking for Business Strategy Sessions, which is a one-on-one session and 90-minute Zoom where we uncover your key business challenges and work to a bespoke agenda to help devise a customized strategy and action plan that you can go away with after the session and begin implementing instantly.
00:14:32
Speaker
And I did also want to announce that very soon, next month, we will be kicking off the pilot intake of the Business Academy, which is a program I have been working on since the very beginning. Pretty much since late 2019, six months after starting the business, I had a vision to launch
00:14:50
Speaker
the Business Academy, which is going to be an incredible destination for you to receive group coaching and master classes on a number of different business and mindset topics. So if you're keen to learn more about that, I definitely recommend jumping onto the website and finding out more at www.OliviaJenkins.co forward slash Academy.
00:15:13
Speaker
In the meantime, if you have any questions at all, please jump across to Instagram and send me a DM. I love hearing from you guys and hearing your stories and your questions. So if there's any requests that you have for the podcast as well, please send me a DM. Otherwise in the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this episode and I will be back very soon.
00:15:33
Speaker
Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode. If you love today's show, be sure to let me know by leaving a five-star review. You can also connect with me by Instagram at OliviaJenkins.co or learn more on how we can work together at www.OliviaJenkins.co. Have an amazing week and I can't wait to connect with you in the next episode.