For this week’s news we have a Q & A from Chris Kaday. Chris is a top business coach and mentor who has helped many companies acheive success. We have known Chris for quite some time now. His insight and perception sometimes has the uncanny knack of finding hidden stumbling blocks, and from there solutions can be found. Chris is more than just a classical ‘goal setting’ coach – his input really makes you see your business and where it can go.

He has helped us on many occasions, and in this economic climate I don’t think we would be in as strong a position if it were not for his experience and advice.

1. What does a Business Coach do?

A business coach, in common with a sports or any other kind of coach, is there to help the business and the management perform better and produce an improved result. A coach can give the owner a valuable reference point, making business life a little less lonely, as well as adding value in any business situation or requirement thus benefitting everyone in the company. However, it is essential that you choose a coach who has already been successful and made money in business. Let’s face it you wouldn’t go into the jungle without an experienced guide who knows the territory and has been there before.  A business coach should know the commercial territory inside out and be able to help you reach your business goals

2. What sort of businesses can you help?

If I say ‘any’ this might sound a bit glib but it is perfectly true.  Every business has the same needs- to gain and retain customers, deliver effectively, motivate and manage staff and so on.  In my experience there are two fundamentals you have to get right – the business model and the management mind.  With a business success track record and time spent in various motivational and holistic practices, such as life coaching and NLP, I focus on them both.

3. In what ways can you make a difference to a business?

The first essential is to have a documented business action plan setting out some clear targets and how they will be achieved. I say action plan as this is a document detailing out who is going to do what by when, not something to be put in a filing cabinet. In my experience, the vast majority of companies do not have this essential document, or if they do it is not up to date. This is like being on a ship with no compass and no charts – not too pleasant if a storm come up.

The next stage is to hold regular review or check in sessions to track performance against target, adjust the plan and add value where necessary. This is the difference between adopting a controlled approach to business growth rather than trying to wing it.

Apart from this I am doing whatever is necessary.  At the minimum I could just be available as a useful reference point on issues as they arrive during the month.  I could also be involved in staff recruitment, training and appraisal, critiquing marketing copy, helping create or revise a web site, coaching sales or telephone sales staff, improving the financial dashboard, installing good databases, helping in negotiations and a lot more.  In short, adding value in any business interaction or issue as they arise as I have done them all over the years and learnt from experience.

4. What is your background?

I started out working at a chartered accountants and was also an accountant for a small joinery company, so I can read a balance sheet and know how to run a business from the figures.  However, most of my career has been in sales, which really is essential for any entrepreneur who is going to build a successful business. I started cold calling businesses by phone and door knocking and ended up running a sales team of 500 with 40 branches at 29.  As MD of Commodore I also learnt marketing and distribution which is another essential business skill. However, starting my own business and growing it to multi-million pound turnover has been the most valuable and enjoyable part of my business life.  There really is no substitute for running your own successful business if you are going to coach others to do the same.

5. Who have you helped previously?

I tend not to crow about my clients but they range from a pharmaceutical, training company, an IT support consultancy, a software company, ecommerce web based sales company, a London estate agency, a large horticultural nursery, a PR company and even a West End theatrical producer. So as I said the type of business really does not matter. I am retained as a business mentor or coach or sometimes I have a non executive position or even take an investment. Also as this is not my main income source I take on only 10 clients at any one time.  This might sound a bit excusive but I do also help a large number of businesses especially small start ups for free.

6. What sort of successes has your input made?

Well all the companies I am working with are successful and growing, despite the recession. A company I started engaging with last year with a fairly flat revenue year on year has grown 25% in 7 months with my help.  More recently a programme I implemented with the managing director of a business produced more sales in the first 8 days of this month than the whole of the last. I also have high impact on staff and can get a sales person producing on target results in a few hours of observation and coaching. Of course I work for commercial rates but what really excites me is getting a result.

7. If I’m interested to find out if you can help my business how do I get in touch?

Have a look at my web site on www.chriskaday.co.uk and if you like what you see send me an email on chris@chriskaday.co.uk.  You can even ring me direct on 07717 411382.  You will find me interested and attentive with some good challenging questions and input even if we do not end up working together.