Business coaching is essentially about making a meaningful difference to a business by helping business owners to achieve their goals and overcome their weaknesses. It is all about polishing their skills and helping them understand their own potential. Business coaching is something that can be practically applied to any industry and at any level of employment. This growing need for business coaching is responsible for making coaching industry as big and competitive as it is today. Business coaching provides excellent career opportunities to those who believe that teaching is their forte and who have profound understanding of the sensitive business needs of diverse businesses.
While some people prefer to set up their own coaching practice, others choose to become a part of well-established boutique (medium sized coaching service providers) or a large business coaching firm, to impart their coaching skills to business communities. Just like a solo business coaching practice, medium and large business coaching firms also have their own set of pros and cons. If you are an expert business coach and are planning to provide coaching services through a medium or large business coaching firm, make sure that you quickly go through the pros and cons mentioned below:
Pros
Working with reputed business coaching firms has several benefits and can be a rewarding career prospect for many. When you work solo, there is a danger of professional isolation that may stop you from learning new skills that are required for survival in this highly competitive coaching market. However, when you work with moderate sized or large firms, you are a part of a highly motivated coaching culture and you are constantly updated about the latest developments in your field. The firm as a whole adapts to the changing demands of diverse businesses and develops new strategies to address these demands.
As a result, you will always learn new survival strategies to sustain fierce competition and stay ahead, in spite of the growing challenges. Being associated with a large organization, your market value is higher. In addition, teamwork enhances your productivity as well as creativity, contrary to solo practice where you have to rely only on your ideas and efforts. Large firms usually have a broad network and a list of influential clients providing excellent growth opportunities for deserving candidates. Clients, especially big companies prefer to hire the services of established firms, as they are usually very professional and maintain confidentiality about business information.
Cons
Some clients feel that large firms may not provide personalized services that solo coaches offer. When working for boutiques or large firms, you wont get the freedom to implement your ideas and may often have to seek prior approval from your seniors before going ahead with a business strategy. Being a part of a large team of professionals, your ideas and strategies may be replaced by those of others, leading to lack of morale and low performance. There is also a strong chance that your performance may not be noticed and you may get lost in the crowd.