Reminiscing on Bill’s Big Bash

The evening of Tuesday 14th September marked the first post-Covid face-to-face networking event for many as my clients and friends came together to attend Bill’s Big Bash. Bill and the team organised the event to celebrate the success of our clients (and let’s just say we certainly did that!)

Bill's Big Bash

We had a great turn out to the Blackburn Wing of Bowcliffe Hall; it was wonderful to see some familiar faces as well as being able to meet people I had only seen via Zoom! Attendees received champagne on arrival and were treated to canapes throughout the night to keep the celebrations going.

The achievements we celebrated were a testament to our clients and their team’s hard work. Our clients have shown resilience and determination, especially over the past year with the trials and tribulations that 2020 has brought. And my team have been incredible, liaising directly with them and helping me to deliver support.

We had three wonderful and qualified judges/presenters on the night, so a huge debt of gratitude to my judges. From left to right – Chris Black of Sound Leisure, David Baggaley of Leeds City Council, myself, and Stuart Watson.

Bill's Big Bash Judges

They helped present the awards to the following well deserved winners:

Crucial Engineering

Stuart Watson presented the Growth award to Paul Van-Heeswyk from Crucial Engineering.

Barton Legal

Bill & Trish Barton from Barton Legal received the Innovation award. Presented by Chris Black

Lesley, Allan & Mattie Dawson from Children’s Corner Childcare received the Community Impact award. Presented by David Baggaley.

Salute at the White Swan

And for this year only, presented by Chris Black, the Special Resilience award was awarded to Justine Gregory from Salute at the White Swan.

Again, a massive congratulations to all the winners – each award is very well deserved and is a tribute to your hard work and determination.

If the successes of these incredible businesses inspire you, this could become your reality – as it’s possible for any good business to become a great business. The thing that stands in the way for many is that they don’t have the push from an external force. Having a business coach in your corner can help you to achieve your business goals. How? It’s simple…

How Can a Business Coach Help Me Achieve My Business Goals?

1) Your Business Coach Will Guide You

Without a business coach, it is very easy (and common) to set goals and forget to put a plan in place that maps out how you will achieve these goals. However, with the help of a business coach, they will assess your short- and long-term goals and will help to develop a clear, step-by-step plan forward.

Using their experience, they will suggest specific tactics and actions that will help you to develop your company, presenting solutions and introducing you to tools you were not yet aware of. Additionally, they’ll ask relevant questions to help you question your current infrastructure and help you reach a better, more efficient way of operating. 53% of business owners and executives reported that having a business coach increased their productivity. And the more productive a business, the more likely it is to achieve its goals.

What’s more, along your journey, a business coach will help to hold you accountable. Acting as an ‘honest friend’, they will frequently check in on your progress and make sure you are making steps in the right direction to achieve your goals. During check-ins, together, you will look at what you have achieved so far (and celebrate these milestones!) but you will also reflect on what was not completed and plan how you can change this.

2) Your Business Coach Will Act as Your Go-To Person

73% of business owners admitted to feeling lonely, with a staggering third of them sharing that this is how they feel regularly. Although, this needn’t be the case.

A business coach can act as a sounding board for new ideas, overcoming challenges, and even making suggestions on how to improve your company’s day-to-day running. For many business owners, their business coach has become their go-to person to help overcome the feeling of loneliness.

Not only this, but a business coach can also help you gain perspective in times of crisis. Whilst these situations can be complicated to navigate, having an external person can help you gain a fresh perspective. Your coach will ask questions that challenge you to think critically and creatively and help you approach the situation calmly and with a plan.

Furthermore, a business coach will suggest opportunities for you to leave your comfort zone. They will expose you to new experiences to help grow the business.

3) Your Business Coach Will Help You Identify Your Strengths and Manage Against Your Weaknesses

It’s typical for business owners to attempt to juggle everything that comes with running a business. However, what turns a business from a good one to a great one is the business owner’s ability to recognise their strengths and weaknesses and outsource accordingly.

A business coach will work with you to help you analyse and identify your strengths. Once agreed upon, they will help suggest ways to maximise your natural gifts and explain how you can use them to capitalise on business opportunities.

On the other hand, a business coach will work with you to define what your weaknesses are. There is plenty of information out there that suggests that it isn’t the best use of your time to try and convert a weakness into a strength. But that does not mean you should give up. Instead, a business coach will help you identify these blind spots and the patterns of behaviour holding you back. They’ll help present solutions and offer advice on how you can overcome these weaknesses to maximise the business’s potential.

How To Get Started with a Business Coach

It’s never too late to get started with a business coach. In fact, many of my clients say they just wished they started sooner.

No matter what industry your business lies in, businesses owners can benefit from having a coach. It’s evident from the winners of the awards at my ‘Big Bash’ event that achievements are just around the corner when you start coaching.

To start your journey, simply get in touch and let’s discuss how I can help you achieve your business goals.