A Business coach reads a lot. I mean a lot. Consider how we would stay ahead of the current business trends, stay up to date on leadership concepts, the latest biography, or develop a greater understanding of the current issues facing business owners, without reading.
"...we tend to dive more into the reading that helps our clients, and not enough on what helps us grow our own businesses."
However, we tend to dive more into the reading that helps our clients, and not enough on what helps us grow our own businesses.
With that in mind here are my Top 5 books for Business Coaches. You will find a summary of each below, but consider some of the most important concepts to running a coaching practice in these books.
The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber - Business Fundamentals
Boundaries for Leaders by Henry Cloud - Leadership
Essentialism by Greg Mckeown - Vision
The Prosperous Coach by Steve Chandler and Rich Litvin - Business Coaching
Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port - Business Coaching
As Business Coaches we bring our vast experience from industry into our practices, both the positive and the negative experiences. When making the transition to be a Business Coach, it is a great time to review our own Mission, Vision and Values, and bring them into our practice.
In fact, this may be the very reason why you decided, or are considering becoming a Business Coach. We have an opportunity to coach entrepreneurs, business owners, and business leaders in the fundamentals of business. It comes with a great opportunity to consider how we learn, unlearn, and relearn owning a business.
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The E-Myth Revisited – Michael E. Gerber
E-Myth \ 'e-,'mith\ n 1: the entrepreneurial myth: the myth that most people who start small businesses are entrepreneurs 2: the fatal assumption that an individual who understands the technical work of a business can successfully run a business that does that technical work
Small business consultant and author Michael E. Gerber, with sharp insight gained from years of experience, points out how common assumptions, expectations, and even technical expertise can get in the way of running a successful business.
Gerber walks you through the steps in the life of a business—from entrepreneurial infancy through adolescent growing pains to the mature entrepreneurial perspective: the guiding light of all businesses that succeed—and shows how to apply the lessons of franchising to any business, whether or not it is a franchise. Most importantly, Gerber draws the vital, often overlooked distinction between working on your business and working in your business.
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Essentialism – Greg McKeown
The Way of the Essentialist involves doing less, but better, so you can make the highest possible contribution.
The Way of the Essentialist isn’t about getting more done in less time. It’s not about getting less done. It’s about getting only the right things done. It’s about challenging the core assumption of ‘we can have it all’ and ‘I have to do everything’ and replacing it with the pursuit of ‘the right thing, in the right way, at the right time’. It’s about regaining control of our own choices about where to spend our time and energies instead of giving others implicit permission to choose for us.
In Essentialism, Greg McKeown draws on experience and insight from working with the leaders of the most innovative companies in the world to show how to achieve the disciplined pursuit of less.
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The Prosperous Coach – Steve Chandler & Rich Litvin
A bestselling book for coaches looking to build a practice with a small number of high-performing, high-paying clients. The Prosperous Coach has helped thousands of coaches and consultants build their businesses by invitation and referral only.
Show your clients what they cannot see.
Say to your clients what no one else would dare to say. And you will have all the clients you ever desire.
Whether you are a new coach or you already have a six-figure coaching practice, The Prosperous Coach will show you how to:
• Access a set of tools you can use to begin creating your own clients immediately
• Sign clients you love while maintaining your integrity
• Match your unique skills and talents with the clients you serve
• Develop a system that works for you for referrals and new clients, time after time
• Make bold, life-changing proposals
• Move beyond the deep-seated beliefs that hold most coaches back from success for themselves and their clients
• Overcome—forever—the two levels of fear that coaches face
• Move from people-pleasing to powerful service
• Be a world-class coach with highly committed clients
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Book Yourself Solid - Michael Port
Book Yourself Solid reveals why self-promotion is a critical factor to success, giving you a unique perspective that makes this guide much more than an ordinary "how to" manual for getting more clients and raising a business profile.
Book Yourself Solid enables you to adopt the right promotional perspective and provides the strategies, techniques, and skills necessary to get more clients and increase profits. Through verbal and written exercises, you'll discover the keys to developing a strong marketing plan and brand image.
This book features unique, personalized, and updated social media marketing strategies for service professionals that provides new pricing models and sales strategies for simpler selling and delivers fresh networking and outreach strategies guaranteed to take only minutes a day.
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Boundaries for Leaders - Dr. Henry Cloud
In Boundaries for Leaders, Dr. Henry Cloud leverages his expertise of human behaviour, neuroscience, and business leadership to explain how the best leaders set boundaries within their organizations—with their teams and with themselves—to improve performance and increase employee and customer satisfaction.
In a voice that is motivating and inspiring, Dr. Cloud offers practical advice on how to manage teams, coach direct reports, and instill an organization with strong values and culture.
"Boundaries for Leaders: Take Charge of Your Business, Your Team, and Your Life" is essential reading for executives and aspiring leaders who want to create successful companies with satisfied employees and customers, while becoming more resilient leaders themselves.
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Jim Shopland
Certified Professional Business Coach
Jim helps small business owners re-kindle their passion, re-gain their energy, and re-define their purpose so they get up each morning knowing that their business matters.
With a 30-year career in sales, marketing, and merchandising in the health food, drug, grocery, and convenience store channels, he has experienced first-hand what it takes for products and services to be a success.
As a Certified Professional Business Coach, Jim helps Simplify Your Business and teach small business owners how to actually make money and spend more time with their families. He is thoroughly trained on the fundamentals of personal effectiveness and business effectiveness and brings a lifetime of experiences to the coaching relationship.
Jim was raised in a small family business household and his family has owned and operated small businesses in BC for more than 5 decades including construction, farming, retail, technology, and professional services.
Small, family, businesses have been challenged time and time again and have been asked to do more since the beginning of COVID, then many of them would normally have done in their lifetime. And many times, with little or no warning.
In 2011 Jim founded Shopland Health Connections along with his wife, Laurie, with a focus on people, relationships, and connections for natural product entrepreneurs. They now provide Business, Life & Wellness Coaching for their clients to expand in abundance and success in all areas of their life.
Drop Jim an email at: jim@shoplandhealth.ca and stay connected on Social Media @ShoplandHealth.
Are you thinking of becoming a business coach? Do you want to be part of a larger community of highly experienced and trained professional business coaches? If you want more info on becoming a PBCA Certified Professional Business Coach, contact us here and get started!