If you have, or are seriously thinking about, starting your own consulting business, the most important piece of advice I can offer you is one that was given to me. That little gem was: “Think about what you’ve really enjoyed doing in your career, what got your juices flowing, and do that; focus on that in your business.”

When I found myself downsized out of an executive position at the age of 58, not ready to retire but wanting a change, I thought about my desire at different times over the years to start my own consulting business. I started the process by reaching out to a few colleagues who had already made this same transition successfully. One of the colleagues provided that golden nugget of advice. I then took the time to do just that, think about when I was happiest during my career — what really got my juices flowing, intellectually and emotionally. I came up with two key things. First, the engineer in me loved to solve problems. Second, I really enjoyed helping others in their development journey. Those two joys form the heart of the services I provide in my consulting practice.

How does all of this relate to coaching? Through my experience in coaching, it has become obvious to me that coaching someone in a one-on-one situation, using dynamic questioning and other proven techniques, may be the best and most rewarding experience of helping someone else solve their problems.

What fuels the “juice” in coaching?

As a member of the Trusted Advisors Network, which has been in the consulting business for more than 30 years and has over 250 affiliates across the U.S., I utilize the Trusted Advisors Coaching Model. The focus of this model is entirely on the clients, on their experiences and needs. The “juice” (for the coach) comes from being a guide for clients as they progress on their development journey. To help clients in reaching new levels of awareness and understanding, as they uncover their blind spots and are energized into right action that drives to the right results, is an incredible experience. It’s exhilarating and humbling. The “juice” for the clients comes from attaining these new levels of awareness and understanding that not only drive them to right actions and right results, but also can transform the way they approach problems going forward.

The “value” of a coach

What value does a coach bring to clients in a one-on-one coaching relationship? The coach’s role is to guide clients in their journey of growth and discovery. We do this by being authentic, creating a safe space for them to expand, and empowering them. By listening deeply and using dynamic inquiry to unlock their power, through “co-creation,” the coach and client are able to achieve more significant results together than either could achieve alone. This ultimately creates transformational change for the clients — transforming the way they solve problems.

I also previously noted that through the coaching process, the coach helps clients reach new levels of understanding and awareness as they uncover blind spots and are energized into right action that drives right results. What is right action? The TA Coaching Model defines right action as “when the right people are doing the right things in the right way at the right time for the right reasons to achieve the right results.” The five desired outcomes of this coaching model (for clients) are awareness, purpose, well-being, competence, and results.

It’s easy to see the value for clients in this type of relationship with a coach. As clients begin to experience these transformative benefits from coaching they want more and are motivated to continue. They can also become the coach’s best marketing through testimonials and references. In this manner, a coach can build a solid book of regular, ongoing coaching clients in their practice. These relationships are mutually beneficial. The clients are continuing to grow as they reach new levels of awareness, and further developing as they progress on their journey. The coach experiences a deep sense of fulfillment from being a part of this process with clients as they are able to simultaneously build a dependable revenue stream through this growing coaching practice.

An example of successful coaching

The client in this case is a good friend of mine. We’ve known each other most of our lives. He’s the senior operations executive at a sizeable distribution company on the west coast. I never intended to “sell him” or even saw him as a potential client. We were just having a conversation a few years ago as I was starting my business. I was fired up, excited about what I was doing. He quickly began to share some things that were going on in his business. As the conversation continued, we both began to realize that I might be able to help him.

The first steps we took were to set up a weekly call for us to talk and establish a customized leadership-development program to develop his next generation of leaders (future branch managers). I initially offered him the weekly calls for free (not something I would recommend as a standard course). After two of our calls, he insisted that I charge him for the consultations — he was getting too much out of them. These weekly calls have continued for three years now. Many times on these calls, I have witnessed my friend (client) having “Aha.” moments. He will excitedly land on a new understanding of a situation, seeing it from an entirely different angle than he had before. Some of the results he’s achieved include streamlined processes in his purchasing department while reorganizing it and creating a culture that will attract and retain talent; restructuring the organization of the branches, while developing regional managers who can take on more decision-making responsibility; and replacing the GM and sales managers in one of the firm’s key territories.

I want to stress that my friend did these things. I got “the top spinning” for him — by asking questions (utilizing dynamic inquiry). I asked questions such as: what’s most important to you and your business right now?; what would success look like?; and if there were no constraints, what would you do? And I asked follow-up questions, like why is that important?; what’s holding you back from doing that?; and, tell me more about that.

For my friend he’s been able to realize results that he’s been after for years. For me as his coach, being a part of this creative process and watching him achieve ever-deeper levels of understanding has been incredibly rewarding and has created a strong core client for my business.  

Mark A. O’Donnell is founder and owner of Operations Excellence, LLC, a consulting firm that helps small- to mid-sized businesses and organizations with anything from boosting productivity to planning leadership transitions. He is a certified business coach.