Business Mentoring and Business Coaching are terms often used interchangeably, because both mentoring and coaching help business owners achieve more. Yet, they are quite different as I will explain.
Business Coaching
Business Coaching is more about helping the business owner with skill acquisition. A Business Coach focuses on developing particular skills, to help the business owner achieve short, medium, and long-term business and personal goals, and it is very much performance-based.
For example, if your business does not have systems in place, then a business coach can help you acquire and develop this skill in many areas of your business. In the majority of cases, though, a Business Coach may have little to no knowledge of your actual profession, which can be a limitation in some circumstances.
For example, if you need a better Orthotic Delivery System, then this could be a problem if your Business Coach is a Physiotherapist who has never prescribed or fitted a custom orthotic.
However, even without specific knowledge on podiatry, a good Business Coach is still an asset to your business.
Business Mentoring
A Business Mentor, however, is a person that has particular business skills, and professional expertise, with a certain level of experience, who is prepared to share what they have learnt with others of the same profession.
Therefore business mentoring is about transferring knowledge from a more experienced person to a lesser-experienced person.
In simple terms, a Mentor is someone you learn from, whereas a Coach is someone you learn with, and therefore a Mentor can be a Business Coach, but a Business Coach cannot be a Mentor unless they share the same profession.
Marketing Workshops
When I run my Podiatry Marketing Workshops, I am definitely wearing my Podiatry Mentor hat, not my business coaching hat. All the examples I use in my workshops are 100% podiatry related, which is why I promote these events as 'Podiatry Only' events.
I will use examples of other marketing ideas I have seen in other professions and industries, but my goal is always to relate it to podiatry.
You Can Outgrow Your Mentor & Coach
Over the years, I have had numerous Business Coaches & Mentors. Never think that once you have a Mentor or a Business Coach that you're stuck with them forever.
Things change, people change, circumstances change, and most importantly, you change, and that is a good thing.
If you've considered a Podiatry Business Mentor check out my MENTORING page. Otherwise, if you have any questions, please feel free to send me an email at
FREE DOWNLOADS:
12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door.
ORDER MY BOOK
It's No Secret There's Money In Podiatry
