The names of all clients on this website have been changed to protect the confidentiality and anonymity of the actual clients. The Client Profile is based on an actual client but some facts have been omitted or changed to protect the actual client's identity.

Business Owner

Don left the corporate world to start his own business after more than 15 years of success as a marketing executive for large companies. His skills and experience spanned the full range of marketing functions and he felt certain that small businesses would see the benefit of having someone of his experience to support their efforts to grow and diversify their businesses. After his first year in his own business, Don was not as successful as he had planned and was questioning why he was unable to grow his own business the way he had expected.

Don met Marti Benjamin, MBA, Professional Certified Coach, at a networking event and decided that Small Business Coaching was a great way to tap into another professional’s business expertise to think through the issues he was facing in owning his own marketing agency. After their initial Small Business Coaching Session, Don set the goal to develop a two-year business plan, something he had previously avoided doing. In exploring the resistance to writing a business plan, Don learned that he felt he didn't know enough to write a good business plan and didn't want to look foolish.

Delving deeper into the issue, Don realized that he was avoiding activities in his business that were unknown or uncomfortable for him such as charging for consultations, invoicing regularly and holding to the agreed upon fees. His first assignment was to calculate how much revenue he had given up in the past three months; it turned out to be enough to hire a bookkeeping service to handle the tasks for him. By outsourcing the billing and collection tasks, Don was able to delegate a task that drained his energy and gave up revenue.

Don and Marti set up a schedule for Don to complete a major section of the business plan each week and they reviewed his progress in each Coaching Session. Marti asked Don probing questions to help him define his competition, his unique market position, his business opportunities and his personal satisfaction. The business plan was completed in eight weeks and Don began to use it to guide him.

Marti continues to coach Don to achieve his business goals and his level of personal satisfaction as an independent professional. Don described Marti as his "thinking partner, keeping me focused and honest with myself about what I'm doing in my business." Don said that his business life is more financially and personally rewarding and feels more natural to him. He feels more confident and has a clearer picture of where he's going and how he will get there.

Business Executive

Esther holds the CFO position in an innovative healthcare company that is planning an initial public offering within the next year. She has been with the company for about three years and has worked very hard to support the CEO through a period of rapid growth and the acquisition of two smaller companies.

Esther is excited about the future prospect for the company and she derives her energy from the vision of building a successful enterprise. She has always found her work to be gratifying and interesting but recently things seem to be rougher than she'd like. She has received feedback that her colleagues and direct reports find her to be very strong in her knowledge of corporate finance at the same time they say she is difficult to work with. It was reported by the CEO that she seemed uncaring and aloof, too harsh and abrupt and didn't seem to value the suggestions and ideas that others offered.

Esther came to Business Coaching feeling puzzled by the feedback and ready and willing to examine her leadership style. She set a goal of improving her communication skills by listening astutely to others and explaining the reasons behind her proposals and decisions. Esther's Business Coach, Marti Benjamin, MBA, Professional Certified Coach, observed her in meetings of the management team and meetings with her direct reports and provided feedback. Together Esther and Marti devised strategies for her to improve her communication skills and developed an action plan. Esther reported her progress and explored the results of her attempts to listen to others and explain her thought process.

Through the Coaching process, Esther gained new insight into her style of leadership and had a safe place to experiment with new skills. She began noticing the impact she had on others in a new way and recognized ways to be more effective.

The CEO described her progress as "very positive."

Esther continues Business Coaching with new goals to further develop her leadership style to be more inclusive and to share decision-making when possible.

Medical Office Team

The Premiere Medical Office is the Internal Medicine practice of two physicians, Dr. Smith and Dr. Jones. The two Internists have been in practice in their hometown for ten years and employ a staff of ten, including a Clinical Administrator and an Office Administrator. The doctors have ambitious goals for their practice and strive to operate it like the best small businesses.

Drs. Smith and Jones engage their entire staff in planning the business goals and have established regular staff meetings to communicate their vision for the business and report on the progress that is being made. They had worked with a Medical Practice Consultant who helped them organize the business aspects of the practice, but they felt they needed help developing the relationships and motivation of the staff.

Dr. Smith met Marti Benjamin, MBA, Professional Certified Coach, through a friend who suggested that they meet to explore how Small Business Coaching might help the Premiere Medical Office meet their goals for growth, service innovation and profitability.

Marti was retained to provide a package of individual and team coaching services for the doctors and the administrators. She began the Team Coaching by reviewing the vision for the business, along with an assessment of each individual team member and their contribution to the overall goals. Using the StrengthFinder® profile (developed by the Gallup Organization), Marti helped the team to understand how each person operated when they were at their best. The Team realized that collectively they had the skills they needed to achieve their dream of a 3-site medical practice, with six physicians, within two years.

In Team Coaching, the key members of the group committed to their roles and tasks and used one another and the group as a whole for accountability, support and focus on the specific actions that they determined would move them toward their goals. When a member of the team encountered a problem, Marti helped them understand what the real barrier was and to address it through the team. When a team member failed to meet an obligation, the Team Coaching was used for accountability to reinforce the commitment, realize the outcome of the failed commitment and address the process for the future. Marti served as an objective observer, pointing out inconsistencies or areas where action was either not being completed or was leading to an outcome different than the one expected.

In individual coaching sessions, Marti supported individual team members in addressing their specific goals and obligations. She used the coaching skills of brainstorming, asking probing questions, challenging self-limiting assumptions, implementing supportive structures and enhancing leadership skills. She helped them identify the qualities that would be most important to their individual and collective success, the things they would need to learn to grow the business and the actions that would be most productive to leverage their resources. She maintained the vision of the medical practice they aspired to and reminded them of their goals when they became overwhelmed or uncertain about how to proceed.

At the end of one year of Team and Individual Coaching, the Premiere Medical Group is ahead of their Business Plan and has commenced construction on their second site. The Team and Individual Coaching continue, and the leaders are excited to see what they have been able to accomplish with the help and support of Small Business Coaching provided by Marti Benjamin.