Cathy Liska Many cities now have entrepreneur centers, start-up incubators, or other locations that cater to start-ups and entrepreneurs.  Many of these offer boot camps and other sources of inspiration and business help for entrepreneurs. What is missing is coaching. They offer mentors and mentoring, and mentoring is much different than coaching. Mentoring is someone showing someone else how to do something.   Coaching is where the ideas, dreams, goals, or way forward comes from and are decided by the client, the coach has a process, tools, and techniques to partner with the client. The idea and concept of coaching fits in with entrepreneurs since entrepreneurs guide their own destiny and what they want to do as they move towards their goals. They come up with and have their own ideas of what they want to do so a coach helps them plan.  
What is the benefit of coaching?  An individual who has a coach versus a mentor or trainer comes to their own answer with the help of their coach.  The success rate of someone who has a goal or dream is higher if that person came up with the way forward versus getting the way forward from someone else. Using a coach to explore possibilities, then create solutions moving towards, or forward, then designing actions to meet or get to a desired outcome is enhanced when partnering with a coach. The coach is also a sounding board so the client has the time and space to think out loud, while the coach clarifies and expands thinking with powerful questions to support the client in exploring their ideas.
Coaching has a fit like any other self-help or forward-thinking idea. The benefit with coaching is that the ideas, dreams, goals, or way forward comes from and are decided by the client. The thoughts and ideas come directly from the client in his or her words. A way forward, meeting a goal, or getting to one’s dream comes to fruition when it is their own idea and own thought. The opportunity for this dream or goal coming true goes up exponentially because it is the client’s idea, goal, or dream.
Graduates often share that they learned a great deal from the Certified Professional Coach program at the Center for Coaching Certification and it helped them moved forward in the job or life. While everyone is different, coach training will help you move forward with your entrepreneurial aspirations and help tie everything together for you because it provides a powerful process for exploring options, setting goals, and creating strategies.
