All businesses require professional help and expertise to get the business started on the right path. Your goal, as a business owner, is to minimize risks and ensure that your business can maximize its potential. When you have decided that you need help with planning or managing your business, you will be confronted with a common dilemma on where to get help: small business consultant or business coach?

Contrary to popular belief, a coach and a consultant offer two completely different types of services. Depending on your business needs, you need to hire the corresponding expertise to get your business where it needs to be.

A small business coach offers the same benefits to your company as a sports coach to an athlete or sports team. Their goal is to bring out the best in an individual or team to reach its potential. Most business coaches look at things through the bigger picture. When you examine things from a wider perspective, it enables you to see the tiny details that make up the whole. And if you do not take good care of these tiny details, you won’t be able to move forward or inspire your business to grow.

The concept behind hiring professional business coaching is to develop the potential within you so you can perform your best. If you can develop yourself as a business owner, it will only be a matter of time until it branches out to your business. Small business consultants can achieve this but they use a different approach and focus. The business coach will be helping you out every step of the process and show their support, in case you get stuck.

A small business consulting service works out differently. This is more of a partnership than a support team. This kind of service is provided by experts who have knowledge on planning, managing, and operating a business. You will be spending time with your consultant to perform thorough discussion and analysis of your business’ plan of action. The focus of this one-on-one consultation is to complete a project and move the business forward.

Another benefit to tapping a small business consulting service is the ability to gain new internet marketing techniques and skills. Ultimately, the consultant is available to teach you how you can do things better and achieve better results.

To fully understand the difference, it is important to use an analogy. A coach will enable you to gain some insight as to why you are interested in learning how to ride a bike, while riding next to you until you know how to ride it yourself. Meanwhile, a consultant is someone who can pinpoint you to the best bike to use when riding. They can also teach you about the various techniques to ride a bike efficiently, and in some instances ride it for you, when you are unable to do so.

Can’t decide whether to hire a small business consultant or coach? Make sure to take advantage of small business consulting services that provide these two types of service. Indeed, this is referred to as a hybrid service wherein you can get coaching and consulting for your small business. This will maximize the value of your investment and boost your chances for success.