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| I’m
not sure why, but mention a business coach to me and I think of my third-grade
gym teacher. She might have been a drill sergeant in her previous career,
and I’m quite certain she didn’t own a tube of lipstick.
She yelled a lot, and if we slowed down during the required laps around
the gym, we would incur her wrath in the form of push-ups or other heinous
torture activities. It was something to be endured, but it was not motivating
and certainly beyond the realm of inspiring. Yolanda Duperret is a business coach with ActionCOACH, a global franchise. When you engage her services, she says she is focused on you and your business. She seems light years away from my third-grade gym teacher. With a warm and genuine smile, and yes, a subtle shade of raspberry lipstick, inspiration seems like a reality. But if you think inspiration is not enough to really make an impact on your business’s bottom line, you might want to listen to Yolanda’s step-by-step methodology to business growth. I quickly realized that I was talking with a business-savvy professional. Yolanda’s experience is drawn from her previous career as an international banker. With a command of four languages, she has worked and lived internationally. She says she has applied her skills in the financial, marketing, sales, and team building arenas. Leveraging her successful corporate career, Yolanda decided it was time to move to the next level and use her creativity and knowledge to establish her own business. The opportunity presented itself when she researched the ActionCOACH franchise. “I called the Colorado representative just to see if we could meet over coffee. As it turned out, his office was right next door. I met with him that day.” Yolanda continues, “ActionCOACH has a wonderful strong culture. It’s all about helping people. That’s the part I really love. It is so incredible to see how you can positively impact people’s lives. My mantra is ‘saving lives one company at a time,’ and I really believe that.” And where is that impact as keenly felt as in a person’s work, especially a business owner who carries the full responsibility of running her own company? “I help businesses get to the next level by working with the business owner in terms of profitability and cash flow. The goal for you, as a business owner, is to have a commercial, profitable enterprise that works without you.” Without you? Yes. “How we achieve that is by teamwork and synergies to free up the business owner’s time so she can eventually step away from working so hard in the day-to-day parts of the business. Another way of looking at it is that the business owner can work on her business instead of in her business. She can focus on the business strategy.” The process Yolanda uses looks at your business at several levels and applies six steps. She says the model works for any business across the board, whatever the size, anywhere around the world. She works with you to master the financials, understanding what your business is making each day so you can begin with a solid foundation. Then, working together, she explains that you address time and scheduling using a time study, resulting in efficient time strategies and structure. You’ll focus on consistent customer service and delivery of services. And finally, what are the written goals—your business plan? What do you want to achieve and how are you going to do that? As your coach, Yolanda helps you work on that plan. There is also a business chassis consisting of five components. Yolanda explains, “We don’t focus on end results; we focus on the strategies to impact the end results.” Conversion rate strategies turn more leads into customers. What are the strategies you can implement to increase the average sale per transaction? Do you really understand what your unique market niche is so you stand out from the competition and are not relying on competition based on price? “Then we can start the strategies that can grow the cash flow,” she says. Yolanda adds that the methods and teachings of all of this business knowledge are presented to you within a working relationship. She prioritizes that relationship. “It is a long-term relationship. I know my client’s birthday, her children’s names, her fears.” She establishes a rapport with her client and understands her mindset. What does it take mentally to get to the next step? “The relationship is very important. A consultant will work with you, generally in one specific area, and actually do the work for you. But as a coach, I help you do the work—doing brings understanding. Maybe there is something you don’t like, so we work on that barrier together.” What’s that saying—”Give a man a fish, feed him for a day, teach a man to fish, feed him for life?” That’s the concept, Yolanda shares. And I see her genuine enthusiasm as her smile broadens. Coaching does several things, she goes on to say. “First, it brings clarity and focus to your goals as a business owner. Then there is knowledge and the ability to implement the plan. And finally, what business owners find most valuable is accountability. Business owners who admit that they have someone there to push them along greatly increases their chances that they will achieve their results. Like a sports coach, I am there following up with you. You know I’m going to be calling you to see if things were done. It is a key and critical component. That’s why we call it coaching. We focus on the business but in the process of doing that, there is personal growth.” Yolanda has several programs for her clients. The average program takes nine months to a year, but it is largely dependent on what her client is trying to achieve. Sometimes a client will achieve her goals and will be so pleased with her accomplishments that she will want to continue and create new goals. Yolanda also provides two-day “intensives” called “Business Rich” and a peer group called “Profit Club.” Profit Club allows business owners to focus on one strategy per meeting, and they also have the opportunity to exchange ideas. Yolanda offers a free one-time consultation to help you understand how she is “saving lives one company at a time.” Unlike with my third-grade gym teacher, no laps are required. You can contact Yolanda at 303-669-0799, or visit her Web site at www.actioncoach.com/yolandaduperret. |
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