Business Coach for Owners: Guided Into Action
We need to find a coach so that we can be guided into action. Action is required to make any headway on your business.
Why Action Needs a Guide
Most of us already know what the issues are. We actually know. Most owners and operators can tell you what's broken in the business before you finish asking. What we don't do is move. Knowing without doing is just a more informed way of staying stuck. A coach is the person who gets you from knowing to doing.
So what's the hope? Hope is an escape. Escape from marketing. Escape from modern conventions. Hope that work can be more enjoyable when it isn't a forced activity.
I want to become a coach almost as a mutual accountability action. I'm not coming at this from above. I'm coming at it from alongside. I'm a working partner, not another layer of management. If I'm guiding you into action, I'd better be taking action too.
Impact is freedom. That's the whole point.
What I Can Contribute
I've seen thousands of people at all stages. That's a lot of stories. Stories of mistakes repeated. Stories of what it actually takes to be fed up enough to change. I know that moment, because I've been in it.
I also know what boundaries did for me. Realizing where my own boundaries needed to be is a big part of how I got here. I went from a layoff to 50% more income, and that opportunity came as a result of my network. Not a better résumé. People.
The Pattern We All Repeat
Here's what I keep seeing. We try to be secretive about money. Owners do it too. And then we realize we all do the same "normal" stuff with money at the same point. Same mistakes, same timing.
We live to work. We delay maintenance, and delayed maintenance eventually costs more. That's true of a house or a car, and it's just as true of equipment, systems, and people in a business. Buy used, always. And underneath all of it is one simple question: it is your money or your life. A business that runs you is the same trap with a bigger sign out front.
Why Story Beats Everything
Let's talk about the human brain. It wants to survive and thrive, but its real goal is to conserve calories. That means it's looking for the easy path every time.
So if you confuse, you lose. A story is the most powerful tool to compel the brain. That's why we need to clarify the message as much as possible, whether it's the pitch you hand a customer or the plan you hand your team. Every word has to contribute to the message. If a word doesn't contribute, it goes.
The Marketing Truth
Here's something worth exposing. We pay to be marketed to in all aspects of our daily walk. Actually pay for it. Why do we do this?
Because marketing sells hope. It leads people to "I can live better." It promises to show people how to live and be happy with their job, to clear resentment about personal circumstances, and to put money in the hands of earners and not the bank, so people can enjoy their wants in life without regret.
That's the hope people are buying. I want to help deliver the real version of it.
The Impact I'm After
The impact I want to have is knowledge, confidence, sensibility, and a strong network. I want to tie owners, operators, and leaders together in support.
After the first time we meet, I want to be the interesting person who comes at problems with immediate thoughts. When I think about what people say after meeting me, it's this: I open the experience. The guy is funny and has great points, and he's not afraid to say what he doesn't know.
Who I Want to Work With
So who do I want, or prefer, to work with? Owners, operators, and leaders.
Established businesses with stable operations and a consistent track record
Owners and leaders who are above-average earners
Frustrated owners and leadership teams who don't understand why the business isn't further ahead
Owners who think it's too late to start planning, organizing, or changing
Owners who think it is too early to start
Businesses whose income supports an Instagram-type lifestyle, and owners who want to make sure it keeps doing so
Owners who know the risks of a downturn and want to be ready
Business professionals
Owners and operators who need to get out of emergency situations (cash flow squeezes, staffing gaps, operational fires)
Owners who want to stabilize themselves and the business in the event of circumstances
I want to work with what is already there. I do not want to rebuild your business, and I do not want to rebuild you. You already built something. Let's work with it.
Sometimes that looks like a coach on call. Sometimes it looks like a part-time, embedded leadership role, a fractional CEO working alongside you and your people. Either way, you get a working partner who understands your operation.
Where I'm Coming From
My background is 20 years of working to get out of poor decisions. I'm relatively successful at earning. But my choices have required me to keep working harder than I should to get caught up. That's exactly why I can sit across the table from you and not flinch. I'm not guessing what it costs. I'm reporting it.
So let's find the coach. Let's get guided into action. If that sounds like you and your business, let's talk.
Chris Eckols has been helping businesses for years.
He spent more than a decade as a Navy logistics officer, including a year in Baghdad supporting Iraqi reconstruction, then led a 143-person distribution operation for a national retailer and managed technology contracts as a strategic sourcing manager. Since 2021, he has served as CEO of AIT Environmental Technology. He is also a Master Financial Coach and a past president of the Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach..
Through Eckols Partner Solutions, Chris works alongside owners, operators, and leaders as a coach and fractional CEO.