Fast Track Coaching

Welcome to the Fast Track Coaching web site for business owners. This site details the solutions provided by Mark Laing of Fast Track Coaching to assist business owners to focus their businesses to achieve their goals and outstanding results.

Mark developed the FORMIDABLE Business program and provides his coaching service through Fast Track Coaching - a dedicated coaching service only for small to medium sized businesses. Our mission is to assist our clients to work smarter in their businesses. The coaching service is based on a practical set of proven services that are action oriented to ensure the clients resolve problems and achieve their goals.

Small business owners often work in an environment that requires long working hours with limited scope to work with others in resolving issues and building their businesses. Fast Track Coaching offers ‘hands on’ solutions based on the FORMIDABLE Business program that are tailored to the needs of our clients.

As a business owner, are you facing any of the following issues;

• The business is not performing near its full potential and you want it to produce much better results
• The business has no clear direction for its future development
• You are not spending enough time on the High Payoff Activities that would make your business more successful
• Employees could be significantly more productive and proactive in their roles
• You are not managing or communicating with your existing clients at the level you would like
• You are not taking advantage of business opportunities that could provide higher growth and profitability
• Relationships with clients and other key stakeholders are not being proactively managed
• The business does not have momentum towards the achievement of clearly defined goals
• Innovation is not being utilised to create competitive advantage or to add value to clients
• Your business is not being differentiated from competitors on its key strengths
• Accountability is lacking for the key functions of the business.
• Leverage is not being used to ensure the highest possible return from the assets of the business
• Your expectations of the business are too low and you are not realising the full potential of the business
• You are not in control of the business and in many ways the business is controlling your life
• You want to take decisive action to access ideas and strategies that will assist you to work smarter – but you are unsure where to start or how to implement the necessary changes
• You know there has to be a better way to manage and lead your business
• You have not created a unique success formula for your business
• You do not have balance in your life
• You know its time to take action to resolve these issues!

These statements are directed at issues that are of common concern to business owners. They can be summarised as – ‘Are you in control of the business, or is the business out of control?'

Too many business owners feel powerless in the face of constant change, increasing competition, confusing government regulation, the day-to-day grind of running a business, problems with staff, and countless other challenges. There is a general feeling of not being in control.

The real problem is that many business owners allow their businesses to evolve this way. They become reactive rather than proactive. They see change as being a disruption rather than an opportunity. They may be very active working in the business, but often when it comes to providing leadership and taking higher level actions, they become spectators. The strongest indicator of this destructive mindset is when you find yourself constantly complaining about an issue but not taking any action to minimise or eliminate it. Typical examples of these issues are whether to take action with a poor performing employee or having to make a difficult decision.

As a business coach I have witnessed situations where the owner is not in control of their business. They are in effect being controlled by the business. Their day is spent reacting to problems and working on low value activities. Whilst there can be many reasons for this happening, it effectively gets back to the operator not having a clearly defined role and set of goals to work towards achieving. There are no boundaries to stop them from leaving the ‘driver’s seat’ and being trapped in the ‘engine room’. Do you fit into this category?

What do you need to do?
You provide leadership in your business by establishing a clear direction for the business through clearly defined outcomes and a schedule of activities for their accomplishment. You focus your personal efforts on high payoff activities. You lead by example and have a process for implementing positive change.

If your business is not working for you, then coaching will identify the issues in your businesses that are holding you back from achieving your goals and being in the ‘driver’s seat’. More importantly, you will have access to a range of practical actions and strategies that will allow you to take greater control of the business and achieve your goals.

If you are not proactive in providing leadership for your business, then the danger is you take on all the characteristics of an employee – the business is not working for you, you are working for the business. Make your business work hard for you.

Business coaching is a practical approach to assisting small business operators in managing their businesses. Fast Track Coaching works with the operator to overcome short term problems and to focus on developing medium to long term strategies to achieve the owner's goals. As each business is unique, Fast Track Coaching tailors the business coaching process to meet the client's specific requirements.

Each business coach is in the performance industry and is only retained whilst he or she is making a contribution that is valued by the client. Each Fast Track Coaching contract has a 30-day notice of termination to ensure our service meets the client's needs.

In the past many small business owners have attended training courses to assist them with topics such as business planning and marketing. The content of these courses is often very good, but the owner returns to their business and finds that they do not have the time to implement what they have learnt. Business coaching overcomes this problem because it is an ongoing relationship that focuses on the achievement of the client's goals.

Business coaching has the benefit of being 'hands on'- the coach is with the owner working in their business. This brings discipline and accountability to the process. The role of the coach is to ensure that action is taken and that the client has a partner who can help them to implement change and stay on track towards their goals.