The definitions of business coach, consultant and mentor are briefly described below and should clearly indicate the direct differences.

business mentoring

A mentor will often be a highly skilled person with many years of business experience who understands the complexities of running a business. Mentors are often unpaid and, in most cases, are friends of the current business owner or managers. Alternatively, they could be working for small government-run organizations that offer mentoring support for local businesses. These types of mentors are used more in start-ups when people are unsure of the basics of running a business and need support and guidance to get off the ground.

job consultation

A consultant is a paid outsourced person who will have many years of experience and problem solving knowledge and skills that many staff working in companies will not have. They will often be adept at seeing outside the box and being able to offer various solutions to a problem that normal management will not be able to see. This is because they are problem solvers for a living, and so if they are good at it, they must have many years of experience. Also, a consultant will focus much more on solving the problem directly rather than coaching or teaching current staff how they came to the conclusion, which is a big difference between coaching and consulting.

business coach

A trainer will help whoever they are training to not only understand the new concepts of a potential problem, but will also cause the person to come up with solutions on their own by asking thoughtful questions. Essentially, a coach will guide them to the correct answer, however, the manager or whoever is being coached will be the one to figure out the solutions. This is very popular because it actually improves the skill set of current staff in problem solving, which is why it has grown in popularity.

The question of whether a company needs a business coach is difficult to answer, but what is clear is that it is a good way to solve problems and also improve and grow the current management skill set. So, in summary, if a business is struggling with one problem or another and current managers are struggling to resolve it, then it may be worth talking to a coach about possible options.