GROWTH AND SUSTAINABILITY KEY TO BUSINESS SUCCESS
STORY: KAT DUGGAN
PHOTOS: SUPPLIED
— THiNK Business Coaching owner shares her secrets behind successful business.
Business coach Catherine van der Meulen has a holistic approach to her work.
Establishing and maintaining a successful, growth-driven business requires much more than just a focus on profit margins, she says.
“My two biggest focuses are growth and business sustainability. My work is about building the growth and enabling business owners to hold onto that growth.”
Ofen that involves taking a step back from the business and taking time to reestablish a shared purpose within the organisaton and set small goals which align with that purpose.
Catherine recently moved to Marlborough from Sydney, and is working from her family home in the Awatere Valley in a bid to better align her work/life balance.
Her two children, aged 5 and 7 are enjoying a taste of the rural life at Seddon School, and working remotely
enables Catherine to work with clients from all over New Zealand.
She has a strong interest in the health & wellness, travel, experience, beauty, fashion, and lifestyle industries, but says whatever the industry, having regard for the greater good of the world is essential.
“The world doesn’t need more products and more consumption of stuff. If businesses are creating products and services that are truly needed by the world, that’s really important to me,” she says.
“I’m passionate about showing businesses how to create that growth and have that consistency of growth overtime to keep that business for generations to come.”
Clients are offered a complimentary one-hour inital session with Catherine to discuss their business needs, their goals and how she will go about supporting them to achieve their goals.
Following the initial consultation, Catherine works with clients to break large long term goals into smaller, more easily achieved steps.
“I help clients to navigate those goals, whether it be over a 12 month period, or three-month goals, it gives them a really narrow focus,” Catherine says.
“There are so many different things on the table and they often don’t know where to start, so it’s about navigating that and going, ‘this is the most important stepping stone’, it’s about navigating goals effectvely and using their time effectvely.”
THiNK Business Coaching is suitable for entrepreneurs, business founders, owners, and operators; small to medium-sized organisations and people who are motivated and open to learning new approaches.
“It’s for organisations that know what they want but may just need some external support to bring it to life,” Catherine says.
Having an outside view of an organisation allows Catherine to be impartial, looking at operations from a different perspective than those working within the business.
” I’m passionate about showing businesses how to create that growth and have that consistency of growth over time to keep that business for generations to come. “
“The other thing that’s really important to me is taking a holistic view of a business, where we take all stakeholders into account, including the team, the management team, the environment, customers, shareholders and
suppliers.
“It’s really working with everyone in a cohesive way and getting all stakeholders involved to create a long term goal, and partnerships are really important,” she says.
As an experienced businesswoman, part of the enjoyment for Catherine comes from learning about a range of different industries.
“I get to work with people from diverse backgrounds, in diverse industries and I get to acquire a lot of different knowledge in different areas … it’s supporting my own education,” she says.
As Catherine learns more about new industries and innovations, she’s helping clients to rediscover why they began their business journey and to recognise key growth areas for the future.
“I’m able to help them to have those ‘aha’ moments … I’m not coming up with the answers for them, it’s actually taking them through a process where they find that themselves, and when they find that you see this shine come over them,” she says.
“It’s about broadening their mind to what’s possible and empowering them that it is possible.”
Catherine conducts her sessions via video or phone calls.
Find out more about her work, and book your consultation at thinkcoachingnz.com.