As far as business coaching goes the only thing that matters to us is what our clients would like to achieve with their business, not what anyone else might do with it. Alignment in business coaching terms is the linking of the personal goals of the business owner(s) with their business goals.

This enables us to develop a strategic plan for the business that is relevant to your personal goals and will determine the focus of our energies and the specific strategies that we need to employ in each area of the business.

If your personal goals will be achieved by having a £5 million business that grows gradually, runs efficiently, is valued by clients and employees alike, with you remaining at the helm for the next 20 years, then that's what we'll help you do. If, however, your personal goals mean we need to build a £10 million business and sell it in 5 years so that you can move to France then we need to write a different plan!

Getting absolute clarity on your personal goals is one of the most powerful aids to building a successful business, a business that actually gives you what you want from life. Our clients tell us that the alignment process is one of the most inspiring, liberating and exciting things they have experienced.

The number one reason for people not achieving on their good intentions is simply lack of accountability. And business owners by definition do not have anyone to hold them accountable.

Accountability is one of the most important elements of any successful business coaching relationship. Once we have aligned your personal and business goals then we need to create a plan of action, with agreed timeframes against individual tasks.

As well as offering support, guidance and perspective throughout a business coach will also hold you accountable to simply 'do what you said you were going to do' and deliver against your plan. We'll deal with distractions, procrastination and excuses, and keep you focused on your objectives.

Accountability quite simply means results, faster.

Vision, Mission and Values (VMV) are critical for any business that wants to achieve substantial growth.

Commercially, a vision clearly defines the purpose of the company and gives it a sense of direction in what it intends to achieve. From a vision of what the company aims to achieve will come a 'mission' of how the company intends to get there. A mission is a precise description of the company's key purpose. It is a definition of why the company exists. Values represent the core priorities in the company's culture, including what drives individuals' priorities and how they behave on a daily basis.

All successful large organisations have a form of Vision, Mission and Values in place and see them as critical to their future success, why should it be any different for an SME? If everybody knows where the company is going, what it needs to do to get there and how they as individuals must behave along the way then you have very solid foundations for growth.

Next Level can help you clearly define your vision which will in turn lead you to create your mission and values. This process can be quite challenging as for your vision to have any long-term value then it has to have real meaning, and it has to resonate with the people in your organisation. It cannot simply be a well constructed tag line that looks good in a frame or reads well on a marketing piece.