But most know Ben Crenshaw and Tiger Woods.

Likewise, few business owners have heard of business coaching.

But most know AT&T, the local car dealership or coffee shop.

Just as the great Masters champions have relied on great coaches to guidetheir approach to the game, more businesses are turning to business coachingto build their companies from the inside out.

And like the coaches who work behind the scenes of their players' success,good business coaches are behind the scenes of business "wins" -- whether onthe floor of the automobile showroom or in the realm of the executiveboardroom.

"As a category, business coaching is experiencing tremendous growth andtransformation," ActionCOACH Marketing Director Jodie Shaw said. "Businesscoaching is now recognized as a driver for business success."

Shaw oversees marketing efforts for ActionCOACH, world's leading businesscoaching firm. She cites figures that show the coaching industry as a wholegenerating more than $1 billion per year (of which ActionCOACH's share is morethan 20 percent).

"There are similarities between great champions and entrepreneurs," Shawsaid. "Both are highly driven and motivated. Great athletes also realize theyneed outside perspective to take their game to the next level.

"A great Business Coach provides perspective and direction -- and helpswith areas an owner may not know -- from team building to financial mastery."

Both Crenshaw and Woods credit coaching for improving their games.

In 1995, Crenshaw got lessons from a bed-bound Penick, who died beforeCrenshaw won the Masters a week later. Crenshaw referred to Penick as his"15th club" -- credit to the coach who gave him the insight to win.

Woods credits coaching for improving his game because he doesn't see "hisown swing." He is also a favorite going into this year's Masters.

"The sports world is full of athletes who never won a championship untilthey got the right coach," Shaw said. "Business is the same. A Business Coachcan mean the difference between success and failure."

ActionCOACH is the world's number one business coaching firm, with morethan 1,000 offices in 26 countries. To learn more about business coaching andActionCOACH, go to actioncoach.com.

SOURCE ActionCOACH