An Experienced Team
We are a team of self-made successful entrepreneurs, business owners and former-executives with a passion for both business and people. We come from very different backgrounds and walks of life but our paths crossed and our shared value of ‘people over profit’ is what has brought us together.
Of course ‘profit is sanity’ as the saying goes, but when a business becomes too profit focussed, it can often overlook its people and relationships. Both of which are the heart of how a good business is run.
We have a combined 45 years of hands-on business experience in a variety of both product and service industries. We have tried and tested tools to help business owners organize their thoughts and focus their time (as well as their team’s)! We use active listening and ‘questions thinking’ to provoke awareness and to challenge people. And we always take a very people and relationship-orientated approach, putting our clients first and truly listening to what is important to them.
We firmly believe that business is the vehicle which moves the world forward; and it is people that drive business.
Our mission is twofold:
- To enable people. Whether by being an active listening partner, a sounding board for ideas and suggestions, a mirror held up to help individuals discover themselves and unlock their true potential. Or by providing our knowledge, our experience and our wisdom to enable people to move forward and take their business to the next level of success.
- To challenge people. Just as diamonds are formed under pressure, so too are people. We want to help people become the best versions of themselves. We want businesses to constantly strive for better.
“Society flourishes when people plant trees under whose shade they will never sit” - Greek proverb
Ultimately, we want to plant seeds of positive change in people, so that they can flourish and so we can all leave the world a better place than when we came into it.
Serving people
We believe that service to others is one of the greatest honours in life and so dedicate ourselves to this cause. Strong leadership revolves around serving people and by doing this, you bring out the best in people.
How do we achieve this?
We are compassionate and understanding.
We are patient and tolerant.
We demonstrate good leadership as well as empowering leaders.
We are practical and organized.
Always Learning
We live in an ever-changing landscape of an ever-changing world. Life is a journey, where the destination merely paves the way for new experiences and opportunities to add to one’s learning. We take pride in staying curious and constantly learning new things as students in our the journey of our own lives.
How do we achieve this?
We have a thirst for knowledge that cannot be quenched.
We read books and articles. We listen to podcasts and audiobooks. We watch videos, ted talks, presentations and lectures.
We get out there and try things out. We gain experience by doing and being.
We follow a self-development learning plan.
We are always working on improving our areas of weakness.
Wisdom = knowledge + experience
Providing Value
We will go above and beyond to assist you in your journey. We will listen to your issues and pain points, partner with you and support you to help you achieve your goals and your vision. We hope to give you a boost, no matter what stage your business is at. We want you to receive exceptional value and feel that you are receiving an excellent return on your investment.
How do we achieve this?
We genuinely care about our clients, their wellbeing, their happiness and success. But we also respect their journey.
We actively listen. We use questions thinking and ask difficult questions. Then we listen some more.
We act as a thinking partner for clients and help them to explore ideas
We offer our wisdom when it is asked, provide knowledge and share our own experiences but always putting the client first and if it is beneficial for them.
Ecological Commerce
Business and people are an ecosystem that forms an ecological community whose broader impacts should be considered and addressed. We genuinely care about the planet and the impact that people and business have on it. We like to work with clients who also share this value and understand that business and life, are about much more than just a bunch of numbers on a balance sheet.
How do we achieve this?
We assess our own ecological impact and do our best to limit any negative impacts
We like to work with businesses who also assess their own impact
We value people and integrity over profit
Meet Our Team
Professional bio - the ‘official’ bit
My passion for coaching started at a young age. When I was 15, I took a sports leadership course and was given a children’s badminton club to coach. In my first two years, I grew the club from 12 players to well over 100.
This passion continued throughout school and I went on to university and completed a BA with Honours in Sports Leadership. At age 20, before I’d even graduated, I was offered the position of Operations Manager for a start-up franchise company where I was taught to train franchisees how to operate a business.
When I was 21 I went self-employed, purchased and operated my own franchise territory and became a business consultant. My first consulting job saw me flying to Australia to train up a new Master Franchisee there.
Over the course of the 15 years that followed I continued my sports coaching (both students and trainers), I travelled the world and taught numerous people how to operate their own franchise business in various countries including China, India, Saudi Arabia, Australia, New Zealand to name but a few. In 2012 I took a job in Canada and helped that startup company grow to a network of over 330 unit franchisees with a group revenue of more than $40 million. I was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2016 and in 2019 the company won both the International Franchise Association’s prestigious ‘Grand Franchise Award’ as well as the British Franchise Association’s ‘Franchisor of the Year’.
At tail end of 2019, I left my role with my head held high, to go self-employed once again.
Today, I combine my passion for coaching, business and supporting others in their endeavours through my coaching and consultancy practice.
My Highlights & Achievements
- I have coached people of all ages, from 18-month year old preschool children, to young-adult coaches and franchisees as well as people many years my senior.
- I coached sports for 15+ years
- I owned and operated a multi-unit franchise for over 8 years
- I sold my unit franchises and made a healthy profit
- I have been a property investor and Landlord since 2010
- I have over 10 years experience in training and supporting people to operate their own business
- I was the COO of an international, multiple award-winning company with a group turnover of more than $40 million
Personal bio
I come from working class roots, and hard work is a part of my DNA. I was born and grew up in a town called Reading in the UK. I always enjoyed playing sports and physical activities from a young age, but never considered myself a great ‘athlete’. An all-rounder, yes, an elite athlete, no. I found this an issue as I went to school and took up Phys Ed as a subject to study. The grades were all centred around ‘performance’. The better athlete you were, the better grades you got, which made zero sense to me. I knew I was never going to ‘make it big’ (especially since my best sport was basketball) and so decided then that I should look at other career options in the sports industry.
I fell into coaching by chance, but loved helping others to improve themselves, not just as athletes and performers, but as people in general. I discovered a passion for learning new things and teaching them to others. My coaching career started in sport and led me to my first role and a company that I’d spend the next 15 years working with as well as sparking a love for both business and franchising.
I am passionate about purposeful business - that is business which solves a problem, benefits society and moves people forward - not businesses out there for making profit for profit’s sake. I also love franchising as a business model. The methodology and systematic approach of franchising, whilst focussing on strong relationships is transferable to all businesses. Which is the central theme in the book “The E-Myth”, by Michael Gerber.
My other passions
- I did CrossFit for a number of years and through this discovered my passion for Olympic Weightlifting. The body is capable of amazing things and I love putting mine through hardship.
- Spending quality time with family, sharing good food and drink (so it’s a good thing I like working out too)!
- Reading books. Books are wonderful things that give you insights into other people’s thoughts and ideas whilst simultaneously opening doors in your own mind.
- The woods. Walking, hiking, biking through them. I am actively involved in sustainable forestry and managing a piece of woodland.