ActionCoach is a global business coaching franchise that offers aspiring entrepreneurs personalized one-on-one mentorship from a team of highly qualified business coaches. Showing Business owners how to get more time, build better teams and systems while increasing profits has made ActionCoach the number one business coaching programme in the world with proven systems that offer great results. Steve Saunders, the ActionCoach franchise owner for North Hertfordshire, and surrounding areas in the Midlands, filled in Herts Review on his business journey and how he is motivated to coach other business owners.
Steve unexpectedly came across the ActionCoach programme. Working as a National Franchise Manager for a major kitchen manufacturer meant he travelled the length and breathe of the country managing various franchisees. “I was not looking out for a business coaching programme. My job at the time came with a lot of responsibility of driving our franchise holders to success. One of the stores took an ActionCoach. I was curious and asked them why they needed a business coach as my role was to guide them to success”.
ActionCoach was founded by Brad Sugars in Australia in 1993. The company is now based in Las Vegas, USA with operations in 82 countries and over 1000 coaches. Brad was visiting the UK in the fall of 2014 and Steve was encouraged to attend a meeting. “I went along and was really impressed by Brad’s presentation and vision. I have always been involved in sport as a Ski instructor and Race Coach, but the way Brad used sports analogies to explain business concepts was really fascinating to me. I decided to investigate ActionCoach further”.
Reviewing the programme and its opportunities led to Steve giving up a 24-year career in the Kitchen industry to become an ActionCoach. “I was at a point where I needed a change anyway. There had been executive changes at the company I worked for. The Managing Director had left, and a new CFO had joined. My dissatisfaction level had grown and my vision for helping people through the ActionCoach programme was growing. The ActionCoach programme was easy to join and so my resistance level came down. I joined in June 2015 and completed the training programme in the following weeks”.
For the past 5 years, Steve has been helping various businesses in and around North Hertfordshire achieve their business goals. “Coaching is a people business. You need the right positive attitude to build relationships with people for it to be successful. It is all about results and if clients do not see results, they will leave you. I have focused on teaching my clients how to work on their business and not in the business. The key aspects of any business are getting the customers (sales & marketing), providing goods or services (operations), and getting paid for the work (cashflow). All three need to happen for a business to be successful.
Steve has worked with various businesses over the years including manufacturers, printers, fast food restaurants, accountants, electricians etc. “Everyone needs a coach, but most people do not like coaching. My role is to bring my knowledge and personal experience to help a business owner achieve their goals. I focus on accountability, setting time bound goals and taking action to achieve the goals. The business owner must do the work while I am responsible for guiding them. I run my own business so I share in the experiences of the business owners and can easily connect with them”.
Was moving from a corporate 9 to 5 to becoming his own boss as a business coach challenging? “Of course. There were challenges initially. Getting clients was a challenge. Educating business owners on the benefits of a business coach was not easy. Achieving my target level of income at the start took a great deal of effort. In my experience, there is no silver bullet. You always have to remember why you started the business in the first place and give it your best shot. Through a combination of marketing, networking, consistency, and resilience I overcame those challenges. Ownership and accountability played a big role too. My wife and family were also very supportive”.
Steve runs various coaching programmes tailored to the needs of different business owners. “There is the 1 to 1 coaching programme weekly or fortnightly. There is the group coaching programme monthly and the growth club which meets every quarter to set goals for the next 90 days. There is something for everyone at different budgets. These programmes also help keep the business owners focused. I encourage hard work but also to have a bit of fun along the way. My focus is on time, team, and money.
Although Steve’s coaching programme had been growing year on year, the covid-19 pandemic had an adverse impact on the business. “The lockdown and uncertainty did not help. Our meetings were cancelled as everyone was encouraged to stay at home. It was challenging for us. While technology has provided an alternative, I am a people person that loves to meet people and help them. We have adjusted our programmes. We have virtual meetings, use social media and I do a lot of webinars. Business is picking up and hopefully we will get back to normal soon”.
Looking ahead, Steve wants to grow his business coaching programme by 20% in the next 12 months. “I want to focus on what I can control and not things beyond my control. I enjoy the coaching sessions and working with people with various backgrounds. I will leverage other resources to build a stronger pipeline of business. The target is to have all my business coming from recommendations. I am looking forward to this challenge and I am confident it is achievable.
If you are a business owner just starting out or an existing business looking for growth and expansion or an established business that wants to expand its operations and customer base, perhaps you should speak to ActionCoach Steve. Lots of business owners agree he does a cracking job. Contact Steve on 07949 335002 or stevesaunders@actioncoach.com
