Chris Spratling and his wife Rachel met through work and have been married for 20 years. Working together wasn’t easy back then so what made Rachel give up a £100,000 a year job to start working with her husband again?
Here is the story behind how Chris & Rachel Spratling left their corporate lives behind and joined the ActionCOACH franchise, for a better, more stable future.
Chris’ career spans 20 years in senior positions in media and marketing services. His last ‘job’ was as the CEO of Reader’s Digest UK where he completed a management buyout with the support of investors.
“Over the last six years I ran a consultancy business working with blue chip media, marketing, manufacturing and distribution businesses,” explains Chris. “But I also helped a couple of local small businesses and that’s where things began to change for me.”
“Trying to turn around attitudes at blue chip companies was a struggle. The staff in such large companies don’t care as much as owner-managed businesses where I found people took action on my suggestions without needing a board paper and presentations for buy in!
“When one of my local clients invited me to dinner to say thanks, I ended up next to a chap called Simon Buck, an Action Coach. I became really interested as he described what he did as an Action Coach was close to what I had been experiencing with my smaller clients. I arranged to meet with three other Action Coaches to find out more and then went to the ActionCOACH UK support office for a discovery day – all within just a few weeks. I was convinced this was where I wanted my career to go and I entered due diligence at the end of the discovery day and went on training five weeks later.
Support for a brighter future
“Rather than flying out to Las Vegas, I opted for the UK-based initial training which consists of a serious pack of pre-training materials and five days of training at a De Vere hotel. Making my way through the pre-training materials in three weeks was like having a full-time job but went some way to preparing me for the intense nature of the training week. I made what would turn out to be lasting friendships on day one and was amazed by the support of not only the trainers but the other participants too. I had been told by franchise partners how great the support and intellectual property you receive from ActionCOACH are but I didn’t believe it until I experienced it. Nearly a year on and I can still pick up the phone and share challenges. I’ve never experienced this level of support in my working life before.”
“It’s been an incredible journey over the last 12 months. I immediately started using ActionCOACH’s exclusive client generation centre and when I had finished my training week I had four business health check meetings booked with prospective clients. Each new franchise partner is given free one-to-one coaching from a Master Coach until they reach a good level of client income. I was assigned to Master Coach Ellis Bardsley who helped me transition from consultant to coach and to understand the key to success was being authentic.”
“After operating the franchise for ten months, I regularly help ten group coaching clients and 12 one-to-one coaching clients which brings in a monthly client income of £18,000. I set myself a year one target of £20,000 a month and I’m confident I will reach that. Today is a brilliant day, I signed two new clients this morning and just finished a great client coaching session. The impact that coaching can make excites me and that’s what gets me up in the morning – making a difference to a business owner’s health, wealth and happiness.”
Husband and wife join forces
Rachel has certainly had an impressive career including time at the BBC and Samsung. But while her salary was enviable, travelling up to 800 miles a week was most people’s idea of a nightmare.
“Even while Chris was doing his due diligence, before he joined ActionCOACH, I could see how becoming an Action Coach would be ideal for me too. We discussed it and thought it could be something I moved towards in a couple of years. I could stay in corporate life for our financial security while Chris was building up his ActionCOACH business. But, as we worked on our vision for the future, something ActionCOACH recommends you do, I realised my lack of free time meant only Chris could work towards our vision. So, we decided to go for it as a team and I joined ActionCOACH too.”
Rachel left her job at the end of May 2016 and spent June working alongside Chris to experience everything ActionCOACH had to offer before she began the initial training. That was the first time they had worked together since they met over 20 years ago.
“I loved every minute of the training – it was a complete buzz. Instead of feeling exhausted after that week, I was actually so energised that I couldn’t wait to start work on Monday morning. There’s such a wealth of information, tools, support and techniques that I can’t possibly fail. Having worked as an executive coach on my own, I can’t believe how different it is as an Action Coach. There’s a network of hugely creative and supportive people to work alongside.
“I began working as an Action Coach on August 1 last year and had a client by the end of the week. Chris and I run the business together but I concentrate on businesses in West Wiltshire and parts of Gloucestershire. On a personal level, I’ve had more time at home with the family: I get to walk the dogs in the morning instead of rushing out of the house.”
Chris believes the future is bright for them and their two daughters, “Eighteen months ago we bought a new house which accommodates our two girls who seriously compete in equestrian sports. We use our coaching skills to help them with mindset and goal setting and they’ve embraced the benefits.
“We see ourselves doubling the size of the business year-on-year for the next three years. We have plans to collaborate with nearby Action Coaches to run our 90-day GrowthCLUBs and joint 6-steps seminars. We’ll be great at keeping each other accountable and have certain strengths that we can play to.”
Next steps
If your interested in the ActionCOACH opportunity and you:
- get a buzz from helping others succeed
- love learning and developing yourself
- have enjoyed success in your career or sport…
