Helen Pethybridge had worked in senior HR director roles for 13 years at global brands before redundancy allowed her to take time to consider her future.
“It was clear that changes were coming at Pepsico and I wanted a change but I didn’t want to downgrade as I’d always worked with the best. I’d always had the desire to one day run my own business but I had no clear idea of what to do”. Helen Pethybridge
“My research online took me to the British Franchise Association’s website. I clicked through to business services franchises and found business coaching. I was immediately really excited about this option, seeing that business coaching would give me the chance to be involved strategically much wider than just HR. I emailed for more information on the business coaching franchise options.
“Two franchise brochures came within 24 hours of each other. I was immediately attracted to the ActionCOACH brochure which was colourful with a diverse cross-section of people enjoying a range of group activities. It gave a greater sense of what I could expect from the team culture.
“I decided to take ActionCOACH through to the due diligence stage as it showed potential for a greater income without topping out. At the end of January, I went to Las Vegas for ActionCOACH University, with ten days to totally immerse myself in the culture and training to set myself up as best I could. The calibre of the trainers was excellent and that has continued into all aspects of support I have received from the UK team.
“While I was training, ActionCOACH’s exclusive client generation centre was working to secure initial meetings with prospective clients and this is how I signed my first client. Whilst redundancy forces you to take stock of your life, it also provides a financial payout. This allowed me to take the time to develop my new business without feeling the pressure of delivering a salary immediately.
Building momentum
“Setting up your business is so time-consuming – even down to choosing the right printer. So, being part of a franchise that gives you over 3,500 strategies and tactics to help your clients and a wealth of ongoing professional development sessions really helps you to get to grips with your business.”
“I was most nervous about selling to secure new clients. I’m not sure if that is a female thing, that we’re not such strong self-promoters? However, ActionCOACH gave me the training to overcome this. I feel more comfortable promoting ActionCOACH the service than promoting just me, Helen.
“One of the suggestions at training is that we practice our client generation seminar on friends and family. I invited my old team from Pepsico to this dry run and their feedback was really positive. I signed my second client from my first public seminar and the following two clients came from ActionCOACH’s exclusive client generation centre. Each client has fortnightly one-to-one coaching and this generates a client income of nearly £5,000 a month.
In control of my future
“Before redundancy, I was the main breadwinner in the family. It felt good knowing that I could use this redundancy money as an investment opportunity to future-proof my career. I’m now in control of my destiny where the speed of progression is my choice and it’s up to me to decide when I want to reduce my hours, when to retire and what work I choose to do. In my HR roles, I had made people redundant and they had often felt out of control and at the mercy of recruiters – choosing a franchise can change all that.
“Coming out of the corporate environment and into a franchise was like a halfway house compared to starting up on your own. The support and collaboration at ActionCOACH has been outstanding. I feel like I’ve got as many friends at work as I did in my corporate life. I’m an extrovert and I get energy from other people. As an Action Coach, I still get that interaction and energy from my fellow franchise owners.
“I’m married to Guy and we have two teenage boys. Guy travels with work and having cut out my long commute to work every day, I made two commitments to myself. Firstly, I wanted to get to watch my sons at their Wednesday afternoon school rugby matches, on top of the Saturday morning club fixtures. Secondly, I wanted a horse riding lesson each week to improve my skills and enjoy something just for me.
Next Steps
If you would like to be in control of your future like Helen Pethybridge and you:
- A) get a buzz from helping others succeed
- B) love learning and developing yourself
- C) have enjoyed success in your career or sport…
