Management
ActionCOACH
Prior to purchasing his ActionCOACH franchise in Loughborough in 2015, Laurence Duncan was involved in a large-scale, renewable-energy solar farm deployment. He’d qualified as a chartered accountant in 1995 and progressed to a senior level in several companies, including RAC.
What did you do before franchising and why did you make the change? I realised I was living by other people’s agendas. I wanted to take control of my life, and not be at the beck and call of others or subject to the fallout from changing government legislation. In short, I wanted to lead my life rather than just be a hostage to fortune.
Funnily enough, my clients often feel
very similar to how I felt then. Hiring an Action Coach means they are taking control of, rather than being controlled by, their businesses. ActionCOACH is a solution for them and, as I saw the renewable energy project coming to an end, I looked at ActionCOACH as an option for my future.
Why did you decide to join ActionCOACH? I considered the benefits of being part of a franchise (rather than setting up a business on my own) during my due diligence. ActionCOACH’s culture appeared supportive and every franchise partner I spoke to mentioned several aspects of the brand's 14 Points of Culture. The franchise gives you several things:
community, training, innovation and encouragement. Community is probably the most important factor, and being able
to reach out at any time, about anything, is brilliant. The training is fantastic, with regular webinars and masterclasses. It gives me confidence to know I’m delivering cutting-edge material.
What do you like most about running your business? Any standout moments? When I began my ActionCOACH business in January 2016, I took on the mantra that 'the system works, it's what I've paid for, let's stick to it and have some fun!' The first year was a steep learning curve. You go through a massive amount of personal change and development, and you really have to question personal attitudes and habits and the way you approach business. I signed my first client – a close friend of mine – very quickly after training, which allowed me to make mistakes that were forgiven easily. This improved my confidence and allowed me to experiment and become a better business coach in a shorter period of time. My clients began to show significant improvements in their work-life balance and their businesses. Having fun in my everyday work is important to me, but I never thought I would achieve it. Now, I choose to work with business owners who are like me, so
we build good personal relationships. I consider myself to be extremely lucky. My biggest learning (and lightbulb) moment was at the Business Excellence Forum this year, where the overriding message was the fact that we coach on emotion rather than results. I am all about emotion – with results following. So it was fantastic to learn this actually was an acceptable way to work with my clients. It reinforced my self-confidence and made me realise my efforts at making people smile is central to my success as an Action Coach. There have been several memorable moments, including hitting my 12-month client target. Taking seven of my clients to ActionCOACH’s Business Excellence Forum & Awards this year probably tops the list. Seven strangers with only me to link them together, and by the end of the event, those strangers were friends hugging each other and looking forward to meeting again at next year’s conference. What an amazing transformation… I’ve definitely got seven clients for another 12 months!
What's been the biggest challenge so far? In late 2018, ActionCOACH introduced a new senior partner licence where existing
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