Women in Franchising
February 2012, immediately saving me 720 hours a year on commuting time alone.
What appealed about ActionCOACH? I was concerned about the isolation that came with a startup business, whereas franchising gave me a network of like- minded people to share ideas with and training and support from the franchisor. I’m used to developing businesses but not the sales and marketing side of things. So, when I was looking at my options, ActionCOACH really stood out. Joining the leading business coaching franchise blended together my people and business development skills, but ActionCOACH also offers a tried-and-tested sales process. This includes a £250,000 investment in an exclusive client generation centre for UK senior partners (franchisees).
How has life changed since you launched? I set three clear goals to create a true work- life balance: have breakfast and dinner with my children, keep Fridays clear so I could go to school assemblies, and grow my business so that by end of year one, I was earning the same as my corporate career in London. Mondays is admin and marketing. I
coach Tuesdays to Thursdays, finishing work by 5.30pm so I can have dinner with the family. I coach from a large office at home, which means I am there when the kids come home from school. I keep Fridays free so I can catch up with friends, take the dogs for a walk, and do the household chores, leaving weekends free for family time. Finding time for school events is simple, school holidays are less restricted, and my coaching schedule makes it easy to
“It's possible to run a successful business, be a great mum and strike a work-life balance”
have weekends away. We have bought a wooden lodge in Norfolk where we go to switch off completely.
How is it being a female business owner? Having found a good work-life balance, I’m now focused on helping other business owners find that balance. I’ve won three Best Client Results awards since 2013 and one of the companies I coach went on to win a highly contested industry award. It is possible to run a successful business, be a great mum and strike a work-life balance. I’ve been told I inspire women to push themselves to be more than they thought they could be and that makes me really happy. A mother from the village helps me with marketing and bookkeeping. It was important for me to recruit a mum – there’s so much talent being wasted due to lack of flexible working opportunities. I’m so pleased to enjoy a business with
so many rewards, not just the flexibility or financial ones! In total, I have worked with more than 70 businesses and coached more than 130 people in the past six years.
My client income grew from £59,000
in 2014 to nearly £144,000 in 2016 and over £200,000 in 2018. My success is, in part, down to my sales conversion rate, which lifted to 100 per cent in 2017. I achieved this by following ActionCOACH’s system, the advice of other franchise partners and only meeting with business owners who were truly serious about investing in growing their business. My sales conversion efforts were recognised by ActionCOACH’s UK support team and I spoke at the 2018 franchise conference to share my successful strategies.
What are your plans for the future? In the future, I will be looking at bringing on board an employee business coach, ideally another working mum, as that will create more role models. I am also building a team of freelance trainers – also mothers – so I can provide additional services to businesses around leadership and development. Once I have set this up, the beauty of my business is that this shouldn’t affect my current work-life balance.
Would you recommend this franchise opportunity to others? Yes, being an ActionCOACH business coach is fantastically rewarding and fulfilling when you see the dramatically improved lives of your clients.
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