Rob Pickering, 51, calls his entry into the ActionCOACH network a happy accident.

Rob Pickering, 51, calls his entry into the ActionCOACH network a happy accident.

“I literally stumbled on it when a client I was doing management consultancy for asked if I did business coaching,” he explains. “Although I wasn’t looking to invest in a franchise, soon after dealing with ActionCOACH I realised that I loved it, and in 2010 I invested in the company. Four years later here I am with 12 clients and a turnover of £200k.”

“The biggest challenge is getting prospects over the line to becoming clients although usually it becomes clear to people after a couple of months how business coaching can benefit their business.”

“My biggest win has got to be my first client whose question about business coaching made me switch from consultancy into being a coach. It was a small company called Academia Ltd, which was turning over £3.5m. The company is now in the Sunday Times Top 100 fastest growing tech companies with a turnover of £44m. Behind every top sports star there’s always a coach, and that’s the person they thank for their success, and it’s like that for us – we’re not looking for stardom but there’s a huge satisfaction in being part of a company’s success – that’s why we do it.”