I have been working with Stuart for 2 ½ years and it’s no exaggeration to say that he has revolutionised the way I think and how I run my business. Before engaging Stuart the business was turning over about £500K, employing 4 staff and I was working every hour that god sent, almost certainly earning less than minimum wage, growing increasingly frustrated with it all, unable to grow the business and not knowing which way to turn. I was constantly fighting fires and worrying about where the next VAT return payment would come from.

Today the business employs 10 staff, is on course for over a £1m turnover this year and is growing rapidly – even taking into account the effect of the Coronavirus. The business is strong enough to easily ride this storm out and in a lot of cases improve our client relationships and enhance the value we give them.

We have a solid plan to continue the growth and I am looking forward to the challenges the next months and years bring. There are no magic bullets but Stuart’s coaching has been invaluable to me and my business.

We were a solid company – £12million, 150 staff, a leading independent brand in our sector – but knew we needed to think bigger and more confidently to maximise shareholder value, exploit the strengths of the business and ensure sustainability of the business in any economic environment. Past strategic planning had been useful but ineffective as we failed to implement and just went back to our day jobs. Working with Stuart changed this. The coaching process forced us to take time to out of the business to reflect and really think about our potential. We fought the process at times wanting to hurry up and start doing stuff but Stuart brought us back to the focus in hand. The result has been a powerful vision and plan to double the business in the next 10 years or faster but more importantly tap into the heritage of our innovation and creativity which has been a little lost and create company we and our staff are proud to work for. On-going coaching enables me as MD to take time out to work on my own thinking to lead the management team and company more effectively. There’s few you can turn to in true confidence to share your hopes and fears with as an MD – working with Stuart gives me the space to do so. It’s an valuable and imperative investment as far as I’m concerned.

Six months coaching with Stuart has certainly been worth over £100k in savings and increased productivity. He asks the right questions to help our management team find the right answers. Stuart is an exceptional moderator, ensuring everyone gets properly heard and helping us develop on-going better communication strategies. Specifically, he encourages me to invest my time in understanding my management team, helping them work to their strengths allowing me to keep the team tight and effective where I might have just hired more managers to compensate. That’s highly significant in cost-savings and improved morale. I’m a better leader and my team are better leaders as a result. It’s no surprise that the company continues to accelerate in its growth. As an owner of an established business if you want your business to grow around you, giving you more confidence in your people, more time for you to work on the business whilst it grows – which is counter-intuitive to us hands-on business owners – then get yourself a coach. In my case Stuart has been trans-formational in my both my personal leadership growth and that of the business

As a technical business we were growing but I’d reached the limits of my knowledge and experience on how to further develop the business. That’s where investing in an experienced coach has been crucial – in fact working with Stuart has been trans-formational for me and the business. I have more time to think, strategise and lead the business today even though it is bigger, more profitable and busier than 3 years ago when I was immersed in the detail. I have grown, the business has grown and my people have grown. As a coach Stuart has helped us tap into our potential and continued success. The return on investment is a no-brainer over time. As such my coaching sessions are an integral part of my diary. They are something I look forward to – it’s daunting running a business and you can rarely talk to staff or senior managers as they’re not business owners. They can’t understand. Stuart as my coach is essential to our continued growth and worth every penny.

Studio One has worked with Stuart for almost 4 years, during this time I consider him to have been instrumental in aiding the directors to develop the business in a number of ways. Stuart has helped to focus us on making informed decisions that needed to be made as well as coaching management and sales skills that have become invaluable. Stuart has the ability to engineer conversations that tackle the real issues calmly and effectively which helps to create positive attitudes even if the topics are difficult. I would strongly recommend Stuart’s services to any business owner or director that wishes to drive a business forward, he will very quickly become a significant asset to your business.

I contacted Stuart to help me review my business which had been stable and successful for many years but due to the recession had started to struggle. Stuart helped me undertake a strategic review and identify some key opportunities by which I feel confident the business can start growing again. His ability to really listen and understand my business and also the journey over the last 15 years made the difference in his facilitation of my thinking during the process making it enjoyable and very energising.

Although I’ve known Stuart for many years as a good friend, our paths have never crossed professionally until recently – and I am so pleased they did! I had launched a business that whilst being successful, was a subsidiary of a larger concern, was still in its infancy, and I was unsure how best to proceed. Stuart is a great listener and by artfully asking succinct yet poignant questions,he helped me to realise the various options open to me. He coached me through the change process, how investment didn’t need to be as scary as I had imagined and allowed me to focus on my strengths and build a comprehensive Business Plan around them. I am now the major stakeholder in the company, and have some great business partners who are as passionate and enthusiastic as I am. Our new, serviced offices are perfect for our needs, we have new clients on board and the future – both in terms of business development as well as lifestyle – is looking great! My meeting with Stuart has been instrumental in unlocking new opportunities that I didn’t know existed.