Extending your business potential with ActionCOACH

Before ActionCOACH, Trevor Edward’s home improvements business, T Edwards Home Solutions, had reached its peak. Despite Trevor’s hard work and expertise, he was struggling like many business owners to take the next step forward to business freedom. After meeting an Action Coach at his local Business Network International group, Trevor began extending his business potential to make a more profitable and satisfying business for himself and his family. 

“In late 2020, I had an initial meeting with my local Action Coach, Martin Baillie,” said Trevor. “I had reached a point where I could do no more. I was still on the tools and I couldn’t work out my next route forward. At the time, I was working on a month-by-month basis, and I couldn’t work out how to get past this stage of my business development.  

“What I loved about Martin was how he held me to account. He helped me see many of the problems that my business had, and he made it clear I could solve them. After the first few sessions, I realised Martin was exactly who I needed if I was going to transform my business into what I wanted it to be.”

Despite the immediate business chemistry between the duo, Martin and Trevor still had a lot to do to unlock Trevor’s business potential. In their initial meetings, Martin outlined the renovations that were required in Trevor’s business to take it to the next level. 

 Knocking down your business limitations

“The first few weeks of working with Martin were incredibly useful. He made me look at my business in a way I’d never done before. Coming from being a sole trader, I knew how to turn up on time and do the job; however, I didn’t know how to run a business effectively. With Martin’s support, I realised I hadn’t got the planning in place to go anywhere further than where I already was.” 

After facing the changes that were needed in the business, the pair began to put in strategic steps to help transform their business’s potential.

“I really didn’t understand how to run a business. I was a master of my trade; however, I didn’t have the same level of skill when it came to running a company. Through his expertise and support, Martin has pushed me to develop from a tradesman to a businessman. A big part of this has been how he has developed my understanding through reading. I wouldn’t have thought books could have such a profound impact on your working life. However, they teach you a lot about how to not only develop yourself, but also your business. During this period, we also hired two new team members and a bookkeeper. This meant I could begin moving away from the tools and administrative side of the business. With Martin’s help, I started to believe I could guide the business rather than being trapped in it.”

A new door to business success

“A big issue in my trade is how you can never really get ahead. You do enough work to get by, and you accept it as part of the job. However, Martin gave me a different outlook. In home improvements, December and January are notoriously slow months – normally I would have accepted this fact and moved on. However, Martin made me focus on what I could control, so I went about booking out my diary for the whole of 2021 in my usual down period.

“After being with Martin for one year, my diary was not only full, it was full of non-tool work. With the new staff in place, my son has now taken over the site management duties as I transition to running the company. This would never have been possible if we hadn’t put the right systems and structures in place, and I wouldn’t have achieved this without Martin.

“After a year with Martin, we saw an increase in turnover of 38%. Moving our systems online resulted in invoices being paid on time, and this meant we had a far greater cash flow. From filling out the calendar, we started taking deposits, and this led to me having a clearer picture of where the business was. As a result of these changes, I have the freedom to calculate what other steps we can take to continue to grow.”

Renovation, renovation, renovation

Despite the incredible success Trevor is now seeing with the insight from Martin’s coaching expertise, he still has big plans for the future of T Edwards Home Solutions. 

“I really want to carry on expanding and growing the business. I now see Martin as an invaluable member of the team, and I wouldn’t want to take any steps without him. We’re aiming for 30% growth this year and, with Martin’s support, I know this is possible. We’re no longer using my garage for team meetings and storage – we now have a premises which the team can go to. My son is being trained to one day take over the business, and he’s even taking an apprentice on board so he can develop the next generation. With Martin the business has transformed into a completely different prospect; we now have the foundations in place to go even further.

“My workload is entirely different. I’m no longer on the tools, uncertain of what each month holds. Instead, I’m leading the business forwards. I have the weekends to myself, and I know that the business will one day be able to run without me. I can’t see why you wouldn’t benefit from ActionCOACH. The proof is in the pudding – I’m not the only one who has benefited from their expertise, so has my family and the people we employ.”

The coach’s perspective

“When I met Trevor, he was like many business owners who had reached their peak. He was stood at a crossroads, and he wasn’t sure where to go. It wasn’t from lack of trying but, in fact, he was lacking the know-how and support to push his business to the next level. 

“Trevor is a dream to work with. He’s eager to develop and to put the work in to make a difference in his company. I’m so delighted he has transformed T Edwards Home Solutions into what it is today. I knew from our initial meetings that we had all the tools for him to leave the tools, and to see it happen so quickly is a brilliant accomplishment.”