From Corporate Crossroads to Coaching Triumph

Alan Bark faced a career-defining dilemma

After two decades in senior sales positions in the tech sector, he knew it was time to work for himself. With the best job he’d ever been offered on the table, he couldn’t help but fight the allure of starting his own business.

Despite having the job of his dreams lined up, Alan jumped into the ring with ActionCOACH and now he’s welcoming world-champion-winning boxer, Frank Bruno, to his next group coaching event in his exclusive Chester territory. 

Making the next big career move

With 20 years of sales experience, it was time for Alan to make his next move – time to pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions. His research led him to two possible paths: either taking the job of a lifetime or starting his own business. “I had a contract for a directorship with shares in an occupational health business – it was sat on my desk waiting for me to sign. Meanwhile, my desire to start my own business took me to a franchise exhibition in Birmingham to speak with a few of the franchise brands on my shortlist.

“One of those options wasn’t exhibiting but did have an ad on the back cover of the show guide which piqued my interest. The franchise – ActionCOACH.”

The next day, Alan approached ActionCOACH, speaking to UK co-founder, Julie Wagstaff. Liking what he heard, the following day, Alan spoke to fellow UK co-founder Ian Christelow. “After speaking with Ian and Julie, I was sold. By Monday, I was at their UK support office in Leicestershire for a discovery day!

“Ian talked about the huge number of businesses not reaching their potential – and in many cases failing – I was ready to commit to being part of the solution. As we were taken through the systems and strategies ActionCOACH has used with thousands of businesses all over the world, I wondered how I’d never found them before. It lit a fire inside of me and I knew I had to become an Action Coach.”

Alan went home, talked the decision through with family, then he went to his desk, tore up the contract with the occupational health company and started planning for his new life as an ActionCOACH franchise partner. 

“It felt like a truly pivotal moment. We’d sold our house, my little girl was now two years’ old and, with some financial backing from NatWest, I was facing a new beginning. It was late February in 2018  and I was due to launch my ActionCOACH business in Derby in April - there was a lot to do before then.”

Lacing up the gloves

Before his week of initial training, Alan attended one of the many masterclasses ActionCOACH schedule each year for their franchise network. “It was delivered by our UK Performance Director James Vincent – his knowledge and passion blew me away. Each franchise partner is allocated a master coach to support them in their new business, so when I turned up for training, I went straight to Ian and asked if James could be my master coach.”

Working closely with James proved to be a great decision for Alan, allowing him to get to grips with running the business. “We complimented each other really well. We identified what I needed to work on, getting my teeth into the business straight off the bat.” Setting targets for his first year in business, Alan secured his first clients from a networking group and his third via LinkedIn advertising. 

“I put significant budget behind testing and measuring a variety of client generation activities. At the beginning of year two, I had a breakthrough where I was regularly landing two clients a month. I’m a big fan of a combined lead generation approach of walk-ins, direct mail and follow-up calls.”

Championing Chester

18 months into his business, ActionCOACH UK introduced a new Senior Partner licence where existing and prospective franchise partners could apply to exclusively operate within a territory containing 10,000 businesses – Alan jumped at the opportunity and opened his exclusive territory in Chester in 2019.

Skip to the present day and Alan is focused to continue building the business community he has created through his coaching. “I have around 20 clients at the moment, businesses of all different shapes and sizes and in a whole range of industries – you name it, I’ve probably coached them!

“We have a great team too. My business development manager, Denise, is one of the best networkers I’ve ever seen and no doubt has contributed to our success in creating this close-knit business community.”

Coming from a corporate background, the community created through his ActionCOACH business has been a breath of fresh air for Alan. “Corporate can be quite a cold atmosphere at times – you feel that people want to stab you in the back. ActionCOACH, however, now that’s a different kettle of fish completely – everyone wants you to succeed, and help is always there if you need it.”

Celebrating his client's successes

Five years on from launching his Chester territory, Alan’s success has validated his initial decision to invest in his own ActionCOACH business. Despite the success, Alan is hungry for more. “What keeps me motivated – celebrating other people’s successes. One of my clients recently had to battle a family illness – seeing his mental resilience and will to succeed was truly awe-inspiring. Another told me they’d grown their business to a point where they could consider growing their family – it means a lot to play such an important role in changing people’s lives.

“I’m so proud of all the work we’ve done in Chester. Our GrowthCLUBs are proving really popular too – our last event at Chester Racecourse with Frank Dick OBE was attended by 120 people. The next one we have scheduled at the town hall in December will feature Frank Bruno and James Vincent – we’re aiming to get over 150 people through the door!”

What's next?

Alan’s primary goal for the future of his business is to become the go-to for business coaching in his territory. “We want to enforce our mission statement: ‘To help everyone we meet achieve more.’ 

“If you asked a business owner to name 2-3 accountants or solicitors, they’d be able to roll off a long list of names, but for business coaches they’d struggle to name any. We want to be the first name they think of and want every business owner in Chester to think that way.”

Looking further down the line, Alan is eyeing up business acquisitions. Inspired by ActionCOACH founder Brad Sugars, who imparts his knowledge to turn around businesses and sell them for profit, Alan is keen to follow suit. Another goal is to buy another territory: “We’re potentially looking at Wrexham – there’s a real buzz around the town at the moment, so it’s certainly something we’re thinking about.”

Making the right decision

On whether Alan made the right choice to join ActionCOACH, he says, “Yes. Absolutely. No regrets. When I came out of the corporate world and I was seriously considering jumping back into another job, albeit a dream one, there was a strange draw to ActionCOACH which I just couldn’t entirely put my finger on – when I attended the discovery day, it felt right. Now I know it was right.

“I love the community of coaches and the businesses you work with. This kind of environment of unconditional support and a culture of abundance is very rare in large organisations or in the City. There’s no backstabbing or shifting the blame onto others. Moreover, being surrounded by world-class thought leaders makes learning not only enjoyable but transformative. It’s incredibly rewarding to be part of the ActionCOACH community. You can sleep soundly knowing you’re making such a profound impact to not only a business’s fortunes but changing people’s lives for the better. Be prepared to work hard, have an open mind and you’ll be empowered to become the best version of yourself.”

Would you like to change the lives of thousands of business owners and build a successful business along the way? Watch this video to find out how.