James Vincent: From High-Performance Coaching to Business Ownership

James Vincent has spent much of his career helping people reach their potential. Since joining the ActionCOACH UK support team in 2014, he has worked with franchise partners to improve their coaching skills and deliver better results for business owners.

When ActionCOACH introduced its Firm Builder model in late 2018, James saw an opportunity to take that experience into business ownership himself. He invested in the exclusive Sheffield territory while continuing in his existing role as UK Performance Director.

For James, the two responsibilities worked together. His experience developing coaches gave him a strong understanding of how to build a successful coaching business, while the Firm Builder model gave him the opportunity to put a management team in place and grow a territory without stepping away from his role in the wider network.

A career built around high-performance coaching

James has worked in high-performance coaching for nearly two decades, beginning with sports coaching at a high level. His interest in the subject led him to research with the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE), work alongside world-class coaches and present his findings at the European Coaching Conference.

That background shaped his approach to helping people improve their performance, whether in sport or business.

“I love coaching and the notion of helping people. A large part of my role at ActionCOACH has been to coach the coaches, our franchise partners. By helping them, there is a domino effect. As they help their clients, businesses improve and so do the lives of their staff, families and communities.

“This vision of abundance is one of the 14 Points of Culture at ActionCOACH and it’s one I strongly commit to. Through coaching, I’m living my purpose, so this doesn’t feel like work. It’s more like a hobby.”

For James, coaching is about helping people see possibilities they might not recognise themselves. He believes that having someone outside the situation to challenge assumptions and provide perspective is essential to reaching higher levels of performance.

Why everyone needs a world-class coach

James is convinced that coaching has an important role to play in both sport and business. He believes people often need an external perspective to recognise what is holding them back and identify a way forward.

“Most people don’t know what coaching really is. Whether it’s for sport or business, you can’t coach yourself and without a world-class coach, you’ll never fulfil your potential. We all fight a losing battle, seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. In one scenario or another, we get blinded by ego and need that external influence to hold a mirror up. A coach does that and helps you to find a way forward.”

His own commitment to coaching has also influenced how he approaches his responsibilities within ActionCOACH UK.

“Commitment is ActionCOACH’s number one point of culture and it’s my core value. It’s a big responsibility when you put yourself aside to help someone else. You have to understand the person you are coaching to be effective, but once you’ve committed to that, the transformation you can help them to reveal is incredible.”

James has experienced the value of coaching throughout his own career, having been mentored by some of the leading figures in high-performance coaching. One of those mentors was Sir Patrick Duffy, former President of ICCE, who later became a friend.

When that chapter of his career came to an end, James began looking for a new opportunity.

Raising the standard of business coaching

James first came across ActionCOACH on LinkedIn. After following the organisation, he was contacted by Julie Wagstaff, then Franchise Recruitment Director.

Initially, James was more interested in helping develop the coaching skills of ActionCOACH franchise partners than investing in a franchise himself.

“I found ActionCOACH on LinkedIn, clicked to follow them and, before long, got a call from Julie Wagstaff, their Franchise Recruitment Director. She thought I might want to invest in a franchise but, at that time, I wanted to help their coaches.”

He recognised that ActionCOACH already had a substantial collection of business growth strategies and tactics available to its coaches and clients. His ambition was to strengthen the coaching capability that sat alongside those resources.

“You see, ActionCOACH already had, and continues to add to, their world-class toolkit of over 3,500 business growth strategies and tactics, for coaches and their clients to tap into. I wanted to ensure, on top of all that, ActionCOACH business coaches are also considered world-class for their coaching.”

After joining the UK franchise support team, James helped develop a structure of master coaches to support franchise partners. The approach brought together coaching science, practical experience and education to improve the standard of business coaching delivery.

He also continued to bring respected figures from the world of performance coaching into the network's development events, including Frank Dick and Myles Downey.

The work gave James a central role in developing the people responsible for helping business owners improve their businesses.

Seeing the opportunity in the Firm Builder model

By late 2018, ActionCOACH was developing a new Firm Builder licence. The model offered an opportunity for investors to build a coaching business in an exclusive territory, with a management team responsible for its day-to-day operation.

James saw how this could fit alongside his existing role.

“At first glance, it may sound like a huge challenge to keep what appears to be more than a full-time job and make a success of my own franchise territory, a large territory with over 10,000 businesses as potential clients. But then you step back and consider how it could be achieved when you don’t actually label your job as work.

“When you love what you do, work becomes fun and you’re happy to get out of bed each morning and prepare for a productive day. Pair that with the opportunity to put in a management team into the new ActionCOACH exclusive territory Firm Builder franchise and it becomes clear how I, and others, can juggle the two quite easily and still have a great work-life balance.”

The thinking behind the model had also been influenced by the growth of the wider ActionCOACH network.

James explains that UK Co-Founder Ian Christelow had been considering how the organisation could maintain its standard of support as the number of franchise partners increased.

“Ever heard the phrase ‘What got you here, won’t get you there’? Marshall Goldsmith’s book and the several times he’s presented at ActionCOACH events inspired our UK Co-Founder, Ian Christelow, to rethink our franchise model. We had passed the milestone of 200 franchise partners and Ian was concerned we wouldn’t be able to offer the same level of support to the 400-strong network we were heading towards in less than two years.”

James saw the Firm Builder model as a natural extension of the work he was already doing.

“I’m in the enviable position to see the odds are stacked in my favour as a new Firm Builder Partner. ActionCOACH trains you to understand how to grow a business, your own and your clients’ businesses, so I’ve learnt that during my time with the support team.

“I’m also right at the heart of the support given to ensure all of our coaches are world-class. Why wouldn’t I invest in a franchise too? Whilst I’m still here developing the coaches and the brand, it synergises with what I could achieve myself in my territory, all backed by a solid infrastructure of support, a team of incredible people and a strong vision.”

Launching the Sheffield territory

James launched his Sheffield business on 1 November, with both a General Manager and Business Development Manager already in place.

Rather than building the business entirely on his own, he had invested in the people and management structure needed to get it moving from the outset.

He spent the first day setting up the office with the team. By day eight, the Business Development Manager, Alistair, had secured their first client.

“Our General Manager is a trained Action Coach, so he’ll cover the coaching whilst Alistair continues to bring new clients in. Within 12 months, we’ll have an additional employee business coach to help another 15-20 clients.”

The territory had more than 10,000 businesses that could potentially benefit from coaching. James wanted to build relationships across Sheffield and develop a business capable of supporting a growing number of local owners.

“Our long-term goal is to transform businesses in Sheffield, connecting with those 10,000 business owners in some way.”

For James, success also meant creating a working environment where the team enjoyed what they did.

“Success for me looks like a passive income with my team eager to get to work each morning because they enjoy it so much. Richard Branson personally taught me to think that way.”

Building a business while making time for family

Taking on a franchise territory alongside a senior role within ActionCOACH UK could easily have become all-consuming. James was determined to build the business in a way that allowed him to maintain time for his family.

“I can honestly say I’ve never had a bad day since joining ActionCOACH. I don’t see problems. If there are situations, they are there to be dealt with, draw motivation from and take the learnings.”

He was also clear that managing his time was a matter of priorities.

“How do I fit it all in and still get home for 5.30pm to enjoy the evening with my family? Some people tell me they don’t have the time to do all that, but everyone has the same amount of time. If you really want to achieve something, you’ll find ways to get it done.”

Family life was a big part of what motivated James. At the time of the original interview, he was married to Ceri and had three young children: twins Emilie and Elliot, and their younger daughter Olivia.

“I’m a family man and I love bringing joy into people’s lives. I think people respond best when they have something to challenge them. I’m married to Ceri and we have three children. We spend time every day completing little challenges and activities. Some people fear change, but I think facing challenges helps us to change and grow, whether we’re three years old or 43.”

For James, the same principle applies to business. Progress comes from being willing to take on challenges, learn from experience and keep developing.

James Vincent’s advice for aspiring business coaches

James's journey combines two parts of the ActionCOACH business: developing the coaches who support the wider network and building a coaching firm of his own.

His experience demonstrates how a background in coaching, leadership and performance development can provide a foundation for business ownership. It also shows how the Firm Builder model was designed to give investors the opportunity to build a business with a management team in place.

For James, the most important part remains the impact coaching can have on people and the businesses they run.

“When you love what you do, work becomes fun and you’re happy to get out of bed each morning and prepare for a productive day.”

Discover how an ActionCOACH UK franchise could help you build a business with purpose, flexibility and the support of an established coaching community.