From Barstools to Boardrooms: Building a Thriving Coaching Business

How Martin Baillie Built a Thriving Coaching Business in Uncertain Times

Martin Baillie was well-versed in coaching people and mentoring teams in his previous career in hospitality operations. Building up a wide base of skills across all disciplines of running a business, Martin was perfectly placed to invest in his own ActionCOACH business in Bury St. Edmunds in March 2020. 

Thrown in at the deep end, thanks to the uncertainty we all faced through lockdown, Martin quickly learnt how to make his business work for him to reach the ambitious targets he holds for his local area.

Barstools to boardrooms

Born and bred in Scotland, Martin moved to England at the age of 19. “My background was in hospitality operations. I cut my teeth running pubs and restaurants, which taught me a lot about guiding people in how to improve their businesses and increase their profit margin. I went on to lead teams at both regional and national levels in the corporate world, giving me more experience managing and mentoring people in business.

“In hospitality you’re exposed to lots of different things – you need to be pretty hot on knowing all things finance, sales, marketing and customer service – this meant I felt pretty well rounded and confident to help in all aspects of any business.”

Martin progressed and became a managing director at a privately owned hospitality business in East Anglia. “I worked there for four years before discovering the business owners weren’t quite aligned on the direction they wanted to go in, so I decided to look at doing something new.

“ActionCOACH had approached me before but it wasn’t the right time. However, after leaving my previous role, I knew the timing was perfect and I was ready to invest.” 

Initially impressed with what head office had to say, Martin was further reassured by ActionCOACH’s standing as a well-established franchise with nearly three decades of evidence illustrating the sustained effectiveness of their methods.

“A franchise, like ActionCOACH, that is still successful after that period of time shows their systems and processes work. I felt I had some good experience of coaching people and wanted the opportunity to give back to businesses. With the goal of running my own business, ActionCOACH would help me fulfil that without feeling entirely out on my own.”

Prospering in uncertain times

Martin joined ActionCOACH in March 2020 – just as the first lockdown was announced. “My training was all done virtually. The process was very thorough and I remember there being a lot to learn at the start. 

“It was another tick in the box seeing how much information was given to new franchise partners. In fact, to avoid feeling overwhelmed by the level of support in so many areas, I focused on what I needed to learn and work on.” 

Winning his first clients seemed a daunting task at the time, but Martin persevered. “Talk about perfect timing! In those early weeks of the pandemic, businesses weren’t open to coaching. Who can blame them, though? No one knew what the path ahead would be.

“I had to think of a different approach – looking at which businesses were likely to stay open, which would be classed as essential and so on. I had to utilise LinkedIn, made a lot of calls and connected with lots of potential clients. ActionCOACH provided a number of tools to engage business owners looking for support during this time too.”

Martin’s persistence paid off and when support from the government was announced, businesses relaxed, providing Martin the chance he needed to get his foot in the door and coach his first clients. 

Knowing what works for you

Martin quickly realised that the key to success wasn’t just about absorbing all available support but about cherry-picking what worked best for him. “The support from ActionCOACH is incredible – there’s so much available to you. It covers all bases, so it’s pretty crucial to focus on what you need for your business.

“I found personal growth and being calm through the uncertainty of COVID were more important to me than learning the minutiae of coaching. Looking back, it was critical for me to focus my energy there, as it really helped me get my business off the ground during lockdown.”

A top priority for Martin was client retention. “You’ve got to keep your initial clients happy, building strong relationships with them. I think from there, once you’ve established a strong footing, you can go about growing your business through recruitment of further clients.”

Another critical insight Martin has gained since investing in ActionCOACH is the importance of accountability in the coach–coachee relationship, learning that asking his clients the tough, thought-provoking questions – those no one else would ask – was essential for their growth. “Accountability is everything. It’s about asking the right questions to push clients to think deeper about their businesses and, from there, to act more decisively.”

Looking to the future

One of the most attractive aspects of investing in his own ActionCOACH business was the prospect of giving back to his community. “The goal is to create 1,000 more jobs for businesses in East Anglia.”

To achieve his goal, Martin is looking to add to his team. “We’re a team of three currently but we want to grow. I’m in the process of looking for a business coach and, further down the line, the target is to have three to four coaches. 

“I also want to expand the office team so we have more dedicated support in each field. We want to become a half-million-pound business in the next couple of years. The initial reasons why I invested in ActionCOACH were to give back to our community and run my own business, so to see the pathway to success for both is really gratifying and proof I made the right decision.”

The only competition is your personal best

Martin’s advice to those interested in investing in their own ActionCOACH business is to run their own race. “Find out what works best for you! From there you can efficiently pick and choose the support you need. Everyone’s business is different and every business owner has different needs, so my advice would be to keep your feet on the ground and do what’s best for you, the business and your community.”

Would you like to make a meaningful impact on your community and build a thriving business? Speak to one of our advisors today and discover what an ActionCOACH franchise could do for you.