Simon Ellson: The Path to Fulfilment with ActionCOACH UK

After more than 30 years building businesses, advising brands and working with companies ranging from start-ups to global corporations, Simon Ellson had achieved considerable professional success. But there was one area of his life that had consistently paid the price: his work-life balance.

Having lived in Tring with his family since 1999, Simon had spent decades putting his energy into business, often taking his laptop on family holidays and working long hours to keep his ventures moving forward. Eventually, he decided it was time for a change, one that would allow him to use his experience to help other business owners while making more time for the people who mattered most.

Simon had first considered an ActionCOACH UK franchise years earlier, after a friend introduced him to the opportunity. When personal circumstances prompted him to reassess his priorities in 2018, he returned to the idea. What followed was a new career that brought together his commercial experience, passion for helping people and ambition to create a more fulfilling lifestyle.

“My businesses were successful, but the pay-off was a shocking work-life balance. My wife, Viv, had the patience of a saint.

“My friend Rob Pickering introduced me to ActionCOACH about nine years ago when he was looking to join the franchise. He had disappeared off to Las Vegas for initial training and, when he came back, he was raving about this business coaching franchise, telling me I needed to join too.

“But I was busy managing all the retail sales for Symantec in Northern Europe, with huge budgets, realising there was another way to take brands into retailers without spending millions.”

From building businesses to helping others grow

Simon’s career had taken him through an impressive range of business environments. As a co-founder, director and mentor, he had worked with start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises, and major organisations including Apple and Symantec. He had also started five businesses of his own, gaining first-hand experience of the opportunities and challenges involved in building a company.

In 2013, shortly before launching his next venture, Nexus Engage, Simon contacted ActionCOACH to find out more about franchising. However, with another business to establish, he did not pursue the opportunity at the time.

Nexus Engage went on to develop a distinctive approach to consumer engagement. The company transformed vacant shopping centre spaces into interactive brand experiences, using digital pop-up installations, touchscreen panels and voucher dispensers to connect consumers with products and services.

This work established Simon’s reputation as an expert in consumer engagement and led to consultancy opportunities with other businesses. He subsequently launched Intrapreneur, continuing to advise companies on how to grow and improve their performance.

For another five years, Simon maintained the same demanding pace of work. Then, following a challenging start to 2018 that included personal loss and a close family member becoming ill, he decided it was time to do something different.

“I had a very challenging start to 2018, with personal loss and a close family member being ill. So, I decided to do something different, just for me, that would benefit my family and my community. I contacted ActionCOACH UK again.”

A new journey

Simon attended ActionCOACH University training in May 2018 and launched his coaching business the following month, merging it with Intrapreneur.

The timing was demanding. He was also in the process of selling Nexus Engage, which meant he could not complete all his pre-training preparation. Working with the ActionCOACH UK support team, he rearranged his Step-Up Week by six weeks, giving him time to focus on the sale before turning his attention fully to the new business.

Step-Up Week is designed to help new franchise partners put their training into practice, from identifying prospective clients to converting opportunities into paying customers.

Simon remembers the initial training as a particularly valuable experience, thanks in part to the practical approach of experienced franchise partner Andrew Kureishy, who led the sessions.

“The initial training was excellent, and we were lucky to have an experienced franchise partner, Andrew Kureishy, leading the training with his pragmatic, down-to-earth style. I warmed to him immediately and, whilst I had brain ache when I walked out of there on Friday evening, by Monday night, I had my first seminar booked with 14 attendees at a local rugby club!

“The bar was open, as you would expect in a venue like that, and I signed my first one-to-one weekly coaching client, an events business.”

It did not take long for Simon to recognise that business coaching suited him. Drawing on the challenges he had encountered throughout his own career, he could help business owners tackle the problems he had regularly seen as a manager, director and entrepreneur.

“Almost immediately, I felt like I was born to coach, and I can honestly say it’s the best thing work-wise I’ve ever done in my life. It brought out a philanthropic streak in me. It’s the most rewarding work you can do.

“Even though it’s handsomely paid, for me, it’s about helping clients get rid of those problems I regularly saw as a manager and business owner.”

Building momentum with the right support

Starting a business can be challenging, even for someone with Simon’s experience. One of the advantages he discovered through ActionCOACH UK was access to ongoing guidance from experienced coaches who could help him develop his own business while working through client challenges.

During his early start-up phase, Simon worked with a master coach. Rachel Woods later became his personal coach’s coach, offering direct feedback, practical advice and a fresh perspective when he needed it.

Simon credits this combination of structured support and personal development with helping him establish his business efficiently and build the confidence to grow.

“To help you grow your own business and give advice on client challenges, ActionCOACH UK gives you access to a master coach as part of your ongoing support. I had one in my initial business start-up phase, and then Rachel Woods became my personal coach’s coach, providing shots of brutal honesty as well as sound advice.

“The early help they give you in getting your business up and running quickly and efficiently means that within a short time, you’re ready to begin expanding and scaling up. This is exactly what I’ve been able to do. Our clientele grew by 60% in 2021 and, with our trajectory at the time, I was feeling very positive about the future.

“It’s honestly incredible what you’re able to achieve when you’re given the right support and guidance, something ActionCOACH UK ensures you get.”

Developing his coaching skills was another important part of the journey. Although Simon had spent years advising and managing businesses, he initially questioned whether he could become an effective coach. He soon discovered that coaching was a skill he could develop through training, practice and experience.

“I did initially wonder if I could be a good coach. Most people go through their lives with self-limiting beliefs, and this was one of mine. ActionCOACH UK’s training and ongoing support taught me how to be a coach, but then I had to learn how to coach through experience.

“In the first four months, I went through lots of learning curves. For instance, I used to spend 30 to 90 minutes preparing for a coaching session. It now takes me less than five minutes, thanks to the efficiency of my process and the progression of my coaching capabilities.”

Growing a team and expanding into new territories

After building momentum through seminars and networking, Simon decided to invest in a second territory in 2021. Alongside his original West Hertfordshire territory, he added West Dorset, a location that also aligned with his and Viv’s longer-term lifestyle plans.

His ambition was to build a business that could grow beyond his own capacity, with a team able to deliver coaching and support clients without every decision depending on him.

That ambition began to take shape as the business expanded. Simon reported that his team had grown to eight people, including himself, more than doubling in size in just over a year. He also saw a change in how new clients found the business.

“Including me, I’m up to eight staff, more than doubling where the team was just over a year ago. The past 12 months has felt like a step up for the business. Once you gain a reputation for yourself, things just become easier. Now, 100% of my coaching clients come from referrals.

“James and Lorna are also Action Coaches, and whilst they still acquire their new clients through networking and marketing, it’s made easier because they have the support of a marketing executive and a business development executive.”

The business also reached a series of performance milestones. Simon reported four consecutive months of personal bests for the firm, while he and fellow coaches James and Lorna each achieved two consecutive personal best months for both revenue and client numbers.

With another coach preparing to complete training at the time, Simon was excited about the next stage of growth.

The support and shared values of the franchise network have remained central to his experience. Having spent much of his career in large corporate environments, Simon was particularly impressed by the willingness of fellow franchise partners and coaches to share knowledge and encourage one another.

“If you’d have told me 10 years ago I would buy a franchise, I would have told you to stop being ridiculous! But the ongoing support, advice and resources are categorically the best support of any business I’ve come across. You just don’t get that in a corporate environment.

“Plus, all the franchise partners and employee coaches are great. They embody ActionCOACH UK’s culture of abundance.”

Simon also set himself a wider goal: to support more than 500 local businesses over five years. Despite the disruption caused by COVID-19, he reported that he and his team had assisted just over 250 people and businesses during the first three years of that ambition.

A more rewarding destination

For Simon, business growth has never been only about revenue or the number of clients on the books. The opportunity to build a business that supports his lifestyle and gives him more time with his family has been just as important.

One of his goals for 2021 was to divide his time between Hertfordshire and Dorset, spending four days in one location and three in the other. By scheduling his coaching sessions within the first three days of the week, he was able to create more time to explore Dorset and look for a future home there.

He also wanted to ensure that his business could operate effectively without his constant involvement. A trip to Edinburgh with Viv offered a reassuring sign that the systems and team they had built were working as intended.

“My main goal for 2021 was to have four days in Hertfordshire and then three days in Dorset, where we could spend more time house hunting and exploring the county. By scheduling all my coaching within the first three days of the week, I’ve been able to achieve that goal.

“I also wanted to ensure the business was in a position where it had forward momentum even when I wasn’t there. Viv and I just went away to Edinburgh for four days. We had a little trip on the Royal Yacht, and the entire time I didn’t get a single email or phone call with any problem from anyone.

“All our processes are well defined, so everyone knows what they’re doing. It almost wouldn’t matter if I wasn’t there.”

The difference from his previous working life has been significant. After years of travelling internationally and regularly putting work ahead of family time, Simon now enjoys greater flexibility and a stronger sense of balance.

“My work-life balance is better than it’s ever been in my entire life. I’m earning well and, in the last four years, I’ve picked up six grandchildren, so I’m really enjoying being the fun grandad. It’s great. I regularly send them back to their parents exhausted and covered in mud!

“I have a fabulous relationship with my children. Of course, I was always away travelling the world and working hard when they were young. I’m happy that I can now be there for their children. Plus, I get to do all the fun stuff. A goat farm today and an amusement park tomorrow is on this week’s agenda.

“I even cook the Sunday lunches, which I haven’t done since before we got married over 30 years ago!”

For Simon, joining ActionCOACH UK has been about much more than changing careers. It has allowed him to turn decades of business experience into meaningful work, help other entrepreneurs overcome their challenges and build a team that can grow with him. Most importantly, it has helped him create a more fulfilling balance between professional success, community impact and family life.

Could an ActionCOACH UK franchise be your next career move?

If you have business experience and want to help other people succeed while building a business of your own, discover more about the ActionCOACH UK franchise opportunity.

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