Raring to grow – sponsored by ActionCOACH

Raring to grow In association with:

With demand for coaches spiralling, there’s never been a better time to get into the business of helping companies grow

WELCOME

Fit for the future Although an uncertain economic climate is making it difficult for companies to plan for the future, business-growth coaches are helping firms become healthier than ever before We live in uncertain times. Despite having officially started in June, Brexit negotiations barely seem to have made any progress. Meanwhile the Tory party’s spectacular implosion during the recent general election has left a major question mark over the life expectancy of our current government. And rising inflation and low consumer spending saw the UK economy drop to the bottom of the EU growth league in the first quarter of this year, falling behind even Greece in terms of GDP growth. In light of this, it’s hardly surprising that business leaders sometimes feel they need a guiding hand on the tiller to help them navigate the choppy seas ahead.

The inherent unpredictability of the UK’s current political and economic climate has clearly been a blow to small businesses’ confidence. According to the FSB Voice of Small Business Index, 52% of small businesses feel the country’s current economic slowdown is a barrier to growth. Perhaps even more troubling, according to the most recent SME Confidence Tracker from Bibby Financial Services, it seems many SMEs are holding back on investing in their businesses: more than a quarter cited market uncertainties as the reason they were holding onto the purse strings, while a fifth directly pointed the finger at Brexit.

Evidently businesses are under no illusions about the current commercial climate.

But being aware of a problem isn’t the same as knowing how to solve it. Faced with a volatile and complex market, many business leaders are being forced into a reactive state and are having to expend energy fighting fires and shoring up their bottom lines. As a result, it can be tricky for entrepreneurs and business owners to focus on longer term priorities and really invest energy in the health of their companies.

But this means there is a huge opportunity available for aspiring coaches who have enjoyed success in their career or sport, get a buzz from helping others succeed and love learning and development to help companies get fit for the future.

And with the franchising sector allowing people to buy into a tried and tested model, it’s now easier than ever to get involved in business growth without needing to start from scratch. So whether your passion lays in helping businesses build up their growth muscles, enhance employee engagement or put in place effective planning for their futures, franchising can provide the perfect opportunity to help companies achieve success.

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ACTIONCOACH

Building business-growth muscles With the market for business-growth coaching booming, there’s never been a better time to launch a coaching company ith the World Para Athletics Championships and the World Championships in Athletics still fresh in mind, many people are aware of how important coaching is for keeping athletes healthy and at the top of their game. But while first-rate coaching has been key in ensuring Britain’s athletes are raking in the medals, coaching is also vital in making sure the country’s businesses are operating at their peak and bringing home the gold.

Demand for business coaching has reached fever pitch. According to the 2016 Global Coaching Study commissioned by the International Coach Federation (ICF) and carried out by PwC, the estimated total revenue generated by professional coaching in Western Europe was $898m in 2015 – an 8.5% increase on 2011. More than ever before, there is a massive demand for business coaches to help budding companies secure meaningful growth and achieve their goals.

And it isn’t hard to see why. Some of the most effective business people in recent history have used coaching to reach the top of their game. As former Google CEO Eric Schmidt once remarked during an interview with Fortune: “Every famous athlete, every famous performer has somebody who is a coach, somebody who can watch what they’re doing, somebody who can [...] give them perspective.” Whether it was

ActionCOACH’s quarterly conference

Mark Zuckerberg being guided to his full potential by the late Steve Jobs or former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer benefitting from the tutelage of Schmidt and current Alphabet CEO Larry Page, coaching has enabled some of the world’s brightest business leaders make the most of their growth.

As Stephen Ward, co-owner and cofounder of Clerksroom, explains, part of the reason ActionCOACH business coaching is so invaluable is it provides an objective perspective on growth opportunities that will allow companies to significantly up their game. “When you have a good business you don’t necessarily want to get involved in challenges because you are doing ok,” he says. “Many business owners understand the technical aspect of their company – an artist may be great at painting but won’t make money without a good agent, in fact, they may not even see why they need an agent at all.

But a great business coach take good businesses to great.”

However, given the ICF survey revealed that 45% of business leaders view the presence of untrained individuals acting as coaches to be the biggest obstacle facing the industry, clearly it’s important for anyone who wants to roll up their sleeves and help businesses prosper to join an effective coaching system. Finding an established brand with a tried-and-tested methodology, a comprehensive training and support package and a network of engaged business-growth coaches can ensure that you’ve found a model that can go the distance. And once you’ve found the right system for you, you will soon feel the pride that comes with helping your clients get the gold time and time again.

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ACTIONCOACH

Help is at hand ActionCOACH can provide you with the tools and systems to save ailing companies and take businesses from good to great ere’s a hypothetical for you. Imagine Pam’s hairdressing salon. Now Pam’s terrific at her job but the business is underachieving. That’s understandable, you think. Just because someone’s a dab hand at cutting hair, it doesn’t necessarily follow that they know everything there is to know about managing people, finances and marketing.

What Pam needs is guidance: an outsider looking in, armed with strategies to improve her bottom line. With a business coach, she could introduce relatively modest improvements that, taken together, would be transformative. Fortunately, ActionCOACH has more than 3,500 of these strategies and tactics to draw on.

The company, which estimates that at least a million British businesses like Pam’s could benefit from its services, has 170 UK-based franchise partners, ranging from teachers

TAKING ACTION Lucas Vigilante, franchise partner since 2010

What made you decide the time was right to start your own business?

Having spent quite some time at home with my young family after leaving a telecommunication business I had loved building and being a part of for over 19 years, I realised I needed to rekindle my interest in business. Mainly for the sake of my wife’s sanity: while she’d enjoyed having me

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to military officers. With an eye on the potential market, ActionCOACH feels it could easily accommodate many more. For an entry-level investment of £25,000, the business-growth franchise is capable of generating a six-figure income. And in what you might call the premier league, some coaches have reached monthly turnovers of £70,000 and a net operating profit of 70%.

ActionCOACH prides itself on being the numberone business coaching team in the world – it’s been going strong since 1993, after all – so its entry criteria are strict. It may not demand formal coaching experience but it does ask that candidates possess team spirit, a strong appetite for learning and growth, a desire to help others and evidence of career or business success.

The entry-level ActionPRIMARY, takes five days online and another five in a classroom and explains, among other things, how to help a business generate and convert leads more effectively, make repeat sales more likely, raise the average value of a sale and boost margins. With the products, services, learning materials provided, invaluable advice is never far away. ActionPREMIUM offers a variety of additional rewards and incentives, and the ability to hire two additional fee-earners.

And this isn’t the only help the brand provides: given just five customers can make a coaching venture profitable, ActionCOACH’s exclusive Lead & Client Generation Centre and initial threemonth marketing subsidy are designed to help you

around I think she was eager to get me out of the house again!

What helped you decide that ActionCOACH was the right opportunity for you?

After meeting their UK representative responsible for bringing on board new franchisees, I was convinced there was something unique about ActionCOACH but I couldn’t quite pin down what. So I started calling current franchisees, trying to catch them out: I wanted them to tell me there was something wrong with ActionCOACH but they never did. After hearing roughly the same positive story over and over again – “it’s a great team”, “there’s endless support”, “we’re helping people realise their life’s ambitions” or “it’s the most

rewarding thing I’ve ever done” – I said to my wife: “we’re either joining the best team in the world or you can divorce me for making the worst decision I’ve ever made!”

What do you think sets the ActionCOACH programme apart from other programmes?

ActionCOACH was founded by an out and out entrepreneur, Brad Sugars, so its foundation is rock solid.

What’s happened since Brad began to franchise ActionCOACH is that all these amazing people have joined him and continued to build and improve its resources. There’s now a beautifully logical system that can be applied to literally any business.

Firstly, you use it to build your own coaching business. Secondly, the

ACTIONCOACH

find those customers. But while the ActionCOACH support team plays a huge role in supporting it’s franchise partners, the real string to the businessgrowth franchise’s bow is the togetherness of its network: its franchise partners, who are all at different levels of growth and success, provide a ready-made support network, giving a balanced view of the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Unsurprisingly, this approach to training has made ActionCOACH a hit with its franchise partners.

Smith & Henderson, an independent research firm, surveys thousands of franchisees every year. In the period from 2013 to 2016, ActionCOACH achieved its 5-Star Franchisee Satisfaction status every year, making it one of only five franchises to do so on four occasions. And that’s not all: at last year’s RBS Best Franchise Awards, ActionCOACH walked home with the prize for the UK’s Best Mid-Priced Franchise Between £25k – £99k Investment – the third time in a row the company had won the award.

Financial considerations aside, ActionCOACH’s coaches play a valuable, fulfilling role, bringing jobs and prosperity to their communities. Bearing in mind the upsides, it’s no surprise that coaching is one of the UK’s fastest-growing professions. So, if you’re pondering a career change, it’s time to be honest with yourself: can you afford to miss out?

An ActionCOACH Business Growth Specialist working with a client during a GrowthCLUB workshop

If you are interested in hearing more about the opportunities ActionCOACH presents, visit actioncoach.co.uk

moment you take on your first client, you begin to coach them to apply it to their business. Once mastered, this system is extremely powerful.

How has ActionCOACH helped you make a meaningful difference in business owners’ lives?

It’s extremely difficult to put into words what it’s like when you see someone achieve something they thought was, frankly, impossible. When someone takes their first holiday for ten years, buys their dream home, gives their team a significant pay rise or pays themselves what they deserve, just because you got them to think about what mattered to them, write it down and then commit to working weekly towards making it happen – backed up by the world’s number one business coaching team and business growth system of course! You honestly can’t buy the sort of thanks you get when their dreams turn in to their very own reality.

Franchise partner, Lucas Vigilante, helping his team mates for free

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ENGAGE & GROW

Getting engaged Whether or not employees feel engaged by their work can make the difference between a business failing or succeeding.

And that offers a valuable opportunity for those interested in helping businesses grow hen thinking about the long-term strategy of a company, entrepreneurs and business leaders can’t solely focus on business plans and targets. Making sure that staff are engaged with and excited about the mission ahead is just as important. As serial entrepreneur Richard Branson once remarked: “While many people talk about profits and productivity as the necessary ingredients, I believe that a business’s long-term success is built on staff who love working there.” Despite this, however, it seems many employers are falling short when it comes to engaging their staff: according to the State of the Global Workplace 2013 report released by Gallup, the management consultancy, just 17% of UK employees are engaged, while 57% are not engaged and 26% are actively disengaged.

And this is why in the eyes of Karrie-Ann Fox, Engage & Grow facilitator, no business can afford to overlook the subject of engagement. “Engaged Joanna Martorana with Engage & Grow facilitators graduating from training

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employees are more productive, they take less sick days and they have better relationships with each other and their customers,” she says. “As a result, businesses with engaged employees make more profit, make fewer mistakes and have lower staff turnover than businesses with disengaged employees. This means owners of businesses with engaged leaders grow their businesses faster, get better returns for shareholders and have more time to work on their business or to follow other pursuits.” All told, employee engagement is essential for business growth.

Certainly businesses that take engaging their staff seriously can expect it to have a transformative effect. According to a meta-analysis Gallup conducted of 1,882,131 employees around the world, companies that come in the top quartile for staff engagement enjoy increases of 20% in sales productivity and 21% in profitability over those in the lowest quartile. And better staff engagement doesn’t only motivate those within the business: reenergising employees and turning staff into brand advocates also saw businesses receive a 10% boost in customer loyalty. And much of the responsibility for driving this comes from the top: according to a survey commissioned by Dale Carnegie Training and conducted by MSW ARS Research, 60% of employees that have confidence in their leaders are fully engaged and 84% of how employees feel about the organisation they work in is driven by their immediate manager.

In light of this, it’s no surprise that business leaders are increasingly looking for someone to give them a helping hand in ensuring they can boost employee engagement. And with more business growth solutions arising that cater to the space, there are plenty of options for aspiring entrepreneurs looking to help more businesses engage and excite their employees.

ENGAGE & GROW

This time it’s personal Helping business leaders create more engaged employees isn’t just good for an employee engagement specialist’s bottom line: with Engage & Grow there’s plenty of fulfilment too

The results speak for themselves. In one testimonial after another, participants talk about how the programme brought the team closer, made people more confident, boosted their self-motivation and, in some cases, hoisted them out of their comfort zones. Over the course of a typical programme, Engage & Grow boosts employee engagement by an average of 257% for SMEs and 361% for corporates and government bodies. The signature Red Belt programme improves productivity from top to bottom, unearths more leaders from all levels of the organisation and, thanks to the growing dedication of staff, boosts profits. Not bad for 12 weeks’ activity.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the coaches: there are more than 50 Engage & Grow facilitators throughout the UK. Their task is to not only help staff members love what they do but to turn actively disengaged employees into fully engaged leaders. Other responsibilities, such as getting the most out of millennials and creating a high-energy work environment, help to ensure the role is never dull.

Engage & Grow recruiters are looking for professionals who feel frustrated with the current approach to boosting engagement in the workplace. As well as being able to add a time-efficient programme to their professional portfolio, licence owners will get to join a growing support network for coaches, a clear progression structure leading up to mentor coach – which

s professional mantras go, “another day, another dollar” has to be one of the worst.

Clearly, switched-off staff cause all manner of problems for the companies they work for. But if you can flick that switch and make them content, eager and absorbed every day of their working lives, the resulting transformation will lift profits as well as spirits.

And despite the fact that just last year Deloitte reported traditional training techniques were too old and slow for modern business, there’s a successful, tried-and-tested alternative: Engage & Grow. Designed to put a spring in the step of any workforce, this 12week, programme is based on the latest ‘engagement keys’ and can be the catalyst to make the daily grind an outmoded concept.

Scientifically and neurologically designed over nine years, the objective of Engage & Grow’s programme is to captivate and entertain while at the same time developing new habits and behaviours. Since actions speak louder than words, the weekly group sessions – customised for individuals and organisations alike – encourage genuine, positive changes through an all-action programme that develops leaders across every level of the business. In essence, it’s a practical, rewarding and long-lasting form of self-improvement, run in-house – or even via video link – and performed with each and every colleague. As Engage & Grow promises there is An Engage & Grow facilitator delivering a Red Belt programme “nowhere to hide”.

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ENGAGE & GROW

RARING TO GROW Joanna Martorana, Engage & Grow facilitator since 2016

What made you decide the time was right to start your own business?

comes with enhanced recognition and rewards – and opportunities to increase their income with both new and existing clients.

Becoming an Engage & Grow facilitator requires an investment of £7,800 to cover training and support – and once coaches are trained, the revenue is split 75:25 in your favour. The role can be as part-time and as flexible as you wish and one client can more than pay back your initial outlay.

And, in terms of personal satisfaction, engagement coaches have a chance to make a real difference to people’s lives, as Jake Cooper, head of creative services at Oakman Inns and Restaurants explains.

“Our employee engagement specialist was inspiring and effective to our company and has had a resounding impact on both the marketing department and customer engagement team at Oakman Inns & Restaurants,” he says. “Productivity, job satisfaction and inter-team relationships have all improved as a direct result of our time with our coach. Highly recommended!”

So, assuming all goes well, with Engage & Grow you can wave goodbye to the Monday morning blues.

Forget “another day, another dollar”. Play your cards right and your motto will be “glad to be of service” – or, better still, “I love what I do”.

If you are interested in hearing more about the opportunities Engage & Grow presents, contact Kerry-Ann at uk@engageandgrowglobal.com 8

At the peak of my banking career in the City I earned a six-figure salary. But I missed having a true sense of purpose and reward other than money. When I saw Brad Sugars, the founder of ActionCOACH, on the stage for the first time I was blown away and immediately the penny dropped – I’d found my calling. I realised for the first time that coaching is what I had been doing in my banking career through building teams and ultimately coaching people to achieve results. I haven’t looked back since.

What helped you decide that Engage & Grow was the right business growth system to add to your business?

Whilst I was loving delivering traditional business growth coaching, all my clients kept telling me they wanted more help with their teams and that they bought into me because of who I am as a people person. I then did my Wealth Dynamics, which confirmed what was blindingly obvious: that my natural talent is in leadership and transformational coaching.

As soon as I discovered who I really was as a coach, I re-engaged with Richard Maloney, the founder and CEO of Engage & Grow, because I knew this was what I had to do. I had found my niche and it gave me the

time and income to be a great mum.

What do you think sets the Engage & Grow programme apart from other business growth programmes?

This programme focuses on activating peoples’ minds in a group environment for team success. We are transforming people’s lives and businesses – our clients and facilitator coaches have not experienced anything quite like it before now. My personal growth as a coach has been fast-tracked and it’s changed even my behaviours and habits, as well as the culture and behaviours of my clients and their teams.

How has Engage & Grow helped you make a meaningful difference in business owners’ lives?

These programmes have made many differences for my clients including: business growth and ROI through increased revenues and profits in only 12 weeks; increased employee engagement scores; a notable transformation in peoples’ behaviours and the culture of the businesses; more accountability and initiative taken from employees and – more importantly – happier, healthier minds that have in turn created re-invigorated workforces. My clients and their teams are now loving what they do and looking forward to going to work so together they can take the company forward and create business success.

PROFITPLUS

Building a business blueprint It can be hard to scale a company when the road ahead is unclear. Fortunately business-growth coaches are perfectly placed to help business owners to plan for any eventuality

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hink of one of the world’s truly great buildings.

Whether your mind first settles on The Shard, the Petronas Towers, the One World Trade Center or the Burj Khalifa, you can guarantee it has one thing in common with all its contemporaries: its architect drew up a detailed plan long before even a teaspoon of soil was moved. The same is true of the world’s most influential businesses: from Apple and Microsoft to Facebook and Twitter, every successful company has relied upon a detailed business plan to transform it from a dream to reality.

Without a doubt being able to plan for the future is important for any business. According to an article by Andrew Burke, Stuart Fraser and Francis J. Greene in the Journal of Management Studies, companies that plan ahead are able to grow 30% faster. Meanwhile, a study conducted by the University of Oregon found businesses with a plan were far

“If you don’t have a business plan, be prepared for surprises and unnecessary challenges”

ProfitPlus facilitator delivering a programme

more likely to secure funding than those without. As a business scales, meticulously planning the journey ahead can help it avoid any missteps and be better prepared for challenges as they arise.

And with Brexit looming large, the government’s shaky position spooking the markets and big businesses threatening to up sticks and move to the continent, it’s more important than ever for businesses to have in place a plan that can deal with whatever lies ahead, as Paul Greenwood, one of ActionCOACH’s 170+ UK-based franchise partners explains. “The key to success of any business, no matter its age or size, is the extent of planning undertaken. A formal business plan is an essential tool for starting, managing and growing a business and provides a framework for decision-making to take place. Every single thing you do in your business should be guided by your business plan. So if you don’t have a business plan, be prepared for surprises and unnecessary challenges.”

Despite this, however, according to research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research, more than a quarter of small businesses don’t have any plan in place.

And one obstacle that can often deter business leaders from attempting to formulate their business plan is it can often be very time consuming and costly to produce. This is why a huge demand has emerged for businessgrowth specialists who can help companies save time and money when putting together their business plans.

So if you’re skilled at leading a team of people and have a passion for helping companies achieve real growth, there is a huge opportunity to become the architect of many companies’ future success.

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PROFITPLUS

Looking to the future When it comes to helping business owners plan for the long-term, ProfitPlus presents the perfect opportunity arge companies have been creating annual 3-5 year business plans since time immemorial.

However for smaller companies, most start out with a business plan and then the business’s demands on their time, get in the way of repeating the exercise. For others the cost of the exercise with accountancy practices often charging north of £5,000 is prohibitive. The saying ‘fail to plan and plan to fail’ is a cliche for a reason: 9 out of 10 UK-based companies fail inside 10 years of starting up.

Thankfully, ProfitPlus offers answers. It provides clients with essential business planning, business valuation, cashflow analysis, profitability analysis and financial monitoring services.

In return for an investment of between £2,000 and £3,000 per business, clients attend a split two-day planning workshop. With the help of a ProfitPlus Facilitator and using a unique system and software developed by ProfitPlus over the past decade, business leaders can develop their own five-year plan. The software can also convert the plan into a ‘live document’ featuring what-if scenarios, variance analysis and a dashboard of key financial ratios.

A ProfitPlus facilitator helping a business owner to plan for the future

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PROFITPLUS

Armed with this critical information, the client can take the next steps to keep their venture on the fastest growth path possible in the 12 months that follow.

In fact, a variety of ProfitPlus services and products exist.

Specific aims include gauging the health of the business – with tailored strategies for generating more leads, repeat sales, competitiveness, profitability and productivity – giving a helping hand to firms that are developing their concept, in startup mode or are experiencing stagnation; putting together a business plan for the purpose of gaining funding; and financial analysis for clients that don’t have the in-house financial analysts or controllers.

Launched in June, already 30 ProfitPlus territories have been reserved, providing a licence to exclusive direct marketing territory, covering 10,000 employing businesses. There’s an upfront investment in a licence for an exclusive ProfitPlus territory and a royalty per plan of £300.

Natwest is already so supportive of the business opportunity, they are offering up to 75% funding which means you can get

ON THE PLUS SIDE

Matt Ewer, ProfitPlus Facilitator since 2016

What made you decide the time was right to start your own business?

I’d got involved as captain and fundraiser in my local cricket club.

I’d set out extremely ambitious goals for where we should be as a club and the amount of funds we should raise in a five-year plan. We achieved everything in three years,

started for a personal contribution of as little as £17k.

In return for your investment, the support given to licence owners is thorough. It starts with a four-day training programme devoted to business ownership, generating leads, and clients and delivering the programmes.

And the learning and development continues from there with regular training sessions to share best practice and a supportive network of licence holders and support team members. If you’re considering the ProfitPlus licence you will be someone who: enjoys presenting, hosting workshops, working with and guiding teams of people, has a genuine interest in the business of business and a passion for helping people succeed.

If you are interested in hearing more about the opportunities ProfitPlus presents, contact Vic at vic@profitplusaccounts.com

which gave me the confidence to believe I could make running my own business a success.

How did you come across ActionCOACH?

My wife sent me an email suggesting I’d be a good business coach. I googled business coaching and came across ActionCOACH so gave them a call: 30 minutes later I was smitten with the idea and decided to give it a go in my existing business. My experiences running my own small business convinced me that it is essential that we get out there and provide access to services like ours.

What helped you decide that ProfitPlus was the right business growth system to add to your business?

I was coaching clients with a lot of success but was getting frustrated that it was extremely challenging getting business owners to examine what they really wanted for their future. Plans were set on shortterm timelines and based on whichever need was most pressing at the time. I wanted to transform my clients’ lives and deliver their dream lifestyle. To do that I needed to help them through that thinking

process, open their minds to what was achievable and translate that into the specific numbers to deliver that lifestyle.

What do you think sets the ProfitPlus programme apart from other business growth programmes?

The ProfitPlus framework enables me to clearly and quickly help a business owner map out a clear path to their dream life. By building their plan, business owners can see the possibilities, what they’d need to do to make it happen and, by seeing it and laying out the steps, it becomes real. This completely changes their perspective on their business. It gives them clear vision, focus and strong motivation and as a result the results I’m getting with my clients are outstanding.

How has ProfitPlus helped you make a meaningful difference in business owners lives?

There’s no other way to describe it than completely transforming people’s lives. They fall in love with their business again, it boosts passion and drive and gives meaning to the journey they’re on as a business owner.

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PROFITPLUS ✓ A guaranteed income of £8,333 per month by month 7; ask us about the Ts & Cs. ✓ Award winning franchise support, ActionCOACH is 1 of only 5 franchise networks to rate their franchise 5-Star for four years. ✓ The full support of your franchise network with a shared value of teamwork.

✓ Exclusive marketing territory. ✓ Massive market - 10,000 active companies that all need a great business plan every year. ✓ Zero fixed ongoing fees. ✓ People focused - Sophisticated software does the financial analysis and business planning for you so you can focus on your clients.

ARE YOU RARING TO GROW freedom@actioncoach.com actioncoach.co.uk 01284 701648

ENGAGE & GROW uk@engageandgrow.com engageandgrow.com.au 0116 4645992

PROFITPLUS vic@profitplusaccounts.com profitplusaccounts.com 01284 701648

Only £7.8K investment including training & support.

75:25 revenue split in your favour. ✓ You are able to work as part-time and as flexible as you wish. ✓ Fulfilling, you get to make a real difference. ✓ One client can more than pay back your investment.

ENGAGE & GROW