Testimonials

"To Whom This May Concern

We have employed the services of Iain Hemington, for several years as a business coach and have never once regretted it. He helped provide the focus we badly needed to work on our business rather than getting lost in its day to day running.

Iain has the uncanny ability to ask precisely targeted and specific questions such that we may determine our most important priorities. He helped us see the importance for ourselves as directors to sit down together on a regular basis and to plan the direction of our company in every aspect.

One of the most useful benefits to us is the way that the arrangement is ongoing - many business owners imagine they need someone to come in, wave a magic wand and leave behind them a financially successful organisation. However, Iain has proved even more useful to us than this! He has helped us identify what we feel our own aims, goals and priorities should be and to gain  for ourselves the tools we need to achieve this.

Our harp-making business is very specialised yet we have found it refreshing to have someone with Iain's abilities to come in and look at every aspect of our organisation from a fresh perspective. This has included looking at interpreting sales figures, using money management, advertising techniques, acquiring customer feedback, getting the best from our staff, successful recruitment campaigns and many other areas.

I make no hesitation in recommending the services of Iain Hemington, confident that he would benefit any company he is associated with.

Yours faithfully, Mr JP Blumire, Director Pilgrims Harps."

Case History: 6th January 2006

Chimney Relining Specialist improved by Business Coaching

Tunbridge Wells based Chimney Care, one of the country’s leading chimney relining specialists, are celebrating the New Year with a more effective business.

The company, which relines domestic and industrial chimneys, was started around 10 years ago by Bill Burnett and Alan Rose. While the company operates predominantly it the South East, it has been featured on TV and in the national press, and boasts a customer list that includes pop stars, celebrities and even the Royal Estate at Windsor Castle.

Although the business has enjoyed steady growth since it was established, around 18 months ago Bill and Alan realised that their management structure was not coping with the increasing level of business. Both partners were working very long hours and had no time to build a team that would allow them to continue to drive the business forward. Indeed, they felt they were sinking under the pressure.

However 18 months ago, a meeting with local business coach Iain Hemington changed everything for Bill and Alan. Iain realised that something had to be done to cut down the partners’ workload. He therefore helped the pair introduce several important systems that would dramatically change the way they ran the company.

Systemisation has proved to be the real panacea for the business. It has made it easier to delegate effectively, recruit the right personnel and even improve the effectiveness of the advertising and marketing activity. Furthermore, Bill and Alan are now able to spend time on the business itself, rather than just working in it, and with Iain’s help, they have created and implemented a structured business plan that has really got the company back on track.

The transformation has been astonishing. According to Bill:

“Although we had always associated coaching with sport, we have been amazed at how the same principles can be applied to help small business owners like ourselves. Working with Iain has not only enabled us to introduce a management plan for the first time, but has also helped us to structure our growth in an organised way. Iain demonstrated to us the importance of testing and measuring results, which in turn, now helps us make better informed decisions on how to manage our growing business. The sales process is more effective, producing a more predictable business with sales increasing by an amount which more than offsets the investment we have made in the coaching”