UK Business Coaching & Mentoring Services by Fernando Raymond
Looking For An Experienced Business Coach In The UK With A Track Record?
Let’s start out with some definitions with regard to the two terms – coaching and mentoring.
These are just two definitions and you can, of course, find many more – I will give you my own definitions for what it’s worth and a coach to me, is someone designed to bring out the best in an individual or team and to help effect a transformation from the ‘now’ to the desired goal.
A business mentor is someone who offers guidance based upon their life experiences and who have often been ‘in the shoes’ of the mentee.
But that is my take!
To me, the terms ‘consultant,’ trainer,’ ‘coach’ and ‘mentor’ all overlap to some degree what really matters is what you do for your client.
I will often perform a consulting role for some companies as they simply need a specific task performed to help them – to construct a risk assessment for their business plan for example and I will also train members of staff in say sales, but coaching and mentoring are the preferred routes for me, because I can help the person become their own ‘teacher’ and not be dependent on me or anyone else.
This is why I resonate with the terms ‘coach and ‘mentor’ as for me personally, I want to learn from someone else and their experiences, but I want to develop myself and find my own way.
In the beginning, I thought that I would simply have to go out and just do it all myself until I realized the help that a true mentor and business coach can give you.
My Business Story
After graduating with a Masters degree in Business at Worcester University, I was uncertain about my career and future. It was a difficult economic time after the 2008 financial crisis so getting a decent job as a fresher was tough in the UK. I had to be creative to find my path, so I researched literature and online content about the most in-demand skills and industries projected for the upcoming 10 years. SEO and digital skills continued to be at the forefront so I decided to teach myself those skills to become a digital entrepreneur.
As I gained SEO and digital skills like WordPress and blogging skills, I began to blog about my work regularly. I ranked my blog Fernando Biz on Google with my SEO skills and after a few weeks I received my first client enquiries. I was stunned at how quickly I was able to establish my online presence to start earning online, but the hard work was to deliver results to clients.
After landing my first SEO client I had to work my SEO magic and rank their website at the top of Google, which I managed successfully. I had my first case study and client review, which catapulted me to the next stage of onboarding several clients and therefore hiring more staff to support me.
Kasun Sameera was with me from the start, building the ClickDo website and hundreds of other websites and platforms.
With the success came responsibility and I had to learn the skills to manage a business from accounting to HR and consulting.
I realised that being an entrepreneur is very demanding, but I embraced the challenge and learned uncountable lessons along the way.
Why You Need An Experienced Business Coach And Mentor
If you are serious about becoming an entrepreneur or improving your business performance and accelerating growth, then you need a coach/mentor or both to benefit from the lessons they’ve learned the hard way.
It’s that simple.
I was very reluctant to pay for a coach or mentor. Looking back, I wish I could have avoided some of the challenges I faced by talking to a trusted mentor to get their advice. It would have saved me valuable time and money while building my businesses.
One of the key reasons I believe a mentor is very important is to simply keep your ego in check – we entrepreneurs always know best, right?
It’s in our nature and why let some other ‘expert’ tell us any different? Well, I look back now and wish I had listened to some of those experts, who really did know their stuff.
I have certainly let my ego run away with me in the past.
Aside from ego, it is also a good feeling to know that you can call someone to simply bounce ideas off and make sure that you are not making the huge mistake of buying into your own ideas or ‘selling to yourself.’
In other words, you are too convinced that your idea or how you are running your business will succeed and you are virtually oblivious to outside information or reality.
A good mentor and business coach will have ‘been in your shoes’ and will provide the most tailored guidance to support you on your individual entrepreneurial journey.
With coaching, we are now talking about bringing the best out of you and your business – I talk about business and personal coaching and mentoring and for those people in business, they can be one and the same, because the person defines the business.
For me how I optimise my life and business is closely interlinked. Because as the business owner you hold all the responsibility and you need to be at your best every single day. I therefore don’t just share business tips but also lifestyle tips.
For me, the mindset is the key to everything. With the right mindset everything you visualise you attract!
Take the boxer Floyd Mayweather and he has the words ” hard work” and “dedication” instilled into his fighters and staying with boxing, Mike Tyson was asked once why he ran at 04:30 in the mornings and he explained that he knew the other fighter wouldn’t be up that early!
Most importantly, I teach my clients how to practice as practice does not make perfect – perfect practice makes perfect! I see that every day in my businesses, my staff and myself.
It all comes back to working on philosophy, skills development and taking action. You have to help the person or the company get from where they are to where they want to be. Period.
How To Identify And Seek The Right Business Coach
Before you start to look, it is important for you to understand why you want a coach and or a mentor.
When I speak to someone for the first time, I simply ask them what it is that they need help with and many explain about a specific area of their life, business or both, but more often than not, what they think they need is not what they really need. I therefore dig deeper during an initial free consultation where I establish the core strengths and weaknesses of the business so that I can then propose what I can provide my advice and mentoring for specifically. Every entrepreneur and business is unique, so my coaching and mentoring is completely tailored to their individual needs and requirements.
The personal relationship equally matters and my style needs to resonate with you and vice versa.
There is no secret to this and no ‘one way.’
So let’s go over some of the criteria you can use to evaluate your prospective coach and mentor and I must stress the word ‘some,’ as there are too many aspects to cover in a single article.
It really comes down to this as we are on the subject of business coaching – has the person been in business for themselves?
If not, then you are probably not going to have someone who can relate to what you are going through, It’s not that they cannot help you from an advisory perspective, but have they felt the pressure of business, dealt with uncertainty, pulled themselves out of tough and challenging situations and have they bounced back from failure?
You may get that from their story on their website(s) and that brings me to another point – how quickly to they respond to you after the initial contact and are they contactable by phone? In today’s technology-enabled world, which I support, I still feel there is a need for the human touch, especially in the world of coaching and mentoring,
Is there an offer of a ‘free’ initial chat or meeting and if so, how strict are they in terms of keeping to the allocated time slots – I have had an initial free 30-minute consultation go on for an hour and a half, simply because I ended up delving deeper into the problem to discover it was fixable there and then – there was no need for further coaching and we ended up in a mentoring arrangement that did the same monthly.
Everyone has a commercial value, but does that value drive the process, or does client success come first?
Finally, let me talk about qualifications – I have nothing against any form of qualification and as the coaching and mentoring world is growing, so are the number of coaches and many are coming from the qualification route.
I know many people who attend a three-month, six-month or whatever course and come out as a qualified coach.
What is more important to me in the world of business, is that any coach must have the ability to ‘do it’ and not only advise people as to ‘how to do it’ and there is a huge difference.
Running my companies over the years I saw many coaches and consultants approach me explaining how they could help and I would always listen to them, as maybe they could.
I was interested in what they could do for me, not their qualifications and the first test I would give to someone (if they had made a direct approach to me and I liked it), was to come in for a face-to-face meeting.
However most would fail at the first hurdle and that was when I would ask them to tell me about my company, my goals, vision and precisely how they would go about helping me.
This information was on my website and an Internet search would have given more…but they simply hadn’t done their homework and also please remember that they had approached me!
Now on the other side of the coin, I have called up key people to seek their help and I now measure it in the way and what type of questions they ask me.
I love people who get straight to the point, who can very quickly ‘get it’ and even to the point when they will finish my sentences for me!
So the identification part is probably the easiest and then it comes down to doing a bit of ‘discovery’ and finding someone who you resonate with.
What To Expect In Terms Of Cost And Value
I would suggest to ask yourself first how much you are willing to invest in your coaching and where you see the ROI. You can be transparent about your budget and see what you can get for that.
Coaches are usually able to offer various packages, at least, that’s how I work as I know the mentoring project can be very diverse, ranging from short to long-term, from intense to flexible, depending on the individual needs.
Make sure you take everything into account so you have a clear vision when you enquire with a coach.
How to find a Business Coach and Mentors in your Area in the UK
Many business coaches and mentors operate virtually and for someone like me who likes to travel, this is the more suitable option. However, I do try to arrange in-person meetings whenever I can as I find that the face-to-face interaction is so much more valuable, especially when you get to know each other better.
It will come down to your preferences, but if you are looking for a coach and mentor within your UK area, then you should start searching on Google or Bing as they should have a business profile visible on Maps. If they don’t, then that might already be an indicator about the kind of coach they are.
I create awareness of myself as an entrepreneur and mentor through my companies and my own blog fernandoraymond.com and social media and YouTube channels and you can Google my name to also find my business profile.
Many people find me when I post on social media in their area and I get most enquiries through my socials and websites. So, you might spot one of my videos or blogs in your feed or search and if I am near you, feel free to connect. I think that’s the best approach to find your ideal coach near you.
How I can help you as your Business Coach?
One of my key skills is to very quickly get to the heart of the matter and create an achievable success strategy.
What I really understand is how to build and grow a business from scratch, with very little capital and to generate sales. I’ve thus far built several online businesses over the last 10 years which are all steadily growing. I founded ClickDo as an SEO agency in 2013 and it continues to expand and generate a steady revenue.
I approach everything from a ‘holistic ‘ perspective and that means every part, process, and system of the business is interconnected and it is essential to have a deep understanding of each part and how they interconnect. For example, there is no point in mounting an aggressive sales drive, hiring more salespeople and investing in the associated costs if your cash flow is not optimal.
I’ve also seen companies invest heavily in state-of-the-art technology, designing elaborate processes and procedures without having any idea of how they are going to drive sales.
Before I agree to any coaching/mentoring/consulting assignment, I make sure that I can deliver from the outset, otherwise I will not accept it – in my business career, I have turned away clients for the reason that I cannot help them and also even recommended them to my competition, as the interests of the client must come first.
But if I do agree, then it is a total commitment and I always have my phone switched on and will take calls whenever I can. But most importantly, I will tailor my approach to your specific requirements and situation. Mentoring is a very personal affair and I return the trust that is invested in me.
Some Final Words…
I know personally how lonely the role of an entrepreneur is and people don’t always look at that side of things and that is where you can suddenly find yourself ‘losing it’ and I know I did on a few occasions.
Building resilience and the ability to adapt quickly are skills that every entrepreneur should have in my view and this will play a big part in my coaching approach.
I don’t consider myself an oracle, but I can show you how to find what you’re looking for. I have failed and succeeded and it’s the persistence and determination that makes all the difference.
Again, the mindset matters hugely and I am convinced that anyone can optimise their professional and personal life to turn it into their dream version.
Get to know me through my online presence and if you feel that my philosophy resonates with you, get in touch with me.