Working globally
Business coach, Robert Gerrish is based in Sydney, Australia; his client Janine lives and works in London. They meet weekly via telephone.
The two originally met in 1980 becoming re-acquainted in 1999 when Robert began promoting his coaching practice through The Coaching & Mentoring Network and through his own website and monthly e-mail newsletter.
After more than 20 years in the retail industry, culminating in a directorship with one of Europe's leading retail groups, Janine was contemplating starting her own consulting business and was looking for support in making the leap.
After exchanging a couple of e-mails to organise their working structure (frequency of calls, fees etc.) the two began working together in August 1999.
The first hurdle to overcome was that of fear - the effect of giving up a secure income while moving out of an established comfort zone. Thankfully Robert works with a number of 'first time business owners' and was able to offer constructive support.
Over the course of the initial couple of weeks the two worked to create not only an exciting future vision, but also generated sufficient indication from prospective clients that the consultancy business could indeed provide a very healthy income.
With a young family, Janine's next concern related to life balance - she had seen and heard enough stories where security was exchanged for isolation and anxiety!
To help combat this, Robert took Janine through a life planning process that helped her develop a clear picture of how her business was going to have to look if it was going to satisfy the demands of her life. Next they set about agreeing some strategies and plans to make that picture a reality.
To many business owners the notion that a business can be 'perfect' may appear to be an unrealistic Utopia, but as many coaches will attest it is not only achievable, but essential for real and lasting success.
Four months on, Janine's consultancy is growing well and is ahead of her expectation in terms of income
and client base. She has clients in London, New York and Florence and has this to say of the support of
her coach: "I have felt Robert's support alongside me the whole time. I am aware it is me doing
the work, but Robert helps me decide where my efforts should go and he keeps me focused on what is
truly important.
"It rarely crosses my mind that he is on the other side of the world and when it does it
merely reinforces my commitment to building my own business 'sans frontiers'."
To learn more about Robert's work, perform a NameSearch in our Business Referral Service, visit his website ator send him an e-mail:
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