Stephen James launched Silver Jet Insight in 2016. His company specialises in data-driven marketing. Working for many years running marketing for FTSE 100 companies, Stephen found the internal red tape and policies of working in large companies too restrictive for his ideas. The only way forward was to strike out on his own.
The result is his business can find opportunities in customer data and provide his clients with customer relationship programmes that work for them, their way, without simply having to use a one size fits all solution!
Stephen creates solutions that ‘make it happen’ thus building long-term solutions and strategies to improve a customer’s experience.
Stephen says…
“I wasn’t actively looking for a business coach, and to be honest when I first met Angela at a networking session a few months earlier, I didn’t really pay much attention to what she did. Sorry, Angela! Whilst I didn’t listen then, I eventually realised that I needed this lady to help me!
I own one business and I am about to launch another. I am also contributing to developing someone else’s business, I am a Dad and a school governor so you could say I am an extremely busy man and 2020 was proving tough.
Angela must have picked up on this as her client manager James gave me a call, and for me, the timing was absolutely perfect. I hadn’t been considering support, I was too consumed by doing and not putting enough time into thinking. Something had to change. Not only in my business but on a personal level too.
A few green shoots were coming through in my business that I wanted to nurture, but I needed accountability and direction to make them grow. I would find myself procrastinating, doing non-essential things, running out of time, or simply too tired at the end of the day to focus on my ideas. Then Angela came along and all that changed.
The first steps…
Angela and I discussed where I wanted to be in years to come.
My overall aim is to have a business that can run without me being there 100% of the time so I can spend more time at home. My vision is to be home for my daughter when she gets home from school, not have a second thought about taking holidays, and having relaxing stress-free weekends with my family. This is a big goal and I just didn’t know how I was going to get there.
Angela set me straight. To reach my main goal, I have 3 main plans to help me get there. One is to build my business client base of businesses (whose turnover is typically £2million+), increase profit to increase my team, and ultimately become less central to delivering client projects. We looked at my goals and timeline and worked back from there. We now have the smaller steps that we need to put in place for me to reach those goals. It’s feeling less daunting and much more achievable now.
The results so far…
I have a selection of tasks and deadlines from Angela. What I would normally put aside or to the bottom of the pile, I now address. Instead of not focusing on new plans, I will sit and write down notes or complete a task that edges me forward towards my goal.
Angela is great. She is helping me take little steps with things, each one edging me towards my business and personal goals.
One step was to be confident in justifying a price increase for my services. Angela talked me through her proven profitability process, and it has given me the confidence to put forward my value to clients rather than be held back by a self-imposed ceiling. Now I am confident in saying ‘This is my value; this is what my services are worth, and the results of my services speak for themselves.’
Even with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the support from Angela, I am feeling positive, less about the survival of my business and more about growth and the future. In the last 6 months, we have started working with a £16m turnover construction industry business and the British arm of a multinational financial services corporation, a great win!
Will I reach my goals? Yes! Because I have Angela checking in with me daily, asking what I have achieved in addition to our practical and insightful 1-2-1 sessions. I find Angela really helpful and would definitely recommend her to anyone who is a procrastinator, lacks a bit of focus, or needs help planning those little steps to reach the bigger goals.
Angela’s coaching has been incredibly valuable, opening my eyes to things I hadn’t previously considered. I have invested in this support mechanism to motivate me, hold me accountable to make improvements in my business and my personal life too.”
The ActionCOACH approach was the right fit for Stephen and he invested in one-to-one coaching with Angela in September 2020. Stephen attended seminars, takes part in planning workshops, and enjoys his daily check-in emails from Angela that give him the extra encouragement to focus and get tasks ‘done.’
A note from Business Coach Angela Turton
“I am enjoying working with Stephen, his businesses are fascinating and his client results show how good he is and how much value he provides to his client. He is taking the same logical approach to growing his businesses, and I am looking forward to the time when he is living his vision.”
Are you a business owner that feels they could do with this sort of help?
If the answer is yes, you can book an informal chat with us. Simply pop your details here and we will arrange a virtual coffee with you.
