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David Kirby - Concept

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David, can you start off by telling me a little bit about your business please? We design and refurbish offices. Basically, we map a company’s property plan with their business plan. We sit down with them and discuss how they’re going to use their office space for the next 5 years or however long the lease is going to be so that we can get them the best return on investment. How long have you been in business for? 12 years.

As a business owner who had successfully built a business over 10 years, what was it that made you start working with Paul?

What would you say has been the biggest benefit from having worked with Paul?

Well, as a boss you don’t have a boss and so are therefore not accountable to anyone and you can change the rules whenever you need to and working with Paul was a case of sitting down with someone once a week and stating what you were going to achieve and it was small shifts that over a period of time gathered momentum and have solidified very well.

How has your profit been impacted from working with Paul?

How about the number of hours that you’re actually working in and on the business?

I’m probably working as many hours as before, but now what’s happening is that I’m learning new tools so that I use that time in another way that’s not just necessarily running the business. The thing that I’ve actually struggled with is that when you get into a habit of working a certain number of hours you tend to fill that void with possibly non-productive work, so I’m trying to learn some new skills which mean that I can do some more productive work.

When you first started considering working with a business coach did the monthly amount seem like a lot of money to you?

Yeah, it probably did actually.

And what would you say now given the significant growth?

Have we had a return on our investment – yes, but I basically looked at it as a way that I could invest in myself to allow me to learn a whole bunch of new skills that I didn’t have or if I did have them they were dormant and I wasn’t getting the best out of what I could possibly do.

What would you say has been the biggest change for you as a person having worked with a business coach?

Accountability, having someone who’s going to turn up and make sure that, having said you were going to do something, then you’ve actually done it.

How would you summarise your experience from working with a business coach?

It’s a learning exercise and at the end of the day it’s ever-perpetuating. You become consciously competent, beforehand you didn’t know what you didn’t know so you didn’t mind but now you know you don’t know enough so you go out to try and find ways of learning more.

What advice would you give to someone who was thinking of working with a business coach?

Before I actually started working with Paul, we sat down for a one hour chat which actually became 3 hours because we were a good fit but at the end of the day if all it’s going to cost you is an hour of your time then it’ll be time well spent. I would suggest anybody serious about their business does it.

Contact the team now on +44 (0)1869 278900 or email team@paul-avins.com to find out how he can help you and your team achieve your business dreams.

Paul Avins – igniting business results