In 1999, I read a book called The E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber. It completely changed my life and the way I viewed business. In many ways, it was the beginning of my journey towards becoming a business coach.
At the time, I owned and operated, alongside my then business partner, the largest Personal Training Studio in Australia.
The E-Myth explained why so many small businesses struggle: owners become trapped working in the business rather than working on the business. Gerber argued that successful businesses should operate through clearly defined systems, processes and roles rather than depending entirely on the owner.
That idea fascinated me.
It didn’t matter whether a business was turning over $100,000 or $100 million—the principles were remarkably similar. Sustainable growth required systems that could consistently drive marketing, sales, customer retention and operational performance.
From that point forward, I became obsessed with understanding what makes businesses—and the people behind them—perform at a higher level.
From Business Owner to Business Coach
My entrepreneurial journey actually began several years earlier. I’ve been self-employed since 1996, initially building my career in the fitness industry before moving increasingly into business coaching, sales, marketing, customer retention and technology. What I discovered was that I loved business itself.
I loved looking inside a business, understanding how all the moving parts worked, identifying what wasn’t working and finding ways to make it better. I was naturally curious about why one business succeeded while another struggled despite having similar products, people and opportunities.
That curiosity eventually led me into business coaching.
Over the following two decades, I worked closely with business owners, particularly within the fitness and services based industries, helping them navigate marketing, sales, retention, operations, leadership, growth and the countless challenges that come with running a small to medium size business.
I also became a technology entrepreneur, developing multiple software platforms/companies for the global fitness industry and building businesses that operated across several international markets.
Along the way, I’ve experienced the highs and lows of entrepreneurship firsthand, the growth, the wins, the mistakes, the uncertainty, the setbacks and the need to continually reinvent yourself.
Those experiences have probably taught me as much about business as any textbook ever could.
An Obsession With Learning
I’ve always had an incredibly curious mind.
Over the past 30 years, I have read more than 3,000 books and attended more than 300 workshops, seminars and advanced trainings covering business, psychology, personal development, leadership, human behaviour, success principles and personal transformation.
My curiosity eventually moved beyond understanding businesses to understanding the people running them.
Why do some people continually grow and adapt while others remain stuck?
Why can two people experience similar circumstances but interpret and respond to them completely differently?
And why do intelligent, capable people sometimes know exactly what they should do but still don’t do it?
In 2008, I began formally studying Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Time Line Therapy© and personal transformation methodologies through The Tad James Company.
After graduating as one of the top five students at the beginning of 2012, I was personally invited to participate in the Accelerated Personal Evolution Program™ (APEP), an advanced transformational program created and facilitated by Tad James.
My education continued through studying the work and methodologies of people including Anthony Robbins, John Demartini, Byron Katie, Jack Canfield, Brian Tracy, Jay Abraham, Chet Holmes and many others.
Over time, my two worlds, business performance and human behaviour egan to come together.
Business Is Ultimately About People
I’ve come to believe that you cannot completely separate the performance of a business from the psychology of the person (or people) leading it.
Business owners bring their confidence, beliefs, fears, habits, decision-making patterns, ambitions and limitations into their businesses every single day.
Sometimes the roadblock is the marketing. Sometimes it’s the sales process. Sometimes it’s poor systems or operational performance. And sometimes, the biggest roadblock is the business owner themselves.
That’s why my background in both business and mindset has become such an important part of who I am as a coach.
What I’ve Learned Along the Way
After more than two decades of coaching business owners, one principle has remained remarkably consistent:
You need to know where you are, know where you want to go and have a clear plan for closing the gap. Additionally, having mentors and the ability to model successful people is the quickest way to bridge that gap.
That’s the philosophy I bring to my coaching today. First, we get clear about the outcome. Then we identify what is standing in the way. We develop a structured plan, establish the actions required to move forward and continually measure progress.
Every 1-on-1 session we ask:
What worked? What didn’t? What can we improve? What needs to be optimized? And where do we need to pivot?
Then we go again.
My role as a coach isn’t to pretend I have every answer. It’s to bring decades of business experience, curiosity, perspective and accountability to the table and work closely with business owners to help them find better answers.
Because after 30 years as an entrepreneur, I’m still fascinated by exactly the same thing that fascinated me when I first picked up The E-Myth in 1999:
How do we continually become better at what we do and build businesses that perform better because of it?
Today, outside of business, the most important part of my life is my family, my beautiful partner Sandra and our precious daughter Presley.
They’ve given me an entirely different perspective on what success really means.
For me today, success isn’t simply about building a bigger business or making more money. It’s about continuing to learn, creating something meaningful, helping other people grow, having the freedom to enjoy life with the people I love. and never losing the curiosity that started this entire journey.
Let’s connect.
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