Building dreams after military life

Building dreams after military life

Former army captain Steve Gaskell successfully transitioned from the military to civvy street through the world’s number one business coaching franchise, ActionCOACH. It is not surprising to hear how Steve has a very regimented approach to operating and growing his own business, but it is this approach which means he can help so many business owners build their own dreams too.

Phil Rivers started his business, Unicorn Construction, in 2007 but just before meeting his local Action Coach Steve in 2022, he was struggling with productivity levels sometimes dipping by up to 30%, naturally impacting the bottom line. So, what caused the monumental shift from a loss of productivity to being on track to increase its turnover by almost a million pounds in the next year?

“We started the firm undertaking project management services before turning our attention to residential, private extensions and construction work,” explained Phil. “Although the business was flourishing, we were lacking a productive business culture. I had 18 workers directly employed on the books, but when I arranged for two or three to be on the same project, I would lose nearly a third of the productivity for the day. This is when I heard about ActionCOACH at a conference – I knew they were what we needed to help our company thrive.”

Establishing a balance

“The first shake-up was when Steve asked me what I wanted to get out of the business. I was so intrinsically involved in the company, I wasn’t looking at the business and how it was impacting me. I was accepting every job that came through the door rather than going out and getting the work I wanted, working 10-12 hours every weekday because I thought that was what I had to do to succeed.

“Working with my wife Nicki is wonderful but, in a way, it makes it even harder to establish that all-important work-life balance. When Nicki began attending my sessions with Steve, things clicked – we realised we needed to spend time outside of the business together whilst still being productive. It’s had a massive impact on our thought process and has helped us focus on what we want to get out of the business. 

“Once I had established this balance, I realised we needed to balance other issues throughout Unicorn Construction. We needed a team that wanted to work hard, who appreciated their downtime but weren’t here just for the money. We identified a few individuals who weren’t consistent and let them go, showing the rest of the team how important the right attitude is to the company.”

Making dreams a reality

Even though Steve has only been coaching Phil for just over five months, in both group sessions and one-to-one, Unicorn Construction has experienced significant growth already. Phil now has ambitious targets to increase his annual turnover from under £1.5 million in 2022 to £2.5 million in 2023.

“The first month or so focused on specific day-to-day problems and how I could overcome them. Now, it’s much more about the bigger picture – I’m focused on working on the business rather than in it. Through my business coaching, I have turned my personal dream of building my own house into a reality as I have more time to focus on my ambitions.”

The coach’s perspective

“Coaching Phil is great. He’s very detail oriented. If I ever ask him to watch something or read a book, he will always do it – and prior to our coaching he hadn’t read in over a year! He now has a good team foundation and I’m confident this is just the beginning for Unicorn Construction. For Phil and his family, I’m excited to help him achieve the dream of building his own home,” added Steve.

If you want to help others build their dreams like Steve and you’re the kind of person who: 

A) loves learning and developing yourself;

B) has enjoyed success in your career or sport; and

C) is willing to invest if you see substantial rewards can be made…

Find out more about ActionCOACH by viewing their profile.