Business Coaching Licence Opportunity With Ology

Walter Gregg – Troon, Scotland

The following Q&A gives you an insight not only into the success that Walter has enjoyed, but the lifestyle benefits he has enjoyed with his family.

Walter, tell us a little about yourself and where you’re from?

Having spent over 25 years in corporate life and been very successful with a number of major brands I still felt that I had more to offer and more ambitions than corporate life was going to be able to deliver for me.

I believed I had a real talent in helping people in business and saw coaching as the vehicle to develop my talents and achieve my aspirations in both lifestyle and business success.

How did you hear about Ology?

I had done a lot of research into different business opportunities including franchises and came across Ology almost by chance as this was at the early stages of their development. I simply spoke to the directors about what they envisaged for Ology and it was an obvious match for what I was looking for.

What was the one main thing that made you decide to join Ology?

Quite simply it was the right “fit” for me – all the background work on brand, website, templates, programmes etc were in place and of a very high quality which allowed me to concentrate on my strength of getting out there and meeting people and developing my coaching business. It was not an instant business but it gave me all the training, tools, backup and support I needed to fulfil my potential.

How would you rate the quality of the training?

Excellent – I already had some experiences of coach training before joining Ology and I believe the Ology training was the best because of the course materials, the quality of the coach trainers, the practical nature of the training and the huge amount of practical online backup available. I learnt a huge amount myself during the training and was outside my comfort zones on a number of occasions but benefitted from that immensely.

What would you say about the quality of the coaching programmes?

I have the same comments as for the training – comprehensive materials and backup, practical, well processed but flexible enough to satisfy each client’s needs. More material and information than any one client would ever need.

How would you describe the support you receive from Ology?

Having come from a corporate background and was now suddenly all on my own I found the support a vital aspect of my success. There were three different aspects for me.

One – the day by day and week by week support of my support coach was critical in the early stages to keep me on track and help on the occasions when my energy or confidence dipped.

Two – real practical help with the Ology materials and processes from head office but I had to learn that in the first instance I had to do the investigation and research myself rather than just lift the phone and say I had a problem without thinking it through.

Three – the coach network with fellow coaches made me feel I was not alone in a one man business. I have always felt that I had a bunch of good people that I could talk to and share challenges, successes and information with.

How have you and your family found the lifestyle of working for yourself?

Rewarding and challenging at the same time. I have far more options now about how I work, when I work and where I work which has been excellent from a lifestyle point of view. I found it a bit of a challenge in the early days to work from a home office with all the distractions and actually have nobody that I was directly accountable to but it was about a change of mindset and having a good workable plan in place. Nowadays I would not have it any other way.

Even though you are working for yourself, how does being part of Ology make your life easier?

As I said earlier I believe all the background stuff is covered off by Ology such as having an Ology email, website optimisation, updates and ongoing training regarding my own personal development. I can concentrate on the frontline work that I do but still have the opportunity to talk through my plans or challenges with like minded colleagues.

What personal targets have you hit since you joined Ology?

Interestingly many of many original targets have changed as my business has developed but the most important target I have achieved is a sense of increased self worth. I now have in place some more really testing aspirations and ambitions and I am confident that I can achieve these in the years to come with Ology.

What are your plans for the future?

I am in the process of developing more of a niche coaching business with increased emphasis on one to one executive coaching as well as the other programmes and I believe the Ology model allows me to do this. I do not see myself retiring but rather adjusting the balance between coaching, leisure and family time while still maintaining the lifestyle I want.

What recommendations can you give to somebody who can’t decide between joining an organisation like Ology or setting up a coaching business themselves?

Have a really good look at all the time, effort, experience, planning, materials, training and support that an organisation like Ology has put into developing their offering and ask yourself the question “do I really want to spend that time (approx. 6 months I think), effort, resource and expense into setting myself up and still not be sure if I have a workable model and also have to continue develop my model on an ongoing basis.”