Case study -James Wood

Self-employed web developer James Wood was struggling with the stress of running his own business. He found himself agreeing to every project and over-promising on deliverables and timelines to clients, causing stress and creating a lack of confidence in his abilities. 

Breaking the cycle

Feeling overwhelmed, James turned to Neil for help. Through their sessions, Neil helped James develop coping tactics to deal with his stress and business anxiety.

"I was stuck in a cycle of constantly trying to provide what I thought others wanted from me, instead of being true to myself."

One key tactic was to take a step back and talk through his business decisions, which drew out some unhelpful  thought processes and helped him gain clarity. Neil helped him to realise that a number of the choices he’d made were based on assumptions and imitating businesses he’d worked for in the past, rather than truly understanding his own working style and what his clients needed. James’ need to constantly stress himself to over-deliver was holding him back from succeeding in building a scalable freelance business.

By suggesting several smart tactics for dealing with James’ tendency to over-promise, Neil helped him to forge stronger, more honest relationships with his clients. He also helped James to feel more like a freelancer than an employee, which brought a level of objectivity and freedom James felt he’d been missing since going self-employed.

"Neil helped me understand the value of clarity and the importance of being honest with myself and my clients. It made my work less stressful and more enjoyable."

Uncovering a new way to work

However, as James gained greater clarity, he began to realise that the nature of his business – web development work for clients – wasn't what he truly wanted to be doing. Neil helped him unpack his thoughts and validate his ideas for a new creative business model. Neil's guidance and support helped him overcome the momentum of his old way of thinking.

"Working with Neil was a turning point for me. I now have the time and space to think through my decisions rationally and make choices that are true to myself."

Ultimately, James was able to create a new business model that better aligned with his creative passions and goals. He credits Neil with helping him achieve greater clarity and purpose in his work, and, perhaps above all, helping him to build a business that he can truly enjoy again.

At a crossroads in his professional life, Joe Stringer reached out to Neil for guidance. Despite his success as an IT Project Manager, Joe struggled with persistent self-doubt and overwhelming anxiety. His tendency to overthink had created barriers in both his personal and professional life. It took a recommendation from his brother, an existing client of Neil's, to finally seek help. As Joe recalls, "I wanted direction, and being stubborn, I didn't take help offered until I got to a point I found I needed guidance."

"I was at a point of my life where I didn't quite know where I was going, with life generally or career"

The challenge
Joe's challenges manifested in multiple areas of his life. Social anxiety hindered his ability to build meaningful relationships, particularly in dating. At work, despite his technical competence, he struggled to project confidence and authority in his role as a project manager. His perfectionist tendencies led to unrealistic self-expectations, creating a destructive cycle of self-criticism that stunted his personal growth. Joe needed not just career guidance, but a comprehensive approach to building self-worth and confidence.

"Neil immediately made me feel comfortable discussing my issues even in our first catch up, and as someone not very good at that at the time, that stood out to me"

A methodical approach to change
Neil's coaching methodology resonated with Joe's analytical mindset. Rather than prescribing solutions, Neil facilitated a process of self-discovery through structured exercises and targeted discussions. As Joe describes it, "Neil has a special way of enabling your own thought process, and with me, my analytical brain, to work through the pain points." This approach provided Joe with a familiar framework that aligned with his project management background while pushing him beyond his comfort zone.

Discovering Self-Worth
The most transformative insight Joe gained was deeply personal: "How to love myself more, enjoy the smaller things in life and take stock more often on what I have and that everything is achievable if you want it enough." This fundamental shift in perspective enabled Joe to approach challenges with greater self-compassion and view setbacks as opportunities for growth rather than evidence of personal failure.

"I put a lot of pressure on myself and didn't step back enough and take stock of how well I was actually doing, focusing on negatives all the time and putting myself down."

Personal and Professional Growth
Joe's newfound self-confidence led to remarkable changes in his life. He successfully ventured into dating and built a meaningful relationship, an achievement that had once seemed out of reach. Professionally, he began exploring new career opportunities, with Neil's coaching providing crucial support during the transition.

"Neil has a special way of enabling your own thought process, and with me, my analytical brain, to work through the pain points"

Enhanced Leadership Impact
Joe's professional transformation was equally significant. His evolved approach to project management, characterised by greater openness to team input and improved communication, resulted in increased engagement and better project outcomes. "There's been a massive improvement in my abilities as a PM," Joe notes, "and my opinions and solutions are held in high regard across the business."

Sustainable success

The impact of Neil's coaching extended far beyond temporary improvements. Joe experienced a fundamental transformation that touched every aspect of his life: "Confidence in myself, my abilities, and this has led to me having the courage to try a new career and now have a very strong, amazing relationship"

Paul Harrison, owner of Maidenhead Minigolf and Braywick Coffee House, has been a client of Neil’s since 2019. Neil’s helped Paul to shepherd his business through the start-up phase into initial trading and helped it transform into a profitable business. Paul finds his work with Neil provides ongoing clarity and value, and is still a client today.

The stalling start-up
Finding a business idea you’re passionate about is only the beginning. In fact, that passion can get in your way in the early days. As Paul was starting up Maidenhead Minigolf, he found that he could get carried away with ideas without knowing if they were good for his business. And like many people at the start-up stage, he wasn’t entirely confident he had the experience to run a successful company. This made procrastination all too tempting, and consistent progress was difficult.

Turning ideas into plans
Working with Neil gave Paul a business-experienced second opinion for his ideas, someone to speak on behalf of the business and ask ‘is this going to help?’ and, perhaps even more importantly, ‘how are you going to know if this is helping?’. Neil helped Paul to break his ideas down into projects, with costings and a business plan, to ensure that the details were all thought through from a commercial point of view. This helped Paul to properly evaluate the success or failure of his ideas, and to better learn from them. And working this way gave him the confidence to beat the procrastination that had been holding up his business growth.

“My procrastination ceased. I learned to trust and delegate without micromanaging.”

Drawing out clarity
Neil’s sessions are designed to provide targeted questioning and exploration of ideas, and this approach helped Paul to gain clarity and reassurance on his own ideas for his business. Paul’s procrastination was largely being caused by a lack of clarity and lack of confidence in the abilities he already possessed. Neil worked with him to explore issues that were acting as roadblocks for the business, and to help Paul uncover the real reasons behind them. The sessions didn’t just help solve the business’s immediate problems with management and planning, but helped Paul build a confident foundation to help him lead the business.

Without fear
The longevity of Paul’s relationship with Neil has given a valuable, sustained source of support, both personally and commercially. Most of all, it allowed him to build the confidence to manage and implement his ideas, communicating them clearly to his staff. Paul now says he operates “without fear”, cutting through the procrastination and acting rapidly to improve his business. 

“Neil helped me believe in my ability to helm a successful business.”

Neil's coaching continues to provide significant benefits for Paul's business, especially in the areas of planning, management, leadership, and decision making. By working with Neil, Paul can gain an experienced second opinion on his ideas, break them down into more manageable projects with clear goals and costs, and evaluate their success. The sessions also help to draw out the clarity Paul needs to move forward with confidence, and to overcome roadblocks and obstacles. With their ongoing coaching relationship, Neil can provide sustained support, allowing Paul to grow trust in his own abilities and operate his businesses without fear or hesitation. Ultimately, Neil's coaching helps Paul find the answers he needs inside himself, and lets him drive his businesses forward to success.

Matt, a former Operations Manager at John Lewis, embarked on a journey of transformation with the help of Neil's coaching services. 

After 21 years at John Lewis, Matt found himself at a crossroads after a leadership restructure. He was presented with the choice of taking voluntary redundancy or continuing to work for the company. Despite his desire for a positive change, the uncertainty of the future held him back. He was keen to take the leap but lacked a clear plan, making the decision daunting. That's when he turned to Neil for support.

"I was so fortunate to have Neil supporting me throughout my career change. He gave me the courage to make the change I knew I wanted to make, when the fear of uncertainty was preventing me from doing so. "

Guiding Through the Maze

Neil's coaching services provided Matt with the structure he needed to navigate his career transition. Initially, Neil helped him understand his desire for change and view the redundancy as an opportunity rather than a setback. By helping Matt weigh the pros and cons, Neil helped him to make a confident decision to leave John Lewis.

Once Matt had decided to leave his long-standing role, Neil's coaching became instrumental in preparing him for the next steps. Neil used various tools to help Matt identify new career options, work out what was truly important to him personally, develop his personal brand, and build a new professional network. During the inevitable moments of doubt and concern, Neil's coaching helped Matthew refocus and find positivity.

"There were many times following my decision to change careers where I felt quite anxious and uncomfortable with the decision I had made.  Time spent with Neil, without fail, always made me feel better and reminded me of my ‘reasons why’. He had an impressive but subtle ability to get me ‘back on track’ when I needed it most."

Learning and Growing

The most valuable lesson Matt feels he learned from the coaching process was the importance of self-understanding, especially when facing a major career change. Neil guided him in exploring his interests, identifying what type of work would bring him the most satisfaction, and understanding what he was willing to sacrifice. This self-exploration, facilitated by various tools and resources, proved invaluable and empowering.

With Neil's coaching, Matt made the significant decision to change his career after 21 years in the same business. This decision allowed him to spend more time with his family and take time for himself before embarking on a new career in a new industry.

"His coaching helped me to think more clearly,  through his knowledge of systematic approaches combined with his ability to encourage me to think more creatively. I gained great value from the combination of styles applying each when felt most appropriate."

By providing guidance, support, and tools, Neil helped Matt navigate his significant career transition, helping him make confident decisions, embrace and create change in his professional life and successfully find the right role for him. 

Linda is an Independent Celebrant who conducts funeral ceremonies and also weddings, vow renewal, child naming and memorial ceremonies. She worked with Neil for about a year.

Jumping the fence into self-employment

Linda shared a very common worry for people starting a business: she was concerned about becoming self-employed after 40 years of employment. That change requires a very different mindset, and you become the sole driving force behind the business. The buck most definitely stops with you. Linda became concerned that she was struggling to get enough clients, which was made worse by an unexpected move to a new geographical area. She felt she was having to start again from scratch in a place that had long-standing competitors to her business offering.

Finding the answers within

In their regular sessions, Neil helped Linda to talk through the issues that were concerning her. Through careful questioning, he helped her to draw out answers that she didn’t realise were in her head. This allowed her to make plans to move her business forward and feel less reliant on someone else ‘having all the answers’.

“He very cleverly encouraged my thinking and analysis to help me come up with my own answers.”

With Linda’s move to a new area, it became more important than ever to get her business known. Neil helped her to refine her product to better appeal to her target audience and to identify new business and marketing channels to help raise awareness of what her business offered, crucially using her own knowledge and expertise of her own celebrant field

Building confidence, ensuring resilience

Linda feels that working with Neil gave  her the clarity and confidence to move past a point she was really struggling with in her business. She now believes in herself more, feels renewed motivation and has more confidence when talking to customers and businesses. These changes also helped her become more resilient to unexpected change, and to believe that she can always find a way through to achieve success for her business. 

“Neil helped me to believe in myself. Working with him helped me discover that I knew my own business and how I needed it to develop.”

Clarity through coaching

Linda's experience working with Neil shows the power coaching can have on a small business owner's mindset and success. Through careful questioning and guidance, Neil helped Linda to grow a successful business, find the answers within herself and refine her product to better appeal to her target audience. This not only resulted in an increase in business awareness, but also boosted Linda's confidence and resilience to changes in an unpredictable market.

As he did for Linda, Neil can help entrepreneurs who feel stuck or overwhelmed to find clarity and motivation in their businesses. The sessions can also provide a valuable sounding board for new ideas and strategies. By investing in coaching, business owners can gain a competitive edge and achieve success on their own terms.