Five reasons why I am not your coach

If you have found this article because you are thinking about hiring me as your business coach, what I am about to say next may sound strange.

I may never become your coach. There are five reasons why.

I work with owners and directors of £5m+ businesses across Rotherham and the surrounding areas. Coaching is not for everyone, and I am not for everyone. The five things below are what you actually sign up for if we end up working together. If any one of them is not for you, save us both the time.

Reason 1: I will hold you to account

My job is to be your uncompromising friend. I will hold you accountable for the actions you said you would take. Every week, every month, every quarter.

When you said you would have the senior team meeting in the diary by Friday, I will ask on Monday whether it happened. When you said you would deal with the underperforming director by the end of the month, I will ask on the first day of the next one.

I will be the arm round your shoulder when things are hard. I will also be the voice asking the question you have been avoiding. If you want a coach who lets you off the hook, I am not him.

Reason 2: I am direct, not diplomatic

My job is not to make the conversation feel comfortable. It is to make the business better.

If the numbers are wrong, I will tell you the numbers are wrong. If the person you protected last year is still the wrong person, I will tell you that too. I will deliver it cleanly and without theatre, but I will deliver it.

Most £5m+ owners I meet have not had a properly direct conversation about their business in years. Their accountant is too polite. Their lawyer is too narrow. Their team is too dependent. If you want someone who will tell you the truth in the room, that is me. If you want someone who will tell you what you want to hear, that is not me.

Reason 3: I will demand your time

Coaching takes time. Yours, not just mine. You cannot delegate your way to a better business — you have to do the work.

That means a proper monthly coaching session in your diary, prep ahead of it, and a follow-up sequence in the weeks between. It means showing up to GrowthCLUB once a quarter to set the plan. It means doing what you said you would do between sessions instead of treating coaching as therapy.

There is no quick fix and no magic button. There is focus, clarity and the work. If you cannot find four hours a month to invest in the business you have spent years building, we are not going to make this work.

Reason 4: I will bring positive energy — and not accept negativity from you

My coaching runs on positive energy, a positive mindset and a bias to action. I do not have time for negativity, victim language, or excuses dressed up as analysis.

That does not mean we ignore the hard things — quite the opposite. We name them, we look at them clearly, and we decide what to do about them. What we do not do is sit in them.

If your default position is "the market is hard, my team is rubbish, the customers do not understand my product, the regulation is killing me", I am not your coach. If you can lift your head, take ownership and ask "what is the one thing I can change this quarter?" — we have something to work with.

Reason 5: I will build the discipline, you will live it

One of my favourite lines from Jim Rohn: "The only way it gets better for you is when you get better. Better is not something you wish, it is something you become."

The owners I work with do not get better because I am magic. They get better because we install the disciplines — weekly leadership rhythm, monthly scorecard, quarterly plan, annual strategy — and then they live them, week after week, after I have left the room.

If you want a coach who shows up, gets the win for you, and lets you sit back, that is a consultant, not a coach. If you want a coach who builds the muscle in you so the business works without depending on either of us, that is the deal I offer.

What this looks like in practice

Take Holistic Care 4 U — a care services business based in Rotherham, working across domiciliary, residential and training. When Taurai first came to me, the business had no real business plan and no working profit model. Busy day to day, but not building anything that compounded. Since we started working together, the business is back into profit, with a solid business plan and a clear methodology for growing margin. The change was not me solving the problem — it was the disciplines we installed at the leadership level, and Taurai living them every week.

“Working with Tim has been a game changer for our business. He has a real talent for cutting through the noise and helping us clearly identify what truly matters. What sets Tim apart is his ability to bring structure to our thinking—turning ideas into clear priorities and actionable plans. He doesn’t just advise; he challenges, guides, and holds us accountable to the standards we set. If you want a coach who will help you focus, think better, and actually execute, Tim is the one.” — Taurai Tongoona, Director, Holistic Care 4 U

So — am I your coach?

If you read those five reasons and thought "no thanks, that sounds hard" — fair enough. We are not the right fit and you have saved us both a discovery call.

If you read those five reasons and thought "that is exactly what I have been missing" — then yes, we should talk.

Step 1: Get your data. Take 7 minutes to score your whole business across the 6 disciplines of profitable growth. You will get an instant, personalised report on the biggest gaps holding you back. Score your business →

Step 2: Let us talk. Book a 30-minute Discovery Call directly into my diary. We will look at your scorecard, talk about whether the five reasons above sound like the coaching relationship you actually want, and decide together if we should go further. Book a discovery call →

Alternatively, if you are based in Rotherham or across South Yorkshire and would rather have a quick chat first, call the office on 01709 242751 or email me at timcoleman@actioncoach.co.uk.