Coaching firm leader shortlisted for national award
The entire UK network of Action Coaches is celebrating after their leader has been shortlisted for a national award. Julie Wagstaff, Managing Director of business coaching franchise, ActionCOACH, has been chosen as one of the four finalists for the ‘Woman Franchisor of the Year' award at NatWest’s Encouraging Women into Franchising (EWiF) awards.
The NatWest EWiF awards recognise the achievements and ongoing successes of women in the franchise industry. Franchising continues to lead the way in attracting talented female entrepreneurs and leaders, ones who are destined to shape the future. Julie is a prime example of that. Over 15 years ago, she became part of the ActionCOACH story as a franchise partner herself, before committing to help transform the future of the brand.
“Following a second bout of redundancy in 2005, I toyed with the idea of becoming my own boss,” explained Julie. “I uploaded my CV onto a job site and received a call out of the blue from ActionCOACH. Honestly, I wondered if it was a con as it sounded too good to be true - if I could become my own boss and help other business owners at the same time, it would be the perfect fit. It didn’t take long before I realised that I had, in fact, made the best decision of my life.”
Her life-changing decision has seen Julie completely revolutionise the franchise, something the judges felt inspired by in her award entry. Julie met Ian Christelow in 2006, the master licensee for three ActionCOACH regions at the time, and the pair discussed purchasing the London region as a 50:50 partnership. Julie created a business plan, returning it to Ian three days later and they set their sights on nationwide domination. Their UK portfolio was completed in 2018 when they bought the Northern Ireland region.
The combined strength of the UK network came into its own in 2020 as Action Coaches stepped up to help business owners across the country survive the pandemic. Julie was responsible for leading the charge and inspiring the entire 200plus strong network to lend a hand during the uncertain times, through each gifting at least five coaching sessions a week to UK business owners. Julie has the backing of all her team, not least the Strategic Partnerships Manager, Phil Ball, who commended her shortlisting.
“Julie is a committed and dedicated business leader. She leads from the front, putting in countless hours and relentless hard work to make the whole business operate and perform at its best. She is engaging and personable, with a style that makes everyone not want to let her down. And, equally importantly, she knows when people need to have fun!”
With the success of the UK network as her number one priority, Julie is looking forward to the future. She added, “2021 is a milestone year for ActionCOACH UK as we celebrate our 20th anniversary. We expect all of our exclusive UK territories to either be awarded or corporately owned by then end of the year, meaning we can focus solely on supporting our network from 2022 onwards. I’m incredibly proud that ActionCOACH saved hundreds of businesses from going under last year and made a huge positive difference to thousands of people’s lives.
“I remain committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure every UK business owner is aware of our team, business and life-transforming system. That’s why I decided to invest £1 million in a new 10-episode television series following the coaching and fortunes of some of our ActionCOACH clients, which is set to air this year.”
Julie now goes forward as a finalist against three other inspiring individuals. Winners will be announced at a virtual event held on 11th March.