Nic Stone is the former owner of gift destination retail outlet and café The Bottle Kiln in West Hallam, which he sold in 2022. Having retrained as a business coach, he highlights the benefits of employing a coach.
“It hasn’t got any easier being in business. Costs keep rising, the world situation feels increasingly turbulent and big operators on the internet continually nibble away at the available trade for independent retailers. It’s still possible to do really well in this business, but it feels like there are more hurdles to overcome with each passing year, and that the challenges are getting, well, more challenging. For all the love we have for this industry, and our own businesses, it’s very easy to feel defeated some days by all of the obstacles that are thrown in our way.
I know about it. I spent 30 years in the industry through good times and bad.They were mostly good, and I still think it is one of the most creative, friendly and somehow life-affirming of businesses to be in. Giftware taps into feelings, relationships, humour, and that very human impulse to put a smile on the face of someone we care about. But quite a lot of the time I felt alone with the challenges that came along, and unsure where to turn for support and guidance. And not just with the everyday problems of help with social media, staff issues or bookkeeping. Sometimes I really wanted someone to sit down with me, take an overview of the whole thing and help to move it on to the next level.
In the end, I did get some coaching, and it was genuinely transformational. Good coaches see where you are now, establish where you want to be, and help plan a journey to get there. They give you support in the areas where you really need it, but just as importantly, hold you to account to ensure that you do the hard work to make your life easier.
After selling my business I signed up with Entrepreneur’s Circle and became certified as one of their coaches so that I can be the type of friend and mentor that I would have loved to have had myself. The company has a tried and tested system to ‘crack the rhythmic acquisition of customers’ that so many businesses struggle with, and access to expertise in all of the key areas.
Other coaching businesses are available of course, and for those interested in coaching my advice would be to get a coach who knows all about the business you are in. Maybe one who has written numerous articles for trade magazines and has a shelf full of Greats! I have worn the t-shirt and eaten the ice cream. And is it too expensive? It’s probably not as expensive as you think, and it’s almost certainly going to make you more money than you spend (in fact we guarantee your satisfaction on this score). So ask yourself, will I get from where I am to where I want to be on my own? Did I set this thing up just to get stuck where I am now? Most really successful people had help and support getting to where they are, and you can too.”
Email nicolas.stone1@gmail.com
Top: Nic Stone is a gift retailer turned business coach.
