Name of founder: Martin Hutton
Age of the founder: 44
Location: Glasgow
Date launched: 1 October 2021
Number of employees: One
What does your business do?
Accountability coaching for solopreneurs.
Where did the idea for your business come from?
Having worked alone for 20 years now in previous ventures, I know how difficult it can be sometimes to get motivated, organised and focused on your business goals when you have no one by your side to be accountable to. Also, I have previously worked in a coaching capacity with people that were looking to lose weight and transform their body, and I have seen how much of a difference that accountability and support made to their success. I decided to combine two of my big interests, of being a ‘solopreneur' and coaching people looking to improve and succeed, and work with people like me who are in business and who are in the position I once was.
How did you know there was a market for it?
I have worked for myself for 20 years and know the challenges faced by people in the same situation. Going from having a boss to being in sole charge of everything can be overwhelming, and having someone to hold you accountable for your actions can be the difference between your business succeeding or failing.
What were you doing before launching your business?
Previously I worked as an accountability coach with people wanting to lose weight and transform their body. Before that I was a personal trainer kin a gym working independently. I moved my attention and time more to the coaching side of weight loss and away from the gym floor side when I realised that this is where the success comes: working one to one with people, giving them support, helping them focus on their end goal, while breaking this into mini goals in order to get there.
I know how difficult it can be sometimes to get motivated, organised and focused on your business goals when you have no one by your side to be accountable to.
Have you always dreamed of starting a business?
Yes, I always knew that I was not ‘cut out' for being an employee and that I needed to work for myself. That’s something I think that resonates with a lot of my clients, and something we understand and bond over – working for ourselves is almost a need rather than a desire!
How did you finance your business?
Savings.
Explain your business model and how you make money.
I work with small business owners, solopreneurs, and people who work alone to help give them focus through support and accountability, and make their business as successful as possible. There are four steps to helping my clients get where they want to be:
- Where are they now?
- Where do they want to be?
- How do we get there?
- How will they be held accountable for doing so?
To do this we have a weekly meeting where we look at what needs to be done that week and prioritise the most important tasks. We create a plan of how we will achieve what we need to that week, and then we have regular check ins to make sure the client is on track. Then we do this again the next week and so on. Along the way, we celebrate the victories and analyse the setbacks, agreeing strategies to ensure we limit the chance of these happening in the future. These weekly targets are broken down from monthly and yearly targets and goals to make sure the business remains on track to succeed in both the long and short term.
What has your experience been of starting a business during a pandemic?
I have found that in these changing times a lot of people whom perhaps have always thought or dreamed about becoming their own boss have, through need or choice, bitten the bullet and gone for it. These are people who need my kind of support and expertise.
Describe your first breakthrough.
Working with that first client who just ‘gets it'. They understand what I do, how it will benefit them and are fully on board, making it feel like we are truly working ‘together' and these are the type of people who will be successful as they understand the huge benefits of having someone to lean on.
What advice would you give to other aspiring business owners?
Go for it. Simple as that. There is no better boss to have than yourself and having the freedom to work and build a business with full control, how you want it and without outside interference is something, in my experience, you will never regret.
I always knew that I was not 'cut out' for being an employee and that I needed to work for myself.
What is one resolution you have for your business this year?
This year, the resolution is to establish the business and build my reputation. I will do this by being successful with my early clients. There is no better way to build a business than on the back of testimonials of happy clients. By making this my main aim, the business will obtain the early grow that I want from it as word spreads and my client list grows.
How do you see your business developing in the next three years?
Over the next three years I intend to expand by maximising online opportunities and taking what we have learned from lockdown and that is that we can communicate with anyone, anywhere through virtual meetings. This will me to take the business more widespread, so that I can work with any solopreneur anywhere in the world and at the same time gain better knowledge of how different businesses operate in different countries.
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December 10, 2021 at 06:11AM by Helena Young, Khareem Sudlow
