Coaching business launches training academy

A North East-based coaching company is set to expand its services by launching a new training academy aimed at aspiring coaches and second-career professionals.

Performance coaching business Is This You?, headquartered at the North East BIC, in Sunderland, has launched a Chartered Management Institute-accredited academy that offers a ready-to-go ‘coaching business in a box’. 

Founded just 18 months ago by seasoned entrepreneurs John Forth, Phil Gray, David Beharall and Steve Beharall, all of whom have built and led seven-figure firms, the company supports business leaders with a unique coaching model that blends commercial insight and personal development.

And for John, who rebuilt his life and career through personal development after losing a seven-figure property business during the 2008 credit crunch, the launch of the Is This You? academy is a chance for him and his co-founders to create a broader movement – one focused on helping others build meaningful businesses and lives.

He said: “We’ve built something powerful and now we want to share it.

“Our clients, and the people in our network already know the quality of what we deliver, but this is about moving outside of our current networks, creating a wider movement and extending our mission to achieve more lives well lived.

“I threw myself into personal development about 15 years ago after losing my company and it helped me through.

“I built another business in renewables, but although it was successful, it was purely financially driven, it wasn’t inspiring or driving me. 

“I found the anxiety and stress coming back. 

“I felt like I was losing myself again and realised I needed to change.

“I’d reached an age and level of experience where money alone just wasn’t going to do it for me. 

“Life needed to be about purpose.”

The new academy offers certification, live training, mentoring and a full brand and marketing toolkit, targeting those that are looking to start purpose-driven ventures or pivot from existing careers, including retired professionals, founders and athletes transitioning from sport.

John, who is also a business advisor at the BIC, added: “We’ve had interest from people at all stages of life – from those looking for their next adventure after the euphoria of selling a business to those searching for something meaningful after sport or retirement. 

“But this is about more than becoming a brilliant coach. 

“It’s about building a brilliant business with purpose.”

As part of its ambitious growth plans, the company has chosen the BIC as its base – a move John says aligns with the company’s collaborative and community-driven values.

He added: “Moving the business to the BIC was a no-brainer because of its strong and supportive network. 

“Sunderland seems to be where everything is happening right now and we’re right in the centre of it, here at the BIC.

“We love the collaborative nature of the amazing coworking space, and the beauty of the BIC is its versatility – we host events and workshops here in purpose-built spaces, if we need a dedicated boardroom, we have one. 

“It truly is ‘a space to build a better business’. 

“There’s nowhere else we’d be.”

With a national rollout underway and global ambitions ahead, the Is This You? team remains sharply focused on its mission.

John added: “We’d like to be global. 

“Our dream is to have coaches and clients in as many different countries as possible, and to be a catalyst for Lives Well Lived globally.

“When it comes to personal development, I’ve never met anyone who considers themselves fully ‘balanced’. 

“But it’s not about achieving perfection – it’s about progress. 

“Continuous progress. 

“We only live once, and we need to maximise the potential and the time we have.”

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