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Scotland

Business coaching in Scotland

98% positive rating from our members

Business coaching that means you're not alone

One-to-one business coaching in Scotland

Keep focused, accountable, and on track to achieve your business and personal goals.

Our members get a monthly one-to-one session with their TAB facilitator and coach.

We have dedicated business coaches in and across Scotland.

small-business-coaching-meeting-in-Scotland
Male business owner smiling after business coaching session in Scotland
Scotland

Your business coaches in Scotland

Originally trained as an engineer, Helen has a passion for taking new products and services to market. She spent 10 years at NCR as product designer for cash dispensers and later worked in the oil and gas sector for Schlumberger and PII Technomarine designing forecourt equipment and pipeline isolation tools, eventually taking on the role as strategic product manager.

She lectured at Strathclyde University in Design and Manufacture before establishing a product development centre in Tayside, providing hands on guidance to small companies in development, prototyping and intellectual property management before moving to Robert Gordon University where she managed the research and technology transfer function and, laterally, all commercial activity for a period of 16 years.

During this time she was involved in supporting companies to be investor ready and in negotiating investment deals on behalf of the University. She has been on the board of a number of spinout companies and is educated with 4 degree awards including MBA and LLM Commercial Law.

Campbell is provides TAB advisory boards and business coaching in Glasgow. Over the last 2 decades he has enjoyed key roles throughout many industries. His success in delivering within both operational and commercial roles at senior level ensures offers invaluable experience in helping business owners and leaders take their businesses forward.

Campbell’s keen negotiating skills helped him secure his childhood sweetheart, Suzy, as his wife and he now lives in Strathblane, just outside Glasgow. A proud father of 3, Campbell enjoys spending time with his family, mountain biking, hill-walking and wowing the locals with his general knowledge at the village pub quiz night! Alongside his kids, Campbell’s proudest achievement, to date, is trekking to Everest Base Camp to raise money for the British Heart Foundation after his own heart operation.

Campbell has a genuine passion for helping businesses align and deliver what is important to them and their customers. His role within The Alternative Board enables him to do just that!

Andy owns and operates The Alternative Board in Edinburgh. He provides advisory boards and business coaching in central Edinburgh.

Having worked in varied roles, Andy brings a range of perspectives and approaches that can challenge and support any business owner to achieve their goals. His real passion is helping businesses get more focused and aligned on what’s important to them and their customers. Andy’s role with The Alternative Board allows him to do exactly that.

Andy is a graduate of Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Materials Science which was later supplemented by an MBA.

He has over 25 years of commercial and sales leadership experience, including several overseas assignments, much of it gained within the energy sector. Andy’s expertise has been developed working for both large corporations and having spent over 10 years as a sales leader of a fast growth, high performing SME.

His specialist areas are sales leadership, strategy and business build, new market entry and growth of recurring revenue, as well as delivering in many diverse cultures. He has a particular interest in sales development and enabling top performance.

If you are based in Edinburgh and would like to explore how Andy and TAB can help you grow and develop your business, then please get in touch.

Following an early career in the agricultural industry, Steve has spent over 20 years in the technology sector, with a focus on retail, training, go to market, operations, marketing, events, and team development.

Including building his own Field marketing business to support clients in the technology sector, he created award winning field teams and unique solutions across many sectors to drive products in retail and beyond, across the UK and Europe.

He has a passion for getting the best from people. He loves helping them provide the best service to their customers via operational planning, training and development, and customer focus. He understands the many benefits of selecting the right staff from the start, building their skills and knowledge, and retaining them to help improve your business stability and costs.

With experience engaging with all levels of both local and global business, a strong operations background, a people centric work ethic, and the experience of what is involved in building your own company, Steve appreciates the opportunities and challenges business owners face.

If you are interested in how Steve and TAB can help you and your business, please get in touch.

Discover the benefits of our Scotland-based coaching

Start with you

Focus on what you want in life and how your business can help get you there.

Increase profitability

Be held accountable to meet your business targets.

Improve decisions

Take control of your decisions through peer support and proven planning tools

Make better time choices

Spend your time well by utilising the experience of others.

Become a better leader

Motivate your people with the guidance of peers and an expert coach.

Plan a successful exit

Get the best result for you with tailored, hands-on support.

Hear from our Scottish members

"TAB is an independent thought process, away from the influences and pressures of work. In the day-to-day job, you can get drawn into distractions, you often don’t have time to think, and you’re just firefighting problems. However, with TAB, getting out of the office and speaking with the board for the 3-4 hours we have together allows me to think more independently."

David Scalley, AJT Engineering

TAB has helped me with some delicate issues I’d been shying away from, or just wouldn’t have thought to address, I was constantly fighting fires but now I have the right people and procedures in place, and I am no longer just working in the business, I have time to work on my business.

Darren Aggasild, Rose Recruitment

There’s no doubt that being a member of TAB has saved me money. My TAB board members have given me advice and suggested things I might do that I would never have thought of myself. What I really like is that everyone is so open. There are no clashes, no one competes, everyone just wants to help one another... and importantly, it all stays in the room!

Colin Burney, SUBC

My working life before TAB was extremely challenging and often pretty lonely. It’s often obvious what needs to be done within a business, but TAB gives you the confidence, support, and momentum to take action. The monthly meetings challenge you. I’d have no hesitation in recommending TAB. It has changed my working life – which in turn has made me a happier person.

Anna-Marie Eardley, Waterloo Quay Properties

"I have a debt of gratitude to TAB after a 400% turnover boost. I can’t speak highly enough of The Alternative Board. It has made a huge difference to our agency. It’s something I would encourage business owners to think about. We wouldn’t have been able to achieve the growth we have without TAB."

Adam Bell, Moment

TAB is an excellent way to interact with other senior management from different walks of life and a variety of businesses. It offers the opportunity to draw on the experience and knowledge of others to guide your own business and to discover how they might tackle or interpret a situation you are facing.

James Walbrin, Dynamix One

TAB gives me a monthly task of thinking about a very specific part of my business. Without it, some of these issues may never get my fuller attention and with it, the attention of others. It motivates me to talk about things you may not want to discuss in the business. The sounding board, confirmation of my thinking, motivation to ‘get on with it’ are all very valuable to me. Honesty and an objective view to a sole owner is valuable in a quantitative way.

Mark Kemp, FortyTwo Studio

Over 5x

TAB members’ sales growth is 5.5 times national SME average

95%+

95.7% of TAB members said their advisory boards added real value to their business

90%+

90.3% of members said their ability to address personnel and organisational issues has improved since joining TAB

Start your journey with TAB

Get in touch with one of the team.

They will contact you to arrange an introductory meeting.

During which, you’ll chat about whether TAB business coaching is right for you and your business.

Attend your first TAB board meeting and coaching session to discover the power of peer support.

There’s no obligation, only an opportunity to find out more.

What is business coaching?

A business coach guides a business leader on how to align their business decisions with their personal vision for their business and life. Rather than simply giving you the answers, our business coaching services equip you with the necessary tools and knowledge to be a better leader and increase business growth.

In Scotland, our team offers coaching, mentoring and consulting. Additionally, they facilitate our peer advisory boards across Aberdeenshire, Edinburgh and Glasgow, as well as providing you with access to our exclusive strategic planning platform – The Business Builder’s Blueprint.

Why should Scottish business owners consider coaching?

There are over 300,000 private businesses operating in Scotland as of 2021, and many of their owners will have considered coaching. 

Here are eight reasons why:

  1. Planning and strategy

A key difference between a business coach and consultant is that a consultant will often focus on one specific area such as succession planning, whereas a coach will guide owners to put together an effective and workable strategic plan for all areas of their business.

2.       Skill development

 Could you be a better communicator? A better negotiator? A business coach can help you develop specific skills that will help you succeed not only in this current business but in whatever venture you take on in the future.

3.       Accountability

A business coach will hold you accountable to ensure that you and your business are always moving forward through the right actions at the right time. No procrastinating allowed!

4.       A new and external perspective

Because a business coach doesn’t work in your company, they will be distanced from most of your opportunities and challenges. This means they can provide an outside perspective with new ideas, strategies and approaches.

5.       Utilising their experience

Often, business coaches are previous business owners or have worked for big corporates and in business for a long time.This means that when you approach them with an issue, they’ll more than likely have an experience they can draw on to guide you through it. This isn’t just the case with business coaches. There is lots that business owners can learn from each other too. 

6.       Your personal development

Business coaches also often take on a business mentoring role. This is where they focus on you, the business owner, on a person. In fact, there are a few ways that business coaching and mentoring is good for your personal development.

7.       Support – You’re not alone

Another great benefit of business coaching is the support it gives. They can be your sounding board, your go-to listener and your trusted advisor.

8.       Business growth

And ultimately, a benefit of a business coach is that they can help you achieve business growth. By keeping you accountable and encouraging you to become a better leader, they can be the ticket to streamlining processes and improved performance.

What business coaching is not

A business coach is not the following:

  • The solution

The coach is there to guide you through and empower you with the right tools and knowledge to help you find solutions, not just give them to you. 

  • Life coaching

A business coach is not there to get involved in your personal life and aspirations but will consider how your personal goals might line up to your business ambitions.

  • Counselling

Counsellors are specifically trained in dealing with specific personal problems such as mental health or family relationships, a business coach isn't.

  • Consultancy

A consultant focuses on a particular area of expertise and projects in those areas such as a marketing consultant or finance consultant. They seek to fix specific problems within a business, a business coach however, provides more generalised advice and insights. 

Why TAB business coaching in Scotland?

Here are three reasons why you should consider TAB’s business coaching in Scotland and why 98.9% of our members said it adds real value to their business:

  • Our Scottish business coaches have experience

All our facilitators in Scotland are seasoned business professionals. Between them, they have over 100 years of business experience across a range of sectors. However, they all have a passion about businesses in Scotland and love to help local business owners to run stronger businesses and lead more fulfilling lives. 

  • Coaching tailored to you and your business

Our business coaches will tailor your monthly sessions to your needs at any given time. 

  • Works alongside our advisory boards

Our business coaching is so powerful because of its combination with our business advisory boards. These bring together business owners and leaders from non-competing sectors in a group setting. We have several boards running across Scotland and ever month, business owners are helping one another to identify opportunities and solve the challenges they each face in their businesses. That's several business coaches in one membership!

Latest news and insights

Business Support Funds: What's Available in the UK (2024)

11 April 2024 | 5 minute read

This is a comprehensive guide to the support funds available for businesses in the UK. Learn which business support funds you could claim with this in-depth post.

Why you should never give away Equity when SME's raise finance

25 March 2024 | 2 minute read

Discover why giving away equity when raising funds for SMEs is a bad idea. Explore alternative options to maintain control and maximise growth potential.

Time Management: Theory and Practice 2024

25 March 2024 | 6 minute read

This is a comprehensive guide to time management, its theories and putting them into practice. Learn all about time management with this in-depth post.

*Stats based on a recent survey of 93 active TAB members