Ian Locke of Thrive Personal Training and Shirley Hensher of The Change Agent could have relocated their businesses from Swindon to anywhere in the world. They chose Bournemouth for its vibrant business scene and energy levels and they have not been disappointed since their move here in March 2019. Shirley is a business and career coach, specialising in helping corporate professionals and business people transform their working lives. Ian helps business people combine challenging careers with health and wellbeing through his online personal training programmes, which concentrate on exercise, nutrition and lifestyle changes.
Shirley and Ian both had successful corporate careers; Ian as a corporate treasurer, latterly for Vodafone; Shirley in retail financial services, most recently as a freelance project manager. However, they both decided to ‘jump off the hamster wheel’ in 2015 and 2012 respectively and set up their own businesses. As a result of the move to Bournemouth, both businesses have been taken online to extend their reach.
Shirley said “we could have chosen to relocate our businesses anywhere in the world. We chose Bournemouth as we were drawn to its vibrant business scene when researching various different locations. We also noticed when holidaying in the area that it is lively not just in tourism season, but all year round!” Ian added “the first thing that strikes me about Bournemouth is the large businesses you see when driving through the centre, such as Vitality, Nationwide and LV=. Given our financial backgrounds, we felt that our skills would be ideally suited to help local financial professionals with their wellbeing and careers. We understand their busy and stressful lifestyles and how to get them to the next level.”
Before relocating to Bournemouth, Ian’s Swindon-based business was 95% face-to-face. Now, Ian coaches through a combination of online apps, video calls and a library of exercise videos on YouTube (280 and rising). Ian is keen, however, to visit local businesses in person to explain the link between employee wellness and performance. Shirley offers a 3 hour in-person workshop, as well as 1-2-1 coaching through online video conferencing, so clients can be coached from their own home or office.
Ian says “the beauty for clients wanting to train online is that they can do it anywhere and anytime. However, ‘consistency’ is key to getting results, which is why I have built in regular progress reports, where clients share updates on their nutrition and training programmes, along with photos to help keep them on track. I want people to move from ‘survive’ to ‘thrive’.”
Shirley enthuses “I like to make my coaching action-oriented yet fun, encouraging my clients to do things differently and look at things from a fresh perspective; find their focus and lock in their commitment. Corporate professionals often find it easier to speak to someone other than their line manager to manage difficult relationships, help with the next step of their careers or learn new techniques for the office. My business clients enjoy sharing their challenges with someone from a corporate background, who understands where they are coming from. Quite often, my clients find that it is the smallest changes that can have the biggest impact on reaching their goals.”
For more information about The Change Agent, go to https://www.thechangeagent.me/
For more information about Thrive Personal Training, go to https://thrivepersonaltraining.co.uk/
