The Top 5 Business Coaches In Manchester

Every year at Action Coach Manchester we work with, coach, and train hundreds of businesses. And because so many of them know our thoughts on all things coaching, we often get asked lots of questions. One question that we were asked was “which other coaches operate in the Manchester area?” Never one to shy away from such a question, we decided to go one better and write a blatantly honest review about the other coaches in Manchester and even create the top 5 business coaches in Manchester list. So here it is, the top 5 business coaches in Manchester.

Just so you know this is an honest review so we’ve not included ourselves or any other Action Coaches in it. Not because they aren’t great, there are some fantastic Action Coaches out there. But because we wanted this to be seen as a truly neutral review.

So here are the top 5 coaches in Manchester.

5. Gary Buxton

Gary Buxton is a Manchester-based Coaching Psychologist, Executive / Leadership Coach, and Facilitator who works across all of Greater Manchester and the North West.

He helps his clients:

• Create space to learn and reflect

• Maintain clarity of thought and focus

• Deliver performance

• Restore or maintain motivation

• Navigate change in their career or at work

• Develop their skills in leading themselves and others

• Enhance their emotional intelligence to manage difficult or complex situations

• Develop and engage their team

• Bring together colleagues to build a strategy or create change

What we really like about Gary is that he’s a friendly chappy. He offers various different time slots for his coaching sessions and you can book them all on his website.

On top of all that, Gary is a trained psychologist. That’s really helpful for all clients, especially those with mindset challenges and you can find out more about his qualifications in psychology on his website.

Gary has been a coach for years and has qualifications coming out of his ears. A worthy entrant into our top 5 business coaches in Manchester.

4. Phil Drinkwater

Phil is a business and executive coach based on Ducie Street in Manchester. He’s got a really interesting story actually. Phil started out as a computer games programmer. He has a computer science degree and went on to become a project manager in the industry before starting his own online business.

Phil is something of a whizz when it comes to SEO which helped him grow his online business. Over the next few years, he got into psychotherapy and even photography. After growing his own online business, and now armed with a qualification in psychology, Phil decided to open up his business coaching practice and also see’s himself as a business consultant.

He states on his website that he coaches business owners and executives to move on from the challenges their facing, so they can be more successful in business and life. And that’s why we gave him the 4th spot.

3. NatWest Bank

Bit of a curve ball here. Technically, they’re a bank. But, (another “technically” required) they offer a business coaching and mentorship service and that’s why they made it to the list. When it’s all said and done, NatWest bank is huge. And they have been offering help to the local business community in Manchester for a long time. Actually, what they offer is a little different from most of the others on the list. If anything, they offer less coaching. So why would they make it to number 3?

Here’s why.

Not only do NatWest offer some coaching and mentoring, but they also offer;

• Free events
• A digital platform with lots of training videos
• A great network of business owners
• Loans and funding

So although they don’t provide an experience as intimate and intense in their 121 coaching as the others on our list do, they offer things that many others in our top 5 business coaches can’t. Things like funding and a training platform.

The coolest thing they offer

But perhaps the biggest thing that they offer, that perhaps some others don’t, is a programme that any business can join. Why can any business join? Because they have a super cheap option.

That for us deserves extra merit. There are lots of companies out there that start from scratch and would love some extra help and support but can’t afford the prices that some coaches charge.

Charges between coaches can vary massively, as we wrote about in our article on why some coaches are so expensive. Some can be in the tens of thousands per month, some are cheap like the Action Coach £12.50 programme and some are free like the programmes NatWest offer.

That’s why they made it to the podium and why they took the 3rd spot in our top 5 business coaches in Manchester. You can find more info on their website here.

2. JOANNE GROBBELAAR

Because she’s friendly, she’s detailed, she’s all-around wonderful, she’s number 2 on our list. Actually, she’s the number 1 individual coach that we have on all list so congratulations Joanne 🥳.

Not too long ago, people didn’t even know what a business coach was or what they did. If they wanted any help, they’d go see their accountant. It just didn’t make sense, after all, what did their accountant know about marketing, sales, leadership, goal setting, or recruitment?

These days, people are becoming a little more educated because of great coaches like Joanne. As people learn more about what a coach does and as new faces start to emerge and open their doors for business, more people are making the informed decision to get a coach. It’s often people like Joanne, that are organised, friendly, and committed to the people they are helping, that help the business owners they work with come out on top.

Why did Joanne make it to the second spot on our top 5 business coaches in Manchester?

Other than the fact that she’s a big advocate of morning routines and making sure leaders are emotionally intelligent. She’s honest. Not many in the coaching world are willing to bare all and tell the truth about more sensitive topics. But Joanne is, and because of that, she’s made it to the number 2 spot.

You can learn more about what Joanne does on her website here.

1. THE GROWTH HUB

And here is your winner ladies and gentlemen, the Growth Hub in Manchester.

The Growth Hub has been around since 2011 and has helped hundreds of businesses in that time.

But why did they make it to number one?

Because business coaching can be really expensive.

Not only that, lots of coaches only offer 121 coaching which means the smaller businesses often miss out.

What we love about the Growth Hub is that, similar to Natwest, they have a cheap or free option.

What that does, automatically, is put coaching on the table for more business owners. And for that, they deserve the credit.

So why did they take the top spot and Natwest bank is left back in third?

That’s an easy one. NatWest is a bank. The Growth Hub specialise exclusively in helping businesses in Manchester grow.

Not only that, but they offer a much wider range of services than even NatWest do. They can help with:

• Workshops
• Courses
• Raising funds
• Mentorship
• Coaching
• and more.

The only shame…

The only real shame in all of this is that more people don’t use them. In fact, the shame is that more people don’t use any of the coaches in our top 5.

If it were up to us, every business in the UK would have a business coach.

Why?

Because they help you get clear on where you want to go. Not many people have any idea when it comes to goal setting or where they are actually trying to go. Often, they just want to get out of the immediate pain they are in.

Once clear on where you want to go, a good coach will help you figure out what’s been holding you back. It could be something that’s wrong with your business model. It could be something with your team. Maybe it’s your recruitment process or maybe it’s something to do with your marketing.

Maybe, just maybe, it could be an inside job. It could be something to do with your habits, thoughts, beliefs, values, or even your fears.

Once you’ve figured out where you want to go, and what’s been holding you back, a good coach will help you work out what you need to do next to achieve your goal. They’ll strategise with you, help you set up daily disciplines, get you working on the right things and hold you accountable to taking action and moving towards that goal you set.

And that’s why we believe every business should have a coach.

Of all the coaching organisations in Manchester, the growth hub helps more than anybody else. And for that, they deserve the top spot.

If you’d like to find out more about what we do here at Action Coach, you can visit our learning centre here.

Or you can view our programmes here.

And if you want to find out more about using a paid business coach VS a government-funded organsation, click here.