“The best money Colourtech spends is on our business coach Nick Ikonomou.  Last year, despite the effects of a global recession, our turnover increased by 45%, we are 20% more profitable and we have 50% more free time!
 
We’re not sure where we’d be today if we hadn’t made that investment in Nick Ikonomou.  Even our wives love what Nick has done for our business because now we get to see each other.  It’s really been a life changing experience for us.
 
In just two years we’ve grown and learned that it really is possible for a good business to work without us constantly feeling the pressure of having to keep control.  We now have good team on board with the right people and we have the time we need to be in an objective position to work on the business, not being weighed down by having to work so hard in it.  The place really works heaps better and we know that’s because Nick keeps us on track and accountable with weekly meetings that focus on making our business and our lives even better.”

Sean Kelly & Alasdair Wilson, Directors, Colourtech, Collingwood, VIC

Mark, safety business franchisee, Templestowe

   "I own a motorcycle franchise business, which I run with the assistance of my wife. We have been in business for five years and had never considered having a business coach. Nick Ikonomou first approached me in early 2000. I was slightly sceptical about getting a business coach but I now believe that was due to just not knowing what it was all about. I was also very concerned about how I was going to come up with the extra money to pay for the program since cash flow was one of my major issues. After we had our first meeting I was thoroughly impressed with Nick and at how much his knowledge could improve my business by focusing and changing only a few key areas. So I signed up with Nick at ACTION International and began receiving coaching in July of the same year.

  I started to notice positive changes within weeks of working with Nick, which was great. My concern about having the money to pay for this sort of coaching was not of much importance any more for two reasons. The main reason being that cash flow was on the increase. The other was that when I calculated how much I could be paying a full time employee with only a third of Nick's knowledge, I realised quickly that I was much better off spending the money it cost to basically employ Nick as a part time employee. His contribution to the growth my business has certainly covered what it cost me to take him on and more. His guidance, assistance, knowledge and overall commitment to me over the coaching period has been much appreciated. My business has had an increase in cash flow, which has enabled me to expand the dealership further.

  Thank you to ACTION International for running this program and many thanks to Nick Ikonomou for teaching me how to make my business profitable and how to make my business work for me."

Darren Storace,
SUNBURY YAMAHA

  "We have been working with Nick Ikonomou from ACTION International for over three months now and have found that our business management skills were not as great as we thought they were! Working with Nick has put a completely new dimension to our company.

  Whilst in the past, a lot of good ideas have come and gone without much action, we now have a system and the discipline in place to follow these through. We have also improved our time management skills and certainly worked on some great marketing initiatives. We are delighted to see how our market is taking up and responding to some of these initiatives. We believe we now have a much better understanding of what is important in the day to day operation and the development of the company to meet the challenges ahead. We think very positively of the future.

Thank you Nick for your dedication, encouragement and commitment to assisting us!"

Martin, Ilse & Stefanie Gassner,
AUSTRALIAN KOOKABURRA TOURS

  "Even though we have only started recently, what the mentoring program and Nick's involvement means to me is that I have the ability to talk to someone outside the business who is totally removed from it and I can bounce ideas off and receive a different perspective. The regular contact I have is far more than the meetings I had with my previous business partners."

Battista Mercuri,
ELTHAM GUARDIAN PHARMACY

  "Before ACTION International we were waiting for life to happen. Now we are making it happen. We have just realised that to get our dreams we have to do more than just dream them. Nick has helped us realise this and assisted us with the first steps."

Brett & Chris Ditchfield,
DITCHFIELD PLUMBING

  "Since working with Nick we have boasted several sales and conversion rate records. It's great to have someone to bounce ideas with to our marketing and general business systems. I recommend working with Nick, as for us at Candlewick, it has brought a lot of direction and purpose to our work, an investment which has and will continue to pay for itself many times over."

Craig Tough,
CANDLEWICK INTERIOR DESIGN & DECORATION

  "Being coached keeps me committed and on track. I need to have deadlines imposed on me to ensure the goals are achieved."

Lucy Giudice,
PRACTICAL PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS

  "Nick's regular contact has helped me to stay focused and positive. His ideas and experience have also helped me to be more strategic in the way I market my product."

Wayne Dyson,
INTEGRO

  "The systems I have set up this year with Nick Ikonomou and ACTION International have identified directions that my business needed to take, and I have been able to implement them with the help of Nick .The coaching sessions enable me to focus my energies and direct into positive actions."

Chris Kay,
KRIS K BRIDAL

  "Working with Nick is an effective way to progress the business and learn new skills. His input has been invaluable."

Denis Kosnar,
KOSNARS PICTURE FRAMING SHOP



"Nick, you managed to get two very disorganized people to spend valuable time working to improve their partnership and their business.  We have set a goal to continue to devote time to focus on success.  Thank you for sharing your expertise!

Gai Williams & Greg Goldby,
WILLIAMS & GOLDBY PHARMACY



Speaking as an employee at Advanced Life Photography, one of the many businesses under the guidance of ActionCOACH, I can honestly report a huge increase in job satisfaction for all staff and customer satisfaction for our clients due to work flow practices implemented through Nick Ikonomou    .

My employer Clint Dickenson started with Nick last year after toying with the idea of business coaching for quite a while.  The biggest hurdle we needed to get past was understanding that we needed to have someone steering the ship, so to speak.  Someone working on the business, instead of everyone working in the business.  It's a hard process to comprehend when you are an expert at what you have done for 25 years.

We now have systemized procedures for every aspect of our job so someone else can also do our job as our business grows (up 16% so far).  We Clint there to guide us, see the big picture and implement changes that are needed, instead of being so busy doing a job himself that the same flaws get repeated year after year.

Jobs are now delegated out, improving individual job satisfaction.  Staff turn over has decreased, as we now have the ability to learn and grow with the job and not feel that Clint can do it better, so why bother trying.  Clint now has even more free time to do what he loves doing best, promote his business and socialize, as less staff training is required.

We are all happier with a boss that smiles instead of frowns.

Thank you Nick.

Paula Zahra
ADVANCED LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY