Olympic standard coaching could inspire Scotland’s small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) to go for gold.

That’s the view of Edinburgh-based business expert Rebecca Bonnington, a Partner with international coaching group Shirlaws.

She was commenting after Elise Christie tugged at the nation’s heartstrings when she crashed out of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang this week, missing a medal for the second Games running.

But even as she hobbled off the ice supported by head coach Nicky Gooch, Elise was telling journalists that she’d be back for Beijing 2022.

Rebecca says: “While natural talent and a bullish attitude like Elise are the backbone of any athlete’s success, the pressure is now on her coaching team to make sure she’s on the podium in four years time.

“The same goes for business success, with more and more SMEs acknowledging the value of coaching as they strive to deliver results and scale their operation to the next level.

“Like athletes, there’s enormous potential for businesses to use coaching to identify and achieve their goals.”

It’s a view echoed by Tricia Fox, founder and MD of Perth-based PR and marketing agency Volpa, who has been working with Rebecca to scale up her business.

Tricia says: “Anyone who thinks success is achieved in a vacuum is kidding themselves. I’ve never heard of a single successful athlete who hasn’t worked with an exceptional coach who has helped them make the 1% difference that delivers gold. Business is no different. Rebecca has given us critical insight and a shone a strategic light on how we can leverage our existing strengths and build a better business. Her advice is based on clear strategic principles and, importantly, her experience as an entrepreneur.”

The main thrust of Rebecca’s work at Shirlaws involves coaching and consulting with high achieving executives from large corporates and entrepreneurial businesses on how to make more money, more time and reduce stress.

She’s recently developed the CIRCLE Programme which condenses Shirlaws unique business frameworks into six intensive and affordable sessions aimed Scotland’s SME and family-run firms with turnovers less than £1.5 million.

Rebecca adds: “The CIRCLE Programme has been designed by Shirlaws with the needs of such business owners in mind. The work we do makes a huge difference in a very short space of time to businesses and business owners. We know this because we’ve been working with SME and private enterprise businesses for 20 years now. Using our tried and tested models and frameworks, we help grow your business, whilst successfully giving you access to more money, more time and less stress.

“We would now like to share this incredible knowledge through our CIRCLE Programme with smaller businesses who are ambitious to grow and want to use the Shirlaws’ frameworks to create strong, sustainable businesses.

“I don’t want to work with anyone who is interested in a fast buck, I work only with clients who work hard and want to build something sustainable and of quality. If your business is above £1.5m turnover then you’ll be able to work with me one-to-one on your business. If it’s below that, the CIRCLE Programme is designed especially for you.”

There are still places available to join the Circle Programme. Contact Rebecca Bonnington on 07734 934084 or rebecca.bonnington@shirlawsgroup.com for more details.