Brad Sugars was in his early twenties when he started the ActionCOACH brand (formerly Action International), today, 15 years on, ActionCOACH is recognised international as the Leader in the Global Business Coaching industry, as well as one of the leading and most profitable franchises in the world.
So how did an Australian twenty-something create such a global powerhouse?
Brad Sugars was born an entrepreneur, even from a very young age; Brad displayed a natural curiosity for working smarter and getting measurable results. Whilst at university, Brad developed a number of small businesses. Perhaps due in his naivety and unblemished drive at such a relatively young age, Brad's ability to grow and expand companies from every conceivable industry lead him to being known as "The Turnaround Kid".
Fellow Business Owners and Executives saw an opportunity to learn from Brad's successes, and he was soon asked to speak at Workshops and Seminars, sharing his tips and advice on marketing, sales, systemisation and team building.
Audiences were wowed. Brad's "pull no-punches" approach were a refreshing change from other speakers at the time. The content of Brad's events was filled with simple and easy ways to grow businesses. The Brad Sugars seminars and workshops quickly grew in reputation; they were the event to see.
Business owners started approaching Brad Sugars to consult on their businesses. Despite the demand for his services, Brad realised that consulting was not the answer. Brad wanted the business owners to implement the strategies he taught - but time restraints meant that he could not properly service the demand. It was then that Brad realised that the missing component between knowledge and implementation was coaching; thus Action International (now known as ActionCOACH) was born.
ActionCOACH started in Brisbane, Australia. Brad began by hiring and training business coaches to leverage his time better and to help as many businesses as possible. After several years, yet again demand exceeded supply and Brad realised the only way to effectively leverage his time and to provide coaching to as many businesses as possible was to franchise the ActionCOACH concept. Franchising not only created a pathway to international expansion, it also allowed his business coaches to own their very own business.
Today ActionCOACH operates in 22 countries and has more than 1,000 offices around the world. ActionCOACH has received numerous awards including Fastest Growing Franchise, Franchisee Satisfaction, Best Overall Company and has been named the number one business coaching franchise for more than 5 years running. Unlike other franchises in the category, Brad Sugars' ActionCOACH is the first business coaching franchise originating from a business that Brad started himself 15 years ago.
In 2006, Brad Sugars returned to the company as CEO and plays and integral part of the business.