A Little History…

Born and raised in Edinburgh, I left Scotland at twenty-two and emigrated to Canada. Over the next forty-three years, I lived and worked in Canada and the United States, building a career in banking, operations, business ownership, and business consulting. I returned home to Scotland upon retirement in 2012.

Although I enjoyed fourteen years of retirement, my passion for business never truly left. I am stepping back into coaching because I genuinely love helping people succeed. I want to see local owners get real joy and reward from their businesses, instead of feeling overwhelmed by daily demands.

I spent eighteen years with the Toronto Dominion Bank, ten of those years as a hands-on branch manager, regularly visiting local business owners in their shops and workplaces.

Working at that scale taught me many of the systems, disciplines, and practices that help successful businesses grow and thrive. It also showed me some of the pitfalls that can cause smaller businesses to struggle.

Following my time in banking, I spent twenty years in Southern California, including a decade running my own business consulting practice, starting as a financial coach before transitioning into full business consulting.

During those same years, my wife Stephanie and I also owned and operated a vegan bakery in Ocean Beach. That experience gave us first-hand insight into the commitment, long hours, and perseverance required to run a small business successfully.

For the five years leading up to my retirement, I served as the General Manager of a small manufacturing company in Washington State.

While there, I modernised their operations - standardised the assembly processes to speed up production, introduced powder-coating to improve the product’s finish, created a customer manual, and upgraded financial tracking by introducing QuickBooks.

After returning home to Scotland, I settled in a quiet village in the East Neuk of Fife, where I continue to enjoy the community, coastline, and quality of life that first drew me back.

My Approach & Commitment

Over the years, I have developed a strong instinct for spotting the simple things that are often overlooked in the day-to-day running of a business.

Sometimes a business does not need a major overhaul. Sometimes it simply needs an experienced outside perspective to uncover a missed opportunity, identify a hidden bottleneck, or help an owner see a problem from a different angle.

When I work with a client, I treat the challenges of your business as seriously as if they were my own. I do not give up easily, and I do not walk away when a problem becomes difficult.

If there is a friction point holding your business back, I will stay with you, keep asking questions, and keep exploring possibilities until together we find a practical solution that works.