Franchisee tells of how he predicted the collapse of Carillion and left to start his ActionCOACH business
Published: 23 March 2018
Luke Kay gave up his place on a graduate scheme with former leading facilities management and construction business Carillion, despite performing in the top 10 per cent of his cohort.
With a potential salary of more than £100,000 over the next 10 years, 26-year-old Luke explains why he gave up his graduate position to join ActionCOACH: “After completing a master’s degree in project management, I was offered a place on the hotly contested graduate scheme at Carillion. My role varied from managing bids of £10,000 to £30million, to overseeing major maintenance and capital spend projects up to £10million across six southern regions of England.
“I was working a lot of hours and started to question the ethos of the corporate world. I had spoken to another high-performing graduate; we looked at contracts that didn’t seem to make financial sense and I started to get a bad feeling. So, in October 2015, I looked at options for buying my own business.”
Luke’s dream had always been that in 20 to 30 years’ time, he would buy, grow and sell businesses, but he knew he needed to get more experience first. He reviewed some of the franchises available through magazines and the internet.
“My initial thought was that I could, in fact, choose a franchise in any industry to get my foot on the business-ownership ladder. ActionCOACH ticked all the boxes – I could have my own business, get coached myself and coach businesses in lots of sectors.”
Just two months in, Luke was earning more than on his graduate scheme. By 2017, he was generating £10,000 a month in client income. By the end of his first 12 months, he hit his goal of £55,000 profit, matching any earnings he could have climbed to in the first year of his corporate career following the graduate scheme.
“I’m still the youngest franchise partner in the UK and age hasn’t held me back. One of my first clients said ‘if you’re good enough, you’re old enough’.
“The best moment for me so far was when a client of mine, who had previously won Entrepreneur of the Year in the city of Liverpool, said that he’d had the best and most enjoyable year in his shutter business since working with me. I’d say I made the right move by choosing this franchise over my corporate career. I’m glad I followed my gut!”
Photography by Livv McKay, LMC Productions
