The Sandbag Times Issue No: 41

GRAHAM ORANGE
Business Owner Soaring High After RAF Career
Former RAF Chief Technician, Graham
Orange, spent years researching possible
routes to becoming a business owner in
the run up to his retirement from HM
Forces. It wasn’t until January 2015, when
working in the structures bay at RAF
Marham, that Graham spotted an
advertisement for ActionCOACH, the
world’s number one business coaching
franchise.
Graham, now 47 years old, went straight
from school to working as a mechanic at a
Volkswagen dealership and continued with
the company in sales management until
he was 20. He craved more adventure in
his life and decided to join the RAF as an
engineer. Here followed 25 years of
service working on battlefield helicopters,
fast jets and transport aircraft.
He certainly got the adventure he was
looking for when he joined the global
aircraft recovery team, heading off around
the world after crashes of both UK military
and civilian aircraft. Graham explains, “It
was this that led to my interest in
coaching. The teams I took out to
recoveries had to deal with some shocking
scenes and the Royal Marines developed
a programme, Trauma Risk Management,
to identify and help those that may have
been affected by the work we did. I
learned through this programme to deal
with people, asking the right questions to
understand their state of mind.”
After so many years with the RAF,
Graham’s challenges were dwindling. He
had passed a significant pension point and
began searching for his next mission. “I
picked up a resettlement magazine and
saw ActionCOACH advertised. I contacted
them and soon afterwards had a
telephone interview with their UK Cofounder,
Ian Christelow. I loved the idea of
self development, I like to learn and facing
new ideas throughout a journey with
ActionCOACH really appealed to me. My
wife, Liz, joined me on the discovery day
at the UK support team office in March
2015. From that point, we both decided
that we wanted to be involved with this
particular franchise.”
Making a break
The following month, Graham attended
ActionCOACH’s annual Business
Excellence Forum and began to apply to
leave the RAF, negotiating to leave in time
to begin his training in October. “Not only
was this a huge step to leave the public
sector and a secure job but we also had to
move from married quarters back to the
home we owned in South Wales.
“The initial training was brilliant. In
particular, the sales and psychology of
how people buy was really interesting
having not worked in sales since I was 20!
After the training, we prepared ourselves
to launch the business in January 2016.
“I began marketing my new business
using an ActionCOACH 6 Steps Seminar
and our exclusive lead generation centre
because, at that point, I didn’t really know
what networking was. At the end of month
one, I had secured my first one-to-one
coaching client. As my confidence built, I
began ‘bold calling’ where I would walk
into businesses to pitch to be their growth
coach and used one of the ActionCOACH
strategic alliance partners, Avalanche, to
foster new client relationships via
LinkedIn.
“I now have five one-to-one coaching
clients, group coaching clients and have
recently added the employee engagement
programme, Engage and Grow. It’s trebled
my income compared to what I earned in
the RAF and, by December I aim to reach
a monthly income of £18,000.”
Winning recognition
In November 2016, Graham scooped a
national award for his successful transition
from the services to civvy street. He was
presented with the Nationwide
Resettlement Award for Service Leaver
Franchisee of the Year award, at a
glittering black-tie event held at Hotel
Football in Manchester, by journalist and
TV presenter Bill Turnbull.
Sponsored by Nationwide, the awards
recognise the achievements of service
leavers who have successfully progressed
to life as a civilian. Graham was thrilled by
the award win, “It was suggested to me by
a colleague that I enter the awards and,
not having done so previously, I was a
little nervous. Once I had completed the
application form, with some fantastic help
from my Liz, I felt that it was definitely the
right thing to do and that my family, friends
and the franchise deserved recognition for
their support.
“I felt honoured to be nominated as a
finalist and felt very excited about
attending the dinner to celebrate the
winners’ accomplishments. Little did I
know that I would be walking away with
the trophy and the biggest smile ever!”
This is the second year that an
ActionCOACH franchise owner has won
this title with former Army captain, Steve
Gaskell, taking the trophy in 2015.
A satisfying career
In the last year, Graham has faced the
unknown but he loves his new career and
lifestyle. Being self-employed through
ActionCOACH brings him great job
satisfaction.
“Whilst this is probably the hardest thing
I’ve ever done because it was a complete
change, the support has been fantastic
and I couldn’t have asked for more. I’ve
had by master coach to turn to during
weekly calls - how could I not have a
coach myself when I expect my clients to
trust and invest in me?
“One of the major changes has been in
my work-life balance. Back when my
children, Danny and Rosie, were born and
during their early years, I was sent on
detachments to Iraq, Afghanistan and the
USA. Running my ActionCOACH business
means I am around a lot more for
important family occasions and that feels
great.”
Next steps
If you'd like to be your own boss with our
support and you:
A) get a buzz from helping others succeed
B) love learning and developing yourself
C) have enjoyed success in your career or
sport…
Then find out more by watching the 6-
minute overview video at
actioncoach.co.uk.
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 11 |