Some of the greatest success stories are those that come from adversity, rising from the ashes of a difficult start in life to do something amazing, and from athletes to music stars, we’ve heard our fair share of inspirational tales over the years.
But for some, the challenges that come with navigating such a path leave them with a desire to put the experience to good use, helping others to see success as well as enjoying their own. Not content with simply seeing their own bank balances flourish, they are eager to give others the tools they need to thrive – and 38-year-old Adam Stott from Essex, who runs a business coaching empire and is a member of the Forbes Coaches Council, is one of them.
You may know him from Channel 5’s hit show Rich House, Poor House, or if you’re lucky, perhaps witnessed him speak on his journey at some of the world’s most influential business events. Suffice it to say that his work has made quite the impact in the business world, and as a member of the prestigious Forbes Coaches Council, he is highly respected in his field.
As you might have guessed, Adam didn’t get off to the easiest of starts in life; by the time he was eight years old, his mother was struggling to make ends meet for herself and her three children as a single parent, and following her divorce from Adam’s father, had no choice but to move the family from their spacious detached home into a compact bungalow.
Having to learn to be frugal as he was growing up meant that he had always appreciated the value of money, and he worked hard from an early age to bring in a wage to help his mother. Fast forward to now, and the respected business tycoon runs a thriving business that has racked up more than £50 million in product sales. It’s a classic ‘rags-to-riches’ story, and one that he is understandably proud of – yet despite his success, he remains humble.
“My parents had been successful in life themselves, but then a recession came along and shortly after that, they divorced,” says 38-year-old Adam. “We went from a nice lifestyle to a terrible lifestyle.”
Suffice it to say that Adam’s childhood wasn’t an easy one, and at school, he failed to fall in love with any of the subjects being taught, and was uninspired by any of the career prospects that were suggested to him by teachers and his mother.
“I was terrible at school,” he says. “I just wasn’t academically minded and there was nothing there for people who didn’t fit the structure. I was told I would never achieve anything; how many successful people have been similarly written off?”
But despite his talents largely going unnoticed at the time and the fact that he left school with scant qualifications and little direction, all that was about to change.
Adam always knew that he wanted to do something more than just a run-of-the-mill 9 to 5 job, and his passion for business and for helping others meant that becoming a business coach was a natural progression. His experience with overcoming challenges in the face of adversity meant that he was well-placed to help his clients to do the same.
“The common factor with a lot of successful people is that at some stage, they have had to deal with conflict, and it is how they deal with that conflict that matters,” he says.
“Success is not simply a hero’s journey; it is about recognising opportunities and grabbing them.”
And grab them, he did. In recent years, he has taken centre stage alongside the likes of boxing legends Floyd Mayweather and Anthony Joshua and fashion designer Calvin Klein to discuss the secrets of success, each of them hailing from challenging backgrounds they refused to let hold them back.
The path wasn’t a smooth one, but nonetheless, he slowly but surely began to realise his talents. After a job in sales at an electronics superstore, Adam began working with cars, landing a role at a luxury dealership where his sales success continued.
By the age of 25, he was earning a six-figure salary and had bought a house. Things were finally looking up, and he had already proven those who doubted him wrong. But just as he was beginning to feel settled in his life, things took a turn, and after setting up a financial services company in 2007, the economy took a nosedive with the onset of the 2008 financial crash, taking him with it.
Never one to let a challenge floor him and accustomed to overcoming the obstacles life threw at him, Adam accepted the situation and turned his thoughts towards a solution. With barely any savings left in his account, he knew he had to somehow turn things around, and after a lightbulb moment, decided to set up a brokerage company to buy and sell cars. Given his past experience, it made perfect sense, and thus, Big Cars was born.
“The basic idea was to establish Big Cars as virtually an estate agent for cars, and it flew until the market changed,” Adam recalls.
It was around this time that Adam began looking for a business coach to help him on the road to success, but he quickly realised that they were few and far between. Navigating the path alone and achieving great things as a result, it was a thought that stuck in his mind.
“Despite working hard and being one of the most motivated people on the planet, I recognised that there was no real business coaching around for people like me. I started to go on courses and really improved how I approached finances and staff. I really gave my life to the business, working 9am to 11pm, six days a week, and we grew to nearly £40 million a year in sales,” he says.
“I then learned about branding. Your brand is your reputation, and is ultimately what someone says about you when you are not in the room.
“I also discovered the power of social media in its early days and we used it to provide explosive growth for the business.”
As he continued to grow and develop in his entrepreneurial journey, he sought more and more expertise, looking for anyone he could learn from along the way. He began taking regular trips to the U.S.A to attend business development workshops, gaining a repertoire of highly sought-after skills that helped him on the way to success – and as the profits began to roll in, his thoughts turned once again to the lack of business coaches available for those embarking on a similar journey to his.
And so, his venture into wealth coaching began.
Today, Adam’s Big Business Events company runs seminars and courses for budding entrepreneurs, providing them with a plethora of insights and practical, actionable steps to ensure that their businesses grow and thrive. Understanding of the fatigue many business owners feel when it comes to masterclasses, courses and training courses, he strives to offer something different – and practices a tough-love approach that sees him work only with people who are truly committed to their goals.
Adam explains: “I don’t have a magic wand to make you wealthy because there is no substitute for hard work. But there are so many people out there who are prepared to do that and, with guidance, they can achieve.”
Big Business provides prospective clients with free analyses of their current businesses and, once they sign up to his programme, dedicated and tailored one-on-one support to help them to finally see the success they have been chasing.
His proven track record and his membership of the prestigious Forbes Coaches Council has seen him become a sought-after guest speaker at some of the world’s most influential business and entrepreneurial events, and he regularly takes to the stage to share his insights and the life lessons he learned along the way.
Adam concludes: “Britain is full of business talent, energy and ideas and I’m proud that I’m helping people realise their potential.”
