The photograph behind the work
There’s one constant in Ian Kinnery’s coaching sessions.
A grainy black and white picture of the award-winning coach as a young boy, next to his late dad.
For a man who has enjoyed an astonishingly successful career, it is one of his true treasures – not least because it is the only picture of them together.
“My dad had his own business, but he’d be working when my mam put me to bed and by the time I woke up, he was already at work again,” recalled Ian.
“He died when I was 14 so I hardly knew him, but he’s one of the reasons I do what I do – so that other business owners are not a stranger to their kids, as he was to me.”
For over 20 years, Ian has been a guiding force behind the success of many leading businesses.
A European Coach of the Year winner, he has helped countless MDs and entrepreneurs scale their business – sometimes into multi-million-pound operations.
But as he stated, success is also found in the improvements clients gain away from work.
"People think coaches are only there to grow your bottom line,” added Ian.
“The truth is, I coach people to make sure success doesn't cost them everything else.”
Business in his blood
For Ian, business is in his blood.
Born in the North East, he came from a mining family; His grandparents toiled down the pit and his father followed.
“Dad was destined to be a miner, and one day when he was working underground, he went to the toilet – when he returned his coat and bait box were under a pile of rock – so he became a plumber.”
That grew into a successful business distributing liquid petroleum gas, one that allowed Ian to receive a private education – despite still living in a council house.
“My classmates turned up in Jags and Rolls Royce’s – I arrived in the work van, and it didn’t even have a passenger seat,” laughs Ian.
Cars would ultimately become Ian’s livelihood, when upon graduating from university, he secured a job with Lex Service Group, which at the time owned one of Britain’s biggest car and truck dealership groups.
Having started as a graduate management trainee in Bristol, by the time he was just 29, he was MD of a major truck dealership in Birmingham.
“It was boys stuff - big trucks, big money and big characters – and I instantly fell in love with it,” recalled Ian.
Eventually, he became MD at the Darlington dealership, before taking on the same role at Europe’s biggest Mercedes dealership – before starting his own in Stockton.
When success became too much
Then he hit a wall.
By his mid-thirties, the pressure of running a successful business almost killed him.
His mental health deteriorated and he tried taking his own life.
Sat in his car, he thought that was it – only to wake hours later.
“I messed it up – that’s either good luck or bad luck depending on which way you look at it.”
Burned out, he was treated for depression.
It was life-changing.
"I'd spent years learning how to build businesses, but I'd never learned how to look after myself," he says.
So Ian changed path, with a new determination to help others avoid the pitfalls that business can bring.
He moved into coaching, and over the past 20 years, has carved out a reputation as one of the most successful scale-up coaches in the UK.
His unique background makes him ideally positioned to help clients be not just better bosses – but better people.
"I've been where my clients are," he says.
"I know what it's like to lie awake worrying about payroll, cashflow and whether you're making the right decisions.
“And I know first hand just how draining running a business can be – on your time, energy and mental wellbeing. It can be really rewarding, but also extremely lonely, and that’s where coaching can be a difference-maker.”
A different measure of success
His impact has been felt across businesses of every size.
Engineering consultancy GeoAccess almost trebled its turnover and expanded its workforce after working with Ian, with directors crediting his coaching as pivotal in helping the company achieve record growth.
Meanwhile, Northumberland childcare provider Little Angels Childcare Group also turned to Ian during a period of rapid expansion, with owner Debbie Wylie praising the "priceless" support that helped the business grow while remaining true to its values.
Yet, Ian insists the numbers only tell part of the story.
"If building a successful business doesn't give you a better life, what's the point?" he says.
"I'm just as proud when a client gets home in time to put their children to bed as I am when they double their turnover."
That philosophy ultimately led Ian to launch ‘Save the Entrepreneur’, a campaign he spearheaded which encouraged business owners to speak openly about mental health and seek support before reaching crisis point.
By publicly sharing his own story, he hopes to break the stigma surrounding entrepreneurial burnout and remind business leaders they don't have to face those pressures alone.
It's a mission that brings Ian back to the black and white photograph that he regularly holds on-stage, in talks and seminars.
A picture of a little boy and the father he barely knew.
For Ian, it is a constant reminder that success should never come at the expense of the people waiting for you at home.