Greater London Enterprise Awards 2018

SME NEWS / Greater London Enterprise Awards 2018 7 Darren Christopher Rowland g Contact: Darren Christopher Rowland Email: [email protected] Website: www.darrenchristopherrowland.com the service industry as a whole for almost 25 years, Coaching on five different continents and with thousands of people across a multitude of contexts so I have a skill set most other coaches have not had the time or opportunity to generate yet. I advertise only very minimally in any form online or offline, yet a minimum 95% of my clients come instead from direct referral or live event attendance. I believe that speaks for itself”. It is Darren’s vast experience in a variety of industries and areas that has led him to the success he enjoys today, as he is proud to highlight… “Due to my extensive coaching experience, I am not confined to just a few areas, I am able to offer more than most coaches. For example, I have over two decades experience in weight loss, weight management and health coaching. I have extensive Coaching experience with executive business individuals, mostly C-Level and since 2014 on an international scale. I have coached thousands of individuals in the public arena and since 2012 predominately in the private realm of VIP ”. “In my personal life, I have been financially broke and turned myself into a self-made millionaire and have had three successful careers. Over the years I have set up and run eight different businesses. Alongside this, I have undertaken 15 years of charity work, including 10 years running my own charity organisation. In all, being exposed to thousands of people in different contexts has led me to become a successful life coach, although I could not have done any of this without first, and foremost mastering the emotional side of myself very early on”. Thanks to this varied lifestyle and Darren’s experience supporting a range of charities, he is passionate about supporting others, and as such he gives all of the profits from his life coaching work to charity. He talks us through the reasons behind this and why he feels that the charity he has chosen to profit from his work is so important… “Unconventional as it may seem, I decided not to profit from my life coaching work in the public arena, and instead I have the client donate 100% of the fee for any life coaching service direct to a Registered UK Charity, S.O.U.P ( www.soupcharity.org ). It is only the VIP coaching that I charge and retain. The charity supports the most vulnerable elderly members of the community, providing them with the support when they need it most. I am compelled to do whatever I can to ensure our elderly are given the respect, care and attention they utterly deserve. Helping my client, helps me support a cause bigger than me or the client! This is my humble way to create the ripple effect”. “I personally have donated a very large sum of my own money to this cause over the years along with thousands of hours of time and emotion, however, there is only so much I can do alone. My hope, my wish is that S.O.U.P becomes popular and mainstream allowing the charity to reach all the elderly that are in need of help, sooner, rather than later as it will likely be without the charity’s growth”. Offering out his services internationally, Darren continues to support a variety of clients, but being based in London offers him many opportunities, as it is an international hub where many of his VIP clients congregate. Darren expounds on the benefits of being based in London and how it allows him to enjoy a connection to his international clients… “London is most certainly the capital of the world for business and for me as an International Life Coach, London is therefore central to being seen and heard. I see many of my clients both in London and internationally. Often, I will see the same client in London, and then another time I will fly out to them in their country when necessary, so London allows me to have a brilliant base to see everyone since most significant people frequent London, and then I have the variety factor of travelling internationally”. We asked DCR what makes an effective Life Coach for people looking for Coaching… “Experience is King. Can not beat that. Classroom setting and or minimal experience in the real world is akin to an unripen apple. Real life help, requires a Coach with real experience, in Life itself”. As of 2018 Darren has become semi-retired and only coaches on a limited basis. He spends his spare time boating, scuba diving and Mentoring. He has begun the process of developing a coaching school to teach other life coaches who wish to progress from being standard, to being superior in the industry. As such, the future looks bright for Darren, and he looks forward to taking advantage of the many opportunities life continues to offer him over the years to come.