APPRECIATION FROM CLIENTS

"I engaged with Mike to enable him to 'kick my butt' if I didn't do the actions that we had agreed would make my business better. This could be anything from performance reviews with staff to making sure we were up to date with our own invoicing over busy periods. He’s supported me from when I first became an employer to where my business is now and how proud I am of my great team. He likes to play devil's advocate now and again and can always see a positive when some days I can't!  If you are looking for a mentor for your business I would highly recommend Mike"

"I was at a crossroads. Since that time he has been my rock - always there to listen and encourage, providing a voice of reason, throwing me questions that I had not considered, asking me those difficult questions I do not want to ask myself, ensuring I consider as much as possible in the decision making process. My business would not be where it is today without his support and guidance getting me to see the wood through the trees and getting me to commit to myself what I need to do, why and when. Then keeping me focussed on what needs to be done at times when I feel overwhelmed with the amount to do - working with him also makes sure I actually take the time out to work on the business taking it where I want it to go rather than just getting by working in it."

"I have been lucky enough to have known Mike for a number of years now and have seen and work with People Mike has mentored, helped them and their businesses. His ability to actively promote others and provide a seasoned approach to business and the development of those businesses is second to none"

"I would recommend Mike for one to one support. I had previously enjoyed his workshops and came away motivated to grow my business. Working with Mike has provided me with the focus for my business and helped me to formalise the business structure. He has helped me consider my marketing and how the business is presented to my prospects. The sessions with Mike have brought much more clarity about the business, consolidated my thoughts and clearly defined what needs to be done. The objective was to work on the business strategy and marketing plan to help me identify my position in the market and the type of customers I want to work with. Mike helped me to keep track of the priorities, so I am totally focused on that is important to achieve and this has made a big difference to how I run the business. Overall this has helped me to develop my confidence and helped me to make huge strides for my business."

"I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Mike for many years now and over that time we've become good friends. Mike was instrumental when I first started up Storm Internet and provided me with a lot of valuable tips that had I not learnt early on would have cost me dearly. Even now I often go to Mike if ever needing a good honest second opinion on something crazy I'm considering. He'll tell you it as it is and always set you down the right path. Mike's an excellent coach with a wealth of knowledge and real life business experience to back it with. I'm highly recommend Mike if you're looking for someone to provide you with a non-biased view on your thinking and who can genuinely help to steer your business down the right path and help it to flourish."

"Earlier this year, we (Databasix UK) decided that should appoint a business mentor to work with the two directors in order to grow the business. Deciding to work with Mike was incredibly easy, he has successfully run his own business, as well as help executive management roles in a number of business across Oxfordshire. More that Mike's experience is that he is an incredibly generous and supportive individual. He provides guidance and critique of our current and future business plans, he challenges us on 30 & 90 goals, in particular making sure that we do not overwhelm ourselves, he is also very positive. I really embrace the 'survive and thrive mentality' Mike adopts, I am very confident that with Mike onboard we will achieve our goals."

"I started working with Mike Foster from The Entrepreneurs Mentor earlier this year. Mike has a wealth of experience and knowledge which shows in every meeting and phone call we have. He has helped me plan and map out the journey to the life I want and how my business will get me there. What’s more, he’s keeping me on track and accountable to achieving it, something that I was in desperate need of. If you’re looking to take your business to the next level, speak to Mike!"

"I started the mentorship sessions with Mike earlier this year. Mike is a seasoned entrepreneur, mentor, and business coach. His practical and pragmatic nuggets of wisdom in all aspects of business planning and execution make him stand out from the crowd. He will highlight any pitfalls earlier on and help put management strategies in place. Mike is super-fast in responding to all queries and the regular reviews keep one accountable. Highly recommended."

"I have previously set up and run 3 successful businesses in the past, but my new venture was slightly different in that I wasn't selling a product - I was selling myself. I'd done my research and come up with a business plan but was struggling with exactly what my value proposition was and what my pricing structure should be. I had lots of thoughts and ideas, but just couldn't clarify these in my own mind. I was immediately impressed by Mike's enthusiasm for my new venture and the vision and passion with which he approached each aspect I was struggling with. We worked methodically and meticulously through everything and at the end of our meeting I left feeling confident and motivated. Our session together brought me immediate clarity and helped me consolidate and validate my thoughts and ideas. I can highly recommend Mike to anyone looking for business mentoring and I myself will definitely be using him again in the future as my business grows. Thank you Mike."

"EM has been invaluable to helping me find calm and clarity in the hustle and bustle of entrepreneurship. I highly recommend for all things: Strategy, Business-mentorship and Business Development."

"Mike’s advice and support as my mentor and sounding board over the last few months have been invaluable. As a business owner with operational responsibilities both internally and for my clients, I found it difficult to prioritise my ambitious growth plans. I struggled to find time to plan for our next growth phase. Mike’s pragmatic, wise advice and his extensive knowledge has been invaluable. Mike’s calm demeanour, positive challenge (when needed!) and expertise have helped me to scale my business. Mike is the non-exec support from which all SME would benefit. A great connector of people and a fantastic person to work with, he has most certainly been a driving force in the success of my business over the last few months. With two new hires, and support to make some tough decisions, with his help I have taken my business to the next level. I can’t thank him enough."

"Mike is different to the other coaches that I have worked with. He will ask me questions, but he also challenges me on some of my responses. He has a much more commercial outlook than other coaches and is someone I trust for another pair of eyes to something that I am considering. A perfect sounding board for me. Certainly recommended"

"As a business owner, it's easy to procrastinate as there is no-one holding me to account. Enter Mike. Working with Mike over the last 10 months has been a blast! I have gone from working in my business to working on my business; getting results and achieving more than expected. Mike is a good listener, a great sounding board and a meticulous action note taker! He kept me focused and the regular session booked in motivated me to focus on my plan and keep ticking off my actions. I would highly recommend any business owner booking some time with Mike "

"I have been fortunate to have known Mike for several years, mainly by being a regular at his networking events. Mike has always had such a reputation for being so generous with his time to everybody within his huge network, but I was very conscious not to take advantage of his generosity as I didn't think I was really in the market for coaching. I nevertheless attended one of his workshops, which was excellent and then attended a follow up 1-2-1 session, which was incredible. Mike really quickly understood what I wanted from my business, personal brand and life in general and really blended the mix of coaching, mentoring and consultancy. Like many business owners, I hate being dictated to but equally often need advice from experience, rather than a text book and Mike gets the balance perfect. I left the session with a clearly defined plan that I was comfortable with but more importantly excited about so instantly signed up as a client. 4 months later I am still getting such value and leave every session with a plan for the next 30 days and a excitement to get going. For me Mike at The Entrepreneurs Mentor almost provides a highly experienced and successful entrepreneur as a business partner without splitting the business"

"Mike combines a calm focus with incredible enthusiasm which he brings to every mentoring session. Together we have created a plan for my business and during each session we set the 30 and 90 day activities required to achieve my goals. He holds me to account and is definitely keeping me on track. He will challenge my motives for doing something and more importantly for NOT doing something and then work with me to find the best solution to get the desired result.
Mike has helped me to articulate my personal brand and given me the confidence to develop this. He is a great networker and will actively connect and promote the people he knows.
Highly recommend working with Mike to develop your business in the way you want to."

"Working with Mike has been inspiring and motivational over the last six months. Our business is in its very early stages, and with a lot to do in terms of both product and process development, it would have been easy to get distracted and focus on the wrong things. Mike has consistently kept us moving in the right direction, nudging us and keeping us 'honest' to make sure we haven't been distracted by shiny new ideas when there have been a lot of those about. We've been able to develop our approach, complete our prototype and make two 90 day plans - the first of which was successfully completed, and the second of which is underway. Mike also - literally - got stuck in, helping with our build project, which was a great help! Mike is an experienced coach and mentor, with a very wide network of trusted associates, and he's offered us all the right tools at the right time, and introductions to the right people to help us move fowards. There's never any pressure to do the work for him (!), but there is support and accountability to keep us moving, which is the perfect balance. He has really helped us make decisions, simplify what we're doing and focus on what really matters to help the business grow. I would highly recommend working with Mike, especially if you need focus, accountability, direction and simplification, but have an enormous to-do list and are not sure where to start - Mike will help you achieve what you want, whilst making you feel like you did it all. Thanks Mike!"

"Mike is an excellent business coach and mentor. He actively listens, asks thoughtful questions and gives practical advice when needed based on his vast experience running other businesses. He is well networked in the area and helpful to make introductions too. Mike has been incredibly helpful in my journey running my UX Design consultancy and his support has been invaluable."

"Mike has been my business mentor for the past year, starting in March 2020 at the start of the first UK lockdown. His support and guidance have been invaluable over the past 12 months, a time where many businesses without support have failed. He understood the growing pains I was facing in my business and provided excellent advice during a very difficult time for many businesses. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Mike to any business owner ready to take their business to the next level."

"Mike's flexible approach over the past 3 month's has been invaluable in getting me over the line with a new business venture. I asked Mike for help with not only accountability but challenging the assumptions and associated actions I was about to invest my time in. He very skilfully guided me through of a process of diving deeper in the areas I was vague and uncommitted on. He's been able to draw out of me what's important and what I'm committed to. The result has been that I've been able to make significant progress on defining a new business which is authentically me (rather than launching something which I perhaps thought I ought to be doing). Moreover, the process he's taken me through has helped me build my confidence and certainty."

"I wanted to take my business to the next level and Mike is the man to do that. Anything I needed to focus on, Mike has been happy to oblige. Mike took my processes and talked them through with me asking questions that often ended up with light bulb moments. Mike helped me evolve my processes to become extremely professional. Mike's phone is always on and he is not precious with his time. Most importantly my return on investment has been huge, not only the increase in new clients but the development of my business for the long term."

"I have been working with Mike for approx 6 months now, and I chose him because of his genuine desire to support and help his clients. I have worked with many respected senior leaders over my career, and Mike still manages to bring new ideas and approaches for me to consider. He is good at encouraging me to focus on high impact activities, and in my case those relating to marketing, selling and growing The Smart Team which don't form a natural part of my skill-set. It took me a while to make the decision to work with Mike. His experience with small businesses, generosity with his time, and developing a respect for his input cinched it for me. I'm glad I did choose Mike, and look forward to working with him in the future."

"We started working with Mike in 2020, and in that time he has become an integral part of our business management. He has guided, supported, listened and provided outstanding advice. We are moving forward as a business in so many areas thanks to Mike's support. I would have no hesitation recommending Mike to any business looking to move forward with their strategy and growth."

"We have been a client of Mike's for 9 months now. Although I was sceptical at first, thinking we would have 'homework' to do and how would I manage to get that done on top of everything else, Mike does not actually work like that at all. Mike makes us think about our priorities in order to achieve our business goals and then we discuss how to make them happen in a realistic time scale - so 30 day or 90 day focuses. It does not necessarily mean we will complete those tasks in 30 or 90 days but we will be focussed on them and will try to do some work towards them, rather than putting them to the bottom of the list. I would say that if you are stuck in the day to day working in your business instead of having any time to work on it - then give Mike a call. We have done so much more and made important decisions that we would have put off without him. Thanks Mike!"