Olympian, Sally Gunnell Guides Businesses on how to Drive Gold Medal Success

Athlete and 1992 Olympic gold medalist, Sally Gunnell has announced the importance of mentoring in the business world after research has showed that one third of successful entrepreneurs have previously turned to a mentor or support group for advice about their businesses.

The world record holder, who remains the only woman ever to hold four major parallel track titles, is now a small business owner herself and from her first-hand sporting and competitive experience and insight, has launched a book – The Book of Gold Medal Business Advice – in collaboration with cloud accountancy firm, Xero. The book defines, designs and drives methods of success for budding entrepreneurs and small business owners, giving advice on how best to reach your end goal.

The book recognises the importance of a business’ initial few years and how collaboration (just like Sally’s with Xero) and mentoring can play a key part in a business’ success, or failure for that matter. The Book of Gold Medal Business Advice, which has an accompanying online book, offers similarities between possible business success and Sally’s own learnings from being top of her game in sport, allowing businesses to translate this information to suit their own companies’ goals. The book touches upon a number of beneficial areas, including self-belief, focus, teamwork, drive and control, and has launched five bite-sized chapters on the Xero website – now accompanied by video chapters.

Commenting on her partnership with Xero, Sally Gunnell said: “Training to be the best in your field can be a lonely experience, and running a small business is no different. When the stakes are high, the road to success can feel like a hard one, which is why I’m pleased to partner with Xero to support small business owners in the UK as they grow.”

Xero’s co-founder and UK Managing Director, Gary Turner also commented: “Our insight into what leads to a company’s success and failure has shown that to succeed, you don’t have to do it all on your own – far from it. The 5.4 million small businesses in the UK are the backbone of the economy employing 60% of the workforce, so it is in everyone’s interests for small businesses to succeed. Sally’s sporting tips are completely transferrable to business – from having mind-over-matter when times get tough, to ensuring you have the right team around you to help you grow. Business Gold will give small businesses across the UK the boost they need to know they are not alone, and to become top of their game.”

Sally Gunnell’s 5 top tips for business success:

1. Know what you want to achieve – have drive and focus and know what your goal looks like. Don’t be scared to think big.
2. Build a strong team around you – don’t be afraid to ask for help and surround yourself with people who will benefit you and are good at what they do.
3. Challenge yourself – step out of your comfort zone to keep learning and growing.
4. Accept disappointment – learn why mistakes happen and how you can learn from them, but don’t dwell on them.
5. Have self-belief – all of us will doubt our ability at some point, but use your mind to visualise your goal and control your inner voice.

Click here to download a digital copy of The Book of Gold Medal Business Advice. Video chapters are also now available on the Xero webite.

https://www.xero.com/uk