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Research

SME Owners Say What owners are really seeing in their businesses.

I own businesses, I research owners, and I’ll say in public what owners can’t. SME Owners Say is my research series on small and medium-sized UK businesses: real numbers and real owners’ words, done to the same standard as my doctorate.

Fig. · DBA, Aston Business School, 2025 · 15 interviews · survey of 85

Psychological capital was related to higher revenue, more clients, longer client retention and greater life satisfaction.

Releases

Latest findings

  1. From the doctorate · October 2026

    Belief doesn’t win clients. Engaged work does. And too much hope can cost you.

    Psychological capital won clients only through engaged work, not positivity or projected hope. Projecting hope had a negative effect.

  2. From the doctorate · October 2026

    Owner-operators with more psychological capital earn more, keep clients longer and worry less about losing them

    Doctoral survey of 85 in UK advisory practices, mostly owners: psychological capital linked to revenue, client retention, job security and life satisfaction.

  3. From the doctorate · October 2026

    Psychological capital: the evidence that a developable mindset pays

    Psychological capital (hope, efficacy, resilience, optimism): the definition, the evidence it predicts performance, and that it can be developed.

  4. From the doctorate · October 2026

    The boundaryless career: what working for yourself asks of you that a job never did

    The research on boundaryless careers in plain language: what working for yourself asks of you that a job never did, and why owners seek help.

  5. From the doctorate · October 2026

    What keeps owner-operators going, and what nearly stops them: 15 in-depth interviews

    Doctoral interviews with 15 in UK advisory practices, ten of them owners: what drives them, what nearly stops them and what helps, with the counts.

Method

Where the numbers come from

1. Operating data from businesses I own

Enquiries, order values and production across the medical technology, manufacturing and service-based businesses I own. Published as indexed figures and percentage changes only, combined across the businesses where possible and a quarter behind. Never prices, margins, customers or suppliers.

2. In-depth interviews with owners

Every guest on the Mentor Business Podcast answers the same research questions about their business and what it pays off for them, in money and in life. Findings are reported as themes, always with the number of owners (“of the 20 owners interviewed, 14 said…”).

Every release states its sample, dates and method. Nothing is rounded up or claimed beyond what the data shows. My opinion is labelled as my opinion and kept apart from the numbers.

The doctorate

What my doctorate found

My Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) at Aston University studied how people who work for themselves keep going towards success, in money and in life. Its sample was people in UK franchised advisory practices, mostly the owners: 15 in-depth interviews and a survey of 85.

It found that psychological capital (the hope, self-belief, resilience and optimism that keep people going) was related to higher revenue, more clients, longer client retention and greater life satisfaction.

The findings are published here as plain-language releases marked “From the doctorate”. SME Owners Say carries the same question on with business owners.

Ref · DOI 10.48780/publications.aston.ac.uk.00048796

Haydon, L. J. (2025). How UK Business Coaches Cope and Persist Towards Higher Levels of Objective and Subjective Success in Boundaryless Careers. Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), Aston University. https://doi.org/10.48780/publications.aston.ac.uk.00048796

Awarded
Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), Aston University, March 2025
School
Aston Business School, Work and Organisational Psychology (Leadership and Management research unit)
Supervisors
Dr Claudia Sacramento and Dr Dulini Fernando
Keywords
Boundaryless careers · Business coaching · Psychological capital · Cope and persist
Record
Open access in Aston's research repository, deposited March 2026. DOI 10.48780/publications.aston.ac.uk.00048796
Thesis abstract

This research explores how UK business coaches navigate boundaryless careers and the psychological mechanisms that enable them to cope and persist towards higher levels of objective and subjective success. Through a mixed-method approach, including qualitative interviews (Study 1) and quantitative survey (Study 2), this project offers a robust perspective on the drivers, barriers, and dynamics shaping the lives of business coaches and the role of Psychological Capital (PsyCap) in their journey. Study 1 (N=15) delves into the intrinsic drivers, barriers, enablers, and strategies that lead coaches to objective and subjective success in their careers. The study highlights the profound themes, sub-themes, and specifics that influence a professional’s ability to cope and persist, including professional network(s); the desire to effect positive change and assist others in achieving more; the aspiration for a flexible and balanced lifestyle; personal growth; financial stability; and meaningful impact. Additionally, the study underscores the role of client success as a primary source of job satisfaction for business coaches and the importance of social connections in their careers. Through the lens of boundaryless careers and agency theory, the findings align with the role of coaching in promoting overall well-being and work-life harmony among clients, emphasising the importance of constructs such as resilience, goal persistence, self-efficacy, optimism, and a positive mindset as strategies to overcome challenges inherent in boundaryless careers—constructs that exist in the core-construct of PsyCap. Study 2 (N=85) extends the research from Study 1 and adopts a quantitative approach to investigate the link between PsyCap and performance and well-being outcomes discussed in Study 1 and potential mediating pathways. The results form a model that assists coaches and others in boundaryless careers to cope and persist in their careers. The study supports the direct effects of PsyCap on business coaches' ability to cope, persist, and achieve outcomes such as coach revenue, number of clients, client retention, as well as well-being factors such as life satisfaction and reduction of job insecurity. The mediation effects of motivational, affective, and behavioural pathways are also explored with job engagement being highlighted as a key mediator between PsyCap and the number of clients a coach has. The theoretical, empirical, and practical contributions of this research contribute to the fields of boundaryless careers, positive psychology, and coaching practices, offering nuanced insights and implications into the factors shaping success and well-being within the context of business coaching. The study provides insights into the UK coaching industry, offering implications for professional development and sustainable practice.

For journalists and researchers

Using this research

You’re welcome to quote and cite any release. Please cite it as “research by Dr Lewis Haydon” and link to the release page. For comment, data or an interview, see the press page.

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