About the Author: Ashley Thomson
Professional Journey
Ashley started in business improvement in 1998, working for an Australian consulting company. He honed his skills by optimising corporate giants like Coles Group, Myer, ANZ Bank, Telstra, and Zurich Insurance. This hands-on experience gave him practical insights into the workings of great businesses and the pitfalls of poor performers.
Accolades and Awards
Ashley’s exceptional coaching prowess has earned him a place in the prestigious Coaching Hall of Fame (2019). Additionally, his achievements have been acknowledged through multiple awards, solidifying his reputation as a world-class business coach. He leads a team of award-winning business coaches at Tenfold, setting the gold standard in the industry.
Expertise Across Industries
With diverse experience spanning FMCG, manufacturing, wholesale, distribution, construction, trades, retail, and professional services, Ashley has successfully coached businesses across various sectors. His expertise lies in coaching mature businesses with revenues ranging from $5M to $50M, guiding them through complex financial structures, marketing strategies, operational improvements, and leadership development.
Innovative Problem Solver
Ashley’s background as a convergence task force manager and project manager at leading organisations like Show Ads and NewsCorp – PMP Print equipped him with the skills to streamline complex business functions. His ability to sift through data, identify key business drivers, and provide agile financial models enables businesses to thrive in competitive markets.
Published Author and Global Authority
Ashley’s influence extends far beyond his coaching practice. He co-authored “The Quiet Sales Genius,” a definitive guide to effective sales strategies. He has been featured in prominent publications, podcasts, and conferences, cementing his status as a thought leader in the coaching community.
Ashley’s influence reaches across the globe, with features and accolades from esteemed platforms such as:
3 graphs that explain why recruitment and retention are so important for the next 3 years
Today’s briefing is for all Tenfold clients because it covers a topic that is highly relevant to all your businesses. With the current labour shortage likely to continue well into 2022 and beyond, we can expect that this will be the biggest challenge for all Australian businesses for some time to come. Since I wrote about this in February and May and August, the competition for staff has only continued to intensify. In today’s brief, I’ll show you 3 graphs that explain the situation we’re in. My aim is to help you understand why team recruitment and retention are so ...
Business Insights – Jobs Victoria Fund reminder: new employees can be eligible for $10,000+ grants
This insights briefing has information specifically for Victorian employers as it relates to the Jobs Victoria Fund. For our NSW and Queensland clients, we’ve looked into the state government funding options but they're not as relevant or lucrative for smaller businesses: NSW jobs funding is aimed at attracting bigger businesses to relocate from interstate and overseas to NSW (think corporate head offices); QLD jobs funding is primarily targeted to priority industry sectors (think biofutures, aerospace and advanced manufacturing), and apprenticeships. With Victoria almost fully open, I want to talk to about options for you to get employees. As I’ve ...
Business Insights – Why business owners should be focusing on investing NOW
Today I want to bring you some insights on investing in your business, as well as other passive investments and the Australian property market in particular. Before I start, let me point out that Tenfold business coaches certainly aren't financial planners and so we can't give financial advice. However, we are committed to ensuring you grow your wealth - many of you have experienced this with our Net Wealth tracking tool that we use in our one-on-one coaching. I know from speaking with you directly and hearing from your business coach that you work hard in your business but ...
Business Insights – Prepare your business now for huge labour shortages in 2022
I know many business owners are considering what will happen over the next few weeks with the lockdowns. However, today I’m looking ahead to 2022 and I want to give you insight into what we'll experience over the coming 12 months. In this briefing for Australian business owners: Forces impacting the Australian labour market What's happening on the ground now What's likely to happen in 2022 What Australian business owners need to do now to shore up your employees before NSW and Vic open up These insights follow on from my briefing on 13/8/21 about the labour shortage - you ...
Business Insights – 23rd September 2021 – SME Recovery Loan for business growth
I’m here with insights for Australian businesses on 23rd September 2021. Many Tenfold clients are working with their business coach on their big picture plans, and we are using these lockdowns to plan for their business growth and expansion. The federal government SME recovery loan scheme may be a good option to fund those plans. The loans provide up to $5M for 10 years with the federal government guaranteeing up 80% of the loan. The purpose of the loan can be almost anything to do with your business, so I encourage small business owners who are thinking about buying a ...
Business Insights – The labour problem explained and the action you need to take now
As business coaches, the Tenfold team sits across all our clients’ businesses and also have contact with many other small businesses outside the Tenfold community. Every day, we’re hearing stories of employees resigning. Some are leaving for other offers, while others have become fatigued with COVID-19 lockdowns imposed on their industry. Many of these employees were in senior roles, were people who weren’t expected to leave or were long term and seemingly secure employees. We know that employees leave for different reasons, and staff turnover is a normal part of business. In normal times, it’s usually straight forward to ...
Google’s core algorithm updates and how they affect your business website ranking
In 2002, business directories in Australia such as the Yellow Pages turned over about $800M. That was a massive chunk of Telstra’s bottom line at the time and about 10% of an estimated $8.9b Australian ad market. They even inspired a crude form of search optimisation: start your business name with an A or even AAA and you were more likely to appear up top of your preferred category. 20 years later, internet search has eaten those directories for breakfast. Google now handles an estimated 2 trillion searches per year. Google regularly releases updates to its algorithm to help searchers ...
Seth Godin on people who benefit the most from coaching
Seth Godin is globally recognised as one of the best known marketing thought leaders. Seth has a long running blog in which he has published daily posts for over 10 years. In his blog, he has often written about the virtues of having a coach, and he recently wrote a post about business coaches in particular. In this recent post, he makes note of the emotional considerations and practical benefits of having a coach. As you can imagine, it struck a chord with the coaches and team at Tenfold. We're obviously biased towards using a coach. We know from experience ...
Business pricing strategies to win the work you want
Let's be honest, the primary objective of sales is to make money for your business. But sales without smart pricing is risky at best, and costly at worst. In my time coaching businesses in industries from wholesale, manufacturing and trades to professional services, I've seen it all. As I learned early on in my career, ‘anyone can sell a dollar for fifty cents’. This truth has stuck with me ever since. Creating the right price for your product or service is about so much more than making money. Taking the time to get your pricing right is a powerful ...
Business Insights – 8th June 2021 – Vic employment grants
In this update for business owners on 8th June, I provide insight on a new and lucrative Victorian employment grant. We've been watching a grant that was announced in the Victorian state budget in November last year. Some information about the grant was released several months ago, but more clarification has been provided in recent weeks. There have been many incentives announced over the last year to promote jobs. Some have worked – such as the apprentice/trainee scheme – which many Tenfold clients have taken advantage of. (For more info on this scheme, see my briefing here of 14 May 2021 ...
