Jake Smolarek

Personal Development Coach in London

As featured in „The Times, Business Insider & Yahoo”

27k+ hours spent coaching
18+ years of coaching experience
1600+ happy clients
177+ testimonials

as featured in

What Is a Personal Development Coach?

I’m Jake Smolarek, and I believe everyone deserves to reach their maximum potential in life and in their careers. As your personal development coach, I’ll partner with you on a journey to clarify goals, optimise strategies, and create the long-term success and happiness you envision.

Whether it’s getting a clearer direction, boosting your company’s growth, advancing your career, or improving the balance in your life, I can guide you toward the fulfilment you seek.

Let’s Discuss Your Future

I’m here to help you bridge the gap between where you are now and where you truly want to be.

Business and life coaching isn’t just about fixing problems—it’s about maximising your strengths, aligning action with your values, and creating a synergy that brings the success you deserve.

Think of me as the guide on your climb up the mountain—I’ve been there before and can help guide you to the summit. And once we get there, we won’t stop growing. Together, we’ll look for the next peak in your life, and take the next step toward bigger and better goals.

What Can You Expect from Coaching with Me?

My coaching programmes are laser-focused on getting you results efficiently. From day one, we’ll focus on a set of personal development coaching strategies that identify your current reality and explore the best way to move beyond your goals.

  • Clarify Goals: We’re talking about more than a nice resolution. We’ll define what success looks like to you – both in your career and throughout your life.
  • Develop Winning Strategies: Together, we’ll craft executable plans to get you there (job searches, business development, leadership skills, etc.).
  • Upgrade Your Mindset: Your success begins with your head and then moves through your heart to your hands. Together, we’ll identify and remove obstacles to achieve your professional and personal goals.
  • Find Life Balance:: While many personal development coaching services focus on hustle, we’re going to strike a balance. We’ll create harmony between your career ambitions and your desire for happiness and fulfilment.

Start Your Personal Development Journey Today!

Success Stories

Real Clients. Real Success. Real Results.
From feeling stuck professionally to landing a role far beyond what he expected. This is Egis’s story:

“Within the first couple of months of coaching, I achieved several incredible outcomes. I found an amazing, well-paid job, far beyond what I had expected, all with Jake’s support. I also entered a happy relationship, moved into the flat I had always dreamed of, started travelling the world, and gained a deeper understanding of myself. The journey has been truly transformative.” 

Egis — Business Change Manager at London’s Leading Law Firm

book your complimentary initial consultation session!

Personal Development Life Coaching Gets Results

No matter the problems you face – or dreams you have – personal development coaching can get you there.

Most personal development coaches focus on a single struggle you’re having. But when you grow in one area, the rest of you is still in need of growth. My personal development coach service focuses on self awareness in all areas – giving you the tools you need to meet any part of life head-on.

  • Career advancement, life transitions, and finding new direction
  • Starting a business or taking the current business to the next level
  • Getting unstuck and gaining unstoppable momentum with positive thinking
  • Guidance on professional goals such as time management, effective communication, and more
  • Restoring balance to personal relationships
  • Contending with major life changes and setbacks

You shouldn’t have to struggle to figure it all out on your own. Investing in a life coach is investing in yourself, and will positively transform every area of your life. It’s time to create the work-life balance, business growth, or career change you’ve only dreamt about.

Meet Jake Smolarek – Your New Personal Growth Coach

Ask the top personal development coaches in the world, and they’ll likely tell you the same thing: Their passion is born from the struggles they’ve overcome. My story may be different from yours, but the struggles we face are the same. We all long to see self improvement through self awareness and well being.

Together, we are going to drastically transform your life, so much so that people are going to wonder what the hell happened to you… in a good way.

Whether you’re looking for a life coach to help you reach the next level in your life, you are considering a career change or are simply looking for a new direction to greater success.

You can have, do, and be all you want. I’ve been through a lot and am living the life I’ve always dreamed of —a fulfilling life of helping people like you reach the pinnacle of success.

Let’s Discuss Your Next Step

What is the Coaching Process?

The coaching process is a tailored journey designed to help you achieve your goals efficiently and effectively. While the core structure remains consistent, the actual coaching experience varies greatly depending on your unique needs and objectives. It is all about your business/career and personal growth.

Here’s an overview of what you can expect:

Initial Consultation and Goal Setting

The coaching process begins with an Initial Consultation and Goal Setting. This free, no-obligation session lasts between 30 minutes to 2 hours. During this time, we’ll assess your current situation, discuss your aspirations, and establish clear, measurable objectives. We’ll determine the right plan for you, including the programme cost, and set your primary goals and priorities.

Strategic Planning and Prioritisation

Next, we move into strategic planning. Together, we’ll develop a strategic roadmap to reach your goals. This involves setting both priorities and “posteriorities” – deciding not just what to focus on, but also what to let go. We’ll outline specific steps and day-to-day actions, determining what to do and, importantly, what not to do.

Implementation and Ongoing Support

The third phase is Implementation and Ongoing Support. This is where you begin taking action on your plan. We’ll have regular check-in sessions to review your progress and address any challenges. I’ll provide continuous support, accountability, and expert advice throughout this phase. We’ll also celebrate your wins and milestones along the way.

Evaluation and Adjustment

As we progress, we’ll engage in regular Evaluation and Adjustment. We’ll assess your progress, make necessary adjustments to your strategy, and address any obstacles or setbacks. This ensures you’re always on track to reach your objectives.

Gradual Progress and Long-Term Success

This involves step-by-step movement towards achieving your goals, with a focus on sustainable, long-term change rather than quick fixes. You’ll experience continuous personal and professional growth, leading to a transformation of your life and the realisation of your full potential.

Remember, this process is flexible and adaptable. As your personal development coach, I’m committed to guiding you through each stage, providing the support and challenge you need to transform your life.

The journey might not always be easy, but with dedication and the right guidance, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.

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Think about your future

Book your complimentary initial consultation session!

How Are Personal Development Coaches Different From Therapists?

A therapist, life coach, business coach and a personal development coach help you overcome challenges and self doubt, but it’s important to know the difference between a development coach and a counselor – and when each fits your life best.

We focus on the present and future

Personal development coaching is all about creating positive change in your life right now and setting goals for the future. Therapists, on the other hand, often focus on past experiences and how they may be affecting your current behaviors and thoughts.

We emphasise action over reflection

In personal development coaching, we believe taking action is key to creating change. While reflection can be helpful at times, our main focus is helping you move forward and achieve your goals.

We provide accountability

A personal development coach will hold you accountable for taking steps toward your goals. This means checking in regularly, setting deadlines, and providing support to help you stay on track. Our communication skills are your ticket to success.

We offer a holistic approach

Personal development coaching takes into account all aspects of a coaching clients life, including career, relationships, health and well-being. We understand that all these areas are interconnected and can affect one another.

Our sessions are tailored to your specific needs

Unlike a therapist who may have a set treatment plan for all clients, life coaches offer personalised sessions based on your individual goals and needs. This ensures that you receive the support and guidance that is most beneficial for you.

You will gain clarity and self-awareness

Through our coaching sessions, you will gain a deeper understanding of yourself – your strengths, weaknesses, values, and beliefs. This self-awareness is crucial for personal growth and allows you to make more informed decisions in your life.

Your Success Is My Biggest Reward

Sure, I work hard to earn my personal development coach salary – but for me, the coaching business is more than a paycheck. When you succeed, I succeed. It’s a beautiful partnership, and I’m fully committed to helping you become the most successful version of yourself in every way that matters to you.

Everyone needs support to overcome obstacles and maximise potential. That’s the power of coaching. I offer the unbiased insights and accountability you can’t get from friends and family, helping you turn knowledge into powerful, decisive action.

Don’t underestimate the power of discovering your true path, achieving self-confidence, tackling procrastination, and creating lasting change. As your self-development coach, I’ll help you get there.

Ready to Take the First Step?

Let’s explore how coaching can unlock your potential and change your life! Contact me via the contact form below for your free discovery session. Your future awaits – are you ready to take the first step to self improvement?

Take The First Step

My Clients Say

Before my coaching sessions with Jake, I was in a terrible position. My relationship was in a bad state, my feelings and sense of self-worth were very low, and I was barely able to stay emotionally stable. I hated my job and my whole life. However, since working with Jake, I’ve become much stronger; my self-belief has gone through the roof, and I know how valuable I am. I have found a company I love to work for, and my relationships with others are much more profound and exciting.

Tina Patel – Lawyer

When I began working with Mr Smolarek, the business was under considerable strain. Too many decisions were coming back to me, and several key roles were not working as they should. He helped me look at the organisation with much greater clarity. We made some difficult changes, strengthened the structure and put better people in the right positions. Within a quarter, margins had doubled.
UPDATE: I first worked with Mr Smolarek in 2020 and continued for over five years. He still visits our London headquarters periodically to offer an independent perspective.

Daniel Williams – Director & Co-owner

When I started coaching with Jake, I was in the darkest depths of my relationship, my business, and my entire life. I was a walking shadow, and I couldn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel… However, Jake helped me to turn everything around and put me on the right track. His coaching helped me to change how I can see the world. The impact it has had on my business and personal life is priceless. His business ideas are so easy to implement and at the same time very powerful!

Ben C. – Business owner (Surname withheld for privacy)

Jake’s work as a business coach has had a tremendous impact on both my business and my life. Working with him helped me focus on my vision, goals and the actions that actually mattered. In just a few months, I made more progress than I had in the previous five years. I became much clearer about what I wanted and far more decisive about what needed to happen next.

Neil Coker – Founder and CEO

The only thing I can say is a huge thank you, Jake! I already had the right tools in place to create a good income, but Jake added a few missing pieces to my plan and helped me grow my coaching business much faster. In just a few weeks, he helped me see what I was missing, make better decisions, and improve how I was positioning and developing the business. It wasn’t always easy, but it was worth it.

Denise Green – Peak Performance Coach

Jake helped me change my life when I felt lost. I decided to work with him because I wanted to change my career path. With his genuine personality and sense of humour, I instantly connected with him. He helped me find my new way, and I am now doing what I always wanted to do, but wasn’t brave enough to try. Jake believed in me when I doubted every action and feeling I had. He pushed me to my limits, so I had to break them, and to my surprise, I did.

Tom Bayliss – Writer and editor

Working with Jake changed the way I thought about my business and the decisions I was making. Even after the first few sessions, I could see things more clearly and approach problems differently. He helped me improve my sales and communication, challenged some of the assumptions that were holding me back and pointed out opportunities I had not considered. Over time, I became more productive, made better decisions and had more freedom in how I ran the business.

Phillip Larsen – CEO

I had a good job and was earning well, but I wanted to build something of my own. I found Jake online, booked an initial consultation and told him I had no idea what that business should be. Through our conversations, I became interested in online advertising. Jake encouraged me to take it seriously and helped me turn it into a business.
UPDATE 2026: Seven years later, I still run the agency full-time. I deliberately kept it small and specialised, working with freelancers and focusing mainly on advertising for cleaning businesses across London and other UK cities.

Magda Kowalczuk – Agency Owner

By the time I was introduced to Jake, I had already built a successful fashion business, but I was carrying too much of it myself. The company was growing, the pressure was increasing, and I had very few people around me who truly understood what it meant to run a business.
Jake helped me think more clearly, challenge my assumptions and make better decisions. Over time, the business became larger, more profitable and far less dependent on me.
UPDATE: I first worked with Jake in 2019. In 2026, I sold the business in a lower nine-figure deal and began considering what I wanted to build next.

Barbara Johnson – Fashion Entrepreneur

I started working with Jake in 2020 when I was 22 and trying to turn my fitness work into a proper business. He helped me understand the commercial side, including sales, branding, marketing and positioning. Within about six months, I was earning £10,000-£14,000 a month and had built a six-figure business. Jake gave me structure, challenged my thinking and helped me focus on what actually moved the business forward. His guidance made a real difference in how quickly I progressed.
UPDATE: By the second quarter of 2026, I had grown the business to eight figures in annual revenue.

Rakesh Patel – Fitness Entrepreneur

Jake, thank you. You genuinely changed my life for the better. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was really moving forward and doing what I had always wanted to do. You helped me believe that I could make it happen, and then actually start doing it. That confidence carried into my business as well. I started making clearer decisions, taking opportunities more seriously and building with much more purpose than before.

Romario Ramirez – Business owner, Speaker & Artist

Jake is a great coach. Our conversations challenged the way I was looking at several problems and reminded me that there is always more to learn. He is very observant, experienced and good at seeing what may be difficult to notice when you are too close to a situation. I am genuinely grateful for the support and perspective he gave us during a difficult period. I can see why business coaching suits him so well.

Steven P. – COO of a large corporation (Surname withheld for privacy)

When I started working with Jake, the business was doing around £6 million in turnover, but too much still depended on me. Jake helped me see that I had become the bottleneck and pushed me to change the way I was running the company. We improved delegation, brought in the right support and put better systems around the business. Once I stepped back from things I should not have been doing, the company grew into eight figures. Jake helped me see what needed to change and held me to it.

Michael Chadwick – Founder

At a certain level, it becomes difficult to get completely honest feedback. Jake gave me that. He challenged some of my assumptions, said things others around me were unlikely to say and helped me look at several decisions more clearly. What I valued most was the directness. There was no need to impress me or agree with me. The conversations helped me sharpen my thinking, delegate better and make cleaner decisions.

Oscar A. – Founder & CEO (Surname withheld for privacy)

Jake coached and mentored me through the early stages of my online business. He gave me confidence, helped me understand what I needed to do and supported me while I built my online fashion company. His guidance made a real difference in those early years, especially when I was still learning how to think about the business and make decisions with more confidence.
UPDATE: I started working with Jake in 2017. Now in 2026, the business is generating more than $40 million in annual turnover.

Jane Ho – Online Entrepreneur

I can highly recommend Jake Smolarek as a business coach. He must be one of the best in the business. He helped me take my business to the next level and become much clearer about the decisions I needed to make. I did not always like what Jake had to say, but he is tough, fair and very direct. Looking back, some of the things I least wanted to hear were exactly what I needed. He helped me see what I was missing and approach the business with much more clarity.

Susan Mason – Business Owner

I worked with Jake for more than 5 years. When we started, I was still employed and building my business from scratch. He helped me make the decisions I needed to make, including leaving my job and going full-time with the business. Over the years, I grew the company from zero to around £2 million in turnover. Jake was there through every stage, helping me with decisions and growth. He was always direct, and I knew I would get his real opinion. Working with him made a huge difference to me and the business. I would highly recommend him to any serious business owner.

Paul Jackson – Business Owner

Jake challenged the way I was looking at the business and pushed me to make a few decisions I had been avoiding for too long. Some were uncomfortable, but they changed the way we led the company and how the business was structured. Within less than twelve months, turnover grew from around £80 million to £140 million. Jake has a very good eye for what is actually getting in the way and is not afraid to say it.

Sean McKenzie – Founder and CEO

Jake is a fantastic business coach who gets to the heart of the problem very quickly. He helped me take some drastic steps (they were needed!), which made a huge difference to both my business and family life. In practical terms, I now work less, earn roughly twice what I used to and have considerably more time with my kids. What I like about Jake is that he can be straightforward when needed. He is not afraid to ask difficult questions when the situation calls for them. An outstanding return on investment. Thank you, Jake. See you again soon.

Peter Barnes – Entrepreneur

Jake is one of those people I call “my people”. He was the business coach I needed when I was trying to get clear on what I wanted to build and how to move forward. His feedback helped me clarify my objectives and build a very profitable online business. He challenged me when I needed it and gave me practical tools I still use in both business and life. I am in a much better place today because of the work we did together. Thank you, Jake.

Robert Yau – Online Entrepreneur

People Often Ask: Personal Development Coaching FAQ:

Yes! But only if you do your part. I’ve designed programmes that get proven results, and I’ll be there supporting and guiding you to help you reach your goals. However, it’s down to you to follow my steps and actually do the work. If you follow the programme and put in the hard work, you’ll definitely see results.

I can’t promise you’ll succeed. Why? Because that success depends on you. You are the only one who can provide the guarantee for real results.

I can promise that I’ll give you all the tools, resources and support you need to succeed. We will build a GPS for your Vision that will help you achieve your goals and dreams! But it’s you who can guarantee success by putting in the effort, following my steps, and working your ass off. I can guarantee that if you do everything I tell you to do, work hard, and remain patient – you will succeed! You can’t just slide to the top of the mountain – you have to climb!

Now! There is no such thing as the ‘right’ time. It’s never going to be perfect! Taking one small step is better than staying in the same place. Get in touch, and we can have a chat about your first steps. You’ll already be one step closer to your dreams.

This varies from person to person. Factors such as where you are in your career, your business experience, starting point, goals, and work ethic all play a part in determining how long it will take. It can take as little as 3 to 4 months or as many as 24 months to achieve the results you’re looking for.

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Contact Me

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address

Davies Street, Mayfair,
London W1K

phone number

Mobile: +44 7738 514 600

email

[email protected]

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