Testimonials

Don’t Take My Word For It. Read the Receipts.

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

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 – Founder and Owner

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

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

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

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

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)

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 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

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

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

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

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

Within the first few months of working with Jake, I made several major changes in both my career and personal life. I found a much better role, became clearer about what I wanted and started making decisions with far more confidence. What I valued most was that Jake helped me look at things differently and take action instead of staying stuck. The work we did together had a lasting impact on the direction of my life and career.

Egis Lavrinovicius – Business Change Manager

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

There aren’t any words that could describe how much Jake has supported me through his coaching. His knowledge, experience, and professionalism are to be admired. He will always go the extra mile to help you achieve your goals. The new approach and tools I now have, enable me to have a much stronger focus and plan to action in achieving my deepest dreams. I also like his (sometimes brutal) honesty and speaking the “truth”, exactly how it is. Only a coach can tell you what you have to fix to get better results. He doesn’t just cheerlead his clients through the highs, but also through the challenges. I decided to extend his services for a few more months for other problems and goals. I look forward to working with you again and again.

Laura Stevens – Executive Coach

Getting a business coach was one of my best decisions in life! If you are hesitating, please STOP! In my case in a few short months, I went from procrastinating and agonising over taking my next step, to putting myself out there and succeeding! It was an amazing and profound experience. Jake is intuitive and positive. And most importantly, he doesn’t waste time. His style is an excellent balance of “let’s get things done” and also creative and exploratory. He seems to know when to focus on the concrete goals and when to explore our motivations and feelings.

Matt T. – Investor (Surname withheld for privacy)

Jake has had an enormous effect on my motivation, my decision making and discovering my true potential. Over the past year, I have found my dream job, got out of a toxic relationship, lost weight and started my own part-time business. I found Jake’s coaching to be superb and life-changing. The best investment in my life.

Sue Bowen – Software Engineer

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

Jake offers a very thoughtful and straightforward approach to coaching. He helped me understand myself better, become more confident in my decisions and focus more clearly on what I wanted to change. I valued his support, honesty and ability to challenge me while still giving me the space to think things through for myself. My self-belief and determination grew considerably during our work together, and I am very grateful for the difference it made.

Mary Larson – Doctor

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

Choosing to work with Jake has been one of my best decisions. I was a little bit doubtful about coaching. However, I decided to give it a go after the first session with this amazing man, and I was blown away by his style and knowledge. He’s helped me to clarify my vision, find exactly what I want from life, lay out the path for my future, and gain new insight into how to carry out my life goals. All our coaching sessions were run in both a professional and friendly manner. However, Jake likes to get to the core of every problem and could be strict and firm, but only to help you get your best. Most importantly, he helped me overcome my eating disorder problem. He has changed my entire life. It was a privilege to work with him.

Antonia Garcia – Model

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)

Working with Jake gave me tremendous confidence and motivation. He is an excellent coach, and I’d highly recommend him to anyone looking for one. He took me from being talented but lacking confidence and self-belief to a bold athlete. He has taught me to dream big dreams, aim for the top and be the best. Now I am interested only in 1st place – second place is the first place among the last ones.

Shaun T. – Professional Athlete (Surname withheld for privacy)

Jake is a very supportive coach and a great listener. He helped me become more confident, take consistent action and look at several areas of my life and business differently. I was in a very stuck position when we started working together, but over time I became much clearer about where I wanted to go and what I needed to do next. His support helped me build a much stronger foundation for the future.

Giovanni – Restaurant Owner (Surname withheld for privacy)

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

Jake gave me the tools, perspective and confidence to start pursuing the things I had wanted to do for a long time. His coaching helped me become much clearer about my goals and more willing to take action instead of just thinking about what might be possible. The work we did together made a real difference to the direction of my life.

Aimie Clarkson – Artist

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