Is it a good idea to create a business from something you love doing?

Ed Williams first swam solo across the English Channel in 2006 aged 19 raising in excess of £60,000 for Prostate Cancer Research.This was the launch pad for a life dedicated to swimming.

Using the publicity he got from this he set up the Elite Swimming Academy Ltd which has a unique approach to excellence in swimming. Hiring only the best coaches and keeping classes to just 3 or 4 children, the Elite Swimming Academy has expanded year on year, always has waiting lists and is hugely profitable. Ed has personally coached Paralympic champions and other who have unique challenges with swimming.

Ed has continued to set himself challenges and has swum several other iconic marathon swims including Lake Windermere and the Gibraltar Strait. In 2016 Ed completed a solo swim of the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland raising £10,000 for Wateraid and Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital.

Setting goals

His latest and greatest achievement to date is swimming the Irish channel – a goal that has nearly killed him.
Ed shares how he deals with these massive challenges that to many people would seem just too big, too overpowering and all consuming, and achieves his ambitions.

There have been unexpected challenges along the way, both personal and professional, Ed has learnt a lot about himself, his team and those who are closest to him, his family. He shares his personal insight into the best ways to address set backs, why it’s just not real to succeed at everything first time and the important learning that a perceived set back will bring to many other aspects of your life and your business.

Tools of the trade

Mindfulness, fitness, clear thinking and focus have helped Ed achieve his extreme challenges. There are lots of similarities between Ed’s extreme swims and the business world. Doing these activities has taught Ed a great deal about business and is a fundamental part of the success of the Elite Swimming Academy. After all, how many businesses do you know who launch with a swim across the English Channel?