Quite simply, I help by giving you the support you need as you need it.
What’s your sticking point?
Perhaps your business isn’t growing as quickly as you’d like. Maybe business is going great, but you need help moving to the next stage. Or it might be that your business doesn’t match up to your vision, even though it’s making a profit.
The first step is working out what the sticking point is. And the good news is, I can help you do that by looking at the following areas:
- Goals – Personal & Business
- Plan – Strategic & Tactical
- Team – Structure, Performance and Development
- Sales & Marketing
- Finances – Profitability, Cash Flow, Cost Management, Capital Investment & Funding
- Time Management – Are you spending time on the right things?
Once we understand what to focus on, I can provide the advice and support that you need to get results.
Goals
Goals are the most important part of any business.
If you don’t know what you are working toward, then how do you know if the actions you take are moving you in the right direction?
Your business goals should support your personal goals. And if you have multiple directors or shareholders, then you need to work out the shared goals; otherwise, you’ll all be pulling in different directions.
I can work with you to identify the goals for your business and define what success looks like. Once we’ve done that, we can plan how to get there.
Goals
Goals are the most important part of any business.
If you don’t know what you are working toward, then how do you know if the actions you take are moving you in the right direction?
Your business goals should support your personal goals. And if you have multiple directors or shareholders, then you need to work out the shared goals; otherwise, you’ll all be pulling in different directions.
I can work with you to identify the goals for your business and define what success looks like. Once we’ve done that, we can plan how to get there.
Plan
Everything you do in your business should be moving you toward your goals. But it’s not enough just to have a plan in your head and hope it works out.
You need to create a written plan with date-bound, measurable targets. A plan that you can follow and share with your team.
This is how you ensure that ‘next week’ doesn’t turn into ‘next month’. Next month doesn’t turn into a year. A year doesn’t simply become a repeat of the previous year.
This is how you prevent “Groundhog Day”.
I’ll help you create a business plan that moves you towards your goals at a realistic pace. We’ll review your plan regularly and ensure that every decision you make aligns with your plan.
Team
Your employees are your biggest asset – if you invest in them, they’ll be more invested in your business success.
- Do you appraise your team members?
- Are there any training and development needs?
- Do you understand the individual strengths and weaknesses?
- Have you mapped out the organisational structure and the roles that will be required as the business plan matures?
- Will all the future roles be fulfilled by current employees – or will you need to recruit?
Together, we’ll look at the team you have now and work out what’s needed to ensure your team supports your business plan.
Team
Your employees are your biggest asset – if you invest in them, they’ll be more invested in your business success.
- Do you appraise your team members?
- Are there any training and development needs?
- Do you understand the individual strengths and weaknesses?
- Have you mapped out the organisational structure and the roles that will be required as the business plan matures?
- Will all the future roles be fulfilled by current employees – or will you need to recruit?
Together, we’ll look at the team you have now and work out what’s needed to ensure your team supports your business plan.
Sales & Marketing
It doesn’t matter how good your products or services are, how brilliant your team is or how great you are at customer service if you don’t make any sales.
Understanding your sales figures isn’t just about knowing your turnover. Depending on the type of business you have, you also need to know:
- How many new customers you need each month
- Your conversion rate
- How many prospects you need to generate
- The cost of acquiring a new customer
- How long it takes to turn a prospect into a customer
- The time between delivery and payment
- The profit you make on each sale
- Average customer spend
- Number of purchases an average customer makes
- The average lifetime value of a customer
If you know these figures, you can forecast more accurately, prepare for fluctuations and manage your cash flow more effectively.
I can help you get to grips with your sales figures and ensure that you have realistic targets to achieve the growth you want at a manageable pace.
Finances
Growth costs money.
It costs money for sales and marketing activities. And there may be a need to recruit and train new colleagues or invest in additional fixed assets such as floor space and equipment.
So unless you can persuade customers to pay upfront, additional working capital may be required to add capacity.
I’ll help you work out how much it will cost to achieve your goals, when the spend will be required and how to build it into your cashflow forecasts.
We can then look at whether external funding is required and how you can ensure you continue to make a profit whilst growing.
Finances
Growth costs money.
It costs money for sales and marketing activities. And there may be a need to recruit and train new colleagues or invest in additional fixed assets such as floor space and equipment.
So unless you can persuade customers to pay upfront, additional working capital may be required to add capacity.
I’ll help you work out how much it will cost to achieve your goals, when the spend will be required and how to build it into your cashflow forecasts.
We can then look at whether external funding is required and how you can ensure you continue to make a profit whilst growing.
Time
Time is the one resource we cannot acquire more of, so you don’t want a business that is running you and consuming all your time.
- How many hours a week do you work?
- Is it sustainable?
- Are you happy working those hours?
- Does this impact other areas of your life?
Managing your working hours to the desired level is perfectly possible.
It’s about choices. It’s about getting the most from your team. It’s about resourcing your business correctly. Learning where to focus your time is a key skill.
Learning where not to focus your time is more difficult but can have an even greater impact.
I can help you delegate confidently and effectively, learn how to say, “this can wait”, and take back control of your time.
