Of the 4.8 million businesses in the UK, 99 per cent are SME’s, which collectively employ 50 per cent of the UK workforce and contribute £1.5 trillion to GDP. The business environment is changing rapidly and SME’s have the advantage of being able to change faster than larger organisations.
Do you ever say to yourself, I know what I have to do I just never get around to doing it!
The pressure of running a business whether you are the owner or MD of an SME means that you often perform various and may be filling some skills gaps at key levels. At the same time, the critical aspects of running a business including ideas generation, clear vision, innovation, planning and striving for new opportunities often get neglected. The purpose of business coaching is to refocus on what is fundamental, to help you to step back and look at the big picture, so that your time and energy is best utilised. So that you spend less time working in your business and more time working on it!
As a business coach I support you in articulating your vision and defining your goals; in reviewing opportunities and assessing challenges. As business coach you may utilise me as a sounding board or as a brain storming partner. I offer a service similar to that of a Non-Executive Director but am available as and when your business requires these services.
The aim of coaching is to develop an action plan, the objective of which is to produce the results that you want. If the business requires significant change you may have the staff and resources to run your day to day help, but require external support to bring about those changes. At this point you may wish to engage me further in the role of business consultant to work with you on your action plan. I believe that effective consulting should focus on results, rather than merely stopping at great ideas. I believe in a collaborative and practical style that takes into account the resources and time available and impact on the business. I have experience of and can assist you in the following areas:
- Human Resource Assessment: I have developed HR functions within a business and can help you assess whether you have the appropriate HR processes and strategies in place. I have experience in management and staff restructures and can assist with assessing existing skills, identifying skills gap, training needs and succession planning. Together, we can assess the quality of communication within your business and evaluate whether there is sufficient employee engagement and motivation to support your vision and goals for the future.
- Audit and Risk: I have worked with auditors for over 20 years and can work with you to assess your risk profile and stress test the assumptions in your business plan. I am a member of an Audit & Risk Committee and member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators and therefore am up to date on corporate governance and compliance.
- Financial management: I have 30 years of financial management experience and can work with you to assess the financial state of the business and develop forecasts and simulate financial scenarios, so that you can identify strengths and weaknesses. Where to allocate what resources can be part of the challenge. In today’s environment especially, costs need to be minimised. I have a track record of reducing fixed overhead costs by £1m p.a. on a turnover of £10m.
- Business processes and systems: I have been responsible for a number of systems implementations during my career and am proud to have delivered on time and well within budget. I can assess whether your existing systems adequately support your business and robustly enhance efficiencies. I can project-manage the implementation of a new system should that be deemed necessary.
- Operational management: I can define operational implementation plans that work. I have operational experience at Director level and have been responsible for various functions from financial services to warehouse and transport operations.
- Team development: I have considerable experience in team development and can support you in developing high performance teams, either working directly with your team or in a facilitating role.
- Marketing Strategy: I have been responsible for marketing at Director level and introduced a number of new strategies including PR and CSR. I can work with you to review your marketing strategy, including customer profiling and assessment of customer service.
Some of the benefits to you the business owner or MD
- Higher return on investment
- More robust business
- Clarity of where business is heading
- Better planning
- Greater enjoyment of work
- More in control
- Reinvigorated fresh vision
- Personal development
- More free time
I am practical and hands-on and can offer you expertise which is flexible without a long term commitment, but as and when you need it. I believe that my performance will speak for itself. I have over delivered throughout my career and I believe in building high trust relationships.
Process/Offer:
I offer one hour free face-to-face consultation within Hampshire; the offer can extend to other parts of the country but will include travel costs. Alternatively we could have a consultation by phone.
Following on from this, we may agree on a coaching session or number of sessions. A coaching contract outlining the issues to be explored, expectations and timelines, fees and meeting dates will be agreed. Coaching sessions last approximately 90 minutes and during these sessions time will be spent on (1) Issue identification – clarifying the problem, issues, or opportunities (2) Gaining perspective – assessing the current situation, seeing it from a different perspective. (3) Exploration – uncovering the dynamics, obstacles & complexities surrounding the issue. (4) Generating Options, inventory of potential options. (5) Selecting a path and plan to evolve your business strategy.
Alternatively, we may agree a bespoke program which includes a combination of coaching and consultation work. The overall aim will be to accelerate your success and optimise your outcomes.
