The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 38: Aug/Sept 2018 | Page 37
BUSINESS ADVICE
Support For Struggling
Business Owners…
By Paul Holmes, PCH Business Support
This summer marked the second
anniversary of PCH Business
Support and as every business
is unique, so every client project
has been different. It’s not always
easy to explain the breadth of the
services and support I can offer, yet
the scenario below provides a little
insight, as it’s one which has come
up several times over the last 24
months.
In many technology start-ups
there is an innovative product,
process or system which initially
sells well. New people are needed
as the company grows rapidly and
confidence grows. Then things start
to slow down, the honeymoon period
is over and the MD or directors can
feel as if they are in danger of going
backwards, overwhelmed with the
workload.
In many cases they have had
limited management, leadership or
business training, it’s all been about
the product. Once the team gets up
to ten members of staff – managing
those staff, the information and
business processes, becomes the
day job.
Busin ess owners or directors may
become stressed with all-consuming
workloads, which potentially leads
to poor decision making. The focus
can be exclusively operational. It’s
all about ‘how can I get the product
out of the door to meet customer
demands?’ and not ‘how can I plan
for a sustainable future?’ Planning
and strategic development doesn’t
happen, overheads grow, and then
profits begin to stagnate or fall.
Its typically at this point I get
a call. A significant proportion of
tech scale-ups collapse due to not
planning for sustainability and not
remaining strategic.
To help companies heading down
this destructive route, it’s important
for me to quickly understand the
business and get involved in the
team. This helps me understand
how decisions are made, how
internal systems function and clarify
roles and responsibilities.
My starting point is to identify
the objectives of the owner and
then create a plan that moves them
- over time - to a position where
they no longer run the day to day
activities. They need to spend their
time on strategic direction, product
development, markets, efficiencies
and economic factors.
One MD wanted to ensure
effective internal communication,
stopping the entire team to
update them after every customer
conversation – up to 20 times a
day – without really understanding
the damage this was causing to
productivity. Let alone frustration of
their constant interruptions.
I helped the team to adopt a
simple app based system allowing
customer calls to be logged,
evaluated, prioritised and outcomes
tracked. These were shown on
screen when a staff member was
able to look, assess and respond
accordingly.
“Business owners may
become stressed with all-
consuming workloads,
which potentially leads to
poor decision making”
The impact was instant, achieving
better results and staff satisfaction
from day one.
I worked with them to develop
a management process, generate
management information and KPIs,
which then allowed the owner to
manage without feeling completely
overwhelmed.
My role is often like this – working
directly with the decision maker as
part of the team, for a short, flexible
period, developing strategy, creating
plans and managing tasks.
I bring an external perspective
and the experience of working as a
successful project manager, I can
see where the bottle-necks are
and prioritise where action can be
taken quickly, gradually and then
more long-term. I get involved and
become a team resource for a short
period, to help get the changes
implemented and deliver results.
For a no-obligation conversation
or to discuss a one-day business
review, call on 07715 008 521, email
[email protected]
or visit
www.pchbusinesssupport.co.uk
Business blooms for Purple Lime
Business is thriving for young Wiltshire-based accountancy
firm Purple Lime with new clients attracted to their
modern take on business finance.
One effect of this has been the recent appointment of
two new staff members Edd and Hayley.
Edd Stone, who lives locally in Corsham, has
recently joined as a management accountant
alongside Hayley Chamberlain, who lives in
Chippenham.
Edd worked for another company in Bath for five
years working on accounts, audits and tax with small
businesses, charities, schools, international groups
and government departments. He then worked with
a Wiltshire-based charity helping them adapt to rapid
growth and moved back in to practice when he joined
Purple Lime.
“I was attracted to the fact that Purple Lime are
not a team of traditional ‘boring’ accountants. It
became very apparent we would enjoy having fun
in order to make efficiencies for both our clients and
ourselves.”
Both Edd and Hayley support several charities
outside of their work and Edd is a voluntary treasurer
of a local organisation set up to counsel victims of
abuse. Founders of Purple Lime Angela Ashworth
and Oli Thomas are thrilled with their new team
members.
Angela said: “It’s been wonderful to get to know
Edd and Hayley over the last few weeks and welcome
them to our team. They have fitted right in and are
bringing their own new ideas and experience to the
table.”
Oli said: “We are extremely fortunate to be
expanding our team in this way. It shows a real
appetite in the SME community for smarter working
“We have become better at making contact with and maintaining
direct contact with local businesses”
and getting to know the clients. I’ve always known
accountancy is not just about compliance and I know
working with my colleagues here, we can be much
more than that.”
Hayley has worked as an accountant in various
roles throughout her career.
She said: “I’ve been very lucky to work in some
amazing businesses and meet with some incredible
people along the way. These include Real World
Studios (Peter Gabriel’s) in Box, Swindon Town
Football Club and Route One – Skateboarding &
Surfing in Badminton.
“I thrive off working in exciting and ‘different’
environments, meeting and working with inspiring
people. Purple Lime is all of this and more. Here
being excited about work is a day-to-day occurrence;
we encourage each other to source new technologies
when it comes to finances. In fact, we’re always
looking for enthusiastic and talented people who
have a passion for helping ambitious businesses
thrive. Right now, we are hiring an Assistant
Management Accountant to join us. So, if that’s you
please get in touch!”
For more info:
[email protected]
THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2018
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