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 37