Running your business is difficult...

How Fit is Your Business?

HOW FIT IS YOUR BUSINESS?

If you woke up one morning with a headache and the headache was still there by early evening it’s a fair bet you’d go to the doctor...

If your car started making loud banging noises and then stalled and you couldn’t start it up again, you’d probably get a mechanic to take a look...

If your boiler packed up, well, time to call the plumber...

If your business isn’t performing as you want it to...then what?

Over the last 6 months we have conducted many Business Reviews where we diagnose the issues which are crippling many small businesses.

CASE STUDY

Whilst conducting a business health check with the owner of a construction related business we found that the owner’s average take home pay equated to an hourly rate of just £6!!

The statistics? He was taking a net ‘wage’ of £2,000 per month in exchange for the 80+ hours per week he spent working in his business. Scraping just two weeks ’holiday’ per year (although he checked his emails each day and called the office to check everything was ‘ok’) the poor guy was putting in 4,000 hours per year – oh, that excludes the time spent worrying about how to pay the VAT bill, where the next piece of work is coming from, etc.

During his Health Check we identified a number of strategies which the business owner was able to implement straight away, giving him his life back!

For example, there never seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done. Symptoms? You, the business owner, works ever longer hours to frustration of family and friends and find your work / life balance...well, isn’t.

Or maybe there’s a continual cash flow crisis – money just haemorrhages from the business all the time. Usual symptom? Robbing Peter to pay Paul is just a way of life.

And “the team” sometimes feels more like the enemy within. And the symptoms? As the business owner you feel “it’s quicker if I do it all myself”...although you often wonder why your hourly rate is the lowest of everyone who works in your business.

CASE STUDY

Another recent BusinessReview was with the owner of a cash strapped promotional gifts business who was struggling to pay his debts. We revealed that the company’s debtor days (the days taken for customers to pay their invoices) exceeded the creditor days (the number of days taken by the business to pay invoices received from suppliers) by a margin of 3 to 2! No wonder money felt tight!

It was an easy problem for us to solve.

Having worked with many business owners to date, Smart Support advisors have the skills and expertise to help business owners not only greatly improve business performance but also build the lifestyle they want.

And the first step is not only simple, it’s FREE!

At Smart Support we see businesses as rather like a jigsaw, so imagine if you could pull your business apart like a jigsaw puzzle, analyse every little piece, improve it and then put them all back together, so your business works hard instead of YOU...

That’s what our Business Review helps business owners like you do.

How does it work? All you need to do is click here to see if you qualify for the opportunity to spend time with your local Smart Support advisor seeing just how fit your business is.

It’s FREE. What have you got to lose?

Go back Free Review

Meet The Team

What we do..

Our tried and trusted programmes enable you to review your business and put in place systematic improvements that will enable you to build a successful business.

We can work with you on a 1-2-1 basis or with a number of your team who will benefit from our workshops and programmes to ensure your business is directed towards your goals.

Stories

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We have found the advice to be extremely helpful in enabling us with the focus and direction that we needed for our company.Simon Chambers - New Leaf Technology Solutions

Very quickly you were able to give us guidance which meant that we have now turned the business around.Jonathon Berg, MD Blossom Florists

What my business needed was to be seen through a fresh pair of eyes, to determine what could be done to improve profitability and to identify how I could reduce the reliance of the business on me, which would have the combined benefit of enabling the business to grow, while giving me some of my life back. You provided that fresh pair of eyes.Dave Clark, MD, Vanitorials Ltd

We find you very useful in our quest for business growth. Its great to have someone independent to help us with new ideas and tactics.Joanna Ray – Manager QS Support

Thank you. An amazing service! Your sessions are giving us direction and confidence with our new businessCaroline Maresca & Ellie Cachia – Owners Renowned Resourcing

For the first time, I feel that I have ‘a partner’ helping me to look at the business with fresh eyes; for many years I was working in it to the point of exhaustion and frustration. I am beginning to get the work-life balance in place.Pauline Wilkinson - Owner Tutoristic

You have been of great assistance to me in the development of Gilmartins from a £6m business when we first met to our current circa £20m turnover.Terry Gilmartin - Managing Director Gilmartin

You have been of support to me particularly through the transition period from an outside service provider to inhouse delivery, giving me the support, knowledge and tools to be able to manage the maintenance of the facilities. I highly recommend your services and support to all.Nicholas Shaw Centre Manager - Three Hills Sports Park

You gave us the tools and confidence to be effective in tendering.Fiona Senior – Managing Director DMS Property Maintenance

Tendering - What was particularly impressive was the way you were able to establish what we do and how we would deliver the project, putting it in a way that was easily readable and included all our key skills and experience.Peter Rowe - Managing Director, Pierce Hill Project Services

Thank you for the time you have spent putting me on the right track with my business.Kirsty Whitworth - KV Hair and Beauty

You have pulled me out of my comfort zone and made me analyse the detail behind operating a company, mand then showed me how to do itJon Britter - Britter Technical Services

Our turnover has doubled, our profitability has increased, our management skills have grown and we employ lots more people.Sarah Redpath - Leisure King

You grasped an in-depth understanding of my business and most importantly what I wanted from the business. With that in mind, you were able to help us build and implement effective robust financial processes that allowed us to plan for a sustainable business expansion.James Tutton - Chelmsford Removals

Both myself and my co-director had a strong sales background however we did struggle with other areas of the business - particularly cash flow. Right from the start you gave practical advice as well as an easy business process that we could follow; the net result was we could sleep at night knowing we had everything in hand.Julie Squires - Cascade Print Systems

The business was in a trough and I needed inspiration with my sales and marketing strategy. I met a business associate who knew Smart Support and recommended having a meeting. It was a real bonus that you didn't know the industry as you were able to ask some searching questions and push my turnover expectations. Dave Fletcher - White October

My business seemed to be in the doldrums and I needed to find some more clients. Smart Support brings to my business experience way beyond what most people new to business possess and gives me a head start over my competitors. T Julian Saunders - Pura Design

We enjoy working with Smart Support. They are extremely helpful and proactive in supplying practical ideas, relevant information and strategies that have helped us develop our business particularly around the areas of sales and marketing Phillip Hindle - Beresfords Accountants

Setting up what was effectively a new photography business and choosing to work with Smart Support was one of the best choices I could have made as a business owner. Having support, advice and knowledge really helped; from having the correct – and oh so important – “processes” in place, to helping get things up and running, all were invaluable insights I needed.Doug Harman - Doug Harman Photography

I have relied upon Smart Support and associates to help me develop and grow my business over the last 7yrs. I have no hesitation in recommending you to my friends and business contacts, you owe it to yourself to listenDavid Harding - Hardings Chartered Building Surveyors

When you started helping with my business we were in trouble and I was seriously exploring administration. 12 months on, we still here and making a small profit. Some of the advice has been difficult to take, but the changes we made have helped and I now believe we will turn the business around, although there is still much to do. Without you I can guarantee we wouldn’t be here now unless we had won the lottery. I think you have been the best thing that ever happened to Art2go and have become a good friend!Ian Biggs - Art2Go(UK) Ltd

You are shrewd, smart and highly experienced in the ways of business. This is combined with a passion for helping your clients develop their businesses integrally. We have worked together in a number of capacities recently and I have found you to be direct yet caring, and an excellent business partner and advisor.Paul Bourdillon - Irun Canterbury

Smart Support has been guiding me and my business to a 100% improvement in sales and profit year on year and I am expecting this to continue in the years ahead. Tim Chappell - WPA