posted on Sunday, May 2nd, 2010
I was born in Chester and from the age of 4 grew up in the NE, near Sunderland.
In the Sunderland Museum there is (or there was in my day) a stuffed walrus which is believed to be the source of inspiration for Lewis Carol’s poem on the Walrus and the Carpenter.
That is why I was drawn to this Lewis Carol quote:
One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree.
“Which road do I take?” she asked.
“Where do you want to go?” was his response.
“I don’t know,” Alice answered.
“Then,” said the cat, “it doesn’t matter.”
It is exactly the same for a business. Without a business plan, how do you know what direction to take in your business?
A business without a plan will end up wherever it happens to end up rather than at a destination of your choosing – rather like the two ships analogy.
So – get some direction into your business in order to maximise your result – contact us today to arrange a meeting to review your strategy, your destination, plans and options for you business so we can set some directions and a route map to follow.
Tags: business development, business management, business plan, business planning, improving cash flow, profit, profits, sales and marketing
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posted on Friday, December 18th, 2009
Done correctly, franchising or licensing will help you to:
• Grow faster
• Conserve your resources as you are not financing the growth
• Improve cash flow
• Improve profits
• Improve Return on Investment
• Increase the value of your business
• Expand into new regions or countries
It can be used with businesses across most sectors including:
Service providers
- Retailers & Distribution
- Food, leisure, personal services
- Manufacturing
- Professional services
- Consultancy
- Media and Design
- Business to Business
- Business to Consumer
New models have emerged in recent years and franchised businesses in the UK have combined sales of around £20 billion pa – this is a very well established model – could it be suitable for you? Contact us to find out.
Tags: business, business franchising, business management, franchise, franchising, how to franchise my business, license, licensing, profit, sales
Posted in Franchising and Licensing, articles | No Comments »
posted on Friday, December 18th, 2009
A coach asks questions to help lead the client to their answer but may not know the answer themselves. A mentor asks questions, challenges, explores, examines and does know the answers based on personal experience.
Having run and owned various businesses since 1972 including start ups, buying and selling businesses and advising businesses I bring an experienced pair of outside eyes to your business. I continue to learn from every business I work with and can often offer new ways of doing things more effectively or more efficiently, new markets for products or services and new products or services for an existing client or customer base.
Business Planning is an important part of my work with most businesses. This involves reviewing strategic plans and often I am able to suggest changes which increase profits and help the business grow faster.
We can work on a regular retained basis or on a specific project basis.
Tags: business development, business management, business marketing, business plan, change, improving cash flow, leader, marketing, mentor, mentoring, NED, Non Exec Director, profit, profits, sales, sales and marketing
Posted in Virtual Non Exec Director and Mentor, about us, articles | No Comments »
posted on Friday, December 18th, 2009
It is important to stress that we do not put clients into a set programme, leading them through artificial stages. However, every business has to have focus and structure and we use a Toolbox that Brian developed based on personal experience of the key areas essential to a successful business.
Together we assess your business across each of these areas and we agree the priorities for you, your team and your business as no two businesses and their management are identical. This process includes examining your goals and targets for your own business and what needs to be done to achieve your goals.
Contact us to take your business to the next level.
Tags: business development, business management, business plan, improving cash flow, leader, mentor, NED, Non Exec Director, profit, profits, sales, sales and marketing, training
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posted on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
With over 30 years experience of running businesses across a wide range of sectors I have been able to help many businesses to grow faster.
In some cases they knew where they wanted to go – in others they wanted help to identify their stretegic options and select the best development path for their business.
Before pressing on the accelerator I check that their foundations are sound otherwise ramping up the sales could damage the business.
Using the Next Level Business Solutions’ Toolbox for a successful business we identify any areas needing to be fine tuned before then looking at boosting sales and profits.
Often an outside pair of experienced eyes can spot opportunities that are being missed. Opportunities to do things better, to open new markets, improve customer service, be more efficient, improve systems or management information, improve the business model, improve team working, improve marketing and the sales process.
Tags: business development, business management, business plan, change, coaching mentoring, improving cash flow, marketing, NED, Non Exec Director, profit, profits, sales, sales and marketing
Posted in Business Development, about us | No Comments »
posted on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
All businesses are constrained by the constraints of their leadership and their management. This is not a personal criticism of you – none of us are world class at everything we do, we all have our strengths and weaknesses, our likes and dislikes and these impact on our business.
Not all management teams are fortunate enough to be experienced across all the aspects of 21st century business so what can you do about it?
Are you growing and developing the skills you will need as your business develops and goes to new levels?
Are you developing the management team you will need to enable your business to grow to the level you are aiming for?
Contact us to arrange to meet and find out how we can help you to develop the skills of your leadership and management teams through our leadership and management development programme or through a programme tailored to your specific needs.
Tags: business, business development, business management, business plan, change, coaching mentoring, leader, leadership, leadership and management, leadership management, management development, mentor, mentoring, NED, Non Exec Director, profit, profits, removing constraints, sales, sales and marketing, team development
Posted in Business Development, Leadership and Management Development | No Comments »
posted on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
Every business benefits from an outside pair of experienced eyes which is one of the reasons why most larger businesses and all listed PLCs have Non Execs on their Board.
Our Virtual Non Exec service gives your business all the benefits of a Non Exec without the legal complications.
My first directorship was in 1972, since when I have spent my working life running, owning and advising businesses in a variety of sectors and ranging from start ups to turnover of £10m plus pa.
This enables me to spot opportunities which are being missed. Opportunities to improve how things are done, to save costs, to increase sales, find new markets, improve systems and refine the business planning, strategy and longer term planning.
To explore what benefits you could get from this service please contact us now.
More Information…
Tags: business, business development, business management, business plan, change, coaching mentoring, leader, leadership, leadership and management, management development, mentor, mentoring, NED, Non Exec Director, profit, sales
Posted in Business Development, Virtual Non Exec Director and Mentor, about us | No Comments »
