About you

Many of my clients have already built successful businesses. They are founders, business owners, CEOs and senior leaders. Some run relatively small companies, some much larger ones. What they usually have in common is that a lot depends on them, and the difficult decisions ultimately land with them.

Quite a few of my clients work too much. The business may be doing well, but they are still too involved in everything. They go away with their family, and instead of switching off, they ask for the Wi-Fi password and open the laptop because someone needs an answer, a decision or approval. I have seen this so many times.

Another thing I see often is that the more successful someone becomes, the fewer people they have around them who can give them completely honest feedback. Employees are employees. A business partner may have a different view. Your husband or wife may know you extremely well, but they may not know enough about the business itself to help you think through a difficult commercial decision.

At times, my clients just need somebody they can speak openly with. They want to talk through a decision, ask what I think, look at the options and hear a view from someone who is not emotionally involved in the situation.

The problems are rarely identical. One week it might be a difficult hire, a sales problem or a negotiation. Another time it is delegation, leadership, growth, or simply the fact that too much of the business still depends on the founder. Sometimes everything is going well and the real question is what to do next.

A lot of them are already very good at what they do and do not need somebody to teach them the basics of business. They want another perspective. Someone who can spot something they may have missed, challenge an assumption or tell them when they think they are making the wrong decision.

I also work with senior professionals who are planning their move into entrepreneurship, whether that means leaving corporate life entirely or building a serious business alongside it.

Sometimes I’ll give them my view. Other times I’ll ask a few questions and they’ll get to the answer themselves. Quite often, the answer was already there. They just needed enough distance to see it. A good conversation does not always end with me telling someone what to do.

What I Expect From You

I expect you to be open with me, take responsibility for your decisions and be prepared to act when something needs to change. You do not need to agree with everything I say. I would much rather have a proper disagreement than a polite conversation where neither of us says what we really think.

One thing that does not work particularly well with me is asking for an honest opinion and then getting offended when I give one. If you ask me what I think, I will tell you. That is one of the reasons my clients hire me in the first place.

If you recognise yourself in some of this, there is a good chance we would work well together. Book your complimentary initial consultation.