Small Business Insider

Business Finance and Insurance

Home Archives for Administrator

Do Not Be Your Own Project Manager For Small-Scale Property Development Projects

Posted on Written by

Many people assume that a conversion project where a commercial property is converted to residential would be more difficult and stressful than a refurb or flip. After all, they generate much bigger profits, so therefore surely, they must be more challenging. That’s not been my experience, and I’ve been in development for forty-odd years, so I have seen more than a few of each. For my money, conversions are much easier, and that’s mainly because you can afford to hire better people to do more of the work that you might otherwise have done yourself.

Many new developers consider managing their own projects, presumably to save money or perhaps because they think they will enjoy it. Don’t do it. With a refurb or flip, you’ve little choice but to adopt a DIY approach since your budget won’t stretch to hiring a project manager. But with a conversion project, the budget is available, and having a good project manager on board will completely transform your experience as a developer.

The problem with the DIY approach is usually a lack of experience. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that because you’ve managed a project in another sector or discipline that overseeing a construction project will be the same – it won’t. As someone who teaches new property developers for a living, I’ve taught many construction project managers how to develop property for themselves. They look surprised when I tell them not to manage their own projects. After all, surely that’s their number one advantage? The penny starts to drop when I ask them whether they are learning development in order to do more project management work or to earn enough money not to be a project manager anymore? There’s only ever been one answer to that, and that’s because project management of a construction site is hard work, and you get paid a lot less than the developer does. And getting paid more for doing less is usually an easy decision for most people to make.

The advantage to you as the developer is that your Project Manager will be coordinating everything on site so that you won’t have to. Instead, you play more of an executive role. You’ll have a weekly phone call with your project manager, who will have been to the site, to meet with the key protagonists and check on progress. They’ll also deal with the numerous bumps in the road that can crop up in development while you’re sitting at home doing something far less taxing. Compare this to the newbie, first-time, have-a-go developer who tries to manage their own project, and the stress levels are incomparable. Why be worried about meeting your construction team on site and feeling like a fish out of water due to your inexperience? A Project Manager will have your back. It’s the same when it comes to contractors trying to pull the wool over your eyes, as project managers have seen and heard it all before.

So how do you go about finding this superhero? Here are my top five tips for bagging yourself a peachy Project Manager:

1. Get some recommendations

Construction project management is a defined role in the construction industry, and there are many to be found working up and down the country. If you can, the best way of finding a good one is through word-of-mouth recommendations. Speak to other professionals such as architects and contractors to see if you hear any common names, and then go and interview them personally. Of course, you can always start with an online search to come up with a few names if you’re just starting out, but when you meet them, be sure to ask for references from their previous and existing developer clients.

2. Make sure you get on with them

I’m not suggesting that your project manager will become your best friend, but you must be able to get along. They are your eyes and ears on the ground, and they will almost certainly pay for themselves through the tighter controls that they’ll bring to your scheme. They’ll raise any issues with you and will be able to guide you based on their experience. In short, they will be the most valuable member of your team, so it makes sense to appoint someone with whom you can get along. If you’re speaking to a larger practice with several Project Managers on their team, make sure you have met in person the individual that would be appointed to your project.

3. Make sure they have experience of the type of project you’re doing

As development projects come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, from large new-build housing projects to small-scale conversion schemes, make sure that your project manager has experience doing the sort of project you’re looking to do. Ask them about similar projects they’ve done and see if you can speak to their clients to get some direct feedback, both good and bad. Conversion projects are different from new builds, so make sure they have the right track record.

4. Go local if you can

You ideally want to find a project manager who lives within striking distance of your project. There are several benefits to this. The first is a practical one: they’ll need to go to the site several times a month, and so it will cost you more if they have to travel long distances to get there. Also, it can often pay dividends for the Project Manager to have local connections. There’s a fair chance they’ll have worked with some of the other professionals on your team before, plus they’ll know other local professionals and contacts that can be called on if needed.

5. Avoid creating a clique

Recommendations can work both ways, and there’s no harm in asking your project manager for other professionals they recommend. After all, your interests are going to be aligned. You don’t want any lazy, inept, or unreliable people on board, and your Project Manager certainly won’t either. However, just be careful about creating a clique. If the Project Manager and the contractor are bosom buddies, you need to be confident that the former will call out the latter if they do something wrong. You won’t want any mistakes brushed under the carpet or, worse still, marked up as ‘sundry items’ and appearing on your bill.

So, there are a few tips to get you started. Working with a project manager on the team doesn’t mean you should never show your face on site. I would highly recommend you visit now and again to rally the troops and take the time to speak to the people who are working on the coalface. After all, they are the people who will be finding practical solutions to problems that could otherwise cost you money to fix, so it pays to be both visible and friendly.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ritchie Clapson CEng MIStructE is a veteran property developer of almost 40 years and co-founder of propertyCEO, a nationwide property development and training company that helps people create a successful property development business in their spare time. It makes use of students’ existing life skills while teaching them the property, business, and mindset knowledge they need to undertake small scale developments successfully, with the emphasis on utilising existing permitted development rights to minimize risk and maximize returns.

https://propertyceo.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/propertyceotraining/

https://www.instagram.com/propertyceotraining/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/propertyceo

Important Transferable Skills That Paralegals Gain In The Workplace

Posted on Written by

Training as a paralegal is a great way to start your career in the legal sector. But that’s far from all there is to gain from becoming a paralegal. Unlike other routes into the legal sector, paralegal work involves a lot more freedom and variety of experience, allowing you to focus on the skills, areas and clients that you want. So, what can kind of personal development can you hope to achieve as you work towards becoming, and indeed whilst working as, a paralegal?

1. Office skills

The skills needed in your work as a paralegal, i.e., source analysis, critical reading and writing and digital knowhow, are useful for any career. These office skills, essential for paralegal work, offer a promising outlook for climbing the ladder as a leading paralegal. However, lots of these skills, such as learning to use office software, writing a formal letter, organising your own time and workload, are useful skills to have navigating life in the 2020s.

2. Self-confidence

Lots of the day-to-day work of a paralegal requires working closely with other legal professionals and clients. It would be hard for a fresh paralegal to get far without picking up some useful interpersonal and communicative skills. The ideal paralegal will develop the self-confidence to assert themselves at work, pursue their clients’ interests and express themselves clearly.

3. Independence

As a qualified freelance paralegal, you’re free to take on as much, or as little, work as you like. If you would like to build your portfolio as a paralegal, you’re free to take on as many clients as you can handle. If you have other responsibilities, maybe you’re a parent or care-giver, the flexibility of freelance work allows you to pursue a high-powered profession while also keeping on top of your personal life. Besides the personal development provided by the job, the flexibility and freedom given to paralegals allows you to pursue any further personal development without having to choose between yourself and your career.

4. Formal personal development courses

Alongside the opportunities for personal development that come with the role, there are also plenty of training courses provided by licensing bodies and law offices. For example, at NALP we offer training courses alongside our paralegal qualifications to help you develop soft skills that are applicable in a variety of workplaces. The potential for progression in the legal industry is fantastic, and employers are usually happy to invest in upskilling their talent.

5. Network with people in the legal sector

Pursuing a career as a paralegal will expose you to a variety of people, from different backgrounds, destined for different places. The people you rub shoulders with as a paralegal could one day offer you a job, or help you find clients. More than just networking, meeting a variety of driven, capable people is a great way to make friends.

The opportunities for personal development and transferable skills afforded by a career as a paralegal are part of what make it such an appealing career choice. You won’t leave your first job without being able to navigate your way around a bustling office, deftly use various office software platforms and speak with confidence. But most of all, on every step of the journey, work as a paralegal offers you the freedom to pursue other ways of developing yourself personally and professionally. Freedom to train remotely and, once qualified, practice in a workplace that suits you: as part of a large law firm; as your own boss; as a freelancer. Whatever way you want to see yourself develop; the paralegal profession can help you achieve it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amanda Hamilton is Chief Executive of the National Association of Licenced Paralegals(NALP), a non-profit membership body and the only paralegal body that is recognised as an awarding organisation by Ofqual (the regulator of qualifications in England). Through its Centres around the country, accredited and recognised professional paralegal qualifications are offered for those looking for a career as a paralegal professional.

Web: http://www.nationalparalegals.co.uk

Twitter: @NALP_UK

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NationalAssocationsofLicensedParalegals/

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-hamilton-llb-hons-840a6a16/

Boost Your Business With A Spring Clean

Posted on Written by

Decluttering your business can feel like bursting open the windows to breathe in the fresh air of a whole new creative chapter for your business. Clearing out and letting go of what is no longer serving you and your business is a strong signal to your subconscious mind that you are upgrading. You are ready to welcome in the fresh new creative emergence and growth for you and your business.

CLEAR OUT YOUR MIND

Cut out the external noise in your environment causing irritation, overstimulation and stress to your mind.

Turn off social media, unfollow any people and groups you respond negatively to. Unsubscribe from expert newsletters letting you know daily the 5 mistakes you are making in your business. Petitions and campaign updates, turn them off. Turn off the news too.  

Turn off phone notifications beeping, interrupting your focus and flow, pulling your attention away from what is truly important into time wasting apps. Delete all the apps and games from your phone that are distracting you; and remove yourself from any WhatsApp groups draining your creativity and lifeforce energy.

This doesn’t have to be forever. For now, turn down the volume (right down) on external stimuli so you can hear your own heart’s wisdom and inspiration leading and creating this fresh chapter of your business.

Get out into nature. Go to the water—rivers, lakes, oceans and seas—and clear your mind. For as Wallace J Nichols, author of Blue Mind, why we are happier, healthier and more connected by water, explains: “All the information your mind has to process in an office – computers whirring, conversations chattering, comings and goings, technology beeping – all this background noise falls away leaving only the sound of the waves and the views of the horizon. Now with less background noise for our minds to process we have much more bandwidth for inspiration.”

CLEAR OUT YOUR BODY

Cut out stimulants, such as caffeine and sugar habits that may have crept in, that give you false energy bursts and can amplify and exacerbate unwanted thoughts on repeat on your mind. If you can’t cut them out completely, reduce them a little each day and notice the difference.

You may like to dive in deeper into a full body detox cutting out alcohol, gluten, meat and dairy too, perhaps working with a nutritionist or you may like the ayurvedic approach.

CLEAR OUT YOUR ENERGY

Notice if there are any outstanding business relationships, commitments or ties, any beliefs and behaviours draining you of energy that are ready for a timely good-bye. Saying no to what is no longer in alignment, serving or relevant to you, your clients and customers might feel uncomfortable for a moment; but makes the space for what supports you, your business, your clients and customers to grow now.

CLEAR OUT YOUR OFFICE

Take a look around your office. How does it make you feel? Are you inspired or irritated? Do you feel clear and expansive or hemmed in and cluttered? What needs to go and be recycled, thrown out or given away? What needs to be organised more beautifully?

Go through your entire office. Start with the desk draws and cupboards and clear them all out. Organise any piles of filing, old receipts, contracts and agreements. Recycle, throw away and give away anything that no longer serves your business.

Find some lovely storage boxes to tidy up, straighten out, organise and brighten up a space that you love being in, a space that inspires you when you walk into it, a space that says you are ready for the new.

I once spent the day helping my neighbour, a spa designer and yoga teacher, clear out her office. She threw away 20 years of paperwork, courses and meditation CD’s she’d forgotten she’d created, health and beauty products she’d represented, old contracts and agreements, mood boards from past spa projects.

Over 20 bin bags later, she’d been reminded of her career success, skills and dedication, filling her with confidence. The following week she was offered a new position harnessing all these skills to design and develop a world-leading spa for a 5 star hotel in India. Clearing out the old, made space and invited in the new. 

CLEAR OUT YOUR DIARY

Take a look at your diary for the coming week and month. What’s scheduled out of habit or obligation? Which meetings are time wasting? Are there meetings that can be delegated? What can be cancelled if you make and communicate a decision now?

Now schedule in your priority time in nature to listen to your heart’s wisdom and receive the inspiration that will guide the next evolution of your business. Make space for this fresh, new creative emergence.

CLEAR OUT YOUR EMAIL

Do you have 1000 unopened emails in your inbox? Take 2 minutes and scan for the one or two that are truly vital and important. Create an action mailbox folder and move these one or two into that. Delete the rest. Double delete by emptying the deleted or bin folder. How does that feel?

CLEAR OUT YOUR BUSINESS STRUCTURE 

Lastly, time for some honest business reflection. What about the structure of your business is no longer working? Scan your purpose, audience, product, pricing, marketing and PR, financial structure of your business. Which areas need a clear out, a reboot and refresh to welcome in new life and creative energy?

Is there a product that has run its course or is crying out for the next evolution and relaunch? Does your value and pricing need an upgrade? Perhaps staying hidden away in the background needs to go as you listen to a calling to step up and be the creative, vibrant leader and spokesperson for your business that you are? If chasing financial goals or financial survival during the pandemic has left you burnt out, let it go and reconnect with your heart’s wisdom, purpose and reason for being in business. Be brave. Clear it out to make space to welcome in the fresh, new creative energy, lifeforce and success for you and your business to evolve and grow.

About Kat Byles

Kat Byles is the Founder of the True Business School, for creative leaders, entrepreneurs, teachers, artists and healers who want to do business differently. She works with people to find and align with their purpose and creativity to build a happy, healthy, wealthy business and world. 

Web: www.KatByles.com  & www.True-Business-School.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katbyles/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katbyles/

What have we learned from 2021 and how should you approach fundraising in 2022?

Posted on Written by

Despite all the issues during the last two years business have still managed to raise capital. This will continue in 2022 although the number of successful raises will still be fewer than it was in 2019.

Let’s review some 2021 stats for early-stage businesses, and then offer suggestions to help your next equity raise.

All data included here is based on UK headquartered companies who raised equity capital from 01 January to 01 December in comparative years. Data comes from Beauhurst.

Raises – business stage

In reviewing the raises in 2021 we’ve focused in on earlier rounds to give a picture of what is happening in this part of the market.

The number of rounds by broad business stage shows that seed stage companies accounted for nearly half of all the rounds in the year.

Excludes dead and exited businesses.

Raises – Round Size

Often businesses do a number of smaller rounds, and it’s possible that the same business is being counted twice in any category.

What do we see when we look at the data for the number of raises by round size? 70%+ of all rounds were under a million and 40% were under £250k.

Does this mean you should raise £250k or less because there seems to be more activity? Running multiple smaller rounds is worth considering. However, the strategy depends on which type of investor you’re targeting.

Remember that this data shows reported raises. No one reports unsuccessful raises, and a conservative estimate is that half of businesses fail to reach their target.

Given this how should those with early-stage businesses prepare for a successful fundraise?

  1. A clear proposition and USP

Remember how competitive it is. We receive hundreds of applications each month and see the same business ideas over and over again. A good idea alone is never enough. Make sure the problem you’re solving and how you’re solving it are clear. Use simple language. Strip out the jargon, minimise the adjectives and provide a description that your least business savvy friend can understand. If no one can understand what you do, no one will want to invest.

Differentiation is also key. What makes you so special? Everyone has a competitor- even if that is the option of doing nothing. So, outline how you are unique, how this is sustainable and be sure to take an objective viewpoint. It’s easy to believe you are better than your competitors, but does anyone who doesn’t work for your business think that? If you don’t know, find out.

  • A standout team

Investors invest in people, and many would take a good idea with a great team over a great idea with a good team. So, make sure you have a standout team. That includes sector experience, a balanced management team in terms of functional experience and any previous exits are a bonus.

If you are light in one area, it’s good to seek an advisor or non-executive director as that can give confidence to potential investors. They’ll also provide valuable advice and contacts.

  • Showing traction

Coming armed with proof that you have product-market fit and sustained growth goes a long way. If you have any big brands as customers or partners, highlight this as it provides further validation for your business. This is especially important for consumer brands and marketplaces. We see a lot of businesses in these categories. Unless you have a growing customer base, your business is little more than an idea and therefore perceived as a big risk by investors.

  • Professional preparation

Getting investment ready requires a lot of work, including preparing numerous documents such the balance sheet, the subscription agreement, the cap table.

We always recommend companies work with an advisor to create their deal as it helps ensure all information is available, professionally presented and credible. There are short-cuts, such as downloading templates, but the risk of a poorly presented deal is just not worth taking.

  • Effective targeting of investors

Be clear on the types of investor you want to target, be it regional funds, angel investors, or VCs. Then develop a targeted list.

If possible, work with a network like Envestors, which has deep knowledge of the players in the space as well as pre-existing relationships with investors. This approach will take away the guess work of trying to engage with potential investors on your own.

The early-stage investment in 2022 is shaping up to be much like the past year. This means preparing well so you are ready for the competition for funds, and the amount of time your fundraising will take.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chantelle Arneaud is from Envestors. Envestors’ digital investment platform brings together entrepreneurs and investors across geographies, communities and sectors – creating the single marketplace for early-stage investment in the UK.

Envestors partners with accelerators, incubators and angel networks to provide a white-label platform empowering them to promote deals, engage investors and connect to other networks.

Founded in 2004, Envestors has helped more than 200 high growth businesses raise more than £100m through its own private investment club.

Envestors is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Web: https://www.envestors.co.uk/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/envestors-llp/

Twitter: @EnvestorsLondon

What Does It Take To Be A Successful Property Developer?

Posted on Written by

I’ve lost count of the number of students I teach whose initial ambition was to become their own Project Manager. If you want to be a Property Developer, don’t do that. Instead, you want to be the CEO who hires a Project Manager to manage your projects for you, to be your eyes and ears on the project and to report back to you.

As a developer, you won’t be drawing up the architectural plans or laying any bricks personally. Instead, you’ll be hiring an architect and employing a main contractor who’ll take care of this. In fact, as a developer, you’ll probably have a couple of dozen different professionals working on your project. This is where the leverage comes in. Even though each of these people may have decades of experience in their respective careers, all you need to do is pay a relatively modest fee to hire them to work on your project. You are simply creating a team of professionals to work under your Project Manager, with you sitting at the top of the tree as the CEO. Now, look at you! Suddenly, you’re heading up a team of professionals with hundreds of years of experience between them and who have completed hundreds of development projects. And the best part is that you don’t have to shell out for their services personally; their fees will be paid for by the development finance.

If you find yourself having newbie nerves, think about Richard Branson. He recently launched his first cruise line, Virgin Voyages. But he didn’t start this venture, having spent thirty years in the cruise line industry, rising from cabin boy to captain. Instead, he’s simply an entrepreneur who saw a great opportunity and who used his existing CEO skills to pull together a team that already has all of the experience necessary to make it a success. Did he attend that first board meeting thinking, ‘I hope no one asks me what the front end of a boat is called or what it costs to build a cruise liner?’ Probably not. He has a team of people sitting around the table that can answer those questions for him. What he does have are the skills necessary to see an opportunity and build a team capable of taking advantage of it. And, of course, you wouldn’t bet against him succeeding.

Now, your role as a small-scale property developer is of the same mould. Nothing quite as grand as running a cruise line, but the principle is the same. You’ll be playing the role of Richard Branson in your (much smaller) property development business, and your extended team will be on hand to deal with the details and the technical stuff.

So what exactly will you, the developer, be doing? Well, at a high level, your job breaks down into several key roles:

  1. You’ll need to establish your business, strategy, and brand, and decide what type of development you’re going to tackle. 
  2. You’ll have to recruit your team of professionals, including architects, solicitors, project managers, structural engineers, etc.
  3. You’ll need to be able to find a supply of good quality, profitable deals. These will need to be analysed to sort the wheat from the chaff and decide which ones are worth pursuing.
  4. You’ll be arranging the finance for your first project, working with both commercial lenders and private investors.

This is all well and good, but what skills do you need to be a property developer? Surely you can’t expect to earn the sort of money developers make without having any talent or knowledge whatsoever? Well, I’ve been training and working with developers for nearly 40 years, and here, in my opinion, are the essential skills that you need to do the job well.

1. Organisational skills

Your property development business won’t happen unless you are highly organised. You also need to be systemised and make sure you establish processes for each part of your business. They take effort and foresight to set up, but they pay big dividends and stop your business from degenerating into a shambles.

2. People skills

Development is fundamentally a people business. Not only will you be working with a team of professionals, but you’ll also be wooing estate agents, lenders, and private investors. This requires the ability to create and build rapport. And, of course, development projects always have a few bumps in the road, so you’ll need to be able to make sure you get to the end with all of your critical relationships intact, ready to go again.

3. Management Skills

Property development is a business, and you need to operate it as such. This means deploying management skills to run your business and being highly disciplined. You’ll also need to stay on top of cash flow, as even profitable deals could fall into the red on their journey unless you manage things effectively.

4. Decision-making skills

Any decision is often better than no decision, and in development, you’ll have a team of professionals to advise you. The problem can arise where the developer needs to make a difficult call, and they dither, hoping some silver bullet solution might suddenly arrive. This dallying has scuppered many a project, frustrating the contractor who can’t get on with things until a decision is made. So when the ball is in your court, make a decision quickly and move on. In development, time is usually money.

5. Hard work

Once you’re up and running, development can be a job you do in your spare time. But you’ll need to put in some hard graft to get started. You’ll also need to be persistent. Great deals don’t grow on trees, and there’s no guarantee you’ll find one quickly. The good news is that this frightens off most of the competition, so if you know what you’re doing and you stick with it, you’re likely to be successful.

6. Education

Your property development education is the glue that holds all of the above together. Can you avoid making any expensive mistakes without getting training? It’s theoretically possible, but then it’s also possible to jump out of a plane without training. The other thing that education gives you is the ability to see opportunities that other developers can’t see. And you’ll want that edge so you can get the best possible deals.

7. Determination

It’s easy to get disheartened. Great deals can be difficult to find, and projects rarely go entirely as planned. The spoils go to the developer who keeps going. But your first project will inevitably be your most challenging, and the journey gets easier as you build your experience and reputation.

Organisational skills, people skills, management skills, decision-making skills, hard work, and determination are already part of the working day for many people. To be a highly successful property developer, add in a little learning. The core skills you require are not specific to the industry, so be a little more Branson.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ritchie Clapson CEng MIStructE is a veteran property developer of almost 40 years and co-founder of propertyCEO, a nationwide property development and training company that helps people create a successful property development business in their spare time. It makes use of students’ existing life skills while teaching them the property, business, and mindset knowledge they need to undertake small scale developments successfully, with the emphasis on utilising existing permitted development rights to minimize risk and maximize returns.

Home

https://www.facebook.com/propertyceotraining/

https://www.instagram.com/propertyceotraining/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/propertyceo

How to propel your business to a genuinely transformational level of growth

Posted on Written by

Many businesses grow effectively for a number of years; they achieve this as they have a solid offering, they are delivering some proactive engagement with their market, they work hard, and they close sales.

Inevitably at some point the growth slows down. The practices and processes internally within the business reach their saturation point. They cannot achieve any more sales without doing things differently and all the small changes they make stop yielding results.

At this point the organic growth that the business is capable of has stopped delivering what the business needs.  It’s time to think about something new and if you are not inspired by growth through merger or acquisition you need a new idea to generate dynamic growth.

Dynamic growth is about constant change.  It’s about stimulating different results by taking new action, and it’s what needs to happen when you reach a profit plateau.

Choosing to be dynamic about your approach to business may be the thing that propels your business to a genuinely transformational level of growth. But where do you start?

Over the last 10 years I have been working on defining the characteristics of highly successful businesses to understand how they harness growth.

When you are thinking about what you need to do to build a dynamic approach to business growth there are three key areas to focus on.   These three ‘pillars’ will allow you to make the changes to your organisation necessary to burst through the plateaux.

The First Pillar:  Your Customer Journey

The experience that your customer has when they work with your business is everything. 

You have a responsibility to shape a journey that not only educates your customer on the value of your offering, but also ensures that they experience your business as credible and professional.

Really robust businesses, that exceed their own growth expectations, have very diverse and well-planned customer journeys; they consider carefully the stages through which their customers travel and the impact that that has on their decision-making journey.  As well as a highly tuned customer experience they have internal processes that create productivity and efficiency.

When understanding the challenges of a plateau to business growth the first place to look is in the detail of the customer sales process. A well planned and diverse customer journey that is implemented effectively internally will absolutely maximise the conversion rate and revenue generation. 

Dynamic businesses will be thinking today about specifically what experience their customer has when dealing with their business and will be asking questions about how to enhance the quality and content of that journey.  Really high quality sales process methodology will allow your business to draw in more customers and make more revenue and ultimately generate more profit.

For change:  Put time into interrogating the experience that customers have when working with you.  What are the stages that they move through? Is the way that you and your team interact with your clients well defined and diverse?  Is their experience one of consistently high quality?  Unless the journey your customers undertake is smooth and effective your business will be losing money.

The Second Pillar:  Your Customer Communication

In simple terms, one of the most powerful tools your business has is the communication that it uses to reach out to its customers.  What we say and how we say it has a huge impact on how much money we make.

The customer communications pillar within your business deals with every communication that your customer is exposed to and looks at how it impacts their decision-making.  As the range of channels increases and we have ever more marketing and sales communications to explore, a smart business will look closely at its communications pillar. 

Whether it be the business cards you handout at face-to-face meetings, the software you use to generate proposal, or the quality of the telephone calls that your sales team are making to your customers, a really strong communication pillar embraces multiple channels and creates high quality guidelines around how these channels should be used.

It is not simply a case of using email, it is a case of crafting an email that has a powerful impact within the sales communications pillar. Never take your eye off the content, structure, tone and delivery of every sales and marketing activity that comes out of your business. The message here is that if your communications to your customers are not of the highest possible standards, you will not be achieving the highest possible results.

For change: Make sure that you evaluate your customer communications.  Go back to basics. Look at all your communications and check them for quality. Setup clear communications guidelines and make sure that your entire team is across them and implementing them.

The Third Pillar:   Your People Management

The management area of your business refers to the processes and practises that your organisation uses to ensure that your customer journey is implemented to the highest possible standard.

Management is not simply about the leadership that your team receives. It is about the practises that your business embraces to drive the right outcomes.  Within the area of management, you need to look at the structure of your organisation to ensure you have the right number of resources and that each person is working in the right fit in the right role.  In truly powerful businesses, every resource in the organisation is lined up behind the customer journey in order that it can be delivered to the highest possible standards. 

Once you’re clear that the people in your team are right, you then need to be thinking about how those people communicate with one another internally.  Think about how you train and develop those resources to ensure they have the highest possible skill set; understand how performance is managed in an organisation to ensure that everyone is driving towards the right goals and achieving the right targets.  All of these areas of your organisation come together to form the management culture that is shaping your business.  

If you are focused on ensuring that your people are in an environment where they can perform to their maximum you will achieve better results. So, really dynamic businesses are asking; is my workforce well trained, well recruited and well developed? If the answer to any of those questions is no, it’ll have a negative impact on the amount of money you’re generating.

For change: Review all the members of your team. Are they the right fit? Are they where they can best perform and let their skills truly shine? Is additional training required? Are they all aligned with the vision for the business?

Any business that wants to grow and move past a profit plateau, needs to be dynamic. And being dynamic means taking control of the destiny of your business.

As a business owner or leader having the tools to drive constant growth in your organisation is one of the most powerful skills you can develop.

If you want to beat the fear of a revenue flat line look at the areas above and honestly interrogate how dynamic you are being.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen Dunne-Squire is founder of Elation Experts, which is on a mission to empower SME’s by giving them the knowledge and skills to increase revenue, build powerful sales opportunities and create committed, loyal teams that are motivated to drive change. Karen is a sought-after keynote speaker and creator of The Growth Framework, an award-winning methodology, applying ‘Big Business Corporate Insights’ to SMEs in a way that makes practical sense for them. 

www.elation-experts.co.uk

www.linkedin.com/in/kdselation

How The Hospitality Industry Can Leverage Wellness Assets

Posted on Written by

After one of the worst years ever bookings are picking up very slowly and the hospitality industry is struggling.  Given this difficult situation how hotels can leverage their wellness assets to rebuild their business in the new normal?

The old business model is broken, and forward-thinking hoteliers know this. They also know they need to find new ways to attract a different group of customers if they are to thrive, not just survive.

To provide help I’ve put my experience into ‘The Wellness Asset’. This is a practical book, full of essential information for any hotel owner.

The aim is to show hoteliers, even the one who are sceptical, that wellness does make good business sense. And that even if your property is midscale or in the centre of a big city, incorporating wellness into it in a coherent and meaningful way will yield substantial dividends.

Traditionalists vs Hoteliers of the Future

Amongst traditional hoteliers ‘wellness’ is often considered an amenity, rather than an asset that can be the pivot your business needs to enable you to generate significant profit – across the entire hotel.

In the course of researching this book I met some truly inspirational hoteliers. 50 passionate men and women who are leading the way, seeing wellness as a core part of hospitality.

These hoteliers of the future are pivoting, adapting and thriving by building and leveraging their wellness asset to enhance their guests’ overall experience in their hotel.

And these passionate men and women know that the only way they can transform their guests’ wellbeing is through the wellbeing of their teams and surrounding community. They attract people who think alike, and they get their teams excited about their vision and the positive impact of their meaningful work. They create a growth environment where wellness is at its core.

These hoteliers of the future are forward-thinking, audacious and legacy-oriented, with a vision that stretches far beyond short-term profitability.

Leveraging the hotel’s wellness assets

Many leading hotels have been transformed by leveraging their wellness assets using the ‘ESSENCE’model I have developed, which takes you from assessing potential ideas to implementing and honing your offering to give your guests an experience so good they will do your marketing for you – in months, not years.

When we thoughtfully and meaningfully consider wellness within all our guest experiences, that is when the magic happens. The healthy breakfast tailored to the needs and tastes of each guest, the ergonomic pillow and mattress to ensure a good night’s sleep, the soothing scent to encourage relaxation, the surrounding vineyard to walk through or practice yoga, the lovely massage to release those tensions, that amazing glass of wine or that lazing around and doing absolutely nothing while your children are being entertained. Every one of these small details are part of our guests’ wellbeing. Each detail impacts them in ways that make them feel both energised and refreshed. And helps them to put their problems into perspective so they can live their lives in a more fulfilling way.

About Sonal Uberoi

Sonal Uberoi is a global wellness expert and founder of Spa Balance, a boutique consultancy working specifically with hotels to help them tap into the full potential of their wellness offering. Sonal has worked with major hotels across the world enabling them to attract a more discerning guest, build a loyal and committed customer base, attract and retain quality talent and increase profitability, without breaking budget. 

Her book The Wellness Asset is now available.

The Opportunity in Angel Investing

Posted on Written by

For many of us angel investing may feels inaccessible, an option for the multi-millionaires or industry titans we see on shows like Dragons’ Den. As a result, instead of exploring this exciting asset class, we put our investments into options we are more familiar with – safer options such as stocks and mutual funds.

But the reality is that angel investing is something more people should consider. If you have capital to invest, angel investing is an option you should consider. Like all investments it does carry risks, but it also offers potentially exciting rewards.

Here we will cover the basics and importantly explain how angel investing can offer potentially higher returns than many of the more traditional and familiar investment options.

What is an angel investor?

Angel investors invest their personal capital into unlisted businesses in exchange for shares in that business. More than just cash, angels typically offer wider benefits to investee companies in the way of mentorship, advice, acting as a non-executive director or making vital introductions to their network of contacts.

Most angel investors are classed as ‘High Net Worth Individuals’ (HNWI). It is this terminology that likely conjures up the images of three-piece suits, designer watches and luxury cars – making angel investing feel inaccessible. The reality is that to be considered a HNWI, you need an annual salary of at least £100,000 or net assets, excluding property and pensions, worth £250,000. That’s more people, than you’d think – at least half a million in the UK according to Statista.

The other common type of angel investors is termed ‘Sophisticated Investors.’ To be classed as sophisticated, you must either be a member of an angel network, have invested in another unlisted company in the last two years, have worked in a professional capacity in the private equity sector or be a director of a company with an annual turnover of £1M+.

Business angels will usually put in between £5,000 and £500,000 in a single venture and will aim to build a portfolio of investments over time.

Potential returns

While angel investing is riskier than other asset classes, and is less liquid, it does have the potential to offer greater returns.

Data collected in the US in a 2017 Willamette University study on angel investment returns calculated that the average return for angel investors is 2.5X,  which alongside an average investment time span of 4.5 years indicates a gross internal rate of return of 22%.

This compares very favourably with more traditional investment vehicles:

  • Mutual funds – Not even the best performing mutual funds of all time will break 20% average annual return, and most of them will not go over 15%;
  • Index funds – Industry favorite, the S&P 500 has provided an average annual return of 13.6% since its inception;
  • Bonds – During the pandemic, UK interest rates on bonds have been cut to 0.1%;
  • Stocks – The average return on a Stocks and Shares ISA in the UK is 5.14% (April 1999 to April 2020).

A more recent study by FounderCatalyst published in January 2021 showed that angel investments yielded an average 2.77 X return. Furthermore, with the additional benefit of EIS tax relief that grows to an average 3.19 X return.

Under the HMRC’s Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), angel investors receive income tax relief of 30-50% on funds invested in startups and early-stage businesses. This fantastic scheme has helped to raise £1.929 Billion for 3,920 companies yet is still surprisingly unknown to many potential investors who could benefit.

It is worth pointing out here again that averages are averages. Any experienced angel will tell you that many companies take much longer than 4.5 years to mature and exit, and more fail than have home runs. But, on average, angel investing appears to perform well in the long run versus other asset classes.

Why become an angel investor

Yes, it makes financial sense to invest in early-stage companies, as they can provide an unparalleled rate of return on your investment, and you can take advantage of generous tax relief schemes.

But many do it for more altruistic reasons. As an angel investor you offer value to a young company not just in the form of hard cash, but also in the form of advice and a strategic direction stemming from your experience. Typically, angels are evangelists for the businesses they support – be it the use of big data in medicine, the implementation of AI in charity/corporate matching, or the development of energy saving computers. And everybody loves to hear about the little business you invested in which is about to be merged into a billion-dollar Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC).

Developing a portfolio

According to the Willamette University study, angel investors get positive returns less than half the time they invest in a company. In fact, they register losses on around 70% of investments, and just 10% of their exits generate 85% of all returns. Diversifying your portfolio is key when trying to improve your return rates.

Looking at the rate of return on original investment of 300 exits from 2018/19, the data shows that angels’ odds of significant returns increase with the number of investments. The FounderCatalyst report states that a portfolio of investments in three companies is likely to yield, on average, worse returns than a portfolio of investments in 10 companies.

However, unless you are Dragons Den’s Deborah Meaden or Peter Jones, opportunities may not always come to you. In fact, having enough deal flow to increase and diversify your portfolio can be a challenge.

One solution is to join an angel network. Well-established and properly regulated networks have investment specialists pre-screening deals, ensuring information is clearly and fairly presented and curating opportunities based on your interests. A good network will be listed on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) register and will follow FCA guidance which is all intended to help minimise risk.

Investors that join a network:

  • Gain access to deal flow;
  • Lower their risk by receiving support in the due diligence phase;
  • Diversify their portfolio;
  • Join a community of like-minded investors;
  • Can make a more meaningful and more sizable investment through syndication.

According to research firm Beauhurst, the most active angel networks in the UK right now are:

In most cases, there is no need for a recommendation in order to gain access to investment networks. Angel investing is available to you from the comfort of your own home, as the most active networks, like Envestors, will use digital platforms to share their opportunities.

I hope you can see that there is opportunity in angel investing for you to consider.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gavin Heys is director of Envestors Private Investment Club where he works closely with investors to help them find the right opportunities for their portfolio. He has raised over £15m for companies including Draper and Dash, Censornet and F45 among many others.

Envestors’ Private Investment Club and digital investment platform bring together entrepreneurs and investors across geographies, communities and sectors – creating the single marketplace for early-stage investment in the UK.

Founded in 2004, Envestors has helped more than 200 high growth businesses raise more than £100m through its own private investment club.

Envestors is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Web: https://www.envestors.co.uk/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/envestors-llp/

Twitter: @EnvestorsLondon

Registration number: 4797388.
Telephone: 01843 831088
Email: enquiries@speedieconsulting.co.uk
Website: www.speedieconsulting.co.uk