The document describes a business owner's experience with the Wakefield Business Support Programme. It helped the owner in several ways: 1) Through an Enterprise Development Grant and business mentoring, the Programme provided both financial and advisory support that helped the owner establish and grow their business. 2) The mentoring helped with creating a business plan and providing business insights and knowledge to other enterprises. 3) As a result of the extensive and high-quality support, the owner's business has been able to grow at a much faster pace than would have been possible without the Programme's assistance.

2. Wakefield Business Support
Programme and Me
“I was a career civil servant until 2011. Last year I went along to the launch of
Wakefield Business Support Programme and since then they have helped me
every step of the way.
I am grateful for not only financial support through an Enterprise Development
Grant, but also the invaluable and intensive business mentoring I have received
from the Council in the last few months.
From support with my business plan to providing opportunities to deliver business
insights and knowledge to other enterprises, the support from the programme has
been both extensive and of high quality.
My business is now growing at a pace which would not have been possible
without the Business Support Programme.”

3. Wakefield Business Support
Programme and Me
“GuideDotYou Change Solutions is a small business, with modest medium term
growth plans, then big ambitions in the long term.
I am already growing my network of associates, through whom a broad range of
support services, products and tools is available to other businesses.
I fully intend to play my part in creating jobs and prosperity in the district. I have
already received some volunteer assistance, helping people of different abilities to
learn new skills and gain experience.
Before too long, I hope to be able to offer more formal work experience
opportunities, take on an apprentice, and eventually employ people from the
Wakefield area, to help deliver my vision.”

4. Organisational Health Diagnostics

5. Basic Steps In Problem Solving
1. Define the problem and establish an improvement goal.
2. Collect data.
3. Analyze the problem.
4. Generate potential solutions.
5. Choose a solution.
6. Implement the solution.
7. Monitor the solution to see if it accomplishes the goal.
Courtesy of British Standards Institution's Standards in Action

6. Data courtesy of our partners, Business On, Ltd
Businesses could do better
5%
Are failing due to hidden weaknesses
20%
Could double their turnover and profits
75%
Could radically improve the way their business works

7. Yes that’s me!
So what should I do?
Get started by taking a free BIS awarded
Smart Intelligent "Business Reality Check."
Expertly designed and developed for use by
small and medium sized businesses.
Successfully used by more than 2,600
businesses.

8. What Will The Business Reality Check
Give Me?
 An opportunity to look at your current business performance across ten critical areas:
 Finance,
 Management,
 Planning,
 Sales,
 Marketing,
 Product & Services,
 Employees, Technology,
 Business Processes
 Business Relationships.
 A downloadable, easy to read and informative report that not only tells you where you
may be making some mistakes, it also tells you how you can resolve them.

9. Direction and Focus
process starts
Analyse data
returned
Recommend a Quality
Improvement
Programme
Business embarks on
Quality Improvement
Programme
Business appoints
an Improvement
Action Team
Aims of Quality
Improvement
Programmeagreed
Aims of QIP
formulated by IAT
Aims of QIP signed
off by management
board
Allstaff given the
opportunity to make
suggestions for
improvement
Process for
capturing staff
suggestions
developed and
communicated by
IAT
Starting theProgramme
Hold initial workshop for
IAT
Where arewe
now?
Aims of QIP
communicated
to all staff
What is Quality?
The Business Vision
Making Quality
Happen
Management
Commitment
Board Level
Input
Departmental Activities
commence
Defining Quality for
your Department
A Vision of the
futurefor your
Department
Departments
supporting overall
business vision
Getting There
Measuring Current
Performance
Identifying a
suitable
measurement
framework
Identifying Targets
that Support the
Vision
Improvement Action
Planning
Document Targets and
Improvement Action
Plans
Regularly
measure &
report
performance
Consider Assessment
against Quality
Standards, e.g. BEM,
ISO9000 series
Copyright: GuideDotYou Change Solutions 2014
Direction and Focus

10. Better Financial Decision Making

11. Better Financial Decision Making
Key Performance Indicators - Good? Fair? Poor?
What you need to see
How you need to see it – Tables? Graphs?
Amount of detail you need
What to look out for – Alarm signals; Highlights
Action you may need to take

12. Better Financial Decision Making
Both Profit AND Cash are critical to success
How often do you check them?
Consider what level of Profit and Net Cash
Flow would be Good, Fair or Poor
Measure outcomes regularly and take action,
e.g. seek repeat orders; chase up late paying
customers

13. Better Financial Decision Making
JPA Architects EXAMPLE Dec 2014
Result Green Amber Red
Income Current Month £68k 1 0 0
Gross Profit % Current Month 56% 1 0 0
Overheads Current Month £14k 0 1 0
Net Profit Current Month £24k 1 0 0
Income Year to Date £687k 1 0 0
Gross Profit % Year to Date 48% 0 1 0
Overheads Year to Date £140k 0 0 1
Net Profit Year to Date £191k 1 0 0
Net Change in Cash Current Month £24k 0 0 1
Net Change in Cash Year to Date -£15k 0 0 1
Key Performance Indicator

14. Better Financial Decision Making
JPA Architects EXAMPLE Dec 2014
The increase in Overheads was due mainly to the campaign to expand operations into
South Yorkshire and led to an increase in Income. From this point of view, the overspend
may be seen to have achieved its aim.
The growth in Income has been achieved whilst maintaining Margins. The increase in staff
costs has been offset by a decrease in sub contractor costs.
The expansion, however, has led to serious pressures on Cash Flow, the balance down by
£15k over the year and down £72k against Budget. The negative impact on Cash Flow has
been mainly due to: Debtors (up £29k against Budget), Drawings (up £27k against Budget)
and Creditors (down £21k against Budget).
Commentary

15. Nine Reasons Businesses Fail

16. Nine Reasons Businesses Fail!
1. Uncertainty about the long term
2. Negative cashflow
3. Failure to create long range plans
4. No competitive edge
5. Lack of a motivated team
6. No clear lead generation strategy
7. Weak sales
8. Lack of focused leadership
9. Not retaining customers

17. How we can help you avoid failure
Expert consultants asking searching questions about
your business
High end listening and questioning skills by us; thought
provoking for you
Further questions asked based on your responses
Creates real direction and focus
Providing great clarity about your business vision and
improving your self confidence
Find out where you are spending your money and when

18. How we can help you avoid failure
Avoid growing too quickly, which often leads to cashflow
problems
Gain momentum and understand your business during a
four hour consultation held in one day
An investor ready business plan in seven days
We help eliminate overwhelming planning processes,
procrastination and delay
A business plan which is an extension of your voice and
your thoughts

19. 19
Business is a career option for young people
“Signposting, inspiring, engaging,
Changing Lives!”

20. From sowing seeds to business maturity
“Signposting, inspiring, engaging, changing lives!”

21. Owning a business is an option for young
people too
 There are advantages of working for yourself over working for someone else
 What are the things that young people enjoy doing and could make a career
out of? Examples – Baking; Remote control cars; Recycling old items into new
ones
 We can support the young to brainstorm business ideas and how they could
make money from them?
 Helping them to visualise working for themselves doing the things they enjoy?
 We can help build self-confidence and help the young to rise to meet their
potential

22. Can You Support The National
Enterprise Challenge?

25. Improving Your Sales

26. Price
“It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little.
When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that's all.
When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing
you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do.
The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a
lot - it can't be done.
If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you
run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”
John Ruskin 1819 – 1900

27. Three Steps to £’s
Confidence
Self awareness
Know what the process is

28. Change Management isn’t easy –
here are some things to help

29. Ready..set..change..!

30. Why Do People Resist Change?
• Organisational culture
and/or climate
• Job security at risk
• Fear of the unknown
• Fear of failure
• Reward and
recognition disconnect
• Lack of trust
• Previous experiences
• Timing and conflicting
priorities

31. Where Does “Change” Go?
Source: Prosci

32. In a Nutshell …
Element: Goal or objective:
"The Change" To improve the organization in some fashion - for instance reducing
costs, improving revenues, solving problems, seizing opportunities,
aligning work and strategy, streamlining information flow within the
organization
Project
Management
To develop a set of specific plans and actions to achieve "the change"
given time, cost and scope constraints and to utilize resources
effectively (managing the 'technical' side of the change)
Change
Management
To apply a systematic approach to helping the individuals impacted by
"the change" to be successful by building support, addressing
resistance and developing the required knowledge and ability to
implement the change (managing the 'people' side of the change)

33. So What Will You Do Differently To
Drive Positive Change?

34. Our Offers
 Free Business Reality Check, a full report and a
one hour telephone consultation about the
report's findings, if taken before the end of April
 Free 60 minute review of your Financial Key
Performance Indicators
 A 10 minute consultation to identify your biggest
challenge that prevents you creating a business
plan and how you can overcome it
 6 hours fully funded coaching for anyone who
has a business idea but isn't trading
 Up to eight days of 50% ERDF funded support
for Business to Business Organisations. Must
employ less than 50 people, be capable of
selling outside of their region and have not paid
for any consultancy in the last 3 years
 Up to thirty hours coaching for the Directors of
an established ambitious business – typically
around 65% funded depending on the size of
the company - must employ less than 250
people
 Free initial consultations with Schools,
Academies, Colleges and Universities wanting
to set up Business Creation Programmes
 Free 90 minute consultations to help identify
and scope your other business support needs
 Selected discounts for Sponsors of the National
Enterprise Challenge
 Selected discounts for Sure Revolution Loyalty
Card Holders
Complete our postcard to have a chance of:

35. We Did This!
With Thanks To Alistair Ruane
at Chicho Marketing
www.chicho.co.uk/