Working With Me

20-Day Assessment: Finding Out What's Really Happening

When you need this:

- You know something's wrong but can't see the full picture

- Your financial information doesn't feel reliable

- People are telling you different stories

- You need to understand if this is fixable before committing to a turnaround

- Directors need independent professional assessment to protect against liability claims

What I deliver:

Financial Diagnostic (Days 1-5) Not just reviewing what exists. Building an accurate picture from the ground up. I work with your accountant or bookkeeper (or bring in my own financial expert if yours can't be trusted) to establish:

- Real cash position (not what the P&L says)

- Which customers and products actually make money

- Where money is leaking

- What debts are urgent vs manageable

- Hidden liabilities you may not know about (I'll find them)

I've uncovered HMRC debts directors didn't know existed, incomplete cash flow forecasting that excluded entire cost categories, and inappropriate use of client deposits creating personal director liability. You can't fix problems you don't know about.

Stakeholder Assessment (Days 3-10) Curated one-on-one conversations with the people who matter:

- Leadership team (what do they see that you don't?)

- Key staff (people tell an outsider things they'd never tell the boss)

- Major customers and suppliers (if appropriate)

- Family members (in family businesses, where emotional dynamics often trump financial logic)

- Board or investors

I'm not running satisfaction surveys. I'm finding out who will stay if things get harder, who's already looking to leave, where the cultural breakdowns are, and what the real operational problems are beneath the surface noise.

Operational Reality Check (Days 5-15) Walking the floor. Watching operations. Understanding the day-to-day reality:

- Where are the bottlenecks?

- What processes are broken or wasting time?

- What's the gap between what leadership thinks happens and what actually happens?

- Which operational problems are symptoms vs root causes?

Full Written Report & Debrief (Days 15-20) A comprehensive written report covering:

What I found: The real state of things (financial, operational, cultural)

Root causes: Not just symptoms, but why this happened

What needs to happen: The hard choices ahead

What it will take: Time, money, people, pain

What I recommend: Save it, sell it, or shut it down

Then a face-to-face debrief where I deliver the truth. Sometimes brutal, sometimes compassionate, always honest. If I think you should shut the business down, I'll tell you. If I think you can save it, I'll tell you what it will really take.

Professional Network Activation If you need specialists (insolvency practitioners, employment lawyers, debt restructuring experts), I'll connect you to people I know and trust, with warm introductions and full context already provided. No cold-calling strangers in a crisis.

What you get that you can't do yourself:

External objectivity: I can ask questions and get honest answers you won't

Financial forensics: I can spot what accountants are hiding or missing

Speed: 20 days vs months of internal investigation

Network access: Immediate connection to vetted specialists

Professional guidance: Independent assessment identifies director duties and risks, enabling you to make properly informed decisions with documented advice

Pattern recognition: I've seen this before; you haven't

Decision point after Clarity:

Viable path forward? → Move to Stability Phase

Needs specialist restructuring? → I connect you to insolvency practitioners and support the transition

Should close? → I help you plan exit strategy and support you through it

30-Day Crisis Intervention: Stopping the Bleeding

When you need this:

- Cash is running out (weeks not months)

- Suppliers are threatening to stop supplying

- HMRC is demanding payment

- You've lost a major client or revenue source

- The team is panicking and key people might leave

- You need to buy time to think strategically

What I deliver:

Immediate Cash Position Stabilisation (Days 1-7)

- Complete cash flow forecast (what's actually coming in vs going out)

- Identify and chase aged receivables

- Negotiate supplier payment terms

- Cut or defer non-essential spending immediately

- Free up working capital trapped in stock or WIP

- Emergency asset sales if needed

I've worked with businesses facing six-figure cash gaps within weeks that directors hadn't seen because their forecasting was incomplete. First priority: buy breathing room to make proper decisions rather than panic moves.

Creditor & Stakeholder Management (Days 1-14)

- HMRC engagement and Time To Pay arrangement support

- Supplier relationship management (keeping critical suppliers onside)

- Bank communication strategy (getting ahead of covenant breaches)

- Key customer reassurance (preventing client flight)

I don't just advise on this. I'm in the room for critical conversations. When HMRC turns up demanding immediate payment or threatening to seize assets, you want someone who's negotiated these situations before.

Emergency Budget Creation (Days 7-14) Not tweaking the existing budget. Building from zero-base:

- What does a viable version of this business look like?

- What revenue is realistic and achievable?

- What costs are truly essential?

- What can we afford to keep vs what has to go?

- Can this business model actually work?

I've built P&L reconstructions proving businesses were structurally viable despite crisis - showing they could generate sustainable profit once properly managed. Equally, I've proven some businesses couldn't work and needed different solutions.

Leadership Decision Support (Days 10-30) The brutal conversations about:

- Who stays, who goes?

- Which products/services/customers do we keep?

- What do we stop doing immediately?

- How do we communicate this without causing panic?

I don't make these decisions for you (they're yours to own), but I'll tell you what I've seen work, what the consequences of each choice are likely to be, and I'll support you through the emotional weight of it.

Professional Network Coordination If you need multiple specialists simultaneously (accountant, insolvency practitioner, employment lawyer, HR professional), I coordinate them so everyone is working toward the same outcome rather than pulling in different directions.

Weekly Progress Reviews Every week, we assess:

- Cash position update

- Decisions made vs decisions pending

- Early wins (morale needs visible progress)

- Problems surfacing

- Adjustments needed

What you get that you can't do yourself:

Crisis-hardened judgment: I've done this multiple times; you haven't

Creditor credibility: External adviser signals you're taking this seriously

Speed of execution: No learning curve

Emotional buffer: I can deliver hard truths without destroying relationships

Perspective: When you're drowning, you can't see the shore—I can

Decision point after Stability:

Crisis stabilised? → Move to Transformation Phase or I exit cleanly

Still in danger? → Extend engagement or pivot to administration planning

Needs different expertise? → Handoff to specialists with full briefing

100-Day Turnaround: Building Something That Actually Works

When you need this:

- You've stopped the bleeding but haven't fixed the underlying problems

- Financial systems and controls are inadequate

- Leadership team needs rebuilding or capability development

- Culture is broken and team morale is low

- You need to lock in the changes before they slip back

What I deliver:

Complete Operational Restructuring (Days 1-30)

- Implement proper financial controls:

- Cash flow forecasting that actually works

- Project-level P&L tracking

- Work-in-progress management

- Supplier and procurement controls

- Fix critical broken processes

- Establish weekly financial and operational rhythms

- Document what's working so it doesn't fall apart when I leave

I've fixed broken relationships between finance and procurement teams, established daily cash reporting where none existed, and created project cost tracking systems that transformed how businesses understood their profitability.

Leadership Team Restructuring (Days 10-40)

- Who needs to leave? (Sometimes turnarounds require personnel changes)

- Who can grow into the new reality? (And what support do they need?)

- What capability gaps need filling? (Interim, permanent, or external?)

- How do we rebuild trust and alignment?

Sometimes I'm coaching existing leaders through the hardest period of their careers. Sometimes I'm helping recruit replacements. Sometimes I'm the interim MD/ Chairman until you can hire properly.

Quick Wins & Momentum Building (Days 10-60) Transformation fails without visible progress:

- Identify and execute quick wins (process fix, customer win, cost saving)

- Make wins visible to the team (morale is fragile post-crisis)

- Build confidence that things are actually improving

- Celebrate small victories to rebuild belief

Culture Rebuild Programme (Days 30-90) You can't transform a business with a broken culture:

- Acknowledge what people have been through (crisis is traumatic)

- Reset expectations and behaviours (what's acceptable now vs before)

- Rebuild trust through transparency and follow-through

- Support people who are scared or exhausted

Stakeholder Management (Ongoing) Keeping board, investors, family members informed and aligned:

- Monthly updates on progress

- Managing expectations (turnarounds are messy)

- Navigating family dynamics (in family businesses, often the hardest part)

Monthly Advisory Retainer with Weekly Touchpoints I don't disappear after setting direction:

- Weekly check-ins (video or phone)

- Monthly half-day or full-day sessions

- Available for urgent issues between scheduled calls

- Ongoing accountability and course correction

Handover to Permanent Management or Ongoing Advisory (Days 90-100) Clear exit plan:

- Systems documented and embedded

- Leadership team capable of continuing without me

- Financial controls functioning

- Culture stabilised

Decision: clean exit, monthly retainer, or extended transformation support?

What you get that you can't do yourself:

Sustained momentum: Transformation fails without external accountability

Pattern recognition: I spot the traps before you fall in them

Leadership coaching: Support through the hardest decisions of your career

System design expertise: Building processes that actually stick (not consultant theatre)

Credibility: Team knows you're serious when you bring in outside help

Strategic Repositioning: Building Long-Term Competitive Advantage

When you need this:

- You're stable and profitable but the model feels limited

- You want to accelerate, not just maintain

- Leadership ready to think 5-10 years, not quarters

- You're designing what to build next, not improving what exists

- You have resources to invest in building tomorrow's competitive advantage

What I deliver:

Leadership Clarity & Strategic Intent (Weeks 1-4)

Who are you as leaders? What are you passionate about and genuinely skilled at? What problems do you want to solve?

- Through structured facilitation:

- Uncover what drives you beyond making money

- Identify unique capabilities that create advantage

- Define what you're willing to commit years to building

Not fluffy visioning. Rigorous interrogation of what you can uniquely do.

Market & Pain Point Analysis (Weeks 2-6)

What problems exist today that align with your capabilities? What's emerging tomorrow that you're positioned to solve first?

- Deep customer and market research

- Competitive landscape mapping

- Future trend analysis

- Identifying problems worth solving

We're not asking "what can this business do next?" We're asking "given these leaders, what should they build?"

Business Model Design (Weeks 6-10)

Design the model that creates sustainable advantage:

- Revenue model (what you sell, how you charge)

- Operating model (how you deliver, what you own vs partner)

- Competitive positioning (what you do that others can't replicate)

- Economic validation (does this generate profit?)

Examples: Manufacturing business pivots to SaaS based on process IP. Family business redesigns around next-gen capabilities. Services firm repositions to emerging market where existing skills create genuine advantage.

Roadmap & Execution Plan (Weeks 8-12)

How you get from where you are to where you want to be:

- Timeline: 6, 12, 24 months

- Required investments and funding

- What stays, what goes, what gets added

- Decision points and risk mitigation

Protectable Asset Building Strategy (Ongoing)

Build assets competitors can't easily copy:

- People: Skills development, apprenticeships, key talent

- IP: R&D investment, proprietary processes

- Assets: Strategic equipment, property, working capital structure

- Relationships: Deep customer/supplier partnerships

- Acquisitions: Buying businesses or investing in ecosystem startups

Operating Model Design (Weeks 10-14)

How the business operates:

- Team structure (senior expertise vs automation)

- Technology integration (where it creates genuine advantage)

- Workforce model (employees vs ecosystem/freelancer hybrid)

One option: Frontier Firm model: lean, senior team augmented by AI and network. But your model should fit your specific advantage.

What you get:

- Clarity on what to build: Design what comes next, not improve what exists

- Defensible model: Genuine competitive advantage, not marginal gains

- Long-term thinking: Investments that pay off over years

- Leadership alignment: Team committed to something they're passionate about

- Executable roadmap: Real plan, not consultant theatre

- Strategic support: Ongoing adviser as you execute

This isn't crisis work. Phases 1-3 fix fundamentally flawed businesses. Phase 4 accelerates any business ready to build long-term advantage: whether you're post-crisis with stability to think strategically, or profitable but stagnating and ready to invest in tomorrow.