Working with clients to ‘inspire’ and ‘empower’ their marketing activity. Inspiring ...Being able to bring a wealth of ideas that have helped other business owners; or simply to inspire and motivate them to try bigger and bolder steps is an exciting. Helping and encouraging them to dream bigger than they ever dared before. To believe that anything - and everything - is possible and that they truly deserve to be successful.And empowering ... On the other hand - getting people to… Show more Working with clients to ‘inspire’ and ‘empower’ their marketing activity. Inspiring ...Being able to bring a wealth of ideas that have helped other business owners; or simply to inspire and motivate them to try bigger and bolder steps is an exciting. Helping and encouraging them to dream bigger than they ever dared before. To believe that anything - and everything - is possible and that they truly deserve to be successful.And empowering ... On the other hand - getting people to 'make stuff happen' is critical. And I have discovered that i have a real talent for getting people to 'make stuff happen'.After all, talking only goes so far and, supported by my trusty 'pointed stick', I bring an intensive level of accountability to people who may otherwise forgive themselves for procrastinating. It’s a lonely world out there running your own business. And if a combination of me genuinely ‘giving a sh*t’ and ‘holding people’s feet to the fire’ works, then I’m delighted to play my part.- The Four Man Business Builder - a six month programme focused on creating a really clear marketing system and pathway, with the benefit of group learning and accountability. Runs throughout the year.- Mastermind – a 12 month intensive group programme helping serious business owners who want to really focus on business growth. Runs Januray to December.- ButtKicker Marketing Coaching – one-to-one monthly support over the medium and long term- The Super Success Accelerator – an intensive one-to-one programme over 4 – 6 months to focus business owners on what needs doing and helping them implement their plan- Non-executive Director – working with smaller businesses needing an experienced ‘safe pair of hands’ over a period of intensive business growth Show less

‘Business Growth Advisor’ for Surrey in the growing Entrepreneurs Circle initiative. This enabled me to achieve significant exposure in the larger local area, particularly as I proved to be their most successful and dynamic coach. During that time, we achieved six national Entrepreneurs of the Month, as well as having 4 of the finalists in the national awards last year (and 2 of the winners). I don’t try to take the credit for what members did, but I do take credit for the fact I seem… Show more ‘Business Growth Advisor’ for Surrey in the growing Entrepreneurs Circle initiative. This enabled me to achieve significant exposure in the larger local area, particularly as I proved to be their most successful and dynamic coach. During that time, we achieved six national Entrepreneurs of the Month, as well as having 4 of the finalists in the national awards last year (and 2 of the winners). I don’t try to take the credit for what members did, but I do take credit for the fact I seem to have the ability to help people focus and achieve. My time with the Circle allowed me to learn one of the most powerful lessons in life - it taught me what I was best at doing, and what I loved the most. Thankfully these coincide as helping business owners to succeed.I was awarded Business Growth Advisor of the Year in 2012 and was a runner up in 2013. Show less

Running a local High Street knitwear outlet and building a successful international online businessIn the period after downsizing CProject, I was approached by a long-term friend to join him in reopening a business that had closed and made him redundant. Alan Paine is a long-established international brand and the factory shop in Godalming had run successfully for many years.In taking on the shop, it opened up a whole new area of business to me; a B2C market with cash… Show more Running a local High Street knitwear outlet and building a successful international online businessIn the period after downsizing CProject, I was approached by a long-term friend to join him in reopening a business that had closed and made him redundant. Alan Paine is a long-established international brand and the factory shop in Godalming had run successfully for many years.In taking on the shop, it opened up a whole new area of business to me; a B2C market with cash transactions on a daily basis. It certainly made me use my marketing skills in a different way and to explore more direct and measurable ways of bringing in business.The shop was essentially a traditional business with an exceptionally loyal customer base.We were able to develop the Factory Outlet brand independent of the ‘parent’ business, making it a more desirable offering and hence driving up prices.Developing regular customer communications meant that we were able to maximise repeat purchases.We introduced a comprehensive EPOS system, allowing us to track inventory more accurately and to target sales around items we wanted sold off, rather than on our best-selling lines.Most importantly, we were able to explore the world of ecommerce, building an international customer list largely via adwords, and leveraging this with regular communications and offers, ensuring high levels of repeat purchase. The impact of this was that, during these seven years, we drove online sales to 40% of total turnover; given that margins on online sales were considerably higher this had a beneficial impact on profitability.Despite the 2008 recession, which hit retailers particularly harshly, we held our own. When invited to sell my share in 2011, it felt like the natural time to move on. Show less

Working with clients to define and fulfil specific marketing projects In the period after I downsized my agency business, I continue to manage many existing clients as well as attracting new clients keen to take advantage of:My considerable experience – I can quickly see what’s needed to achieve specific objectives My project management expertise – I have a reputation for being able to make things happen, fastMy creativity – as a conceptual thinker and as a great… Show more Working with clients to define and fulfil specific marketing projects In the period after I downsized my agency business, I continue to manage many existing clients as well as attracting new clients keen to take advantage of:My considerable experience – I can quickly see what’s needed to achieve specific objectives My project management expertise – I have a reputation for being able to make things happen, fastMy creativity – as a conceptual thinker and as a great marketing writerI worked with clients in every capacity, from being their ‘arm’s-length’ marketing director, to managing multi-faceted campaigns over short periods of time. Clients always knew they could out-source entire projects with the certainty that I would get the job done and take full ownership of all the detail. I gained a considerable reputation for being a safe pair of hands. During this period, I also devised my ‘OnTrack Marketing’ protocol, a logical and all-encompassing system that takes clients from the strategic thinking stages; establishing a full awareness of the ‘bigger picture’ – competitive context, the numbers, customer information and so forth; auditing current marketing processes and understanding what’s missing; defining what tools and messages are needed; setting up effective marketing processes; as well as ongoing review and measurement.It was in this way that I was subsequently able to successfully move from focusing on projects to focusing on strategy, as in the current iteration of OnTrack marketing Show less

Working with clients to deliver regular communications to both in-house and external audiencesHaving started my business, Communications Project, in 1988 as a ‘marketing consultant’, it soon became clear that a more niche offering was required, especially as the 1990s recession developed.Given my experience in the financial services sector, combined with an ability with words, a decision to specialise in regular publications was made, targeting financial service providers initially.… Show more Working with clients to deliver regular communications to both in-house and external audiencesHaving started my business, Communications Project, in 1988 as a ‘marketing consultant’, it soon became clear that a more niche offering was required, especially as the 1990s recession developed.Given my experience in the financial services sector, combined with an ability with words, a decision to specialise in regular publications was made, targeting financial service providers initially. However, our sector base grew and our customers came from all areas; they were attracted to our pragmatic approach to ‘getting the job’ done at a fixed, packaged price. Over these 15 years, the business grew from being a one-man band to a staff of 12; editors; designers and project managers. We had considerable success in this sector, building the business to a substantial six-figure (and close to seven-figure) turnover. Clients were, at one level, smaller businesses wanting to communicate with customers on a regular basis in the pre-electronic era; accountants; solicitors; financial advisers. However, the bulk of our work came from working with major corporates who were happy to work with a specialist niche agency, often alongside some of the largest marketing and advertising names in the business. The clients below are just a few of those we worked with.As the 90s drew to a close, and the internet was having a major impact with more regular comms being driven electronically, it became clear that we needed to adapt. However, it also became apparent that the team I had built for one purpose did not sit well with the new more marketing-driven requirement; and so I made the decision to cut the business right back and essentially begin again. Show less

Working with various departments to deliver marketing collateral into the agency division of this major insurance providerThis was my first job post-University, having majored in marketing and communications. I was lucky enough to start my career under the wing of a dynamic marketing specialist (unusual in the sector at that time) and, as a result, my career moved at a much faster pace than would otherwise have been expected. The result of this was that:Within 15 months… Show more Working with various departments to deliver marketing collateral into the agency division of this major insurance providerThis was my first job post-University, having majored in marketing and communications. I was lucky enough to start my career under the wing of a dynamic marketing specialist (unusual in the sector at that time) and, as a result, my career moved at a much faster pace than would otherwise have been expected. The result of this was that:Within 15 months I was running the mortgage marketing team, developing products for use with Building Societies and other key lenders, particularly in the low-cost endowment arena.I moved into running the ‘savings and protection’ marketing team where I was responsible for the launch of Sun Alliances first Unit Trusts, amongst many other products.I was promoted into a central marketing team where I headed up an ‘internal marketing consultancy’, supporting internal clients and delivering a unified corporate identity across the entire division, as well as streamlining the creative resource. During this time, I was also responsible for the launch of the new-style Personal Pensions, as well as managing the impact of the introduction of the Financial Services Authority which required all marketing materials were fully revised in accordance with the new code. I quickly gained a reputation for being an exceptional project manager, driven by creativity yet with the ability to manage details and deadlines. However, I knew that corporate life was not for me. I had always wanted to run my own business and so, in 1988, I did just that. Show less