The Sit-Down · Business operations review · £400 · 90 minutes
Ninety minutes. Everything out of your head.
For the founder who knows something isn't right behind the scenes but can't quite put a finger on what, and who has spent months fixing the bits they can see and wondering why none of it sticks. We spend ninety minutes getting everything out of your head and onto the table, we follow how your business actually runs and find where the time and the money are slipping out, and within 48 hours you've got the three things I'd fix first, in writing, with a rough £ value on each one.
Where you might be right now
Busy, booked up, and something's still off.
Busy isn't the same as making money
The diary's full and the money isn't
You're working flat out, but at the end of the month there's a lot less left than there should be, and you're not completely sure where it's going.
It all slows down without you
Every job goes through you
From the first point of contact to the invoice at the end, it's you. If you're out on site or with a client, nothing moves until you're back, and then you're catching up at nine o'clock at night, most nights.
You've thrown money at it already
Some of it helped, for a bit
The lead site, the software, the ads, the person you brought in. None of it was daft, but none of it touched the thing underneath, which is how the work actually moves through the business.
The fixes that didn't stick
It's not that you haven't tried.
Most owners I sit down with have already had a go at fixing it, and usually more than once.
They've paid a lead site thousands a month and found they were paying for jobs that weren't worth having. They've got a CRM with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of names in it that nobody has ever rung. They've hired someone to take the pressure off and then spent their evenings answering that person's questions.
Every one of those was a fix for something you could see. The thing you couldn't see, the way a job moves from the first call to getting paid and where it gets stuck waiting on you, stayed exactly the same. That's what we look at.
What I'm listening for
The things you say without noticing.
Most of what I need comes out in the first twenty minutes, usually in a throwaway comment you don't think twice about.
- “I'll ring them back later.” And then the day happens, and they've gone somewhere else by the time you do.
- “It's all in my head.” Which means the job only works properly when you're the one doing it.
- “We've got loads of contacts on there somewhere.” Thousands of people who already know you, and nobody has looked at the list properly in years.
- “I'm not really sure what I make on a job.” Busy every day, but no idea which work is worth the van leaving the yard.
- “If loads more work came in next month, honestly, I don't know what would happen.”
- “I'll take that work on.” Without really knowing whether you, or the team, have the capacity for it.
- “I do the admin at night.” Every night.
How the ninety minutes goes
From where you are to what's next.
Send me the real stuff
Access to your CRM if you've got one, a rough view of last month's jobs and invoices, and anything you know about where your enquiries come from. The more real numbers we have, the sharper the answers.
Built around what you need
No set script. We start by getting a clear picture of what's happening right now, and then I tailor the rest of the session around it. Usually that means what's happening in your business, how work flows through it, what's going on with the money, what your systems look like, and whether you could cope with more.
Your top three fixes, in writing
In order, in plain words, each one with a rough £ value on it: the hours it frees up, the money you're missing and what it would take to fix.
We talk again
We go through what's moved and what's stuck. Usually something already has, because once you can see it, you can't stop seeing it.
What you walk away with
Yours to keep, whatever happens next.
01
Your top three fixes
In the order I'd tackle them, each with a rough £ value, so you know which one is costing you the most.
02
Your business, mapped
One picture of how a job moves through your business, with every leak marked, so you can see it instead of just feeling it.
03
Your real week
What your week looks like now next to the week you actually want, and the hours that could come off you.
04
What to stop worrying about
The things that feel urgent but can wait, so you stop spending your evenings on them.
What it feels like after
It's out of your head and on paper.
That evening
You can see it
For the first time in a while it's all written down somewhere that isn't your head, and you know it's not you being rubbish at this. It's the way the business grew.
Two days later
It lands in your inbox
Your three fixes, in plain words, with numbers on them. You can see straight away which one is costing you most.
A week later
Something's already moved
We speak again and go through it. Most owners have already started on the first fix, because it's suddenly obvious.
What came out of one sit-down
It wasn't a sales problem. Nobody had time to pick up the phone.
A trades owner with a brilliant reputation and a busy Instagram, sitting on a few thousand enquiries in his CRM. In ninety minutes we found that almost none of this year's had ever had a phone call. When he did speak to people, they booked. Three weeks into fixing it, he was starting to get booked in advance.
£400, paid up front
- Ninety minutes on a video call, at a time that works around your jobs.
- Your top three fixes in writing within 48 hours.
- A follow-up call a week later.
- If we carry on together, we agree what that looks like afterwards, based on what we find.
It's right for you if
- The business has grown and you're still in every part of it.
- You know something's off but you can't say exactly what.
- You're about to spend money on more leads, a hire or new software, and you want to know it'll actually help first.
It's not for you if
- You're still finding your first customers.
- You'd rather not show me the real numbers. Without them I can only give you guesses.
- You want someone to tell you it's all fine.
Is it a sales call in disguise?
No. You're paying for it, so it's your ninety minutes. If there's more I think I can do, I'll tell you afterwards and you decide.
What do I need to get ready?
Not much. Access to your CRM if you've got one, a rough idea of last month's jobs and invoices, and an honest answer to my questions. I'll send you a short list when you book.
Can we do it around my jobs?
Yes. It's on a video call, so you can do it from the van, the unit or the kitchen table, early or late.
What if I don't carry on with you?
Then you've got your three fixes, with numbers on them, and you can crack on. Plenty of owners do exactly that.