 We recently attended the Fast Growth Forum in London, an event hosted by Bloomberg. It was a fantastic event, with great speakers, networking opportunities and insight into how a number of UK businesses have grown successfully.
The event brought us speakers that are currently running successful young businesses (up to $1bn valuation!), founders who have achieved successful exits and those who have leant painful lessons too. For your benefit, we have captured some of the most informative, inspirational and helpful quotes and comments. “Always move quickly to resolve issues.” — Anthony Fletcher, CEO of Graze. “By clear on why as well as what you need people to do.” — Anthony Fletcher — CEO of Graze. “Create a pyramid of delivery (in your business) that runs down from the top.” — Peter Goodman, CEO and co-founder of HomeLyfe. “I pivoted each of my business at least twice.” — Peter Goodman, CEO and co-founder of HomeLyfe. “I worry about customer success, creating the best possible product and building my team.” — Adam Hale, CEO of Fairsail. “When looking at a candidates employment history, make sure you probe the gaps.” — Adam Hale, CEO of Fairsail. “Culture is not just beer and ping-pong.” — Rachel King, VP of People at Move Guides. “Having good values isn't enough. Enron had good values. You need to live them.” — Titus Sharp, CEO of MVF. “Alex Ferguson fired David Beckham for not living up to the values of the team.” — Titus Sharp, CEO of MVF. “To scale, you must delegate, hire strong commercial people, set goals and step back.” — Alicia Navarro — CEO of Skimlinks. “Go niche and go narrow.” — Gareth Knight, former CEO of Wedo. “It’s hard to compete with businesses that are willing to lose more than you.” — Gareth Knight, former CEO of Wedo. “Try to own as much of the supply chain as possible.” — Gareth Knight, former CEO of Wedo. “Leave nothing on the table.” — Gareth Knight, former CEO of Wedo. “Your business needs one version of the truth.” — Shane Corstorphine, CFO of Skyscanner. “Make information and data so very easy to consume and understand.” — Shane Corstorphine — CFO of Skyscanner. “Be diligent with regard to the investors that you bring on board.” — Roy Tuvey, founder of ScanSafe. “Understand the levers for accelerated growth.” — Roy Tuvey, founder of ScanSafe. “Don’t just focus on growth. Customer experience is vital too.” — Rahul Parekh, CEO at EatFirst. “We can scale and price competitively because we own almost all of the value chain.” — Rahul Parekh, CEO of EatFirst. “Always assume best intentions over email and be quick to pick up the ‘phone and make a call.” — Lior Shiff, co-founder of Product Madness. “Focus! Don’t chase every opportunity; figure out your strategy and nail it.” Lior Shiff, co-founder of Product Madness. Dunwiley offers business advice, coaching and strategy consulting to startups and small businesses. If you want to know how to grow your business, how to be more profitable or need another perspective, get in touch. We're based in Salisbury, Wiltshire but work in London, Hampshire and surrounding counties. Drop us an email and say hello: we can be found at info@dunwiley.co.uk
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 Perhaps one of the most common phrases we hear in the startup community of that of ‘growth hacking’. The advice to ‘growth hack’ is often dished out to early stage businesses, usually at the same time as they’re being told to ‘make sure you go viral’.
What is growth hacking, and should we be taking the phrase seriously? Does it have any relevant of place in the business plans of startup businesses? Under most circumstances, growth hacking is a very broad term that refers to going about marketing activities in a smart but unconventional way that catapults growth in certain metrics. Perhaps taking a readily available resource and utilizing it in a slightly different application to your own advantage. A lot of people think of growth hacking as the opposite of conventional advertising and focused on inbound / content marketing, social media and SEO. I’m cool with most of that. The ability to be smart, resourceful and innovative in how you go about building your business is a great ability to have, and it’s a mindset worth striving for. Thinking in terms of capitalizing on every opportunity and creating and exploiting resources to your advantage. Great. Where I think it all comes unstuck is in the area of application or objective. What do I mean? 1- As advice. I often see startups reaching out for advice and guidance on growth (as that’s what they’re all after, right?) and I see them being told in return to ‘make sure that you growth hack’ or ‘think about how you will hack your growth in the next stage’. What does this even mean? How do I growth hack? What is growth hacking? How do I do it in a way that is specific to my business? 2- Vanity metrics. The other issue with the whole concept is that it’s departed so far away from sound business objectives that it’s no longer credible. We have entered an age where we’re far more interested in Facebook likes, Twitter followers, social reach, website hits and user numbers. Now I know those metrics can be important, depending on objectives and the stage of the business, but they’re not everything. What happened to revenue and profitability? 3- It’s just marketing. Sadly, growth hacking isn't a particular technique or skill set that can be properly defined or learned. It’s just common sense, innovative thinking and…marketing. Activities such as using SEO, A/B testing and optimizing for user acquisition aren't growth hacking, and they’re certainly not new concepts. So, stop putting growth hacking in your business plan as a route to exponential growth. It’s meaningless. Focus on understanding your customers, building a great product, converting more leads to clients and delivering something awesome. And finally, this all comes with one caveat. The website www.growthhackers.com is absolutely fantastic. Not because they’re drinking the kool-aid, but because the site is chock-full of smart marketing advice and stories of success / failure. They've built one of the best resources around for anybody interested in online marketing and growth, so go and check it out. It’s not growth hacking…that’s just what they've called their site! Dunwiley offers business advice, coaching and strategy consulting to startups and small businesses. If you want to know how to grow your business, how to be more profitable or need another perspective, get in touch. We're based in Salisbury, Wiltshire but work in London, Hampshire and surrounding counties. Drop us an email and say hello: we can be found at info@dunwiley.co.uk  We all know that so much of business comes down to ‘people’ and relationships, both inside and outside of your organisation. Some of the best business advice comes in the form of networking tips and advice.
We also know that building relationships is an incredibly important mechanism for growing your business and succeeding in your chosen field. So why is it that when it comes to networking, it all becomes so disastrous? We know that relationships are most often dependent (and built upon) establishing trust and a value exchange, right? My business partner used to work for a large accounting practice and private bank; one of the largest in the UK. She recounts a time where, at a networking event, the owner of a web design company pitched his business undertaking the redesign of the website of her employer. Mistakes in the above scenario? Firstly, he was talking to an accountant, not the IT Director. He hadn't taken the time to find out. Second, they already employ an in-house IT team larger than his entire company. Third, he was offering no value to this specific relationship. So here are some thoughts on how to be much, much better networker than this guy. 1- Ask and listen. Focus on the person that you’re talking to. Ask them about their business, their background and the challenges that they face. Give them time to talk and open up. Ask follow-up questions and be genuinely interested. It’s all about them, not about you. 2- Please don’t pitch. This is likely the first time you have met the person you’re talking to, so don’t ruin everything by trying to sell something to them. Just be human and make a personal connection. Your objective is never to secure a deal from the get-go; your objective is to make a contact which can develop over time into a relationship. 3- Bring some business cards, but don’t blast them everywhere. If you do spend some time talking to somebody and feel like there is potential for a mutually beneficial relationship to be developed, offer a business card. Don’t wander around thrusting them into the hands of any takers like a potentially misguided religious zealot on a cold Saturday morning in the town centre. 4- Relax. I’ve been to too many events where panicked-looking men in hastily donned suits sweat all over the place while trying to convince total strangers that they really should part with some hard-earned cash. Don’t be this guy. Relax, take your time and focus on being you. No pressure. 5- Follow-up and offer something of value. Post-event, feel free to send a follow-up email to those that you connected with best. Just comment that it was great to meet, if you can, offer some suggestions or thoughts on the discussion that you had. It’s important to be delivering value to your new connection, and showing that you do genuinely care about their success. If you feel it would be worthwhile, offer to meet at a later date to discuss over a coffee or a beer. In a nutshell: keep it relaxed and personal, make sure you add value and take your time. Go out there and start talking! Dunwiley offers business advice, coaching and strategy consulting to startups and small businesses. If you want to know how to grow your business, how to be more profitable or need another perspective, get in touch. We're based in Salisbury, Wiltshire but work in London, Hampshire and surrounding counties. Drop us an email and say hello: we can be found at info@dunwiley.co.uk  A lovely little take-away coffee shop opened in our city a few months ago. I've been watching them closely since day one, spending some time talking to their staff and drinking the coffee too. It’s great.
That said, they've commented that they’re not selling as many coffees as they would like; it’s not just my assumption. Have they worked out why, however? Let’s take a look. What they've got right. 1- The coffee. It really is great coffee. They offer a perfect range of cappuccinos, lattes and americanos, all handmade from freshly ground beans of the highest quality. The team seem to put a lot of effort into researching and sourcing great coffee beans, regularly offering different guest roasts for their customers to try. There are no short-cuts here, and by all accounts it’s a coffee-lovers dream. 2- The people. The staff are really enthusiastic about coffee, and equally knowledgeable. They’re friendly and welcoming, keen to engage and can talk at great length about anything from bean harvesting to grinding techniques. They’re true coffee devotees, with the added benefits of being warm and welcoming (I'm talking about the staff, but the coffee is too). Really great people. 3- The branding. I really like their branding. It’s subtle, with a focus on being organic, fresh and…boutique, all at once. It’s clear that they’re ‘into’ coffee and their branding positions them nicely away from any tiny little family affairs that sells scones baked last week by the owners mother. The name, colours, design, font and presentation are all very good. Better than any other coffee shop in town, perhaps with the obvious exception of Starbucks, who likely employ small armies to work on branding. 4- Pricing. If you’re used to paying high-street prices for a cup of coffee, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that Coffee Shop A (I’ve decided to appoint them a name for the purposes of this article) manages to price just under or equal to what you’re used to. Small batches of fresh coffee for the same price as a large franchise? You got it. 5- Rewards program. Coffee Shop A runs a nice little rewards program that offers you your 10th drink free. Sure, it’s not the most generous offer in the world, but that’s not the point. It’s a great touch, it shows that they put a value on repeat business (and you as a customer) and they’re keen to offer it to you when you first drop in to buy a drink. What they've got wrong. 1- The location. As it’s a coffee shop and not an online retailer or a business offering a digital product, they need space. Now they do have space (for take-out), and what space they have is designed well. However, it’s their location that’s killing them. They’re at the back of a small industrial estate on the edge of the city. They’re surrounded by mechanics, small (manual labour) businesses, building contractors and car dealerships. The footfall is minimal. Nobody goes to that industrial estate unless they’re on business and travelling by car. In a city so heavily visited by tourists (with has enormous benefit to the centrally located catering businesses), I find it very unlikely indeed any of them would ever find their way to their location. That assumption seems to be holding true. But, footfall isn't everything with coffee shops… 2- The market research. The owners of Coffee Shop A knew that they wouldn't get many visitors or tourists buying their coffee. Perhaps they hoped for a few more than they've had, but they knew it wouldn't be where the most business came from. They were banking, quite literally, on the businesses around them. But it’s not happening. They’re not coming. Why not? Well, it’s obvious when you think about it. Coffee Shop A just can’t compete with the free coffee in the canteen rooms of the businesses that surround them. Their coffee is so much better, but the local businesses (who aren't even trying to compete) are destroying them when it comes to both price and convenience. If I work in one of those businesses and can get a coffee for free just down the corridor (and share a brew with my colleagues), why would I choose to pay for one that is a few minutes walk away? Only a die-hard coffee enthusiast would do it, and there just aren't enough of them to make business viable. This isn't NYC, the people per sq. ft. ratio is much, much lower. Where do you go from here? 1- Think about changing your business model. Here are a few ideas. I’d want to research them properly before embarking upon any of them, but it’s a very valuable thought exercise to assess other opportunities. Perhaps one can build a business (or a strong subset of a business) by selling coffee beans or ground coffee instead? Build a strong brand as a coffee company rather than a coffee shop, and consider whether you can prosper by shipping coffee to coffee shops and enthusiasts around the country. What about offering to supply the coffee to the local businesses who offer it free to their staff? You might be more slightly more expensive than the bulk coffee they likely buy, but if the businesses may be open to offering a premium coffee to their staff or even to their own customers. 2- Try some new sales techniques. What about offering referral discounts? Every time one of your customers brings or sends a friend, they get one coffee closer to their free 10th drink? Could you place an emphasis on the social aspect of drinking by offering discounts for when 2 or more coffees are bought together? What else can you sell? What can you offer those around you that isn't available for free in the immediate proximity? Snacks? Toasted cheese sandwiches? Do some research! 3- Move location. I am hesitant to list this purely because it may be prohibitively expensive for such a young startup. You’ll lose revenue during the switch, you’ll pay for the move and you’ll likely have a vastly increased monthly rental in a space that has higher footfall. None of this works well for a small business. But if all else fails, and you’re committed to seeing this though, you can’t rule it out. It’s essential that you set some targets for experimentation, set some goals that are time bound and then go for it. Be decisive. If you’re going to change, do it. If you’re going to move, move. Don’t just sit tight and slowly die. An interesting point to note with regard to coffee shops in general is that they’re not normally utterly dependant on high footfall. Coffee has become much more of an occasion or a destination than an impulse purchase, so traffic certainly isn't everything and offering very high coffee can be a more decisive factor for growth. That being said, when a business is tucked out of sight in a small city, surrounded by potential customers who receive a similar (and clearly satisfactory) product in unlimited amounts, everyday, for free, you’re in trouble. A second point of interest is that it would be really easy to point a finger and be critical. Don’t. Put your efforts into offering help and support instead. It’s extremely difficult to get everything right in your business all the time, and it’s often really useful to hear outside opinions and perspectives. Dunwiley offers business advice, coaching and strategy consulting to startups and small businesses. If you want to know how to grow your business, how to be more profitable or need another perspective, get in touch. We're based in Salisbury, Wiltshire but work in London, Hampshire and surrounding counties. Drop us an email and say hello: we can be found at info@dunwiley.co.uk  Many startups fail. Nobody argues about that. But do we look at why they fail, and how we can learn from them, rather than reassuring ourselves that we’re somehow different?
These are some of the pitfalls to avoid on the route to startup success. Delivering on each of these doesn't be any means guarantee success, but it does reduce the likelihood of failure. 1- You lack persistence. Stop giving up so easily. The 21st Century is one of instant gratification, yet building a startup takes time and effort. Keep creating content. Keep reaching out to existing and potential customers. Keep reviewing progress and adapting accordingly. It doesn't happen overnight. 2- You can’t stand out from the noise. You need to be able to acquire and retain customers, and to do this you need to be found. It’s not good enough to have a great value proposition if nobody reads it. Get your marketing right, then aim for more (of the right)traffic, better conversion ratios and lower churn. There are thousands of startups and small businesses out there, and you need to think about how you will be distinctly better. 3- You’re trying to please everyone. Too many startups try to be ‘all things to all men’. Don’t do this; find a niche, understand their needs and pain points and then build the MVP to secure them as customers. Constantly changing, modifying and adding custom features to your product can be extremely time-consuming and ultimately damage your user experience. 4- You don’t take outside advice. Leading a small business or startup can be an isolating, lonely experience. With this comes the very real risk that you lose perspective and can no longer make objective decisions for the overall good of the business. Much like larger companies, funded startups often establish a board. If you don’t have a board, don’t panic. Approach a number of individuals that you trust and respect and use them as your reference points for large decisions and issues that you’re struggling with. It goes without saying that those individuals need to have a both a respectable level of experience and a willingness to help you. 5- You've not understood the needs of the market. Validation. Have you validated your idea? If not, you run a very much heightened risk of embarking on an expensive journey to nowhere. How many potential customers are there? What problem are you solving for them? How big is their pain point? How will you reach them? Have you talked to potential customers? How many? Will. People. Pay. You. For. This? 6- You’re all about the idea, but not the execution. Ideas are fun; they take your brain on journeys of discovery and provide you with a euphoric sense of genius. But ideas are also worthless. Worthless without the ability to execute. You need not only a concrete plan, but the ability to execute on it. Oh, and also the ability to be flexible and agile when that plan needs to change. Your idea is probably nowhere nearly as good as you think it is either. Sorry. 7- You have the wrong people on the team. Smart investors pay huge attention to team composition. Backing an incredibly intelligent team with a good idea but weak leaderships skills often doesn't end well. Your team needs to be made up of individuals who are smart, committed, flexible, customer-focussed, believe in the business vision and are willing to admit when they have got it wrong. 8- You’re running out of cash. Oh yes. The big one. Running out of money, whether your own or somebody else’s, is one of the biggest killers. To avoid this, plan your finances with more detail and honesty than you think necessary. In terms of expenditure, capture it all. The rent, the equipment, the tea and coffee, your insurance, the buffer for unexpected expenses. Don’t cut corners in predicting your spend, and you’ll not be surprised later down the line. Give the same level of attention to your revenue, and make sure you understand it all. Where is it coming from? How much of it is there? How secure is it? When will it arrive? Plan out your income and expenditure for at least 18 months, and track it accurately. Sure, forecasting is always guesswork to some extent, but you need to start with a baseline somewhere. So, there you go. At first glance, this looks line a large list of things to avoid. Sounds negative, doesn’t it? Don’t think of it that way. This is an opportunity. Assess your business and make the necessary changes to increase your chances of longer terms success. For more business advice, perspective or if you fancy a chat...get in touch! Dunwiley offers business advice, coaching and strategy consulting to startups and small businesses. If you want to know how to grow your business, how to be more profitable or need another perspective, get in touch. We're based in Salisbury, Wiltshire but work in London, Hampshire and surrounding counties. Drop us an email and say hello: we can be found at info@dunwiley.co.uk As you start the New Year, it’s worth thinking about how you can achieve more every day. Your business likely relies heavily on you, so it makes sense to optimise your time as best you can. Here are some quick tips for getting more out of each day, and making sure you’re spending time growing your business (or doing other useful things — you know what they are). 1 - To-do lists It sounds so obvious, but starting each day with a list of objectives and priorities is a great way to go. While your mind is (relatively) clear and fresh in the morning, spend some time mapping out our goals for the day. Mark them off as you complete them. 2 - Delegate Try to make sure that work is being carried out by the best person in the organisation. ‘Best’ doesn't just mean ‘available’, either. Don’t hesitate to offload work to others who can accomplish it better than you. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you need to do everything. Trust others. After all, a large part of being a leader is hiring great people and then making sure you don’t get in their way.  3 - Stand-up meetings
Perhaps this technique is overused, over-quoted and now utterly cliché, but the spirit remains absolutely true. Limiting meetings to no more than 30 minutes or holding them as ‘standing’ meetings can save a lot of time. Don’t get caught in the trap of wasting hours each week holding meetings that could be equally effective in half the time. 4 - Be ready to say no. As the leader of a small business or startup, you’ll feel like you’re responsible for everything. In some ways you are, but don’t let that stop you from saying no. Sometimes you just can’t do everything for everybody, all of the time. That’s OK. Learn to decline, delegate or refuse. 5 - Stop looking at your smartphone! Apple et al. have done a wonderful job of bringing innovation and capability to our pockets. In theory, they bring immense productivity too. Sadly, it’s all too easy to flick through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and a news page or two, and 30 minutes have evaporated before your eyes. Work hard to put your phone away. Ban it for a few hours at a time, unless it rings. That’s OK. 6 - Ration email Similar to the comment about smartphones, email can also be an enormous time-eater. In fact, for many people email is one of the largest drains on their productivity. The solution is simple. Ignore your emails between certain hours. Be pragmatic about it, but don’t feel you have to slavishly check, recheck and respond every 10 minutes. If anyone really needs you, they’ll likely call you. Intra-office email has almost wiped out the tried and tested medium of…conversation with your staff and co-workers. Try it. It’s amazingly efficient. If you’re responsible for running a small business, you need to be able to fulfil a number of different roles. Here are our thoughts on which ones are the most important. 1 – Salesperson Once of the biggest skills that a CEO / founder / MD needs to have is the ability to sell. You need to believe in your product or service and convince others to do so too. Persuasion, empathy and the ability to close a deal are absolutely critical. Without sales, you don’t really have a business. If you’re not a people person, get working on that. Now. 2 – Recruiter People are one of the most valuable parts of any business, and as a leader, you’ll be responsible for building a team. You need to understand the business needs, be self-aware, be a good judge of character and able to use your persuasion to get great talent onboard. Without people, you don’t really have a business. If you’re not a people person, get working on that. Now. Familiar line? 3 – Mentor Working in a small business or start-up is often a real challenge, and your team need somebody to talk to. Often, that’s you. Not because you want it to be, but because there isn’t anyone else. Get good at listening. Offer practical advice. Deliver on the changes you promise.  4 – Fire-fighter in-chief
Every business has issues, bad days and problems customers. In a startup or SME, those problems nearly always flow ‘upwards’ very quickly. To you. Get good at understanding problems, looking at them in the context of the big picture and making sure you respond appropriately. Don’t run away from issues – they have a habit of coming back to find you later on. 5 – Customer champion As CEO, you’ll know that understanding and responding to your customer needs is critical. Get to know your customers intimately and make sure you can provide that input to the rest of the organization. But really, go out and talk to them. Have a coffee. Really understand them. 6 – Strategist It’s extremely easy to become distracted by the low-level buzz of activity in your business. That stuff is important, but you must take the time to step away and survey the overall landscape of your business. Don’t allow tactical busyness to detract from you setting the direction and vision for the organization. It’ll kill you. How well do you fulfil these, and what areas do you need to work on to see your business grow in 2016. If you're not sure, reach out to our team for a chat! We often see business owners engaged in lengthy battles in an attempt to grow their business and find the success that they have been chasing for so long. On many occasions, managers and owners resort to driving their team harder and pushing their products or services on to potential customers. Sadly, they entirely forget the importance of creating and maintaining relationships. Relationships are perhaps the single most important aspect of business. If your relationship with customer, leads and employees deterioratess significantly (or doesn’t exist in the first place), you barely have a business. We have put together some quick tips for building better business relationships and seeing your business prosper as a result. Remember: play the long-game! 1. Think about what you can give away. Stop thinking about what you can get from each interaction you have, and start thinking about what you can give. Giving something of value is an incredibly powerful way of building trust, and trust is absolutely critical to relationships. How can you go out of your way to deliver even greater value to your leads, customers and staff?  2. Focus on benefits, not products or services. Advertisers, marketing managers and salespeople often erroneously focus on describing their offering to leads, rather than thinking about the benefit to the end customer. What advantage will they have once they have worked with you? How will you help them?
3. Think about your customers’ problems. We all have problems of our own in business, but to truly grow and succeed, we must place ourselves in the shoes of our customer. Do you understand their issues, what’s caused them, they impact they have and how they ought to be addressed? If not, you really need to. This is key to building a good relationship. 4. Listen. This applies as much to your interactions with staff as it does to potential clients and existing customers. Listing is an extremely powerful tool for building trust, fostering good relationships and understanding your clients’ real needs, spoken or unspoken. Make a positive decision to listen more, and try to catch yourself when you talk too much. It all sounds very altruistic, but in reality a “giving” approach to business actually makes for very real success. Being willing to invest your time and energy into solving client needs will ultimately pay dividends in the form of better relationships and more work for your business. Give it a try! As a lot of people head back to work following a break for seasonal festivities, here are a few quotes from some of the entrepreneurs and business leaders that inspire us the most. We have personally benefited from reading, listening to or watching each of these individuals in action, and we hope that they can help you to become a better version of yourself in 2016. 1. Live within your means. "The more you stress over bills, the more difficult it is to focus on your goals; the cheaper you can live, the greater your options." - Mark Cuban, billionaire investor. 2. Do something that you’re passionate about. “Look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, what do I want to do every day for the rest of my life…do that.” – Gary Vaynerchuk, entrepreneur.  3. Do hard things.
“What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.” – Tim Ferris, author and investor. 4. Plan ahead. “Luck is created by the prepared.” – James Altucher, author and investor. 5. Stay confident. "I am too busy for insecurities, it's just a distraction. If I have any, I have ignored them for so long they have gone away." – Casey Neistat, YouTuber. 6. Be realistic about who you are today. “If you're brilliant and undiscovered and underappreciated then you're being too generous about your definition of brilliant.” – Seth Godin, marketing guru. 7. Don’t hold back. "Brilliant thinking is rare, but courage is in even shorter supply than genius." – Peter Theil, investor and founder of PayPal. 8. It’s all about hard work. “Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard.” – Guy Kawasaki, author and marketing expert. So there is definitely a theme here. A large portion of the advice from business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors is to work hard and work on something that you're passionate about. Feel free to comment with any other inspirational business quotes, or thoughts on the above. |
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