Getting down to business by Doug D’Aubrey and Matthew Chuck

We’re delighted to announce that our book, Getting down to business – a practical, no-nonsense guide to growing your small business – is all set to hit the shops in September.

We’ve brought a wealth of experience from some 25 years of helping clients reach their business goals to the book, with proven guidelines for how to not only survive but excel in a chosen business field.

Book - Getting down to businessYou can pre-order a copy for the special price of £9.99 from our website.

Starting a business in a recession is a popular thing to do, whether through need or want. When times are tough, small firms can identify niche opportunities in a market and move quickly to fill them. Help available includes that from industry bodies, government assistance programmes with loans available and using technology to innovate, raise finance and find new customers.

Now help is also available from our book, with information on everything needed for the small business owner – from managing finances to marketing and everything in between.

Getting down to business also includes chapters on getting started, setting goals, sales, marketing, finance, IT and managing yourself.

Published by Sue Richardson Associates, due out in September 2013, the book can be pre-ordered through the ETC website  for an early bird offer of £9.99.

It will be available in printed, e-reader and smart phone compatible format. Dogger

Your business too small to hire a Business Coach? Think again…

As I hope that you’ll be well aware by now, we have recently launched Velocity – a new programme specifically with micro businesses and sole traders in mind.

It’s been an exciting time for us so we’ve not been shy about telling everyone!  Now that we’re finally able to properly launch our new blog, (quite excited about that too), I thought that it was the perfect opportunity to explain a bit about why we’re so thrilled with our new programme, and what motivated us to create it.

From time to time, we would meet with micro business owners who really wanted us to help them boost their business, but who just weren’t ready or able to commit to a long term growth plan at the time when we first met. We’ve always prided ourselves on our flexibility, and on tailoring our service to meet our clients’ needs, so we had a good think about what we could do for them.

Velocity was born…

As it turned out, these clients became our willing Guinea pigs for Velocity. Our approach was to start with a couple of half day sessions working intensively with the business owner so that we could get a solid understanding of where the business was at. This was enough for us to identify some key things that could be done to improve their profits right away, and get an action plan together. Afterwards, we followed up with the clients each month by telephone or Skype to make sure that the plan was being followed and that everything was going smoothly.

With this follow up, and the reassurance of us being on hand to give advice by phone at any time, one of our Guinea pigs actually found herself too busy with increased business to continue with us, only four months down the line, and put the programme on hold for a whole year before she felt like she needed our support again.

Tough making a living doing what you love?

Another client was trying to make a living from his hobby, but was struggling to turn the thing that he loved to do into a profitable occupation. We tried the same approach with him, and after twelve months of support on Velocity he feels that he has become a true business man and is employing his first staff.

This is what we love about Velocity – it has given us the opportunity to help more individuals who were struggling but desperate to make a living from the work they were passionate about doing. The best part is seeing their pride in themselves when they finally get to achieve their goals, once we’ve had the chance to teach them the right attitude and approach to do it.

Now we’re excited about the next people we can help with our splendid new programme!

To find out how Velocity could work for you, e-mail Doug@exec-tc.com

Testimonial from a Velocity client:

I called Doug for a free consultation, and, if I am honest, I didn’t expect to like him. I was expecting someone pushy who would give me the hard sell. When Doug turned up, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Doug listened, and understood where I was coming from. The morning flew by, and before long I had a big ‘to do’ list.  I had found the something I needed, and just knowing I was doing something pro-active made me feel much better. […] I have not only gained a business coach, but a good friend, and he has more than paid for himself. I would thoroughly encourage anyone who is struggling to invest in some support”.

 Mel Riley

Psychotherapist in Private Practice