John Carmichael realised that he needed to do something dramatically different if his Edinburgh-based business was to remain strong. The recession was taking its toll on the building trades, people he had known for years were hinting at closure, and news headlines offered a continuous diatribe of doom and gloom. Doing his best to fight…
Zoom Answer Call provides flexible and friendly call answering services to small and medium businesses across the UK. Having started the business from scratch, as the business grew, founder Chella Heyes found herself needing to work longer and longer hours to keep on top of things. With working days regularly stretching beyond 12 hours, she…
In this video, the managing director of The Leaflet Delivery Company Limited, a franchise based in Milton Keynes, explains how working with Lee Duncan helped him to double his business in just 11 months. Two weeks after recording this video, Trevor sold a franchise for The Leaflet Delivery Company in Bedford. Not only has he…
Nobody could be blamed now for forecasting another recession, a second dip because the whole world is just too badly screwed up by the greedy bankers and the egos of the politicians. But for most small businesses, it doesn’t feel like the first recession ever really went away. Trading is very tough and you’ve got…
One Friday evening I went to dinner with a dentist from Australia who consulted with England’s rugby union team (helping them on their way to the 2003 World Cup), a major UK holidays firm and countless dentists worldwide. I wanted to interview him for my award-winning book, “Double Your Business”. As an independent dentist working…
When Andrew Withers, the managing director of Southern Fried Chicken, agreed to appear on The Undercover Boss, I bet he had no idea just how much he would discover about his own business. Watching the programme, it was clear that his own expectations and standards were light years away from those of the franchisees’ sites…
I’m delighted to announce that work on Double Your Business is progressing well. But what can you expect from the book when it’s published? Here’s a description taken directly from the proposal agreed with my publisher, Financial Times Prentice Hall: An extraordinarily effective “how-to” manual for everybody who wants to enjoy a more successful business….
People often ask what kind of results are possible through coaching programmes working with The Double Your Business Coach. In this two and a half minute video, Paul Marsden, the managing director of Virtual Business Source Limited, explains how his sales have grown substantially in just 12 months. The business is a £1 Million turnover…
Mary Portas has been enlisted by the government to try and revitalize the high streets of the UK, according to a story on the BBC website today. Good headlines for the newspapers, but there is a limit to what a business coach can do, no matter how good they are. I thoroughly enjoy what the…
The question of how to motivate staff has vexed the owners of small businesses for years. There are three big approaches used by most: Treat your staff as friends and lean on that friendship to get things done Offer incentives to perform Use threats or punishments to induce a bit of fear (These last two…