Business Consulting, step by step
We follow a clear, repeatable method. Not because we lack imagination, but because a structured approach stops us from wasting your time on tangents. Here is exactly what happens from the day you get in touch to the day we hand over.
The five stages of an engagement
Every project is different in content, but the shape stays the same. Knowing the shape up front means fewer surprises for you and cleaner work from us.
Free initial conversation
We start with a 30-minute call. You describe the situation; we ask questions. The goal is not to impress you with jargon. It is to understand what your business does, where the friction sits, and whether our skills match your problem. If they don't, we say so and, when possible, point you toward someone better suited.
There is no charge for this call, and no obligation. About one in three initial conversations leads to a formal engagement. The rest end with a handshake and sometimes a useful suggestion or two.
Diagnostic review
If we agree to work together, the first paid phase is a diagnostic. We spend two to five days inside your business, depending on its size. That means sitting with your team, reading your accounts, watching how orders flow, and listening to the complaints people have been too polite to raise with you.
At the end of the diagnostic, we produce a short written report. It is rarely longer than ten pages. The report lists what we found, ranks the issues by financial impact, and recommends which to tackle first. We present it face to face so you can push back, ask questions, and add context we may have missed.
The diagnostic fee is fixed and agreed before we begin. For a business with fewer than 20 staff, it typically runs between £1,800 and £3,500.
Project planning
Once you've decided which recommendations to pursue, we draft a project plan. It specifies deliverables, deadlines, who does what, and the total cost. We quote fixed fees for defined pieces of work and day rates for advisory time. You approve the plan before we start.
This stage usually takes about a week. We want the plan tight enough to hold us accountable, but flexible enough to absorb the unexpected. Real businesses don't pause while consultants tinker.
Implementation
This is where the work happens. Depending on the project, it might involve rebuilding your pricing model, redesigning a warehouse layout, writing job descriptions for new roles, or building a cashflow forecast in a spreadsheet your finance person can actually maintain.
We check in with you weekly, either in person or by video. Each check-in lasts about 45 minutes and follows a simple format: what we completed this week, what we'll do next week, and what decisions we need from you. No slide decks. No status reports that take longer to write than the work itself.
Most implementation projects run between six and sixteen weeks. Longer engagements are split into phases so you can pause or redirect if circumstances change.
Handover and follow-up
When the project wraps up, we hand over all working files, models, and documentation. We train whoever in your team will maintain the new systems. And then we step back.
Three months after handover, we schedule a one-hour review call at no charge. The purpose is to check whether the changes stuck, whether anything needs adjusting, and whether new issues have surfaced. About half of our clients move into an ongoing advisory arrangement after this call. The other half don't need us any more, and that's the best outcome.
What you can expect from us
Honest assessments
We will tell you if an idea won't work. We'd rather lose a fee than let you spend money on something we don't believe in. Our repeat-client rate is around 70%, and we think that honesty is a big part of why.
Plain language
Our reports use short sentences and real numbers. If a recommendation doesn't make sense to you on first reading, that's our fault, not yours. We rewrite until it's clear.
Respect for your time
We schedule meetings in advance, start on time, and finish on time. If we need information from your team, we ask once, clearly, with a deadline. We know your people have day jobs.
Confidentiality
Everything we see and hear stays between us. We never use one client's data to benefit another, and we never name clients publicly without written permission. The testimonials on our site are there because those people volunteered them.