If you’re entering the new year knowing you want more clarity, stronger momentum, or a better balance between growth and time, now is the moment to get intentional about your nest steps.

The hard work starts now - and I’m looking forward to what we build next.

Over and out until 2026.  See you on the other side.

My job isn’t to motivate you - that's your role. My job is to help you develop a plan and then mentor you through the chaos, challenge your comfort zone, and hold you to the standards required to achieve what’s possible.

If you plan on joining the 5% sometime, don’t wait for the perfect moment as this will never appear. Start now!
The next level doesn’t come to you, you go get it.

As the year draws to a close, many business owners feel the same mix of pressure and uncertainty. It’s easy to blame everything on ‘Rachel from Accounts’ but the reality is that there always has and always will be external challenges to navigate that you don’t agree with.

When your teams don’t have clear KPIs, the business impact is bigger than missed targets.
You get confusion, slow progress, repeated mistakes and a constant sense that the business is working hard but not moving forward fast enough. 
Business leaders end up filling the gaps, stepping in to solve problems and carrying far more than they should.
Being nice (giving them a fish) and being kind (tough love teaching them to fish) are very different.  The latter allows them to develop and step up AND frees you from holding their hand daily. Most business leaders know they should set KPIs, but it often doesn’t happen because…

Anyone who runs a business knows the quiet background noise that never seems to switch off.
It isn’t loud.
It isn’t dramatic.
It’s just… always there.
The ongoing list of things to think about. The decisions waiting to be made. The ideas not yet explored. The concerns you push aside during the day and remember again at night.

Every business has misalignment to some degree. It’s time to move quickly and be better aligned. 

Do you see it, fix it and feel the benefit?

“The next page is blank — what will you write on it?”

That blank page is where every leader’s story begins. It’s an invitation to define your own impossible, to confront fear with courage, and to step into the unknown with purpose.

Because the impossible isn’t conquered in one leap.  It’s achieved one choice, one challenge, one belief at a time.

Less than 5% of businesses ever hit £1M.  Not because the market’s against them, but because the owner stays stuck in "do-er mode."  

The difference between a c£200K business and a £1M business isn’t luck, it’s leadership.  Great business owners learn to step out of the chaos and build a structure that can thrive without them.

In a small business, it’s easy to focus only on the next deadline, the next challenge, or the next problem to solve. But, pausing to celebrate success can make a huge difference.

Whilst I understand that there is a need to ‘cut your cloth’ when business is tough, trimming away the wrong investments is potentially catastrophic. Downturns don’t last forever. 

SMEs that treat them as opportunities; to market smarter, build stronger teams, and plan with purpose, emerge fitter and more competitive.

When I hear a small business owner say that they don’t have a business plan, I know it's not because they don't need one - it's because something deeper is holding them back.

Business mentoring delivers measurable ROI from revenue growth to improved wellbeing, but only when clear KPIs are agreed at the outset.

Spot the red flags of PITA clients, learn how they drain your business, and see why saying no opens the door to better opportunities.

Time is the one commodity we don’t get back and we shouldn’t waste it. Here are five ways to make sure you can deliver a sales pitch with impact.

You have competition, less talented, less qualified and less experienced than you and your team, that are winning because they are just getting stuff out there!

A pause can feel like you’re stalling.  Worrying that taking time out to restructure or rethink will lose you momentum, that competitors will pull ahead, that your business is in trouble.  In reality, it’s often the opposite – trust the process.

Tired of doing it all yourself? Discover why your business can’t outgrow you and how self-leadership is the key to real freedom and team success.

When you picture a successful small business owner, you often see the trappings of success, the nice house, the car, the holidays abroad etc.  What you don’t see is the cost behind the curtain.

Promoting the wrong person can often drain your finances and morale due to lost productivity, disengaged teams and missed deadlines.  It eats up time, energy and focus you don’t have.  Does “Why can’t they just do the job I pay them to?” sound familiar?

On Wednesday, I had the privilege of speaking at the inaugural West Yorkshire Conference, run by We Are Wakefield.  I was part of an expert panel being interviewed on ‘Developing leadership skills’.