Why Me?

Are you looking for a small business consultant (adviser/mentor/coach) who will:

  • make bold claims about what they can do for your business without having met you or knowing what you do?
  • talk about their proprietary processes that have trademarked names to make them look special?
  • spend an hour with you, then get their junior staff to do most of the work?
  • tell you what you want to hear in order to keep you as a client, not what they really think?
  • charge you a fixed hourly rate with little regard for how much value they add to your business?

If so, you’ve come to the WRONG place. (But do a quick Google search… I can guarantee you won’t have much trouble finding someone!)

So if I won’t do these things that seem to be a staple of small business advice, what can I offer?


Above anything else, I can say that you should not rely solely on a website to choose a consultant (even mine). The only way to tell whether an adviser is the right one for you is with a face to face meeting. Next, even if that meeting goes well, don’t enter into any agreement that locks you into something that you may regret later, including having to pay for services that you don’t feel have added any value. Why should you take all the risk of your consultant not performing?

Even though I have said not to believe what you read on a website, I can tell you about my personal approach to small business consulting. It will then be up to you to decide whether we should meet so I can start showing you how and why I will follow through on these promises.

My approach can be summarised with three words:

  • Trust: Trust is gained, over time, by demonstrating two things – capability and character. I will show my capability by only taking on work that I am well placed to do, and then by doing it well. I will show my character by following one simple rule – just doing the right thing (simple to say, hard for many to do).
  • Likeability: It is easier, and far more enjoyable, to work with people we like. So I believe that clients should only work with me if they like me. That doesn’t mean I will pretend to be something I am not in order to be liked by more people. It means I will be myself, and work with those who like me and not worry about those who don’t. I don’t work with more than five or six clients at any one time, so I don’t need to please everyone.
  • Caring: I care about my client’s businesses as much as they do. Test me out – call me at 11pm and see how willing I am to spend time talking about your business, then try the same thing with a couple of other consultants and compare the results. Or speak with a couple of past clients who, after working together for many months, found that my best advice became “fire me, because it’s becoming harder to find things to do for the business that add enough value to justify further fees”.

What happens if I can’t follow through on these promises? Our agreement will clearly state that if you are not totally happy with the service then you are only obliged to pay what you think is a fair for your last invoice. Why would I do that? We’ll only be working together if we share mutual trust, and I won’t ask you to trust me if I don’t trust you. (Plus, I figure if you’ve made it this far and what I’ve said appeals to you, chances are good you may be someone that can be trusted).

So, can I buy you a coffee? Contact me to arrange a meeting.



Hmmm… Trust-Likeability-Caring… T-L-C… TLCTM. Just kidding!!!