Is This For Me?
Frequently Asked Questions
I don't like corporate jargon and 'strategy' and don't need it for my size of business
If you have a successful business you already strategise. You already use corporate tools and techniques. You just may not call them by corporate words or categorise them.
They just come naturally from your intuition and they often aren't written down in a formal way.
If you want to grow it doesn't matter what you call these tools or theories - without them the business will always rely on your intuition, your time and your own decisions. If they're not written down or formalised no one else can drive them forward and the business is held back.
No matter how good you are there just isn't enough of you to go round and when you stop or slow down so does the business.
Don't let the stereotyping of corporate wording hold you back from taking your business to the next level.
I already know what I need to do but just don't get the time. Why should I spend money for you to tell me if I don't have any time?
Perfect. If this is you, we can make significant progress in a small amount of time.
If lack of time is all that is preventing your growth, our plans save you that time by documenting the parts you haven't yet done, making it easy to get your message out to the outside world and internal teams but without having to rely on your own time.
They then create long term solutions for you to make more and more time year on year to actually implement your vision and ideas.
Unlike other consultancy options we aren't there to simply tell you what is wrong or what to do. We are there to implement, execute and actually create that time for you.
It is never really a question of whether you 'can' do these jobs yourself, only whether you 'should'.
Spending time to save money becomes an interesting theory when you consider your time is limited and fixed and your money is variable and limited only by your progress.
If you believe time is your only issue these plans are made for you and will be an investment well worth making.
Are these plans suited to my business?
Whatever size of business and whatever industry or sector you operate within, our plans have been carefully designed to ensure they can be fully effective for everyone.
Take a look at our 'Is This For Me?' page to check if any of the common scenarios listed sound like you and how we may be able to help.
Will it improve my sales/ profits?
Of course. Most businesses aim for more sales and/or increased profitability and we will ensure both areas are addressed in the plan.
Importantly, these will be addressed in line with the other areas of your business to deliver progress that is right for you, over the longer term and in a recurring manner, consistent with the values established.
This ensures sustainable sales and profits and allows plans for real growth rather than ad hoc short term improvements.
Why will it benefit me?
Whilst our plans have many benefits, some of the most common can be increased sales/ profits, obtaining a competitive advantage, reducing owners time in the day to day running allowing them to focus on growth and strategy, reducing stress and overwhelm, increased motivation, cost savings on processes, reduced spend on other professional services and making gains by operating the business as a whole rather than individual areas.
Take a look at our What Are The Benefits section to see more.
It's too expensive for me - can you help me for free?
Definitely.
It is essential our clients get complete value for money and our services are in line with their expectations. We only want you to pay when you know it will be more than worth the price.
If you consider our fee too expensive, we have loads of templates, advice, updates and options by signing in for free to become a visitor. These will help you determine the services you need, how to assess their cost and value and make progress yourself.
Whilst there is no cost for our services with this option - the only cost will be your time and the opportunities you may be missing by working on more important and higher level work.
I want it but cant afford it.
What should I do?
This is a huge issue with many companies. Finding money to allocate to any service can be worrying and it is imperative it delivers back on its return. If you love our services and know they could help you but don't feel you are ready yet, sign up as a visitor and let us help you get to a position where you can afford it.
Although, often we find many owners think they can't afford our plans but sometimes that isn't the reality. Think about how easily you may spend money on a new logo, or advert or website. Unless there is everything in place to maximise that spend, it is usually wasted money. What is a website without visitors?
If you can afford those, you can definitely afford a plan to help you focus that spend to its maximum effect.
Why do I need to spend valuable time and money on just planning?
You already do. The likelihood is you just don't record it or quantify it as it's not being paid out to an external provider.
Often the real cost is not about the actual time or money spent on the 'planning' but the inevitable amount of wasted time and money that is lost in its absence and the opportunities that are missed without it.
Planning is not there to 'save' your business or help it 'exist', it's is there to deliver progress for those serious about achieving their vision and doing it without delay.
The more important decision is whether you can afford not to do it.
WHY ASSIST?
Frequently Asked Questions
I see lots of consultants' and coaches' services - what makes you different?
Sometimes not a lot! There are many excellent companies that offer services that can deliver growth and progress in your business and will often cover similar parts to Assist.
What is important is whether we are right for YOU. This is where it is important just to start the ball rolling with a chat for any service you are interested in and firstly decide whether you feel we can deliver what your business needs, in a style suited to you.
Our plans are very focused and all encompassing and will be suited to those that identify with the issues we have raised on this site. We trust in our knowledge, passion and experience to deliver and where we don't feel we are a match we will always be honest and help you find a solution that is.
How do you deliver on so many areas and not specialise in any?
Jack of all trades, master of none can often be used in a derogatory way. However, at Assist that is exactly what we are and we couldn't be prouder of it. We make it our work to know as much as possible about every area, but only in so much detail as is required to get you to the next stage. Add to this our expert partners being on hand to provide the detail to back up the headlines, should it be required, this is the most cost effective solution to move forward.
Often we will save you costs by ensuring you are in the best position to engage more detailed trades and services following on from our plans and really make the most of those services.
The compere to the comedians.
The GP/ doctor to the specialists.
The broker to the service provider.
All have their place and to work effectively in conjunction must all know when to be used in the right places at the right time and for their specific purpose. This is a big responsibility for owners and requires them to dedicate huge amounts of time and resource to just deciding.
Ensuring we only deliver this specific service rather than extending to general ongoing consultancy or other services that we could delve into, we make it our business to be the best 'jack of all trades' there is.
We are completely specific about not being specific.
Do you only work with struggling/ failing businesses?
Completely the opposite. Whilst we have an insolvency background and still operate a seperate consultancy for those companies in difficulty, our plans are only for owners that have already achieved a growing, solid and stable business and are not looking for turnaround and recovery but rather they are excited by their potential for growth, succession and fast paced progress.
If your business is facing challenge or is showing signs of distress please visit www.assistbc.com to ensure you get the right information on all the options that are available to you.
I already have advisors - do I need to change/ stop using them?
Certainly not. We love working in conjunction with other advisors and often will combine to give even greater gains than we would individually.
If you have trusted partners helping your business, they will make the progress with our plans smooth and far reaching.
Will I still need other advisors?
Mostly yes. Our services are not designed to replace the need for long term advice or detailed plans. We work with you to create the margins and confidence to engage in those more permanent solutions for the business going forward.
A key part to our report is the roadmap for the future where we can prioritise spending to accomodate all the various services you may require but at a time and cost that works for you.
The benefit of our services being fixed in duration means that unlike other more common consultancy options, once our costs has ceased, that budget can now be spent on another service to take you further, rather than being in addition to it.
Are you qualified?
Yes. But actually we believe that is not necessarily a true determiner of our ability. Qualifications are important and give credibility but some of the best services come from those with no qualifications - just intuition, dedicated skill, hard work, passion and experience.
Our owner is a qualified accountant and licenced insolvency practitioner.
Our delivery consultants are qualified coaches and accountants.
Our partners are all qualified where necessary and appropriate.
Whilst we are extremely proud of our qualifications, we are confident it is the skills outside of those qualifications that set us apart.
THE PLANS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I only want to work on certain areas not a whole plan - can you still help?
Definitely.
But the time and cost for the plans remain the same.
If only certain areas of your business need attention then we can specifically focus on these and spend longer diving deeper into recommendations and advice in these areas.
Crucially we will still ensure that this is in line with the business as a whole business and that the progress in those specific areas doesn't compromise or hinder any other parts of the business.
Only a business that moves forward as a whole will make the biggest gains and that is why we are there.
Why is the price the same for a one man company and a large corporate?
Varying sizes receive varying advantages. For smaller companies and one man bands, there will be less detail to assess, less factors to consider and less issues to resolve and this will allow them the benefit of really utilising the 90 days to their maximum. We are able to do much deeper dives and give more specific and detailed assistance in areas of need.
Larger companies will not get the benefit of this more specific support but will take advantage of a large amount of information and considerations being taken into account and to make fast consistent progress across the board.
We pride ourselves on delivering maximum value for every client and tailoring the plans to ensure you always get what you pay for no matter what the size.
Is it confidential?
Absolutely.
Our experience with distressed companies has resulted in an automatic and unwavering ethos of integrity, honesty and professionalism. Confidentiality and discretion remain at the forefront of those principles.
This is something we take extremely seriously and value the trust you place in us when confiding about you and your business.
Do you offer general consultancy on an hourly rate or retainer basis?
Not anymore. This was a deliberate decision to ensure our services were never compromised or conflicted and that there is always a real incentive to deliver every day on every job.
The lack of retainer fees also ensures as we grow we never become complacent and treat every client with the same level of attention and service.
Whilst this was our personal choice for the best delivery, we do work with many excellent consultants that do and we can certainly help you find the right one for you should this be the best option for your business.
I see you mention pyschology and profiling - are you qualified?
Absolutely not.
That is a subject so vast and important we leave that to our expert partners.
What we do offer is a complimentary analysis, to work alongside the other areas of the plans that has been specifically tailored to business owners.
This part of the programme has been prepared by fully qualified coaches and profilers with this sole purpose in mind and enables us to deliver the benefits without rigid formal assessments.
It is no different to taking a personality assessment online where the main advantage only comes in the application rather than the generic results it produces.
What am I getting for my money?
It is almost impossible to list all of the benefits and items you are receiving with one of our plans. When compared to the elements you may need to pay for individually including, business forecasts and planning, profiling and assessments, analysis and improved process efficiencies, team culture improvement reports, mentoring and coaching meets, ideas and vision implementation and more, our plans represent excellent value for money.
However, broadly there are two categories most owners will find themselves in;
For those that already have a strong vision and set up, but little time to take things further they will finally have a fully documented and mapped business that not only creates focus and drive for themselves but allows their time to be freed up and their vision to articulated to others with clarity and speed. In this scenario owners are predominantly paying for us to actually 'do' the doing and 'implement' during the plan, speeding up their progress.
For those that are unsure of where to start, how to focus and organise their ideas and plans and are looking for strategic input, they will benefit more from the high level advice, ideas and strategies that will take their business to the next level.
What do I need before/ to do beforehand?
Absolutely nothing. No really.
We would prefer to start exactly where you are.
The quicker we can get to grips with exactly what issues you may face and the strengths and weaknesses that exist and the more real and honest the starting position is, the more benefit you will get from our services. Afterall, you are paying us to do the work so why begin without us.
It's similar to cleaning before the cleaner comes. How many people pay a cleaner, only to spend the whole day before they come tidying the house.
Leave the dusting and mopping to us whilst you get on with the things that are more important in your day.