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Welcome to the second of my ‘day in the life’ blogs where I share behind-the-scenes insights on client relationships and how my business operates. Today I am sharing my experience of working in the capacity of Operations Consultant, and how that has benefitted one specific client with amazing results.
If you want to catch up with the first case study, you can read it here.
It’s important to start by saying that consulting is very different to coaching. People will often get the two confused, and for good reason really as they can be somewhat connected. Coaches help people to set goals and work with them to remove barriers, be that limiting self-beliefs, mindset blocks or practical obstacles, so they can achieve those goals. Often my clients will be working closely with a coach at the same time. My role though is to help my client put the right tools in place to achieve those goals, to prioritise and bring focus to the most important factors that need to happen next. My extensive 20 years+ operations experience is the driving force for this. The coach/consultant/client triangle is a very productive and nutritious environment for a business!
My consulting clients are usually found working within masterminds – supportive groups where coaching, accountability and shared group experience all pull together to drive the results wanted by the individual. I highly recommend finding one that suits you and your business or working style, as they can bring much needed support in ways you couldn’t access otherwise. When it comes to getting the ideas and plans in place and making them a reality, they turn to me.
The need for regular access to my support is a priority for many consulting clients as they undertake this big shift in motivation and planning. I’ve found that the best way I can serve my clients during this time is via an operations consulting retainer.
These arrangements are great for business owners who are transitioning through their Operational Tipping Points very quickly. I recently supported a business through a start-up phase that saw their income skyrocket from £40k to £750k with my help. These are real results from intentional, measurable actions.
Let me tell you how it all began …
As with many of my clients, this particular one was via a kind referral. We had an in-person coffee and knew fairly early into the meeting that we were a good fit.
The importance of a good fit with my clients is so important to me and the pre-cursor to all my success stories! If you want to read more on this, check out this blog.
We arranged an off-site strategy session away from their office which allowed us to focus fully on the big picture ideas and what it was they wanted their business to achieve.
I drew up a 90-day action plan for them based on the objectives we’d identified and agreed on monthly check in calls to give them some accountability and support.
We were off to a flying start. All went well and on the second monthly call the client said that they needed to take some time off for family reasons. Our working relationship was already strong and I’d delivered results for them already, so the invitation for me to be more hands-on in the business while they took some time away was obvious and timely.
To be honest I loved the opportunity to get behind the steering wheel. We negotiated a new contract and I came on board as a fractional Head of Operations and their right-hand person.
Over the coming months I dissected all of the key business processes, the customer journey and conducted team performance reviews. I implemented systems to help automate processes and save time. We outsourced elements to specialists who had the skills needed to exceed our expectations. I implemented regular KPI tracking (something that hadn’t been in place before), ensuring everything we did day-to-day added value to the business growth plan.
Growing together
Over this two-year working relationship, I supported my client through several of their business Operational Tipping Points, ensuring the proper systems, team and processes were in place to meet the demands as they arose. It was a great journey which resulted in the hiring a full-time Director of Operations to whom I handed over the day-to-day operational tasks. I still support this client and their growing business by providing quarterly strategy sessions with the CEO.
The feedback from the client has been amazing. They have more time to spend with their family; they no longer feel overwhelmed with their business, and they have everything in place to keep growing – what more could they ask for?
When I asked them for feedback, they said that working with me had been a ‘’Complete game changer’’ and that I am ‘’unflappable and just deliver’’. What more could you ask for in a client?!
If you would like to find out more about working with an operations consultant, or you just need to talk through the concerns you have about your business, please get in touch here. Remember, it all starts with the coffee meeting!
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