From Crisis to Clarity: My Journey into Business Mentoring

2020 was a defining year. As an SME director, I had to keep the business running remotely while navigating the uncertainty of lockdown. Yet, it also gave me something invaluable – time to reflect.

I worked with a Life Coach, assessed my strengths with various tools but the turning point came when an ex-colleague, now a director at a global consultancy, emailed me, thanking me for the coaching and mentoring that had helped him when we had worked together.  It triggered my memories of other clients who had reached out over the years, crediting my support to them for their growth and success.

That was my lightbulb moment 💡. Coaching and mentoring weren’t just complementary to my leadership and consulting roles, they were transformative for those I worked with.

To pursue this path, I streamlined my business operations to focus on mentoring. In early 2023, I joined the UK Government’s Help to Grow: Management Course as a Government Approved Business Mentor and I mentored my first client in March 2023. Since then, I’ve worked with 30+ senior executives in businesses up to £30m, delivering 230+ mentoring sessions, getting professional development and support from Association of Business Mentors (ABM) and earning a Master’s-level ILM7 Executive Coaching & Mentoring qualification with Agile Group in the process.

I support business leaders in:
âś” Defining vision, strategy, and goals
âś” Optimising organisational structures for strategic alignment
âś” Managing stakeholders and change initiatives
âś” Enhancing board presence and influence
âś” Improving HR, reward, and recognition for high performance
âś” Strengthening sales and marketing, e.g. increased organic traffic by 92%
âś” Establishing KPIs to track and drive results
âś” Resolving team conflicts and building collaboration
âś” Planning successful relocations and transitions
âś” Acting as a strategic sounding board, offering clarity and challenge

Whether you are new in role or need some support to improve your business. You’re not alone.

With decades of experience in business transformation, strategy, and leadership, I help business owners and executives cut through complexity, develop actionable strategies, and create lasting change.

Contact me to arrange a chat. đź‘Ť

Business Mentoring near me

I provide Mentoring, Coaching and Consulting to help business leaders, owners and directors develop themselves and their businesses. It can be delivered in a place you want at a mutually agreed time.

My primary focus is that about you and your goals. We are dedicated to helping you decide what you want to achieve, helping you define the optimal way, for you, to get there. Then supporting you on your journey to make that happen. in the way that you want.

Education

Experience

You can tap into 37 years of experience of leading business transformation and supply chain projects and running factories and businesses. I have introduced simulation modelling for Automatic Guided Vehicles and Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems, implemented best practice, run a multidisciplinary team of 55 engineers, technicians, wiremen, operators testing and QA staff to make a complex electronic fuse and implemented CIM for Thorn EMI Electronics, representing them on group wide and national committees for open systems and been responsible for running factory production and dispatch at Sega Manufacturing UK, for teams between 35-300 staff, having to rapidly flex capacity and run efficient onboarding and training programmes and letting people go at the end. Had to deal with 1000 temporary staff in one calendar year along with every aspect of recruitment, training, retiring and even making people redundant.

As a Senior Management Consultant with PwC and IBM, I led global business transformation projects with Disney, Pitney Bowes, Aventis, Shell, Philips, Polestar, Smith & Nephew, UNIQ Foods. These included global manufacturing strategy, multiple SAP and SAP Advanced Planning and Optimisation projects, was the change management process lead on multiple projects including oil recovery, process

Then add on 23 years’ experience running every aspect of 2 award winning businesses with a franchise of 130 people, integrated systems, and setting up and running ecommerce platforms in English and French, being the financial controller, managing outsourced factories, implemented best practice, IT systems, networks, setting up networks, telecommunications. Selecting, implementing and managing IT systems and networks using Sage, Xero, on premise and cloud. In depth experience of Sharepoint from the early days to now in Office 365, using collaboration software effectively. Managed tenders, getting finance, buying buildings, leasing, international procurement, marketing, HR, legal, operations and logistics.

Professional mentoring

  • ILM trained mentor.
  • Full member of the Association of business mentors and signed up to comply with professional standards
  • Approved Mentor for the governments Help to Grow scheme, Enterprise Nation, and Surrey Hills Enterprises.

Throughout my career I have mentored and coached individuals and teams to perform and achieve business objectives, across industry sectors & business sizes. Its something I have often had calls from past colleagues and clients thanking me for enabling their growth and development. Its actually another thing I am really good at.

Mentees have said “I feel as though I have learned more and progressed at a faster rate than any time previously.” and “Phil has taken the time to really get to know me and understand what I want to achieve from a professional perspective and the areas where I need support” and “thank you so much.. this is priceless”. Read more Client Feedback so you can see if you would want their experience. Then take a look at the Type of Client I have worked with.

How I can help your business

Helping Directors to achieve the personal and business transformation they desire. From envisioning, defining strategy to best practice execution cascaded through your organisation. Helping you define and implement change, optimise your impact and lead in your organisation. Leverage my experience to define your vision, strategy, B2B/B2C sales, marketing, processes, business systems, ecommerce, KPI’s, leadership and teambuilding.

Areas I can provide business coaching, mentoring or consulting in

I cover a range of core areas to support you to transform your business to what you want it to be. I can help you:

  • Set up your business.
  • Define your ‘why’ – what do you want to achieve by running your business?
  • Develop your business vision, mission, purpose and values.
  • Define your business goals and make them SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timebound)
  • Develop your strategies for getting to where you want to get to and achieve your goals
  • Develop your business plans to grow your business or increase profitability or define business cases for the projects you want to achieve to support your goals
  • Identify the sub tasks and actions required for you to achieve those strategies and goals
  • Help you connect your ‘why’ to your business goals thus keeping you accountable and motivated
  • Evaluate your product and service portfolio
  • Identify and develop processes, systems and the people to help you achieve your goals.
  • Assess your strengths and weaknesses and guide personal and professional development
  • Develop strategies and skills to help you turn your weaknesses into strengths, and threats into opportunities
  • Helping clients grow their business from inception and established business optimise their performance.
  • Establish a culture of continuous improvement.
  • Identify and implement Key Performance Indicators and Scoreboards to actively manage your business.
  • Establish and run processes and systems for monitoring your business growth, profitability and performance.
  • Improving the the performance of your workforce skills, capabilities and motivation.
  • Enhance your leadership skills, processes, mindset so you can enable your team to perform.
  • Develop cost reduction projects to improve your business profitability.
  • Assess and evaluate potential IT investments that may automate or enhance performance of your business.
  • Analyse and develop pricing strategy and profitability tools
  • Deal with team conflict and how to handle delicate staff issues
  • Establish appraisal systems
  • Manage Crises (people, systems, processes)
  • Position people for promotion to senior leadership roles
  • etc

What would I be looking for with a new client?

There can be a lot of factors one might consider when assessing whether someone else is the right person to work with. The following are some of the things I look for in a potential client. I think we will be a fit if:

  • You want to achieve things.
  • You need to break through with challenges or problems you are dealing with.
  • You want to learn, and continuous improvement is your thing.
  • You don’t take yourself too seriously and can be honest and open.
  • You believe enjoying yourself and getting work done are compatible.  (That’s what our sessions will feel like :).
  • You are willing to put the time and effort in to make things happen, to grow your business, to succeed in your aims, and you are willing to think, plan and execute.
  • You recognise that tapping into 37 years of experience working with global corporations, top tier consulting firms and 23 years of experience running businesses is of value to you.
  • You understand that achieving your objectives will bring you rewards and understand the value of those to you.
  • You know that coaching and mentoring are an investment in you, your business and will help you have a more enjoyable, effective and productive life.
  • You see your development as part of a professional journey, its not a one off thing, its important. It’s a priority.
  • Importantly you recognise that your financial investment, is to be able to tap into all that experience, skill and knowledge, not just for the time we spend talking together. You also value the 1:1 time I will spend with you as you realise I will be 100% focussed on you during this time. You also understand I will be spending more than just the face to face time with you. My time also includes the time preparing before hand and reflecting after as well as the other time in between where its likely I will be considering how best to help you. It includes the time spent getting and maintaining the skills needed to support you. You see it as a privilege that someone with the skills and experience I have, is there for you, to support you when convenient for you. You see this as an investment in you and that you are worth it.
  • You pay when booking your sessions.