Overview
Having worked for large corporates for 20 years, Harriet Subramanian set up her own PR company, Flourish PR Ltd ‘FPR’, together with a business partner in 2012. However, she soon found that running her own business demanded a different set of skills, so she turned to ActionCOACH Rob Pickering to help her effect this transition. Now, she feels that she has the right structure in place for profitable growth, whilst maintaining a sound work:life balance.
Finding ActionCOACH
“I initially found Rob online through a social media platform – I’d read one of his blogs ‘5 ways for Effective Selling’ whilst searching for ‘Sales Workshops’. We weren’t generating the type of leads we wanted to at the time, so the ‘Effective Selling Workshop’ seemed just what we were looking for.”
Going it alone
At the time, Flourish PR Ltd (FPR) had been trading for about 1 year, but Harriet was finding the transition from being a consultant to running a business harder than expected. “When I worked in corporate, I was used to having lots of functions around me – HR, IT, legal…etc – to call upon when required. It was very different running a 2-person company – we suddenly had to do everything ourselves.”
After completing the ‘Effective Selling Workshop’, Harriet signed up for ‘ProfitCLUB’, designed specifically for small businesses with less than 5 employees. ‘ProfitCLUB’ members meet once a fortnight in the evening, with the format consisting of a group meeting followed by a workshop session on a given topic. Harriet explains: “I can’t say I’d heard of ActionCOACH before I met Rob, but I really liked the ProfitCLUB formula – it helped me to meet other small business owners and, at the same time, to rethink a lot of my processes.”
The ActionCOACH structure was a great help
“I trusted Rob – he has a lot of experience and understands the processes of businesses, in particular how small businesses should set themselves up to operate as efficiently as larger businesses.”
Harriet was committed to making the transition from being an employed consultant to running her own business, but her business partner had found the going far tougher. After attending ProfitCLUB and ActionCOACH’s 90-day Planning Sessions, Harriet’s business partner decided that she wasn’t suited to this lifestyle. Harriet continues: “I think attending the ActionCOACH sessions forced her to arrive at this decision sooner rather than later, as she was no longer under any illusions about the amount of work involved. So, she left the business on good terms, which may not have happened had we been allowed to ‘drift’ along.”
Harriet continued with ActionCOACH and began to thrive as she understood more of the processes involved. In particular, the 90-day Planning Sessions helped her greatly – “it’s very aspirational, to be sitting in a room together with businesses of all shapes and sizes, many of whom were in my position a few years ago, but who have persevered and grown their turnover into the millions.”
50% revenue increase in 18 months
After sorting out her Sales process, Harriet concentrated on improving her Profit & Loss account. With Rob’s help, she put together a Business Plan and kept herself on track with the ActionCOACH structure.
“It worked – I managed to record a 50% increase in revenues in 18 months, which confirmed to me that I was doing the right thing”
Taking the business to the next level
Encouraged by her progress, Harriet took the next step with ActionCOACH and in March 2015, signed up for 1-to-1 coaching with Rob by utilizing ‘Growth Accelerator’ funding available from the Government.
The benefits of 1-1 coaching soon became apparent to Harriet. “Being from a corporate background, I was used to lots of planning, with long 30+ page documents. Rob soon taught me that I didn’t need to be so complex with my thinking – 1 page was often enough, as long as I kept it simple, clear, and focused.”
Rob’s insight and guidance helped Harriet to rethink her approach towards owning and operating a small business, and to move away from some of her preconceptions.
“Many people, when transitioning from the world of employment to owning and operating their own business, need to re-evaluate their approach to client management, generating income versus profit, managing people, and sales techniques. Rob’s insight and ability to coach people through this transitional phase really made a difference and helped me to change my mindset.”
A work:life balance was paramount
As a working mother, with two children aged 13 and 10 years old, Harriet was very clear about what she wanted out of her business, and discussed this in the 1-1 coaching sessions with Rob.
“I didn’t want to be working all hours – I’ve been there and done that. One of the reasons I stepped away from the corporate world was to have more flexibility in terms of how I spent my time and how I shape my working week. Rob understands that, and we’ve built FPR’s growth plans with this work:life balance in mind…although if you enjoy your work it’s still hard to put your pen down at the end of the day!”
A clear set of goals for the future
Harriet now has a clear set of goals, “I’m keen to create a successful business platform from which I can launch other business services. I want to remain focused, employ talented people and deliver excellent services for clients.”
With this in mind, FPR is targeting a substantial increase in turnover over the next 3 years. At present, FPR employs 2 part- timers & 3 freelance members of staff – Harriet’s aim is to have 3 full-time employees over the course of next year.
She credits Rob and ActionCOACH for setting her on this path, and intends to continue with all 3 activities – the Profit Club, 90-day Planning Sessions, and 1-1 coaching.
We’ll leave the last word to Harriet: “The 3 disciplines work really work well together. It’s so common for business owners to forget to stop and think about their businesses enough. This structure gives me 3 separate opportunities to take a step back and plan for the success of my business.”
