Consultancy

Turning Point UK Consultancy Services
– offering a bespoke service to meet your individual needs

What are you looking for?

Anyone viewing this page is probably in need of some help or advice and simply trying to identify someone to approach for it.

There are a lot of formulaic approaches to consultancy and you will very well have heard about ‘Business Diagnostics’ and a host of other phrases and methodologies to boot – Six sigma, Black Belt, Lean, and many others. What are they? Which do you need? It can be confusing and often the costs can seem immense.

So why come to Turning Point?

At Turning Point we believe in a straightforward common sense approach which would commence initially with a face to face meeting to discuss your issues and establish whether there is a potential way forward t=for us to help you.

The initial meeting is important and it costs you nothing more than your time – why it is so important is because this gives you the opportunity to meet face to face with the actual person who potentially you might be paying to help you in the future and establish the fundamental basics – ‘Do we get on?’ – is there a rapport? – will this person be able to tell me how it is even though I don’t want to hear it?

Once past first base – together we would agree the primary objectives of the work to be undertaken – your priorities as you see them.

The initial process fundamentally is the same for any business type or size – and for any given objectives – to establish –

These three blocks form the foundation for any consultancy work – no different from establishing any journey plan.

Where are we now?

What is the financial position of the business?

Customers, Suppliers, Products, Employees

Third Party Agencies – Bank, HMRC, Accountants, Solicitors – who are they, what are they doing for us, and where are we with them?

Problems – Known and Anticipated

Opportunities – Product, Market, Other

Where are we going?

An honest assessment of what the business prospects are given the Status Quo

Where do we want to go?

An opportunity to take a step back, perhaps climb up in to the Crows Nest, and to determine an alternative strategy or vision

Where do we need to go?

An opportunity to stare reality in the face and to determine what we might need to do in case it doesn’t feature within either of the previous two categories

How do we get there? – ‘The Way Forward’
We need to establish that there is a structured plan for the business accommodating all of the above.

This doesn’t need to be a 50 page document, it doesn’t need to be a 20 page document – it just needs to be a clear and concise plan which might simply comprise a series of prioritised bullet points initially with supporting financial statements (Profit and Loss, Cash Flow and Balance Sheet)

What it does need to be is credible and robust to detailed scrutiny whether by the bank, the board, the shareholders, or even the employees.

Financially the plan will need to demonstrate that the business is sustainable with long term profitability and positive cash flows even allowing for material changes either to revenues and/or costs – often referred to as sensitivity.

How is all this achieved?

We do it together – at no stage should it be a one way relationship whereby you simply determine how it is, or someone tells you how it should be.

The process will take in to account all of the potential stakeholders involved with the business – Shareholders, Directors, Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Bank, Venture Capital Partners, other providers of finance, HMRC – no two businesses are exactly the same because each one will have a different set of stakeholders each with their own aspirations and requirements.

Taking in to account all the complexities involved with your business, the process will involve the determination of simplified building blocks which are clear, concise, and manageable ie to drive a car you don’t need to know how all the components of the engine work, but you do need to know how to operate the controls.

A Consultant can impact your business in many positive ways

• a catalyst for change (which might start with the instigation of the process ‘Where are we now, Where are we going, How are we going to get there?’)
• an extra pair of hands to help get the job done
• a friend and mentor – a problem shared is often a problem halved
• a different perspective – often we have visited a wide variety of different businesses and can often cross fertilise ideas for your benefit
• a part time addition to your executive team – plugging a gap in the experience or expertise currently in your Board Room

At Turning Point we have extensive experience across a broad range of business disciplines to enable us to provide the help and support you need – [Some form of link to the ‘Key Areas of Expertise’]

However we impact your business a good consultant should always be able to demonstrate added value – sometimes this can be immediate, on others more medium or longer term – but irrespective any cash spent with a good consultant should always ultimately be turned in to increased profitability and/or improved cash.

For many just the very contemplation that help might be required could be the ‘Turning Point’ – and if this is you then we would very much like to hear from you to enable us to help you with your ‘Way Forward’.