A biotech public relations company representing foreign biotech businesses grew from a one to two person business. Frequent trips abroad were essential to the business, but also required the person in the office to cover for the person traveling. Roles and responsibilities became more confused and work fell through the cracks as a result of travel and increasing business. We were brought into help put structure into the growing environment before a major mishap with a client could occur.

In a work session, we reviewed all the work required to run the business and projects, who was the assigned responsible party and how coverage for work was arranged and communicated for travel. We drilled down into the tasks required to complete assignments, and developed a framework for work, tasks, timeframes and the person who was primarily responsible.

After our review, our clients recognized all the tasks required to complete work projects that are often taken for granted, where the balance of work fell and had a means to communicate to one another about the work. The result was they were better able to manage the business.

A client’s business had two modes of operation autopilot and management by crisis. A crisis occurred whenever something out of the ordinary occurred. Then the business went into react mode. There was no planning and decisions were made based on limited information. Everyone was focused managing the workload (i.e., getting through the day) but not on the big picture.

Our review and analysis of three years of financial records showed the following things:

• Most of the overhead consisted of fixed-cost expenses making cost cutting very difficult.
• A significant difference between the profitability of the two business’s types of customers.
• The business, although profitable, had months where its expenses always exceeded its income—negative cashflow.

As a result of this analysis, a strategic plan was developed to attract and retain more of the profitable type of customers as well as to provide focus on the larger picture in which they were working. A budget was developed to give better financial controls by tracking and planning for expenses. Staff were shown how to access, analyze, and interpret data the business generates just by being in business. The business now had the basic tools and the knowledge how to use them. Issues that once put the business into react mode are now handled easily. The business was able to purchase capital equipment to make performing work easier and quicker.

A client whose business is home-based has an employee who is based out of her house, only there is 600 miles between the two locations. The business’s only goal was to sell its service so it could be profitable. While they communicated regularly by phone and e-mail, there was a lack of clarity and direction that led to miscommunications, misunderstandings and frustration. We were called in to help them get the focus and clarity they needed to be successful.

We held a planning retreat where goals were set for the business supported by activities to achieve them and timeframes in which the activities would be accomplished. Voil‡, they had a plan from which they both could work.

The focus and direction better enabled them to work together toward achieving the same goals. It also gave the means to assess progress and evaluate how things were working. Additionally, they were able to create plans each year by themselves allowing them to work more independently.

A professional services business was in its 20th year of business. While the business had been successful, the owner wanted to take it to the ‘next level’ for many reasons including to make it more attractive to a potential buyer. We were called in because the owner wanted the assistance of an outside perspective.

Our first step was to define where the business was, and what ‘going to the next level’ meant. That work gave us a clear place from which to start and to go. A plan was developed including staffing, costs, potential benefits and risks. We continued to work with owner on the plan’s implementation.

The business grew 23% in the first year of the plan and 17% in its second year. The business owner began to examine options such as adding new services and how to staff them as a result of the plan and our work. Our regular appointments kept the growth cycle going and us in touch with changes in the environment.

A one-person business wanted to make its break into the market by contracting with a salesperson to sell its product. The product required a design and production phase to get it to market. We were called into when the business owner felt overwhelmed by options and did not want to make a mistake because money was tight.

We asked a typical question to the owner, ‘what happens if sales exceed your greatest expectations, how would you meet the demand?’ All of sudden the owner saw how unplanned success could harm her business. Then, on a white board we tasked out everything that needed to be accomplished to produce the product, from idea to market, along with timeframes and costs, including the owner’s time. We determined there was a three-week cycle for the average product. However, custom orders might take longer especially if the product’s customer could not decide on or kept changing the design.

As result of our work together, the business owner had a sense of how much work could be produced by one person. This allowed her to develop a means by which she could more successfully manage both the sales and production aspects of her business. Additionally, she saw ways to increase profitability by judiciously adding resources.

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