SME UNSTABLE TURNOVER

The Client

An award winning media company with a fantastic client list.

The Challenge

The business was six years old and had created some fantastic material over that time to some very high calibre clients.

However, each time the business grew in turnover, the quality dropped and the company subsequently lost up to 50% of its business and then had to re-grow. This growth was followed by a decline, followed again by growth.  This cycle had repeated four times and the owners were not aware of the reasons.

Additionally, the business was doing little more than breaking even year after year, despite a huge amount of effort by everyone.

The Solution

With the two business owners/directors Axios carried out a two day “Boardroom Crises Review” to identify where the core business issues were and what could be done.

Neither of the owners had long term experience of managing businesses. It became obvious to all during the review that the two directors were fundamental to many aspects of the business, yet they were wasting time doing lower level duties which could be outsourced or done by junior members of staff. This “moment of realisation” enabled the owners to refocus their own time management and ensure that they had the right junior staff to do the day to day work.

Additionally, it became obvious to all that there was no understanding of the cost of sales and these costs were not being allocated to any area. A simple calculation and allocation of overheads and cost of sales enabled accurate costing of work.

The Results

On the basis of this simple review process the business owners were much more qualified to run the business. The company now has a stable business with significant annual growth and the owners are now able to take a sensible salary.