We have our last Digital Roundtable of the year approaching with only 2 weeks to go until it’s underway!
We’ve been running the event in Manchester for about 2.5 years now, and this year we made the decision to move this out to Lancashire with the increased interaction we’d been having with Lancashire agencies, which was done with the aim of bringing the Digital Creative community in Lancashire together.
This is our LAST Digital Roundtable until February, and we’re finishing it on a huge high! We’re hosting this months event at The Borough Lancaster on the 30th and we have the AWESOME guest speaker Tony Lacey, with the topic More Money, More Time, Less Stress.
I had the privilege of interviewing Tony to get his lowdown on what he does with Clarity Business People and what the attendees of the Roundtable can expect to take away from the presentation.
Tony, please could you tell us a little about who you are?
“My name is Tony Lacey. I am the Founder and Managing Partner of Clarity Business People. At Clarity, we work with private enterprise businesses, motivating and energising clients around maximising the return on their business investments. We work with our clients and their teams to provide clear commercial and cultural initiatives designed to accelerate specific outcomes for owners and their businesses. The key is to address these initiatives in the right balance as they build the business towards the vision they set out to achieve.”
What have you found from your experience of working with private business owners?
“ Many private business owners first got into business having developed their skillset in a larger business where they were employed. Typically, they had a moment of realisation for themselves; that they were perfectly capable with their technical skillset, and they made a decision to set up and start their own business. What we have found from the 1000s of private businesses owners we have worked with over the last 10 plus years, is that the personal drivers for starting their business in the first place usually show up as three core themes:
- They wanted to earn more money than they were earning in their employed role.
- The wanted to choose as and when they worked in relation to the number of hours and the number of holidays the wanted to take; family time is often a key factor here.
- And for some they wanted to feel great about themselves and build some kind of wealth vehicle for the future. In its simplest form this is often expressed as: More Money, More Time and Less Stress.
What is interesting is that when I ask business owners if they are getting these aspirational returns, far too often the answer is ‘No!’ They are often experiencing cash flow issues which puts pressure on them financially. This has a knock-on effect causing them to work longer hours as they try and manage the issues showing up in the business; and what’s more they are now working for a relentless boss, themselves, which in turn means they are not enjoying the vision for the business they once dared to dream.”
What do you think it is that causes these issues to show up for business owners?
“ Many would be entrepreneurs who quickly learn that knowing how to do the work in a business from a technical perspective is not always the same as knowing how a good business works. Although decisions are quickly made by business owners based on what is showing up for them today, they are often unaware of the impact of reactionary decisions to the overall business model over time; What started out as a fun business experience can fast become a real emotional rollercoaster with many many highs and lows for owners.”
You have mentioned feelings in business a few times – can you explain why these are important?
“ Whilst good solid commercial business acumen is important when running a business, financial reports can never quite tell the whole story of the business owners’ experience. The feelings that you experience as a business leader are completely normal and it is important to pay close attention to them. The feelings a business owner experiences are extraordinarily indicative of the financial results being experienced by the business. What’s more, many of these feelings are perfectly predictable and can provide great insight for owners in creating clear specific focal points to accelerating growth in their business in a controlled manner.”
What can the audience expect to take away from the event?
“At the Digital Round Table event later this month, we will explore the business owners journey in more detail, with an understanding where the business is in its cycle. We will introduce insights into how to create strategic focal points for an owner in order to assist them in creating a business that rewards them with what they originally set out to achieve: More Money, More Time, Less Stress. The upcoming event later this month from My Accountancy Place is an opportunity for you to take time out of the day to day operational activities that you are working on in your business and look at it from a more strategic perspective, which is often referred to as being on your business.”
You can register your interest of the event here, OR email [email protected].
