Ewan A Menzies | Business Strategist
For founders of professional and technical service businesses
You became excellent at what you do. Building the business around that expertise is a different challenge.
I work alongside a small number of business owners as their long-term strategist, helping them get clear on where they want to go, work through the things getting in the way and find smarter ways to move the business forward.
Often the best place to start is simply a coffee.
The business is growing faster than you can comfortably keep up with.
You know the management team needs to develop, but you are not quite sure what it should become.
Perhaps some of this sounds familiar.
The journey of growth brings complex challenges that can feel quite consistent across industries.
Too many decisions still seem to depend on you.
There are opportunities ahead, but several possible routes and limited resources to pursue them.
Business is good, but the margins should be better.
You have built something good. You just know the way you have run it until now may not be enough for what comes next.
I don't just look at the issue.
I understand the business around it.
Understand your business first. Then decide what is actually worth doing.
Pricing, people, sales, finance, structure and strategy rarely exist independently.
Once I understand where you actually want the business to go, I can look across the whole picture, join the dots and help find the route that makes most sense.
A pricing problem might actually be a proposition problem. A recruitment problem might be telling us something about the business model. And sometimes the problem taking up everyone's time does not need solving at all.
Sometimes that means changing something. Sometimes it means finding a completely different way around it.
What clients say makes the difference.
Client Perspective
“What sets him apart is his ability to understand both the strategic and commercial aspects of a business, tailoring each proposition to the specific needs, priorities and challenges of the clients being pursued.”
Lewis Murray Roxburgh Murray Associates
A small number of clients.
A much deeper relationship.
I deliberately work with a small number of businesses. To give genuinely useful advice, I need to know much more than what appears in a set of accounts or comes up in a monthly meeting.
Over time I get to know the people, the numbers, the culture, the pressures, how decisions get made and what the owners really want from the business.
That understanding compounds. It is one of the reasons the relationship often becomes more valuable the longer we work together.
Time to think properly
Usually two working sessions each month, focused on whatever matters most at the time.
Predominantly face-to-face
Being inside the business helps me see and understand things that rarely appear on a video call.
Email & phone support
Questions, opportunities and difficult decisions do not always wait until our next meeting. You can email or call me when something comes up and you want another perspective.
Practical help for you
If something needs researched, drafted, or modelled, I can do the work for you rather than just advising.
“You remain the leader of your business. I am there to help you reflect, decide and keep the important things moving.”
Client Story
Getting clear on the business they actually wanted to build
56three Architects
Richard and Gordon had built a successful architectural practice with a strong culture and a highly motivated team. But both were stretched, the management structure needed to develop, and growth was beginning to take the business in a direction they were not completely convinced they wanted.
We started by getting clear on what they actually wanted 56three Architects to become.
From there, we worked backwards and built a simple one-page plan around the tipping points that needed to fall.
More than two years later, our work together has reached across the owners, management team and wider business. The value now comes not just from the strategy itself, but from how well I understand 56three Architects, its people and what Richard and Gordon are trying to create.
“Ewan takes the lead and keeps us focused no matter how much Gordon and I stray with anecdotes.”
Richard Howl , Director, 56three Architects
He future you want
What your business looks like when
all stakeholders get what they genuinely want.
01
Start with where you actually want to end up.
Most businesses plan forwards from where they are today. That can quickly create a long list of ideas and initiatives requiring time, money and effort, even though many of them may not actually be needed.
I prefer to start with a clear picture of the future the owners genuinely want, then work backwards to find the smartest route to get there.
Get clarity on where you are going first, and then work out how you got there.
The tipping points
Identify the few things that need to fall into place to make that future possible.
How I Think
02
The smartest route
Work backwards to find the fastest credible route, without adding unnecessary cost or complexity.
03
Keep adapting
Adjust the route as the business, people and opportunities change.
04
Client Story
3×
Turnover and team size in one year
Farsight Digital
Geoff had built a good business, but too much still depended on him. He wanted to grow the team, spend more time doing the consulting work he enjoyed and create a stronger foundation underneath the business.
The challenge was that pricing, cash flow, staffing and owner dependency were all connected.
We looked at the real value Farsight was creating for its clients and built greater confidence around pricing. We introduced recurring monthly arrangements where they suited the client relationship, improved Geoff's understanding of the numbers, and found more flexible, lower-risk ways to start building the team.
Over the year we worked together, Farsight Digital tripled in both turnover and team size.
“His input is a brilliant mixture of encouragement, challenge, practical help, connections and strategy.”
Geoff Todd, Managing Director, Farsight Digital
About Ewan
Still curious about businesses after nearly two decades.
I started out as a PE teacher and, although I am now a long way from rugby pitches and swimming pools, the teacher in me still shapes how I work.
I enjoy taking complicated business thinking and making it simple enough for owners and teams to understand, use and build on. Helping someone understand why something matters is far more valuable than simply telling them what to do.
Since 2008, I have worked alongside business owners across a wide range of sectors. Every business is different because every owner is different. Their ambitions, personalities and values shape the company they build.
I still get a little apprehensive walking into a new business. It keeps me sharp.
Then the owner starts talking, I begin seeing possibilities, and that apprehension quickly turns into energy.
That is probably why the part of this work I could happily do all day is sitting in strategy meetings with business owners, finding creative ways to move their business forward.
Arrange A Conversation
Often the best place to start is simply a coffee.
The aim is for the conversation itself to be useful.
Ideally, you leave with a clearer view of the road ahead, some things worth thinking about and a sense of whether having me alongside you would help.
If you have built a business you enjoy and reached a point where the challenges are becoming more complex, I would be happy to explore whether I can help.
A useful conversation. A clearer view of what comes next.