From the Owner’s Desk: Guidance for Business Owners

How to protect your energy, focus and time as a business owner You cannot lead your business consistently if you never make time to manage your own energy, attention and recovery. Many business owners spend years learning how to manage customers, finances, operations...

How to create the clarity, culture and accountability that allow people and businesses to grow The strongest businesses are not built by one exceptional individual. They are built by leaders who create an environment in which an exceptional team can thrive. Many...

How stepping back from the day-to-day can create clarity, focus and purposeful action Busy Does Not Always Mean Productive Most business owners spend their days responding to emails, solving problems, managing teams, meeting client deadlines and dealing with whatever...

Why the best businesses do not worry more, but prepare better Optimism Needs Preparation Most business owners are naturally optimistic. They have to be. Building a business requires confidence, ambition and belief in the future. Yet optimism alone is not enough....

Why focusing on the right business drivers can create remarkable long-term results Small Improvements. Extraordinary Results. Most business owners overestimate what they can achieve in a month and underestimate what they can achieve over several years. We are...

How purposeful consistency creates habits, focus and lasting business success Success Is a Choice When business owners think about growth, attention often turns to strategy, marketing, technology or the next big idea. Whilst all of these have a role to play, none of...

Good planning is not about expecting everything to go wrong. It is about recognising that uncertainty is part of running a business and allowing enough flexibility to deal with it. Have you ever looked at your to-do list and thought, “I’ll get that finished this...

Recruiting talented people who fit your organisation is difficult and expensive. But recruitment is only part of the challenge. The real value comes from helping those people work effectively together. Getting the right team Finding and recruiting talented people who...

Imagine your management team tells you that a major project has already cost millions of pounds and is unlikely ever to recover its investment. Do you stop now, or continue in the hope that things will improve? From a purely financial perspective, the answer seems...

The third-place play-off between England and France at the 2026 FIFA World Cup highlighted a challenge that every business leader will face at some point. A major contract is lost. A promotion goes to someone else. An acquisition falls through. A product launch fails...

As business owners, it’s easy to focus on clients, growth, and delivery, while assuming leadership is something we’ll naturally grow into over time. But in reality, most businesses don’t plateau because of a lack of opportunity. They stall because leadership hasn’t...

“Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.” The quote is often attributed to Albert Einstein and, whether or not he actually said those exact words, the principle is a powerful one. There’s an old story about a man...

It’s Monday morning. You’ve barely finished your first coffee when you’ve read about a new AI tool, listened to half a podcast on scaling a business, bookmarked an article on LinkedIn, received an invitation to a networking event and had a colleague recommend another...

When Everything Feels Urgent One thing I’ve noticed when working with business owners is how easily urgency becomes the default setting. There is always something that needs attention. A client query arrives unexpectedly, a deadline moves forward, a member of the team...

As July arrives and attention turns to The Championships, Wimbledon, it’s a timely reminder of just how demanding tennis is, not just physically, but mentally. After about 70 minutes of a typical match, I often notice my own concentration starting to drift. Footwork...

Their Success Was About More Than Intelligence It’s easy to assume that highly successful people achieve more because they possess talents or abilities that the rest of us simply don’t have. When we look at figures such as Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Charles...

Being Busy Doesn’t Always Mean Progress It’s easy to assume that being busy means we’re making progress. After all, if we’re working hard, responding to clients, managing a team and dealing with a never-ending list of responsibilities, surely we’re moving forward. Yet...

How We Got Used to Always Being “On” A few years ago, this isn’t an article I would have written. Like many business owners, I thought being committed meant always being available - early starts, late finishes and replying to emails at all hours. I would push through...

On a recent flight out of the country for the weekend, it occurred to me how different everything looks from above. Not in a poetic sense. Just a noticeable shift. You look down and realise how quickly detail disappears with distance. Roads become lines. Buildings...

There’s a quiet moment most business owners recognise, even if they don’t always talk about it. It’s not the obvious stress or long hours. It’s not even the pressure. It’s something more subtle. It’s when you look at your business — something you’ve built, grown,...

I went for a walk with my dogs in the woods this week after being really, really busy - the kind of busy where your head feels full, your inbox feels loud, and you feel as if every minute belongs to someone else. And then, in the quiet of that walk, I realised...

I sometimes worry that I sound like I’m always complaining. Not because anyone has said it outright, but because when you care deeply about your business, your people, and the work you’re building together, your focus naturally goes to what isn’t quite right yet. And...

This January I had a lovely start to the year attending a wedding in Liverpool.  I met lots of lovely people, one of whom was Finnish.  As we spoke what struck me was how calmly he spoke about life.  It reminded me of my conversations with an old university friend who...

A Week That Felt Like a Month I recently returned from a family holiday in Dubrovnik – a beautiful, historic town I’d highly recommend. Nestled along the Adriatic coast, Dubrovnik is a tapestry of terracotta rooftops, ancient stone walls, and shimmering blue waters....

A Trip with a Twist My husband and I have just returned from a five-day break in Newquay. The main reason? To take our daughter to the Boardmasters festival and stay nearby - just in case! If you’re a parent, you’ll know the mix of pride and anxiety that comes when...

Summer is in full swing, and the change in mood is palpable. The days are longer, the weather’s warmer, and many of us are leaning into the lighter, more relaxed pace that comes with BBQs, seaside trips, and time away from work. It’s a time to unwind and reconnect...

The End-of-Year Rush It’s the end of the school year, and with it comes the familiar frenzy of activity: school trips, sports days, discos, and BBQs. Add to that the challenge of arranging childcare and managing the daily juggle, and it’s little wonder that parents...

Two weeks ago, James Todd & Co took to the water for the very first time, entering the annual Dragon Boat Race on Chichester Canal. The event, held in support of CancerWise and The Chichester Rotary Club, brought together a range of local teams for a fun,...

Our family loves tennis. My husband David was a coach for over 30 years, so the sport has always been a big part of our lives. Last week, we enjoyed a brilliant day at the Eastbourne Open, soaking up the atmosphere and watching some top players showcase their skills...

Two weeks ago, I found myself in Epsom visiting my son - right in time for the legendary Epsom Derby weekend. The atmosphere was electric, with racehorses in peak condition thundering down the track, each representing months and years of meticulous training, care, and...

When I’m not looking after horses, you’ll usually find me in the garden - and lately, it’s quite literally come up smelling of roses. As I potter among the plants, I often find myself reflecting on how gardening mirrors the way we build and nurture teams in business....

Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy is a brilliant read - and one of my favourite books when it comes to mastering time management and personal effectiveness. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend you do! But if time is tight, here are some quick, powerful...

Meet Nutty (left) and Noddy (right) with a bed head today!  My day always starts letting these two little fellas out for the day from their cosy stable.  Coffee and some fresh air is always a good start to the day but what comes next? Laying the Foundation for a...