Working with owners across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire ·
Working with owners across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire ·
Value Creation Adviser
Build a stronger business in 12 months with Value Creation Coaching, giving you the freedom to scale, acquire or exit on your terms.
I work with owners of established £500k to £20m businesses. Good at what they do. Tired of being the one everything runs through.
45 minutes. No pitch. Just a straight conversation about where the value is sitting unused in your business.
Referred by your accountant or another adviser? Tell me who when you book. It helps me prepare.
“We went from a business that relied on me for almost everything to one that can operate without me being involved in every decision.”
Enzo Frangiamore · Founder, Avanza IT
10 years
in M&A and investment banking
Chartered
Accountant
1,000+
businesses analysed
7 years
professional rugby
Sound familiar?
You’ve built something good. The business has grown. But the way it’s built is now holding it back, and holding you in place.
01
And you’re not sure why, or what to change first.
02
But you don’t have a clear way to judge one, or to bring it into yours.
03
But right now a buyer would see a business that depends on you personally.
04
Growth is capped by your hours. So is your freedom.
Left alone, the business plateaus and you stay the bottleneck. The chance to buy or sell on your terms quietly closes. The good news is that every one of these can be fixed with the right structure.
A 60-second check
If two or more of these ring true, the business isn’t yet built to run without you. That’s exactly the dependency I help owners remove.
Book a Discovery CallYour diary is full of solving other people’s problems
You can’t switch off for two weeks without checking your phone
Your team asks permission rather than deciding
Revenue keeps growing, but so do your hours
1,000+
businesses seen through a buyer’s eyes
Why owners work with me
I spent approximately ten years in M&A and investment banking, at Gallagher and HSBC. I looked at more than 1,000 businesses the way a buyer does. So I know what makes a business worth more. And what quietly takes value away. That’s the lens I bring, whether you’re growing, getting ready to buy or getting ready to step back.
01
We set a baseline at the start and review against it. Is the business worth more? Does it depend less on you? Is it closer to what you want next?
02
You work with me directly. Every two weeks. You won’t be one of a hundred names in a CRM.
03
If you want a cheerleader, I’m probably not the right fit. If you want to know what a buyer would really think of your business, I am.
How I help
Everything I do comes back to one goal: a more valuable business that gives you options. Most owners start by building value. Then some buy another company, and some get ready to step back.
01
Most owners start here
Grow revenue, team, systems and enterprise value, without the business leaning harder on you in the process. This is the core of Value Creation Coaching, and where nearly every owner I work with begins.
Find out moreGroup Coaching
Three or four owners. Sessions twice a month, over 12 months. A lower cost way to start, with the option to move to 1-2-1 when you’re ready.
Explore Group CoachingMasterCLASS Courses
Twelve group sessions, one every two weeks. Online, with the first, sixth and twelfth sessions in person. For owners, and for their teams. If you’re a 1-2-1 client, your team can join too.
Marketing
Leadership
Business
Management
Sales
GrowthCLUB
Every other Thursday at 2pm, I interview an expert on one part of running a business. That’s On Your Terms. You put your questions to them live. And four times a year we get together for a planning morning, so you leave with your plan for the next 90 days.
The podcast lets you listen. GrowthCLUB lets you ask.
Your first session is free.
Book your free sessionNext planning morning · Thursday 3 December, 9am
On Your Terms: a live expert session every other Thursday, 2pm to 3pm, online
Four 90-day planning mornings a year, in person
Can’t make it live? Send your question in advance
Question of the Fortnight: the best question each session gets your business featured in my newsletter and on LinkedIn
The full uncut session, not just the podcast edit
A free guest pass
If you move up to coaching, what you’ve paid counts towards it
What it costs
Every owner has a session with me every two weeks. How much of my time the business needs is set after the Diagnostic, once I’ve seen it. I recommend one level, with my reasons. You decide.
Group coaching and MasterCLASS courses are priced separately.
45 minutes. No pitch.
Client results
Featured case study · Avanza IT
Day-to-day decisions that used to land on the founder’s desk now sit with the team
The biggest, longest-standing customer now deals directly with a team member
A second-in-command has grown into a genuine leader
Real conversations about the business’s future, and its value, are now possible
“
Working with Joe changed the way I think as a business owner. I’m no longer constantly firefighting, I have far more flexibility, and the business is stronger because of it. The structure, accountability and perspective Joe brought helped me build a business that gives me freedom, not just a job.
Enzo Frangiamore
Founder, Avanza IT Services
MegaBox Fitness
Tim now has real time to think about the business strategically, and feels calmer and more in control.
Sheldon Peever
Christine moved from doing everything herself to business development, and planned her first switched-off holiday.
Carter Bookkeeping Services
Wendy replaced gut feel with a tracked, repeatable way of winning clients and managing partnerships.
“
The biggest change for me has been getting control of my time. Before coaching I was constantly firefighting and never felt like I was getting ahead. Now I’ve got more structure, I’m working on the right things, and I’m actually making time to build the business instead of just running it.
Tim Exeter · Co-Founder & Director, MegaBox Fitness
How it works
01
45 minutes
A straight conversation about your business and what’s getting in the way. If I’m not the right person to help, I’ll tell you.
02
90 minutes, in person
We score where the business is today. You leave with my honest view on what to work on first, and a clear yes or no on whether we work together.
03
Four hours, in person
We agree your goals, the profit you’re aiming for and the plan to get there. You leave with a one page plan.
04
Every two weeks
Sessions mapped against a clear scoreboard. Most owners see the first real shifts within about three months.
In person or online, whichever suits you.
About Joe
I’m a Value Creation Adviser. I help owners build businesses that are worth more and need them less.
I saw it first on the rugby pitch. I played professionally for seven years. The gap between players who reached another level and those who stayed put was rarely talent. It was whether they believed there was more to reach, and were willing to be pushed towards it.
I saw it again in investment banking, watching remarkable founders struggle the moment their business needed to exist without them. Almost never a market problem. Almost always a ceiling the owner hadn’t realised they could raise.
That’s the work I do now, with owners across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Face to face and online.
More about me
Questions
The questions owners ask me most before we start, prices included. Anything else, ask me on a Discovery Call.
Book a Discovery CallWhat is the investment?
1-2-1 coaching is from £1,495 + VAT a month. Every level includes a session with me every two weeks. The level is set after the Diagnostic, once I’ve seen the business. I’ll recommend one, with my reasons. You decide. Group coaching and the MasterCLASS courses are priced separately.
How much is Group Coaching?
£665 + VAT a month each in a group of three, or £495 + VAT a month each in a group of four. It’s a 12 month programme, with a session twice a month.
How much is a MasterCLASS course?
£1,200 + VAT per person, paid at the start. That’s twelve sessions, one every two weeks, over about six months.
How much is GrowthCLUB?
£100 + VAT a month with a 12 month minimum, or £1,000 + VAT for the year. Your first session is free. If you just want to come to a planning morning, it’s £300 + VAT. And if you move up to coaching, what you’ve paid counts towards it.
How are you different from a business coach?
A lot of coaching focuses on mindset and accountability. I spent approximately ten years in M&A and investment banking and looked at more than 1,000 businesses the way a buyer does, so I know what makes one defensible and what takes value away before an owner notices. I bring that lens to every client, whether the goal is growing, buying or getting ready to step back.
I’ve tried coaching before and it didn’t work.
That’s more common than it should be. I diagnose first and recommend second. We set a baseline and agree what success looks like before we start, then measure against it. And if I can’t help, I’ll tell you at the Diagnostic.
How long before I see results?
Most owners leave the Diagnostic clearer about what’s holding the business back. Real shifts usually show within about three months, with bigger commercial changes building over the following year. If someone promises a transformed business in six weeks, be sceptical.
Can you help with succession or an eventual exit?
Yes, with getting ready for it. I help you build a business that’s worth more and can run without you. I don’t run or advise on a sale. When you’re ready, that goes to a corporate finance partner, alongside your own legal and tax advisers. I’m an adviser, not a regulated M&A, corporate finance, tax or legal adviser.
Who sees my numbers?
Only me. Everything you share stays confidential.
Where do you work?
Across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. In person and online. We agree what suits you at the Discovery.
45 minutes. No obligation. You’ll leave with a clearer view of what’s holding the business back, whether we work together or not.
Book a Discovery CallReferred by your accountant or another adviser? Tell me who when you book. It helps me prepare.
Not ready for a call yet?
A live session with other business owners. See how I work before you commit to anything.
Your first session is free.
Book your free session