Debate: Moving up the gears

How do you make the successful transition from a start-up business to one that’s going places? That was the question we asked our panel, brought together at the offices of Bespoke Digital with Boost Business Lancashire; Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub.

PRESENT:

How do you change gears to get from a start-up to a growing business?

Darren Mills:

Measure every KPI so you can look back and benchmark where you were and where you are going to. Also, you can’t get there on your own. It is about investing in the right people.

Anthony Smith:

Nobody teaches you how to handle a marriage, bring up children or run a business. It is trial and error and only through failure do you find the necessary ingredients to be able to move forward to succeed.

When you get to there, it’s keeping and retaining the fundamental lessons which have made you successful.

Tom Havlin:

When you do, pass it to somebody who has a higher skill set than you. Don’t be afraid to recruit people that are smarter than you, get extra skills that you need.

Natalie Smith: As you grow keep going back to why you set up in the first place and the ideas that you had - and don’t cut any corners.

Anthony Smith: You recruit for attitude and not for skill. If they’ve got a great attitude they can become the sort of person that embodies your vision.

Rafik Adam:

Also look at what it is you plan to do. If you’re driving a car, the windscreen is bigger than the rear view mirror. Keep an eye on where you’ve been because that’s clearly important, but you’ve got to look where you’re going and take everyone with you as well.

Simon Milnes:

And it was all about the attitude of the two people we’ve taken on. They didn’t know much about the business we are in, which is fine, I can teach them all that.

Andrew Leeming:

Part of what Boost should be about is how we capture the passion that businesses have for their own operations.