Business GP provides a range of business advisory services to organisations, companies and individuals on a direct or one-to-one basis. Central themes in most cases are a combination of growth, profit, sustainability and continuous improvement. In a colloquial sense, the mission with each client is to ‘fill in some gaps, get them on track and keep them on track’.
Clients are mainly smaller, entrepreneurial, family or partnership companies where owners have built their businesses from scratch with little previous commercial experience or business education. However, they all have something in common. They are challenged by growth, in particular profitable growth and they want to do better. Some are seeking to transition out of their business after many years and are not sure how to set about it. All are open to enlisting affordable, professional advice and support – which is where Business GP comes in.
Over many years Business GP has developed a proven, successful, phased approach to helping clients achieve their objectives. This commences with business assessment and planning, followed by resolving major problems or constraints and when ready, business development and growth opportunities are pursued. Clients may then transition into a mentor support phase with Business GP, which with some continues for several years.
For relatively modest fees, each client retains a highly experienced, independent business adviser and mentor, who works directly with them on their own specific objectives, challenges and outcomes.
New Services
Because of demand Business GP has recently limited the number of direct or one-to-one clients because of the time and logistics involved. A waiting list has been established.
As a result, a new service in the form of Business GP Online is being launched in mid 2017, aimed at providing a range of business advisory services to any business owner or manager who wants support with growth, profitability, business development, diversification, transition or personal development.
The key difference is that services and support materials will be provided via a combination of online publishing, personalised courses, workshops, consultations and an online shop. Support services will be available to business owners, directors and managers via web site public access and an innovative membership system.
Business GP Online will be further supported by Business GP on Tour, with Maurie Hill regularly visiting Australian regional centres and towns in conjunction with local business groups and sponsors, offering courses, workshops and one-on-one consultations to interested small business owners and managers.
See Services for a full introduction.
Specialist Advisers
Few if any practitioners [doctors, consultants, advisers] profess to know everything in their chosen field. Business GP is certainly not expert in every facet of business and therefore recommends or accesses specialists to support a client’s special needs as and when required.
In recent years, HR, ICT, WH&S, quality management, legal, finance and other specialists have been engaged alongside Business GP, to contribute further expertise and specialist advice, in various client situations.
We establish advisory teams around our clients, to ensure the best advice and support available relative to requirements and affordability. These often include the company’s external accountants, a bank manager if growth funding is required, legal support with commercial structuring or large contracts, an ICT contractor and others. The benefits are that external specialists work off the same business plan as a team, significantly strengthening internal management and delivering desired client outcomes.
Maurie Hill – Your Business GP
Maurie has successfully contributed to the business world for over four decades; in multinational, national and his own companies; and in recent years as a business adviser to family businesses and partnerships, from start-ups to multi-million dollar turnover companies. View Maurie Hill’s profile.
He has developed a unique Business GP approach to helping his small business clients, which starts with owners’ personal goals and ambitions, and then positions their business as the means of achieving these, not as the end in itself. This results in a purpose for the business, the raison d’etre or ‘reason for existence’ and provides a higher level context for priorities, strategies, decisions, problem solving and investment.
Clients also respond to the logical, self-paced and staged approach to Business GP services and support. They invariably end up spending more focused hours working ‘on their business’, they learn new business management skills and they employ best practice business processes for directing and operating their business.