This week, we’ve been deep in group sessions with our clients, reviewing progress against quarterly plans. These moments are always energising - not just for the accountability they bring, but for the clarity they create. Every time we do this, I see teams sharpening their direction and making meaningful impact take shape. It reminds me of a quote from Keith J Cunningham’s The Road Less Stupid: “Few things are worse than running the wrong way enthusiastically.” I love this quote. It perfectly captures the danger of mistaking effort for effectiveness. In the SME world, where time and resources are precious, rigorous planning isn’t a luxury - it’s a necessity. Working hard is admirable, but without the right direction, it’s just motion without progress. So here’s the reminder: pause, plan, and check your compass. The right path, taken with intention, beats speed every time.

If you’re running or growing an SME, you probably spend a lot of time thinking about sales, customers, and cash flow. But let me share something I’ve learned from 20 years of working with ambitious businesses: the smartest companies don’t wait until they’re desperate to start thinking about hiring. They plan their org chart before the need becomes urgent. I get it. When you’re busy, it’s tempting to fill roles only when the pressure is on. But that is when mistakes happen. Rushed hires often lead to poor fits, higher turnover, and wasted resources. Instead, I encourage leaders to step back and look at the big picture. Where do you want your business to be in six months? A year? What roles will be critical to get you there? Sketching out your future org chart - even if it feels early - gives you a roadmap. You can start defining the skills, experience, and mindset you’ll need, long before you post a job ad. It also gives you time to nurture relationships with potential candidates, refine your employee value proposition, and set clear expectations for new roles. It’s never too early to start building your talent pipeline and employer brand. The more you engage with future candidates and showcase what makes your business a great place to work, the easier it will be to attract the right people when the time comes. Growth is exciting, but it’s much smoother when you’ve already mapped out who you’ll need on the journey.

Happy Monday, EPIC community! 💥 This week is Men’s Health Week, and it’s the perfect moment to remind ourselves that the health of the business starts with the health of the entrepreneur. We all want more growth, more focus, and more success. However, those things become 10 times harder when you’re overwhelmed, burnt out, or constantly “on.” So this week, we challenge you to support your whole self, not just your hustle: ✅ Move your body ✅ Switch off for 10 minutes today ✅ Talk if you need to - being strong means staying open ✅ And yes, book that check-up! Let us know in the comments: what ONE thing are you doing this week to support your wellbeing? You can’t pour from an empty cup -

One of the biggest challenges SME owners face is the constant pull of day-to-day operations. It’s easy to become trapped working in the business - handling tasks, solving problems, keeping things moving. But if you want your business to grow, you need to spend time working on it. This simple shift in focus is what separates businesses that plateau from those that scale sustainably. 📈 Working In Your Business: The Daily Grind ⚙️ When you’re working in your business, you’re involved in the daily engine room. This means managing your team, serving customers, dealing with admin, and firefighting issues as they arise.It’s essential work - but it often keeps owners in a reactive cycle.👉 Example: You’re processing orders, chasing payments, responding to emails, and solving problems all day. While these tasks are necessary, if they take up all your time, you’ll struggle to step back and see the bigger picture. Working On Your Business: Building for the Future 🛠️ When you’re working on your business, you’re thinking strategically. You’re focused on improving systems, growing your team, developing your offer, and setting the direction of travel.👉 Example: You’re building a sales process, recruiting future leaders, reviewing KPIs, or planning expansion. This is the space where real growth happens. It’s proactive - not reactive. Why It Matters 🎯 If you only work in your business, you’ll eventually hit a ceiling. Growth stalls, quality suffers, and you become the bottleneck.Working on your business creates systems that run without you, builds a stronger team, and gives you the freedom to lead - not just manage. Businesses that scale sustainably always have leaders who carve out time to step back and look forward. How to Make the Shift 🔄 📅 Block out time: Start with just one hour a week to focus on strategic work. 🤝 Delegate: Trust your team to handle more of the day-to-day. 📝 Document processes: This makes it easier to hand things over and frees you up. 🎯 Get accountability: Work with a coach, mentor, or peer group to stay on track.

In today’s fast-moving business world, it’s easy for owners to lose sight of the bigger picture amid daily demands. The well-known concept, “Start With Why” (Simon Sinek), reminds us that the most successful leaders and companies begin with a clear sense of purpose - their ‘why’ - which then shapes every decision and inspires both teams and customers. Understanding your ‘why’ is more than a motivational exercise; it’s a practical tool for building a company that works for you. Whether your goal is to gain personal freedom, fund your next project, or leave a legacy, your ‘why’ should guide how your business is structured and operated. But clarity of purpose alone isn’t enough. To truly thrive, business owners must also understand what they - and their teams - need from the company to fulfill that purpose. This is where our Personal Projections tool comes in. By mapping out your personal financial and lifestyle goals, you gain a clear start point for what your business must deliver. This insight makes it easier to set a strategy that aligns your company’s operations, culture, and growth plans with your real objectives. Once you’ve defined your ‘why’ and clarified your needs, the next step is to design your business to deliver on them. That means: - Having a crystal clear target to drive towards. - Ensuring every process and initiative supports your core purpose. - Empowering your team to buy into and help realize your vision. - Keeping your customer focus rooted in the deeper value you provide, not just what you sell. Start with your ‘why,’ use tools like Personal Projections to define what you need, and then build your business strategy around delivering those requirements. Purpose isn’t just a buzzword - it’s the foundation for long-term business success.