Chatting with Kris, we hear how his May shaped up, “Despite the many bank holiday’s, May has been a really strong sales month with lots of volume work coming through. Working to full capacity, it’s been fantastic having our new apprentice Aaden officially join the business and he’s already getting stuck into work and supporting the rest of the team. A nice problem to have, but the biggest challenge this month has been scheduling work around the bank holiday’s, customers annual leave and meeting demand, which is really essential for us, to manage expectations.
I also attended one of the local Signs Express regional meetings this month which with work and family commitments had been the first I’d been able to attend. Meeting with my peers, being able to pick their brains and speak with like-minded individuals going through the same business issues as myself was completely invaluable. I also found it hugely useful speaking with a particular centre owner who is already running with multiple centres, to understand the business dynamic and challenges they face as essentially, they are where I hope to be a few years from now. Hearing the overall business updates and the wider Signs Express strategy was a positive insight to the progress being made, especially around the Learning Management Platform. Off the back of this, the topic of staff retention and recruitment was widely discussed…
I’ve said this before, but one of the biggest benefits of taking on a resale for me, along with the solid business foundations, existing customer base etc. has to be the team. Keeping your team happy and feeling valued is essential for staff retention, so when the topic came up in the meeting I took away some really great ideas from across the rest of the network. One of the biggest challenges is finding the right people to take on the journey with you, so it’s all about how you can add value to your existing team. Lots to think about…!”
As Kris’ last diary entry for a while, it felt important to reflect on the process so far and ask the question of ‘would you do it all again’? “In short yes. Yes, I’d do it again. I’m naturally a risk averse individual and spend a lot of time weighing things up, however with a commercial head on and being confident in my abilities, I’ve also taken a few leaps in my career and always pleased I’ve done so. I’d certainly do things differently, I’ve made a few mistakes and learnt along the way, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. I’m really pleased with where the business is heading, I’m comfortable with my decision to take on a new challenge and I can already see the benefits of my investment.
I’ve made some strategic choices around the direction of the business and the types of job we want to focus on for now, along with spending time building relationships. It’s really positive to see a lot of the hard work now coming to fruition with the hope of a positive summer! Overall, I’m happy with where the business is heading and I’m excited to see what’s to come!”
A big thank you to Kris for taking the time out of his busy schedule to have a chat with us every month. It’s been fantastic following his progress and seeing the success and milestones he’s achieving already. We’ll leave Kris for a few months now, but we’ll be checking in again to see how his expansion plans are coming along towards the end of the year!
