What is a business advisor?

Being a business advisor is all about helping you to get the right strategy to build a successful company and supporting you to put that strategy into action. I often say that I help small business owners to make more money and have more fun while they’re doing it.

I’ve been running different companies since I was 24. That’s 32 years of solid business experience. I’ve run social enterprises, technology companies, and a training company. You can find out more about my background and experience here.

I’ve been running the Joy of Business since I moved to Brighton in 2001. I became an online business advisor 5 years ago, and now all of my work is with clients over Zoom.

What can a business advisor do for your company?

A good business advisor will look at your business and work out with you what the best way forward is. Sometimes this is how to maximise the profits. At other times this is how to grow the business to sell it in a few years’ time. And sometimes, it’s to work out how to balance making the kind of income you want with the lifestyle you want to have or the kind of work you want to do.

A great small business advisor will also be able to support you in how to make those changes. As well as being really clear on the strategy, the goals and the way forward, a great business advisor will help you with all the areas you need to be able to get into action to develop your business in the way you want.

This might be helping you to get to grips with the latest in online marketing, supporting you with developing your sales skills or how to build your pipeline.

The best business advisor will also be able to help you with the emotional parts of running a business

You need someone who is completely on your side, believes in you and has the emotional intelligence and communication skills to support you, to be there for when things go well and when you’re experiencing those challenges that running a small business can bring.

It helps that I’ve been there before and experienced the highs and lows of running several fast-growing small businesses myself, so I can empathise with what my clients are going through.

I only work with companies where I truly believe that the business has the potential to grow and develop. And that starts with a coffee and a chat first, where we can work out if I’m the right business advisor to help you.

My style as a small business advisor

I’m not the right business advisor for everyone. I am known for my plain speaking, no bullshit approach. I see my role as to challenge your thinking, and to push you that little bit further when I need to.

Some people need more gentle handling and a more life coaching approach, and some people just want a sounding board for their own ideas – In these cases, I probably wouldn’t the right person for that.

I get very excited and ambitious for my clients. Often, because I’m not in your business every day, I can see the potential of your company more clearly than you can. My clients often say that they love coming to our sessions because they go away filled with enthusiasm and ideas for what they’re going to do next.

I’m very focused on helping my clients to make good money. In fact, my first book Sweetspot Pricing, is all about how to boost your profits by getting your pricing right and marketing your business to get people to buy at the price you need to charge.

I’m very comfortable talking about finance and take pride in being able to talk about the technical side of finance and business in a way that my clients can easily understand.

In fact, one of the best compliments I ever got from a client was someone who said: “You’re pretty strange, Julia, because you get finance and marketing, both at the same time.” I didn’t realise at the time that this was unusual, but she was right.

What kind of companies do I work with?

I specialise in working with companies with less than 30 employees, where the owner wants to grow the business. I love working across different sectors because I get to learn all about tofu manufacturing or adventure holidays.

I find that it helps that I don’t know everything about a particular sector because my client already knows tons about what they do. My role is to share and apply my knowledge of how to make money from that kind of business model.

I do a lot of work with software and technology companies, probably because I spent time working in tech, and I love the potential of these kinds of businesses. One of my favourite ways to scale a business is through productising, and I’ve developed a deep knowledge of different product-based business models.

How does it work?

Working with me as your online business advisor

We meet up online (unless you’re in Brighton) twice a month to work out how we’re going to make your business grow and develop. And then we continue meeting so I can be there to support you in implementing that strategy and tweaking it along the way.

That’s where all the clever tactics come in. I’m also available between meetings by phone and by email, so you can get advice on any tricky situations that come up along the way.

There’s no minimum contract, but most of my clients stay with me for 6 – 12 months.

What would I get out of working with you as my business advisor?

Clients say they feel more confident about running their businesses. And that their business moves forward faster with my help. I’ve worked with hundreds of different companies, and see it as my job to keep up to date with current trends, so I know what works and what doesn’t. Clients feel happier when we agree on a clear strategy, and this means that they can get into action on their business without worrying about whether they’re doing the right thing or not.

We’ll definitely focus on making your business more profitable. But we’ll also look at how we can make it more efficient. Which, of course, often means that it’s more profitable as well.

We’ll increase efficiency by cutting out the things you don’t need to do and concentrating on the actions which will make a real difference. And even in the smallest business, you can make massive steps forward by adding easy automation to your processes, bringing in modern best practices, or using the right software for the job.

Here are Miranda and Nick talking about how business coaching worked for them

How can we work together?

You can come to me for one-to-one business advice and we’ll meet twice a month to help you move your business forward.

We can arrange a coffee and chat, and I can advise you which one of these options would be best for your particular circumstances.

Here’s how to get in touch to arrange a chat about working together.

Let’s talk

If that feels too early for you and you’re just looking around at the moment, that’s fine. You can get my regular email tips on growing a business right here, and we can stay in touch.

I’d like to find out more about Julia Chanteray before getting together

Sure. I’ve put together some more background information about me, my background, qualifications and my philosophy in business.