Chairman's Blog Archives - Page 7 of 31

Every entrepreneur wants to give up sometimes

Posted on 27 May 2022 by Martin Port

Nobody starts a business expecting half of the curve balls that come their way. I should know. I’ve done it three times.

However hard you try, there will be times when you feel that the whole world is against you. When you can’t see a way forward. When, frankly, you want to throw in the towel.

But the mark of a true entrepreneur is that, despite these feelings, you find the grit and resolve to push forwards and find a solution to even the most impossible problems.

I was reminded of this when watching the football this weekend.

Like many of you, I was glued to my screen on Sunday when both Leeds United and Manchester City pulled off staggering turnarounds.

The parallels between business and football

Those of you who have watched my Secrets of Leadership series with Kevin Keegan OBE know that I see many parallels between business and the beautiful game and this was one of those times.

Leeds United was third from the bottom when it went into the match against Brentford, the last match of the season. The team had to win or risk relegation. In the 93rd minute, Jack Harrison scored the goal that ensured Leeds’s place in next season’s Premier League.

What an incredible moment to witness – especially for a die-hard Leeds fan.

As for Manchester City, the team lost ground against Aston Villa, and seemed set to lose. But manager Pep Guardiola refused to give up, and embarked on a bold strategy, bringing on new players who ultimately helped City beat Villa, 3-2.

Both Guardiola and Leeds’s manager Jesse Marsch found the strength to fight back just when victory seemed impossible.

I found that incredibly inspiring – and a timely reminder of what it takes to be a great leader.

The power of teamwork when solving problems

They brought me back to the power of teamwork when it comes to solving problems. If you surround yourself with great people, and let them come up with solutions too, motivating them to be the best they can be, you can get through anything.

This absolute focus on a team mentality was evidenced after the Manchester City match, when everyone from the squad and support crews flooded onto the pitch. Even the guy who washes the team’s kit came out.

That business appreciates everyone who helps the team win, from the most junior to the top brass.

These matches helped me to remember that even though it’s a tough trading environment out there, with lots of economic strife coming down the road, it’s not about getting weighed down by the problems; you must focus all your energies on solutions.

This was the very reason I started BigChange in the first place. To use technology to help businesses of all sizes survive downturns and difficulties because our technology brought them unrivalled efficiency.

In business, you never back down from a challenge. You just keep on fighting until you find a way through.

At BigChange, there’s no problem we can’t solve if we work together, and value one-another’s insight and experience.

There are 260 brilliant people at BigChange, and everyone has played a crucial part in our success.

One thing’s for certain, like Marsch and Guardiola, I’m never going to leave the pitch without a win, and neither should you.

Our collaboration Network is helping small firms increase revenues by 15%

Posted on 20 May 2022 by Martin Port

Five years ago I had a brainwave. BigChange, which was just a start-up back then, was starting to make an impact and we had amazing customers coming on board every single day.

That’s when it hit me: wouldn’t it be incredible if I could help these companies work together to grow, and become more successful than they could on their own?

That was the seed of an idea that would grow into the BigChange Network, a directory where our customers could find contractors, share jobs, and expand, both geographically and in terms of the services they could provide.

Today, we have over 550 customers on the Network and we’re beginning to see how collaboration is accelerating their growth and success.

The value of the BigChange network

Imagine you’re a plumbing business based in Brighton, and a customer in North London needs a job done.

It doesn’t make sense to send someone all the way from Brighton to do the work – not from a business or carbon efficiency standpoint.

So, you look on the Network, find a great London plumber, give them a call, and then send the job over via the BigChange platform.

Once they accept, you can track the work in real-time. Once the job is complete, you have all the paperwork required for the end customer, with your company branding, and you get the signed off job card including all the completed health and safety processes and photos.

This collaborative system also means that you make a nice profit on a customer that you may have had to turn down otherwise.

What could be simpler?

Using the Network to solve complex challenges

In fact, our innovative customers are using the Network to solve increasingly complex business challenges.

Lori Kidd, who manages the Network, has found all kinds of fascinating user cases.

“We have some customers who offer maintenance but might be approached by customers looking for an installation,” she explains.

“If they say they can’t install the equipment and the customer goes elsewhere, that other company may end up servicing the equipment later, so the customer has lost out twice. We are seeing those companies finding an installer through BigChange and then handling all the future maintenance afterwards.”

I love hearing stories about how smart business leaders are using the Network to test out new services, expand their geographical reach, and take on urgent jobs when they are booked solid. I’d like to share some of these with you today.

Even if you’re not a BigChange customer, I hope the below insights fuel your ambitions. And if you are, and you’re not on the Network, I hope this inspires you to take the plunge!

Offering a seamless service

Steve Baker is the founder of Jardak Services, which started out as a contract cleaning company but now offers a full facilities management service.

The business has been going for 22 years, and now employs 60 staff. Steve believes that the Network has transformed the way he contracts out work.

“We have a sister business, called Trustwater, which offers fire risk assessments and health and safely consultancy,” he says. “Trustwater is on BigChange too, so we use the Network to refer jobs between the two businesses while ensuring that all our paperwork and processes are completely consistent. It’s an example of how you can use the Network internally to make the sub-contracting process even more seamless.”

Contract out with confidence

Dan Rochester founded Target Maintenance with his brother Dean in 2014.

From a standing start, the property management and fire protection company has grown to employ 90 staff and turn over £8.5m.

“We have found the Network really helpful for finding like-minded companies and sharing jobs,” he says.

“Because you are dealing with a BigChange customer, you know what kind of company it’s likely to be. We have found the standard of work has been very high, and we know that they can provide all the information we need in the right format for our records and our health and safety processes.”

Boost your revenues

Aaron Eastwood is the co-founder of Site Secure, a CCTV manufacturer and fire alarm installation firm.

The business has been running since 2018 and joined the network a little over a year ago.

“We always use the Network as the first port of call to find sub-contractors,” he says. “Without the Network, we could use some of the people we already have on our books as approved contractors but there would definitely be some work we would have to turn down without it, especially the stuff that is out of our area or is really urgent.”

Aaron says that the Network has increased revenues by 10%-15%. “That has the ability to grow as we use the Network more and more,” he adds. “We are doubling in size every year.”

Free publicity!

“I can’t understand why every BigChange customer isn’t on the Network,” says Jardak’s Steve Baker. “It’s free publicity for your business. Once you’re set up to take on jobs, you don’t have to do anything, and the referrals come in whenever someone needs your help on a job.”

A virtuous cycle

When you refer a job to a contractor through the Network, you forge a new professional relationship that could result in more work coming your way in future.

“We’ve had a few instances where we have referred work to a BigChange customer and then they have given us work back,” says Site Secure’s Aaron Eastwood.

“We always give new contractors a ring when we find them on the Network, so you get to know each other.”

Sharing best practice with existing customers

It’s always useful when you find out an existing customer is already on the BigChange platform, according to Dan Rochester.

“You can work together to improve the reporting and processes that you get from each job. I have one client that I work closely with, and we are always sharing our learnings and helping one another to get even more out of the software. I’ve made a lot of changes to our back end – it looks very different to the off-the-shelf product now – and I’ve shown him all our workarounds.”

Save time and resource

“When you search for contractors on BigChange, it shows you the exact catchment area they work in, and all their specialist services, which is a real time-saver,” says Jardak’s Steve.

“We would otherwise use Google to try and find someone but then you often call up and they don’t work in the area that you searched for, or they don’t offer the specialist service that you need.

“Given that we only tend to subcontract out the more specialist stuff, we can’t afford to waste time ringing around.”

Embrace your inner renegade, like Elon Musk

Posted on 12 May 2022 by Martin Port

“Look, I know I sometimes say or post strange things, but that’s just how my brain works. To anyone who’s been offended, I just want to say, I reinvented electric cars, and I’m sending people to Mars in a rocket ship. Did you think I was also going to be a chill, normal dude?”

Elon Musk stunned viewers with his opening speech on Saturday Night Live last year. The Tesla boss talked about having Asperger’s and his attempts to run “human in emulation mode”. It was an interesting insight into the mind of the man who has become the richest man in the world.

I knew very little about the tech billionaire until recently, when I watched a Netflix documentary about him, and started to consume as much media as I could about his journey, like this interview on the FT.

Before this research, I thought of him as a Twitter-obsessed genius, who challenged Vladimir Putin to “single combat”.

Now, I think I have a more rounded view of him as a man and an entrepreneur, and it got me thinking about how quick human beings can be to dismiss those whose behaviour seems strange or erratic.

Elon Musk is a visionary

The underlying truth about Elon Musk is that he is a renegade and an independent thinker, who does things in his own idiosyncratic way.

He is trying to make many positive changes in the world, whether that’s reducing road accidents through driverless cars, minimising our reliance on fossil fuels, protecting human livelihoods from the artificial intelligence revolution, or helping civilians trapped in war-torn Ukraine.

Those are the things that should matter now – and will matter when he is remembered in history books, not whether he’s tweeted a dumb meme.

I’m no Elon Musk but I am also what you might call “a character”. I have my own ways of doing things, I like to take action today – never tomorrow, and I like to question why things are done the way they are.

Why can’t we do it better? Over the years, this has certainly rubbed people up the wrong way and I understand why.

But if people knew me better, they would see that I’m not so eccentric after all, I’m just absolutely committed to customer service, continuous improvement, and trying to be a good person.

We should celebrate the renegades

I think that society needs to learn to be more accepting of renegades.

No, I want to go further than that, we need to celebrate them and stop trying to limit or ridicule the scale of their aspiration. We need to judge people on their actions, not their words. We need to try and form opinions more slowly, with greater care.

Now, when I think about Elon Musk, I don’t think about the time he smoked a spliff on the Joe Rogan show, or those strange tweets when those boys were trapped underground in Thailand.

Instead I see someone whose vision and aspiration eclipses everything else. Someone who will make an indelible mark on human history for all the right reasons.

So let’s all try and be a bit more Elon.

The BigChange University: how our learning platform changed everything

Posted on 4 May 2022 by Martin Port

We have a problem at BigChange. How do we show our customers the breadth of our software capability when there are an extraordinary number of features and possibilities to consider?

This problem only gets bigger as our platform becomes more comprehensive and we create more layers of detail and personalisation. If you try and explain too much at once, you create a kind of technological snow blindness.

This is why, a couple of years ago, we embarked on a plan to create the BigChange University. We created a live webinar series, which unpacked each feature in detail and helped customers to really get under the bonnet of the software. We were running a webinar almost every day at one point.

This was a runaway success, but the approach had its limitations. We could only host webinars during “office” hours, and each session lasted between 30 minutes and one hour. Our customers are busy people: they can’t always spare an hour in the middle of the day to complete a training module.

That’s when we asked Will Nixon to come in and help us create a more sustainable, powerful solution. He is the man who helped take training digital for the NHS, creating a platform where staff could complete modules in their own time from anywhere. He agreed to join us as Customer Learning Manager and has taken us on an epic journey to build BigChange University 2.0.

Today, the university is a massive resource, packed with online videos and tutorials that customers can access whenever and wherever they want. We have shaken up the format, creating bitesize learning modules that are up to 10 minutes long. We have organised the training into levels: core, advanced and expert. All new customers complete the core training as part of their onboarding and existing customers can enhance their knowledge with the more sophisticated modules.

Right now, we are looking to get this training externally accredited, so that our customers can use this learning towards their individual Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Will has worked tirelessly over the past six months to broaden out the original training platform into a more holistic and robust resource.

“The response from customers has been amazing,” he tells me. “The training element of the onboarding process used to take routinely six to eight weeks. Now, it takes just 14 days. This has a massive impact on customers because the time we would previously spend on core training is now used for bespoke consultancy. Because customers already understand the platform, they can ask thoughtful questions and help us drive value much more quickly. We have seen a lot of early successes in that area.

“Our training modules aren’t passive; there are learnings at the end to put into action in the live environment, which means we are driving more self-service when it comes to the basics and allowing the BigChange team to focus their attention on the real value drivers for customers. As we grow, we don’t have infinite resources so it’s important to use our one-to-one support in the most effective and powerful way.

“Over time, we can use the data we glean about how and when customers consume which modules to help shape future developments. We’ll know which modules are most popular in what industries. These kinds of learnings are gold dust. By being responsive to customer needs, we have moved away from rigid processes and discovered a world of opportunity.”
Will Nixon, Customer Learning Manager

I couldn’t have put it better myself.

I’m sharing our journey with the BigChange University today to help any entrepreneurs grappling with similar problems. Sometimes, a bit of creative thinking gives you a solution that not only makes the initial challenge disappear, it also helps steer you into an even more sustainable and successful future.

We all deserve a chance: We need equal opportunities for people with disabilities

Posted on 27 April 2022 by Martin Port

I’m not an angry man. I rarely lose my temper. But when I think about the chronic shortage of opportunities for people with physical disabilities and learning difficulties, I’ll admit, I feel frustrated and enraged.

Every human being on this earth deserves the chance to make something of themselves. To have independence and make their own living. To work hard in a rewarding career and find the purpose and community that fulfilling employment creates.

And yet, too often, doors that should be held open are slammed shut. In all the years I have been talking about equal opportunities for disabled people, I’ve seen very little change.

Almost half of the disabled people in Britain are currently unemployed. Of the 8.4m disabled people in the UK, just 4.4m have jobs.

But I’m not here to post doom and gloom. Today, I want to share an incredible story with you.

It’s a story of triumph over adversity, of compassion, and humanity. It’s the story of Todd Scanlon, a young man with Down’s Syndrome, who dreamt of becoming a scaffolder, and Martyn Coles, the man who made it happen.

‘I didn’t anticipate the reactions we would get’

I connected with Martyn a few months ago. We share a lot of the same values and beliefs, and when I heard about his journey with Todd, I just had to share it. I’ll let Martyn tell you in his own words.

“I’ve known Todd for years. I used to go to school with his cousins. I run my own scaffolding business and for as long as I can remember, Todd has been asking to come and work with me. A few years ago, I said to his mum, ‘Why don’t you let him have a go?’

“It took a couple of years for her to agree. She wanted to be reassured there would be no issues with him working on site, or with my staff. But in the end, she trusted me, and he began working in the business four years ago.

“There are a lot of misconceptions about people with Down’s syndrome. I’m always asked: ‘Do you need lots of extra health and safety processes? What about the risks?’

But Todd is just the same as any other member of my team. If anything, he’s more careful than some of his colleagues. If there’s a big hole on site, and I tell everyone not to go near it, he doesn’t.

Other people on the team might be tempted to go and have a look, but he carries out instructions to the letter.

“The only change we have made to our working process is to introduce some sign language because Todd doesn’t have great hearing. Construction is a noisy industry anyway, so we have some different signs we use to indicate different fittings, so he always uses the right equipment.

“When I gave Todd a job, I didn’t anticipate the reactions we would get. I got a lot of abuse, especially from other scaffolding companies. I was even accused of using Todd for a gimmick, for my own personal gain. It was vile.

“Then, a few years ago, we tried to get Todd into college. No one wanted to know. We have lots of lads here on apprenticeships and they all go to college but the main training provider we spoke to did everything they could to avoid having Todd.

“Even when their assessor came and spoke to Todd and tried to fight our corner, they didn’t want to know. That was a really difficult time for all of us. I sent email after email, called over and over, and the provider kept putting me off.

“Todd would ask me when he could go to college like the other lads, and I had to tell him truthfully that I didn’t know if that would ever be possible.”

The right to an education

“In the end, I started making a lot of noise about Todd. I contacted the CEO directly and pointed out that I wasn’t asking for a free ride. I just wanted to get him assessed. He has the right to an education, just the same as everyone else. She never got back to me.

“However, another training provider heard about our situation and got in touch. They asked me how confident I was that he could complete the training. I said that I didn’t know if he could pass first time, but he deserved a chance.

He went to Weston College to take the assessment and got 88 out 100, which blew everyone away. T

he college came back and offered him a special education needs (SEN) assessment, which was completed in January this year, and the assessor came back and said that yes, Todd has the ability to do the course, and, most importantly, he really wanted to do it.

“I’m under no illusions. This isn’t going to be easy. Todd is going to have to work very hard and we’ll all support him the best we can. The college has been amazing. It’s offering one-to-one sessions to support Todd, and it has created a bespoke programme just for him.

“This isn’t just an incredible opportunity for Todd. This paves the way for anyone else like him to follow the same path.

“We have been getting messages from people all over the world, saying ‘I have a child with a disability, and I never thought they could do what they want to in life, but this proves it’s possible. You have shown it can be done and fought our corner.’

“Even the UK education board has been in touch, asking if they can put something like this in place at mainstream colleges across the country.”

A life-changing experience

“For Todd, this whole experience has been life-changing. He gets paid a wage every week and he loves the work.

“He only works two days because it’s a tough job and he gets very tired but even on his days off, he’s texting the lads on WhatsApp asking how they’re getting on.

“He loves being part of a team. Now and again, on a Friday, we’ll go to the pub and Todd will buy a round. He’s experienced what it’s like to earn a wage, pay your way and save up to treat yourself.

“We are a small business, yet we have managed to help Todd achieve his dream. Imagine what could be done if all the big businesses across the UK adapted like we have.

“A few companies, like Sainsbury’s, do welcome those with disabilities but the reality is there is still a lot of prejudice out there.

“I’ve been running my own business for eight years and have created opportunities for all kinds of people. Individuals coming out of prison. Guys recovering from alcohol and drug addiction.

“What I’ve learned is that if you manage everyone like a person, focusing on bringing out the best of their abilities, they learn just as well as anyone else.

“They may need a bit more help sometimes but don’t we all?”

“I’m so proud of all Todd has achieved. He has worked so hard and become a global ambassador. Everyone in our local area knows him and says hello. He’s single-handedly changing attitudes just by being himself. Even if Todd decided to quit scaffolding tomorrow, it’s been an amazing journey and opened so many doors. I just hope that Todd’s achievements – and us telling his story – will help convince many other businesses to give someone like him a chance. That’s all anyone with disabilities wants: a chance.”
Martyn Coles

Chairman’s spotlight on… Andy Wright, CEO of Sunbelt Rentals

Posted on 21 April 2022 by Martin Port

If you need to hire equipment to lift, power, generate, move, dig, compact, drill, support, scrub, pump, direct, heat or ventilate, Sunbelt Rentals has it all.

It’s the UK’s biggest plant rental business – and collectively with the States and Canada is one of the two largest in the world.

Part of the Ashtead Group, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, Sunbelt (formerly A-Plant) has been around since 1947.

Any business that can thrive and grow for 70 years is doing something right, and this month, I’m turning the full beam of my chairman’s spotlight on UK CEO Andy Wright.

Andy is a veteran of the plant rental industry, and has worked at the likes of Aggreko, Lavendon (now Loxam), and Speedy Services.

“Veteran… that makes me feel very old,” he tells me. “But it’s true, I have been in this industry for more than 30 years.”

Moving through the ranks

Andy has had a fascinating career, leaving school at 16 and becoming an apprentice high voltage cable jointer for the Yorkshire Electricity Board.

“I wasn’t very good at it,” he jokes. “I wanted to use those technical qualifications in a new role, so I joined Aggreko in 1989 as a sales engineer in Doncaster.”

The rest, as they say, is history. He worked his way up through the ranks, moving to other businesses, constantly learning, until he joined A-Plant as Chief Operating Officer in 2019.

“The Ashtead Group is the world’s most valuable rental company,” he says. “It was a job I couldn’t turn down.”

Within six months, Andy’s sector experience and down-to-earth leadership saw him promoted to interim CEO. “I don’t go into a darkened room and come up with a strategy a few weeks later,” he says.

“I speak to the team, and find out what they need and what trends they are seeing. Most business strategy is just good common sense.”

Andy and I have this approach in common. My shop floor days with customers and the time I spend with the BigChange team have informed all my strategic decisions over the years.

“That might not be how Elon Musk does it but it works for me,” Andy says.

Taking responsibility seriously

Sunbelt UK currently employs 3,800 people. “We are responsible for a lot of livelihoods,” says Andy. “For every employee, two or three more people depend on us. It’s a responsibility we take very seriously.”

His first big change as CEO of Sunbelt? “When I joined, there were 23 separate operating brands here. Some of the people who work here didn’t know everything we did – let alone our customers.

“So I saw the opportunity to create one joined-up complementary group of services, so that if you needed a generator and a dumper and an aerial work platform, you only have to call one number, not three.

“We now own and manage a billion pounds worth of assets in the UK under one single operational entity.”

This is great advice for any entrepreneur. How can you remove friction for your customers and make it as easy as possible for them to buy from you?

Navigating the choppy waters of the pandemic

Andy also helped Sunbelt navigate choppy waters throughout the pandemic, spotting opportunities for growth where other leaders saw only risk.

Sunbelt was a critical services provider, and able to operate despite the lockdowns, but many construction projects were delayed or cancelled.

He pivoted the business to provide vital services to local councils and the NHS, and Sunbelt built over 80% of the Covid testing sites that sprung up across the UK.

“We’d built temporary infrastructure before but never at that scale,” says Andy. “That experience has helped us move into other end markets, like government projects and events.”

Sunbelt has been a BigChange customer for more than two years now. Andy credits the technology with driving record efficiencies in the business. “The impact was significant,” he says.

“BigChange has quickly become the way we do things around here, and we’re seeing great benefits in terms of the efficiency of our logistics and how we allocate work.”
Andy Wright, CEO of Sunbelt Rentals

Looking after your people

Andy’s guiding principle throughout his career has been to look after his people.

“I focus on just three things. I look after our people and help them be the best they can be. I look after our customers and deliver a world-class experience. And we do all that as one team.

“If we manage that successfully, profit will follow. Too many businesses think about making a profit first but we care about being a long-term, sustainable business that we can all be proud of.”

Andy’s approach to leadership is simple but very powerful.

“I treat people the way I want to be treated, and I do my best to clear obstacles out of their way so they can do their jobs to the best of their ability.

“This approach has always worked for me. When I was young, someone told me that as a leader, you get the people you deserve. If you trust people and work hard for them, they will do the same thing for you.”

A great PA is an entrepreneur’s secret weapon

Posted on 14 April 2022 by Martin Port

Three years ago, I had a wake-up call. I was sitting in my kitchen at 1am, replying to all the emails that I hadn’t been able to deal with during the day. I still had about 100 more to read and I needed to be up to get a train at 6am. In that moment, I knew that something had to change, fast.

Over the next few weeks, I began looking for a trusted PA. Someone who could manage my email, my diary, and whose administrative skills far outweighed my own. As luck would have it, I bumped into Madeleine Taylor-Hopps at an event, and offered her a job then and there. When you know, you know.

This post is aimed at any leader who is still trying to juggle everything alone. Stop! Your time is too valuable to fritter it away arranging meetings or booking travel. Every minute you spend on admin is a minute you’re not dedicating to growing your business.

I believe that a talented and trusted executive assistant is absolutely key to achieving your entrepreneurial dreams. And here’s why:

1.) Maddy solves problems in real-time

If I’m tied up in meetings, I know that Maddy is monitoring my emails and will ring me if something urgent comes up. She is highly capable, and if she can resolve an issue, she has the autonomy to forward on a request to the right people. This means that – often – by the time I come out of the meeting, the problem has already been solved. That is an enormous weight off my mind.

2.) I have reclaimed hours of my day

I estimate that I was spending three hours every evening catching up on emails before I hired Maddy. That time is now my own again. She clears everything that I don’t need to see out of my inbox and prioritises the important messages. I have a hearing impairment, so Maddy also listens to my voicemails and sends me a summary – just one of many ways that she makes life easier for me.

3.) Absolute confidentiality

I trust Maddy implicitly. She sees confidential documents and discussions but I never worry that she’ll share what she sees. During the recent buy-out, for example, she saw all the financial information and was privy to all the negotiations. She was a huge asset during that time.

4.) A human face

BigChange is a software company but I’m passionate about retaining a human feel. When people get in touch with me, I like that it’s Maddy arranging meetings and not some faceless app. If I’m busy and forget to chase something, I know that Maddy will remind me, or that she will be the first port of call for anyone struggling to get hold of me.

5.) Support 24/6

Every leader will have a different relationship with their executive assistant. It’s down to the individuals to set boundaries. From day one, Maddy and I had an understanding that she would be available six days a week. If someone calls me on a Sunday afternoon and asks for a meeting Monday morning, I know Maddy has it covered. This consistent level of support has made Maddy completely indispensable to me and the business.

There are some great agencies out there dedicated to placing executive assistants. For anyone starting the process, I advise prioritising trust above everything else. Maddy used to work in finance in her last job, and was there 16 years, so I knew she was a trustworthy and loyal individual. Ideally, you want someone who has worked for senior leaders previously. It’s a very specific skillset: we can be demanding but, hopefully, always grateful for the support. Mutual respect is very important. Maddy takes on all the tasks that I would struggle to manage on my own but I still book most of my own travel, for example, as I can do that easily through a few clicks on an app. I try not to overload her on busy days.

But that’s enough from me. Let’s hear from the woman of the hour. Here’s Maddy:

“When I joined, Martin told me that I was going to change his life. It’s amazing how many emails and calls come to Martin that he really doesn’t have to deal with, so I know I save him hours every day. He believes that his productivity has increased threefold. I also now support Richard, our CEO, as well as the leadership team, which is helping them to save time and fit more into their days.

“I would say that being a mum taught me everything I needed to know to be a great PA. When you have three children, you learn to be very organised, flexible, and reactive. Mums are great problem-solvers. And now my kids are grown up I can use those skills in BigChange.”
Madeleine Taylor-Hopps, Executive PA at BigChange

“Martin thinks that I’m a miracle worker but most of the time, my job just involves a healthy dose of common sense.”

If you want to see incredible gains in productivity overnight, get yourself a PA – but please don’t steal mine!

It’s official: we are now the UK’s worst-kept secret

Posted on 8 April 2022 by Martin Port

I’m trying to remember a time when I started one of these quarterly update blogs without referencing the challenging economic climate. Between Brexit, Covid, the war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis, it feels like the UK has spent the last five years battling one headwind after another. Throughout all this uncertainty, BigChange has tried to be a dependable partner, consistently and diligently saving customers money and helping them to grow. At first, the impact of our technology remained under the radar but now, in 2022, it feels like the word is out. We have had a bumper quarter in terms of new contracts, partnerships with established companies, and impact. Here are some of the highlights…

A trusted partner

Over the last three months, BigChange has experienced extraordinary growth. New contract wins in the first quarter of 2022 are up by a third on the previous year, worth £7.2m. We have welcomed 100 new customers, bringing thousands of new users onto the platform. Our customer base is more diverse than ever, as we welcome many big, established companies into the fold. Special mentions go to facilities management firm First In Service, which has been going since 1966, and supports major organisations across the NHS, government and the private sector, to RGE Services, which has been providing best-in-class property services for the last 30 years, and to Cork Crane Hire, which has been going 40 years.

Expanding the team

As our order book grows, as does the BigChange team. I’m delighted that we have been able to welcome 25 new starters into the fold over the past quarter – and we’re still looking for 14 more (take a look at our vacancies here: BigChange – Current Openings. Our software development team is now 100-people strong, and we are well on the way to establishing a new Customer Success team.

Culture is everything

As we grow – and we are now a team of 250 colleagues – it’s important that we work hard to maintain our inclusive and entrepreneurial company culture. This is why I’m proud to announce that BigChange has retained its 2* Best Companies to Work For status, which proves that our growth has been achieved without sacrificing the wonderful work environment we have tried so hard to build here. Our management and our brilliant HR People team remain focused on supporting the careers of all our people, and it’s been a privilege to watch so many colleagues rise through the ranks in recent months. I’m talking about people like Georgia Murphy, who has moved from a front of house role to Customer Marketing and Events Manager, and Francis Chuma, who started as a tester at BigChange and now has a pivotal role within the Professional Services team. Regular readers of the blog will also remember Lisa’s story: Lisa Boonin started in RoadCrew Customer Service and was supported through a CIPD qualification to take on a new career in HR at BigChange.

World domination

We may now be an established player in the UK but we are also gaining traction internationally. BigChange now operates in France, Cyprus, Australia, New Zealand the US, and Canada. The French arm of the business has grown significantly over the past three months, expanding its base to reach over 60 customers. Across the globe, 60,000 people from around 2,000 companies now use BigChange.

Ready for a bumper Q2

Despite the many challenges that the world faces right now, I’m confident that BigChange will continue this impressive growth trajectory in the second quarter of 2022. After what feels like a lifetime of lockdowns, we’re back out there, attending events and exhibitions, and meeting potential customers all over the world. To put this into context, we attended just two exhibitions in the first quarter, and six are already tabled for Q2.

We continue to receive awards nominations and accolades, which also helps to raise awareness. In the last three months, BigChange has been shortlisted for Most Sustainable Installer (alongside Celsius Plumbing & Heating) at the Heating Installer Awards, and for the Best Use of Technology Award (alongside Nserv) at the Construction News Awards.

Proud to support entrepreneurs

It’s a tough trading environment out there but that just makes our technology even more attractive. Businesses must create more value than ever in order to survive and we are here to help them do just that, to increase profit margins while banishing waste and inefficiency. It’s no coincidence that 30% of our new business comes from existing customers buying new licenses. BigChange customers are not laggers: I would wager their growth far outpaces the rest of the UK economy. During two recent Shop Floor days with BigChange customers, I saw this ambition, drive and tenacity first-hand. At Sherwoods, revenues have doubled during the company’s time as a BigChange customer. At Crucial Engineering, which has been with BigChange almost since its formation, revenues recently hit over £3m. Watching businesses like these thrive is an absolute highlight of life as BigChange chairman, and I look forward to sharing many more success stories with you soon.

Stop doomscrolling and turn fear into positive action

Posted on 31 March 2022 by Martin Port

These days, every meeting starts with doom and gloom. The war in Ukraine. Rising Covid cases. Sky-high inflation. The escalating cost of living. There’s a lot to be worried about right now, so it’s natural that these issues are front of mind for many of us.

But I worry that all this negativity is sapping our ability to make positive changes in the world around us.

We are so focused on challenges and threats that we have stopped thinking about the future. We are so exhausted by current affairs that we don’t have the energy to respond effectively.

This week, I want to encourage all business owners – including myself – to try and move beyond the doomscrolling and focus instead on the things in our lives that we can control.

As entrepreneurs, we don’t think about problems, only solutions, and this situation is no different. If we are worried about the rising cost of living, and the impact on our customers and teammates, the best thing we can do is ensure that our products and services are the best they can be, offering value for money. We need to think about how we can grow our businesses, creating more jobs during what is likely to be a tricky time for many.

If we are worried about Ukraine, then we need to ensure our businesses are profitable, allowing us to contribute to charities and causes that are close to our hearts. Eight of my BigChange colleagues are based in Ukraine and we check in with them all frequently to make sure they are safe and have all they need. The time spent in contact with them is so much more valuable than time spent absorbing more coverage of the horrors unfolding there.

At BigChange, our entire business proposition is based on driving efficiencies and helping customers to be more successful. We help businesses to save money, reduce waste, and ensure every hour of the working day is spent as effectively as possible. What does this mean in practical terms? Well, fuel bills are rising, and our technology dramatically reduces miles spent on the road, ensuring the right engineer is sent to the right job via the most efficient route. Cash is key to business survival right now, and our systems make invoicing easy and ensure customers are paid as quickly as possible. Covid cases are rising which is why our in-built health and safety procedures have become one of our most popular features. No wonder we have had a record quarter for new customers, bringing 100 new organisations on board.

We never stop trying to find new ways to support our customers, which is why we keep investing heavily in customer service – it is only by working hard to understand issues that customers face that we can keep iterating our software to break down barriers to success. I am also about to launch a new video series, Growth Stories, sharing some of the smart strategies that have helped our customers to grow and succeed, so that we can all learn and be inspired.

It is also important to be pragmatic, especially when it comes to Covid. Yes, the doom-laden headlines are never nice to read but we have known for a long time that we must learn to live with Covid, as we live with the flu. It’s about protecting ourselves and one another – working from home when needed – and not getting derailed by fear. I have just recovered from Covid myself – several members of my family caught it for the first time just a couple of weeks ago. Luckily, with remote working, I was still online and able to be productive throughout my illness.

Psychologists have warned of a marked decline in mental health across the UK as many Brits, still reeling from the impact of the pandemic, now react to all the frightening news we are consuming on a daily basis. We need to be there for our teams right now and be prepared to listen. We must also find ways to bring our people together – we are social animals and need the support of face-to-face interactions. This is why BigChange is working hard on bringing our summer soiree plans safely to fruition.

I hope that this post can be a rallying cry for entrepreneurs everywhere. Don’t be disheartened. There is so much you can do. Is your business as lean as it could be? Are there any changes you could make right now to help ensure its continued success long into the future? The time to act is now.

Chairman’s spotlight on… Jo Sherwood, director of Sherwoods

Posted on 23 March 2022 by Martin Port

So many of the nation’s small businesses hold fascinating stories just waiting to be told. One of these is the history of Sherwoods, which has become one of the most admired firms in its sector, serving big-name customers all across the Southwest.

This month’s Chairman’s Spotlight is on Jo Sherwood, finance director of the fast-growth firm. She has helped grow Sherwoods from just 15 people to 111, and from a local electrical services provider to a fully-fledged building services facilities management company.

I first met Jo in the early days of BigChange. Sherwoods is run by four outstanding individuals: Jo, her husband Kev, whose father founded the company, Kevin Wiltshire and Jamie Bonner. Kevin W and Jamie started as apprentices in the business and have worked their way up to board level. It was Jamie who first saw the value in BigChange, and the whole team has worked with us over the years to help hone our offering. I’m so grateful to the team for their insight, recommendations, and feedback over the years.

I caught up with Jo to find out how her team has grown the business and the secrets to their success. It all started in 1970 when Kev’s father Mike Sherwood created Sherwoods as an electrical business in Torquay, South Devon. Kev had no intention of joining the business. He did an electrical apprenticeship at another firm! But when Mike decided to join Sir Chay Blyth on a year-long yacht trip around the world, he asked Kev to come and manage Sherwoods in his absence.

“Kev had no experience, he was in his early twenties, and it was during a recession, but he said he would give it a go,” says Jo. “He did such a good job that when his dad came back, he asked him to go into partnership.” In 2003, Jo and Kev were married, and she joined the business. “I started off doing a part-time admin job but, two years later, I was full-time finance director.” Jo has learned everything on the job, achieving her Association of Accounting Technicians’ level 3 qualification around the time she spent growing the business (and raising a family).

“When you are running a business, you have to live and breathe it,” she says. “When I went into hospital in 2005 to have my firstborn, I gave birth on the Sunday night, and Kev came back the next morning and I was there in my hospital bed doing the sub-contractors wages to make sure they got paid!”

Here are Jo’s five top tips for growing a successful family firm.

1.) Invest in your team – culture is everything!

“Our mission is to become the facilities management building services partner and employer of choice across the Southwest region, and we can only achieve this by continuously investing in our people.”

2.) Support your suppliers and clients

“When the first lockdown was announced, I pulled off our debtors’ report and saw we were owed £1.2m. I thought it was all over. But we worked closely with our customers and suppliers to make sure we all survived. We had a policy whereby when we were paid, we would pay as many people as we could, so everyone had some cash flow coming in. It was amazing to see everyone pull together and we built some really strong relationships during that difficult time.”

3.) Bring in new perspectives

“One of the best decisions we ever made was to bring other people into the business. When it was just Kev and I, it could sometimes be difficult. Being husband and wife and business partners, there was not always a clear way to resolve disagreements. But Jamie and Kevin W have grown with the business, they know our culture and how we do things. They now sit on the board and between us, we always find the best solution for the business. We even have heated debates! But we never fall out because we are all committed to Sherwoods.”

4.) Use BigChange

“BigChange has transformed the way we work. We couldn’t be without it now. Every job starts and finishes with BigChange. We cover a lot of the Southwest – it’s one of the hardest regions to cover as a contractor – but BigChange gives us the tools to do it efficiently.”

5.) Keep diversifying

“We are always looking for ways to spread our risk and a great way to do that is through diversification. That’s how we have become a one-stop shop, starting with electrical and then adding mechanical, and then onto a full FM service. We have also diversified into providing compliance services and planned maintenance for a range of clients. During the pandemic, shops, restaurants, medical facilities, and hotels needed to stay compliant and had we not diversified into that area, our challenges would have been significantly greater.”

I have such respect for Sherwoods’ commitment to its customers, colleagues and suppliers. I hope that you are as inspired by their story as I am. Check back soon for my next Chairman’s spotlight!