Category: Entrepreneur

As an entrepreneur, you are always fielding questions about your plans for the business and growth strategy.

One question that comes up again and again is: who are your competition and what are they doing better than you?

I hate this question. In all my years as an entrepreneur, I have never once tried to copy a rival product, or pretended to be a customer to get access to a sales deck. I have always felt it unethical to obtain this kind of information – especially through underhand means. More than that, it damages your own brand to be too focused on what other companies are doing.

For me, the competition is a distraction that I don’t need. Their plans, their goals, their products, are nothing to do with us. If we start trying to look at all the rival platforms out there, and try and shoehorn things we like into our own system, we risk destroying the beautiful technology we have created.

I don’t wilfully ignore rivals. I talk to our customers about what they want and systems they have used. This means that I’m hearing about competing brands anecdotally, and constantly trying to ensure that our system is the best on the market. But my focus remains zeroed in on BigChange and making small improvements to what we have built.

Obsessing about the competition is the worst thing an entrepreneur can do. While you are trying to copy someone else, they are forging ahead. You never know what the next release will look like – what they’ll add and take away, and why.

Entrepreneurs who try and gain intel on competitors don’t get the full picture. So often, a huge part of what makes a brand exciting and popular is its customer service: how the company supports the product and the way the customer relationship is managed. You can’t accurately assess that from a slide deck or quick demo.

If you knew every detail about all your rivals in the market, maybe you wouldn’t bother to try at all. You can be blinded by information, and overwhelmed by all the spin out there.

As BigChange grows, we will have to be more open with our own systems and expect that the competition will know a lot about us. Companies like Salesforce let you download a trial version of their software for free. It has nothing to hide. We want to be that big someday. If we are afraid of what people will see, then we will be in a pretty bad position.

I’m in the US again – Seattle, this time. As I scan the shelves in Whole Foods, I see hundreds of versions of the same product. If you want eggs, they come in 50 breeds, colours and qualities. The drinks fridges are packed with soft drinks, all just slightly different. Ultimately, the customer benefits from more choice and variety, and all these drinks companies are successful.

As an entrepreneur, you have to believe in your own vision, and back your own offer. That’s not possible if you’re always watching other people, terrified that they are doing things better or faster.

Luckily, I’ve never been afraid of a little healthy competition. I barely remember it’s there. There’s no point looking in your rear-view mirror when you’re miles ahead of everyone.

A start-up is like a baby. When it is first born, you have to do everything to keep it alive. And, when the new company finds its feet and thrives, you really do feel as though the organisation you created and nurtured has a life of its own.

When I founded BigChange seven years ago, I had big ambitions for my new baby. But it was only in 2019 that I realised just how big this kid could get. As the year draws to a close, I’d like to share some of the highlights (and lowlights).

Setting the standard

I’ve posted about my ambitions to enter to corporate market with BigChange. Achieving BSI ISO 9001 and 27001 is a big part of being able to handle huge, multinational clients. The ISO 9001 proves that BigChange is fully committed to building quality products and services, while the 27001 accreditation shows that we are capable of handling data securely and effectively. We have also been awarded platinum partner status by Sage. These were major milestones in the development of this company.

A great place to work

The BigChange Team are a truly amazing group of driven individuals and a pleasure to work with. BigChange was ranked in the Sunday Times ‘Best Companies to Work For’ in 2020, proving that we are an outstanding employer. We are pioneers in creating work / life balance here, moving to a 4.5-day working week in 2019. We have also had some extraordinary speakers for our Motivational Monday initiative during 2019, from Kevin Keegan OBE, the football star and manager to Olympic gold medallist Sally Gunnell and model turned entrepreneur Caprice. Our commitment to creating a brilliant working environment helped us to recruit 60 new people this year.

Delighting customers

Our BigChange JobWatch system has gone from strength to strength this year, and I’m delighted by the depth of functionality we now offer customers. This is why we now have a record 40,000 users on the platform. We won 300 new customers this year, and an extra 100 came to us through the acquisition of two exceptional companies, Trace and Labyrinth. Our regular “shop floor” days make sure I’m tuned into the needs of BigChange’s customers. The newly created BigChange Network has provided a space where these customers can meet and share best practice and advice. That’s been a huge success. Big thanks to all our customers for being so supportive this year.

Charitable work

Building a profitable business has enabled BigChange to make significant charitable donations. This year, we gave more than £200,000 to incredible charities. Our seasons greeting card supports Transaid life-saving work in Africa, promoting driver training initiatives which improve driving standards, ensure safer vehicles and reduce the number of deaths on the road, which is the third biggest killer in sub-Saharan Africa following HIV/AIDS and malaria.

Standing out from the crowd

Winning awards helps to build buzz and get the brand noticed. BigChange has won a whole lot of awards this year. From the LDC Most Ambitious Leaders to the Sunday Times Tech Track, the Maserati 100 to the Tech Nation Fast 50, I’m delighted and humbled that so many people think we’re doing a great job.

Surviving technical challenges

In February this year, we had to undertake a wholesale redevelopment of our production environment. BigChange had grown so quickly that our architecture was starting to creak. It’s a testament to the wonderful relationship we have with our customers that they were understanding and patiently allowed us to work out the kinks. A big thank you to everyone who helped make the transition a success.

Going global

We founded BigChange France and brought on board a BigChange Cyprus reseller this year, and are slowly building market share in both territories. We continue to make progress in the US too, and I have just returned from a trip to Los Angeles where I spent time with prospective clients to find out what they need and how we can make their lives easier. I hope to continue delighting users all over the world next year.

Sharing knowledge

Given that I am dyslexic, I’m very proud to have written around 40 blogs this year on LinkedIn. A huge thank you to everyone that had liked, shared or commented on my posts. I enjoy hearing from all of you. I wish you all seasons greetings and a happy healthy 2020.

Around this time last year, I posted about “blockers”. These are the people in an organisation who resist change and stand in the way of progress https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dont-let-blockers-hold-you-back-martin-port/.

Blockers are a nightmare. They can be hard to spot and may drag the whole team down with them. But they are not the only threat to your business. I’m talking about: the “comfort zoner”.

This is someone who wants to change but refuses to take action to make it happen. They just keep doing things the way they have always been done. I have met a few of these in my time and it drives me mad.

We recently released a new feature called the BigChange Scheduling Assistant. It’s amazing – I know, I would say that. It looks at all your jobs over the next seven days and arranges the job to be scheduled in the best way to maximise the efficiency of all your resources. It’s a bit like Uber, finding the nearest driver to take you on your journey, except more sophisticated. The platform takes into account things like the skill level of each member of the team, vehicle type, even the Service Level Agreement that has been promised to the client. It will find the lowest cost engineer to do the job.

Around 85% of the people using BigChange’s software are engineers. These people can be driving over 100 hours a month. Every hour they aren’t stuck behind the wheel – and are on the tools – means more revenue for their company. Building more efficiency into the way jobs are scheduled can save businesses an absolute fortune. For example, companies think they need to hire another engineer to complete the workload when all they need is to schedule the jobs more efficiently. Not to mention that cutting time on the road does lots of good for the environment and reduces carbon footprint.

And yet, over the past few weeks I have been encountering a lot of comfort zoners that won’t even give it a go. They will find any reason under the sun not to press that button.

I don’t get it. Surely you can enable the functionality, see if it works, and then make your mind up if you want it? Even if you let the computer make the decision, and you check it, it would only take you a few minutes, compared to the money it will cost the company if engineers are spending unnecessary time driving. But comfort zoners always say the same thing: ‘What if X?’ Or ‘I’m worried about Y.’

How do you get a comfort zoner to see that they are a comfort zoner? The only way to prove our system works is to sit beside them and say: “You do it your way and I’ll use BigChange at the same time. Let’s see who improves efficiency?” I would do it, too.

Just think what it would do for your business if you could improve output by even 10%. Just one extra job a day? That could boost revenues, profit, and let you grow your business that much faster. Don’t be a comfort zoner. Push the button.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

What is it about entrepreneurs? There is a feeling that hangs in the air when you visit a business where the founder is present. It’s hard to put into words, but it’s a charge, a sense of urgency.

The closest thing I’ve seen to this effect is in football. Sir Alex Ferguson, the legendary football manager, created that same sense of urgency. Players called him ‘boss’ and he presided over Manchester United’s most triumphant period, winning 38 trophies. Fergie may have been a divisive character but there is no doubting his ability. He is still the most successful manager in the history of football. But what about the succession?

I recently conducted an employee survey at BigChange. The results were overwhelmingly positive. People love working here, they respect me as a leader, and they are happy with the training and opportunities available to them. But there was a red flag: some of my colleagues think that I am too involved in the day to day running of the business. I attend every meeting that I can, and maintain a presence across every department. I make no apologies for this approach. This is how I keep my feet on the ground and stay aware of the needs of the customer.

Colleagues also commended on how visible I am as a founder. When people talk about BigChange, my name always comes up. But isn’t that the way it should be? I started this business seven years ago: we are still young, we are still growing. I feel that it’s too soon for me to disappear into the background. There is still so much I want to achieve.

I don’t know whether to take these comments as a compliment or a criticism. But I do know that I want to listen and take action if there is any way I can improve as a leader.

With that in mind, maybe it’s time to appoint a Chief Operating Officer. That would give other leaders in the business room to spread their wings, take more risks, and have more agency at BigChange.

This survey has also helped me realise that having me as the main man is a risk. If I were hit by a bus, it would be hard to replace me. As we scale, I need to let specialists take on more responsibility.

Don’t get me wrong. I want to remain the driving force behind this business. I’ll be here for the next 10 years, at least. And that decision is not about ego, it’s practical. Our backers funded me, as an entrepreneur. That’s what investment is all about: belief in an individual’s ability to execute a vision. But it makes sense to bring in another leader to complement me, and bring more diversity to the leadership team.

I want people to feel the same charge, when they come and see us at BigChange, as I experience when I visit founder-led companies. I believe I can still create that feeling here, while handing over some of the day-to-day duties to brilliant, capable people – or a person – who will do the job even better than me. It’s time to be brave, and let go.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

Fans of this blog will know: I never switch off. My every waking moment is spent thinking about how to grow BigChange and make the service we provide even better – much to the frustration of my family.

Part of being ‘always on’ means that I’m looking for leads all the time. It’s the entrepreneurs’ way: every interaction is a potential networking opportunity. If you are growing a business, you need to view every single person you meet as a potential advocate or customer for your company. This is a lesson I learned from my father, who was always talking to people. It’s also a skill I’ve passed on to my son’s, Joseph my 22 year old once found a brilliant partner for BigChange just by chatting to the people at the next table in a restaurant while we were out for dinner. I was so proud!

Here are some of the ways I turn any situation into a sales opportunity:

Trains, planes and automobiles

Whenever I’m travelling, I talk to people, and I travel a lot. I like to make eye contact with whoever is sitting opposite me and ask, “How was your day?” or “How’s business?” Or an old faithful is: “Do you know what time this train arrives in London?” That’s a reliable conversation starter, as it usually leads to us both moaning about delays, expensive fares and poor service. You never know who you’ll meet if you talk to strangers and, at the very least, you might make an interesting new friend.

One tip I would add is to have a sticker with your company logo on your laptop when you’re working on the train. People are often curious. The other week, the guy sitting next to me on the train looked me up on LinkedIn and told me, “Your CIO used to work for my company!”

LinkedIn Find Nearby

The LinkedIn app has a feature that allows you to see connections around you. If you activate the ‘Find Nearby’ option, you can see if any professional contacts are on your train or at your event so you can say hello in person. I love it when technology actually makes a face-to-face connection easier instead of harder. You can find out more about Find Nearby here: https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/75689/using-the-find-nearby-feature?lang=en

Networking events

I used to be really sceptical about organised networking. I thought it was a rip off, full of people who were unlikely to generate sales for my business. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I’m a big supporter of the BNI movement, which hosts breakfasts for professionals. It’s amazing! You have to provide testimonials before you can attend, so everyone there – whether they are a plumber or a software developer – comes highly recommended by people they have worked with. Even if you don’t generate sales from these events, it’s a really useful way to practice your pitch and grow in confidence. A lot of people who run businesses aren’t the best at promoting themselves or their businesses, and even serial entrepreneurs like me benefit from a bit of practice now and then.

Exhibitions

I attend a lot of trade fairs with BigChange and I have several tried-and-tested ways of getting people to stop and talk to me. I’m going to let you in on a couple of my secrets (no charge!). The first is to try and shake someone’s hand as they approach. Most people can’t help it, and you both end up laughing and having a chat. The other is to say, “I’m sure I know you”. When they say they can’t remember you, look at their name badge and say, “Michael! It’s you!” Even when you confess that you’re complete strangers, it’s a conversation starter!

What’s the strangest place you’ve made a contact or sale? Share your tips in the comments!

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

When you want to buy a new product or service, whom do you trust? The person trying to sell it to you? Or a customer who recommends it highly?

The answer may seem obvious but it’s not always easy to connect prospective customers with your existing happy clients, especially as a B2B business. I have been looking for ways to generate those links, and I think I’ve found a new one.

Each year BigChange attends as many trade exhibitions as we can. It’s a major expense but a worthwhile way to win new business. We recently took a stand at the Facilities Show at Excel London, and were delighted to see many of our existing customers there, either exhibiting or attending.

And then it hit me: why not invite some of our Network Super Users to join the BigChange stand, and demonstrate how we have helped them grow their businesses? What better way to articulate the benefits of our service?

At our next trade show, I hope to have over 50 of our customers joining BigChange at our Network Pavilion. This will be a win/win. They get to talk about their service and show off their brand, and also explain how our technology is helping them to thrive.

A small booth at a commercial trade show can cost up to £10,000. Small companies will enjoy access for a fraction of that amount if they join us.

This is just another way that BigChange is helping its network, and being helped in return. The virtuous circle continues.

We are so committed to our vision of the BigChange Network that we have recruited two amazing new individuals to run the network team. Paul Witter joins us as new Network Managing Director, while Lee Wilkinson joins as our Business Intelligence Director.

The next chapter of our network story is here, and I’m so excited to see what the future brings.

If you would like to join our stand? Get in touch! email [email protected]

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

A four-day working week. That is my dream for BigChange. I recently posted my commitment to this goal on this blog https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/bigchange-four-day-working-week-2021-martin-port/ – I pledged to get there by 2021.

Thank you to all the people who posted comments and offered advice. There has been a fair amount of scepticism too. This is why I have decided to put my plan into action a little earlier than planned.

From July, we are moving to a 4.5-day working week at BigChange for all employees. It’s a small step in the right direction but one that should pave the way for my vision of a 4-day week.

This decision has not been made lightly. I have been working closely with my talented HR Lead to figure out exactly how this will work, and to avoid any potential issues or confusion.

My colleagues at BigChange will now have the option to work for just half the day on Fridays. They can choose when they take the half-day. Some may decide to take the kids to school in the morning and come in a bit later, with some of the weekend chores already complete. Others may want to leave early and have time in the park with their little ones, or just have some more downtime over the weekend. It’s entirely up to them. However, this is not holiday – if you don’t use it, you lose it. We already give our people 33 days off a year, plus another day off on their BigChange anniversary (and bank holidays too).

For the majority of the people here, Friday is the only day on which the half-day is applicable. The only exception is certain customer-facing departments, such as Road Crew. They will have the option to take a half-day at other times of the week. We already operate a rota system for these teams anyway so it won’t be too hard to factor in some extra time off.

I foresee a major uptick in productivity as a result of this move. Studies have shown again and again that Friday is a ‘tail off’ day for most people. The day they are only operating at half capacity. Interestingly, Tuesday has been shown to be our most productive working day.

At BigChange, people will no longer feel tired and worn out by Friday. They will be able to take better care of themselves, spend more time with family and friends, exercise, and plan most adventurous getaways on the weekend. When they are at work, they will be sharp and even more full of enthusiasm.

BigChange is a technology business. This means that we rely on our brains not our brawn. I don’t need presenteeism to invade our culture. I trust our people to put in the work, do what needs doing, and be responsible for themselves.

I can say this with confidence because every single person at BigChange has been hired because they fit our five pillars. These five qualities underpin our entire organisation: Big on determination; Big on innovation; Being dynamic and Big on service, be the Big difference;

Of course, it helps that we are expanding globally too. As soon we will have our own companies in Asia Pacific and the US operation’s up and running, we’ll be able to divert calls and flip business enquiries to both teams, when required.

So thank you to all the people who have got in touch to ask about my 4-day pledge. You have helped to focus my mind and efforts on this move. I’ll let you all know how it goes, come July.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

Web developers are critical to the success of BigChange. They create the products that our customers rely on to build their businesses. They are solving problems every day, and working on new ideas and innovations that will ensure the long-term survival of this company.

Isn’t it strange, then, that the people who are building our technology have next-to-no interaction with the customers who will use it?

Back in 2016, my chief technology officer and I were flown over to Las Vegas by Google. The search giant must have spent a large sum on business class flights and hotels. They took us over there to meet the developers behind Google Maps. It was an incredible experience. We explained which APIs (application programming interfaces) we found useful, and what improvements we wanted to see. They couldn’t believe the things we were doing with their technology, or the sheer volume of APIs we were using.

They published a blog about us, which was great for the company https://cloud.googleblog.com/2016/04/BigChange-Apps-improves-mobile-workforce-productivity-using-Google-Maps-APIs.html

Google is investing in closing the gap between customer and developer and I want to do the same. This is why I am introducing a new initiative at BigChange – our very own ‘meet the developer’ event. Every six months, I will create an opportunity for our super users to come and meet the people who are building our platform.

For the developers, it will give invaluable insight into what they should prioritise, and should spark some great ideas on how to improve our product even further.

For the customers, it is an opportunity for them to see, firsthand, the caliber of our development team. It will also help us to drive home the fact the entire company is working for their benefit.

Customers can be demanding, as they should be. It can be frustrating to make a request and receive an IT ticket – you can feel as though your emails are just going into a black hole. Especially if you don’t see results straight away. I’m hoping that these developer days will humanise the process – our clients will see that there are real people at the other end of the ticketing system.

By connecting every person in our business directly to the customer, my people will be able to see the big picture. I don’t want any of the BigChange teams to be so focused on an app or issue that they lose sight of the users who need it – like a mechanic who spends so much time looking under the bonnet that they forget to drive the car. It’s another step in my plan to keep me and my colleagues here at BigChange completely engaged and focused on the customer. Wish us luck.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

Why did human beings develop machines, computers, and – ultimately – artificial intelligence? To reduce the work that had to be completed by us. Yet here we all are, working harder than ever.

In Britain, we work longer hours than any other country in the European Union. We work two hours more than the average European – and yet our productivity lags behind many other nations. I want to take action. I want to reverse this trend, and boost productivity while slashing down the hours my people have to work.

This may sound like wishful thinking but I have a plan. Machine learning and automation are the future of BigChange. We are actively using big data to make decisions for us. If necessary, we will take out the human element completely. Our technology lets users’ book jobs on the platform but there still can be a human element. I want to retrain those people and move them into more important roles while letting a computer do it automatically.

This is just the beginning. There is a whole layer of people who can move up into more challenging roles while machines analyse all our past data to work out the outcomes and answers we need to push the business forward. This is so exciting for the business but it also means that I can pass the benefits on to my hard-working people.

They will make the same money but will be given the tools to do their jobs in four days, not five. That means more time to relax, spend with their families, and exercise. They will take fewer sick days and experience less stress. And when people come to work, they will be fresh and engaged; how many people turn up to work on a Friday and are only running at 50% productivity because they are already exhausted? Doing less for the same salary is the dream, so I believe this step will also help us to recruit the industry’s best talent.

The four-day work week is already being employed by other organisations. A string of smaller firms have made the move and now even the Wellcome Trust has announced its commitment to the four-day week.

Back in the 1930’s, the economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that we would be working just 15 hours a week by now. My plan to get to 32 hours isn’t quite there, but it is a step in the right direction.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

We’ve started 2019 on a high here at BigChange, with growth up 65% year-on-year in the first three months. This is an incredible time for the business. We recently acquired two businesses, which shows how mature the company has become.

We have successfully brought them into the fold and it’s another step on our journey to becoming a much larger organisation. I’m so excited and delighted by the progress we’ve made, and 2019 has only just begun! Here are some of BigChange’s highlights from the first quarter.

A boost to growth

The major milestone is that we have now hit 1,000 customers. That’s an amazing achievement and a credit to our incredible teams. Our two acquisitions have been an overwhelming success. Back in January, I blogged about buying Labyrinth Logistics Consulting, an award-winning supply chain, logistics and compliance consultancy, and Trace Systems, a creator of fleet, garage and workshop management software https://www.martinport.com/news/my-2019-scale-up-secrets-revealed/

Between them, these companies have added around 100 customers to our roster, and BigChange won 100 new clients independently. Overall, this represents £5m in new contract wins and brings our total number of users to 35,000. More than half of these are mobile workers, so we are having a major impact on the gig economy, which was one of my big goals for this year.

Our fast-growing customer base means that BigChange is on target to hit £18m in turnover this year. We have expanded internationally, establishing a company in France, and a reseller covering Cyprus & Greece. The US is next on the hit list, and we have now registered our trademark over there.

Maximising efficiencies

I’m very proud to say that BigChange has achieved BSI ISO 9001, which means we’ve made significant improvements to our products and services, and we’ve ensured that our business model is as resilient as it can be. We are also proud to be a certified Platinum Partner to Sage, the accounting giant. These kinds of certifications are important because they show that we are doing all we can to keep building efficiencies into our model and striving for excellence in all things.

A great way to show that you’ve made your business as lean and innovative as it can be is to apply for awards. We’ve been lucky enough to secure quite a few already this year. We came ninth in the Tech North Top 50 fastest-growing technology companies in the North of England. BigChange has also featured in the Tech Nation Future Fifty Awards for the second year running . We were recognised as one of the Maserati 100 – a ranking of the UK’s most innovative entrepreneurs, published in The Sunday Times. Finally, BigChange was dubbed one of Yorkshire’s Most Exciting Company by Ian Leech, editor of Insider Yorkshire Magazine.

It’s all about the people

One of the new developments that will have the biggest impact over the next few years is the BigChange Network, which launched this year. We’ve signed up the impressive Kevin Keegan OBE, former England manager, as Network Ambassador, and he will be giving his invaluable advice to our customer members. In June, a new network director will be joining the business too, and will be developing the network globally for the first time.

My colleagues are the lifeblood of this company. BigChange now employs 120 people. It feels really good to be growing fast and bringing in new talent, while encouraging long-serving employees to keep developing their skills. To help my colleagues reach for the stars, we have continued with our “Motivational Mondays” series in 2019, bringing in people like TV personality and businesswoman Michelle Dewberry and former football coach Lawrence McMenemy MBE.

One of the other ways we make sure people feel that BigChange is a great place to work is through charitable giving. This year, we will give more than £200,000 to good causes. I am personally planning to raise £50,000 for Brake and Transaid over the next 12 months first activity is a half marathon in October.

These are just a handful of the great things that have happened over the past three months. Share your 2019 business successes with me in the comments below.

https://www.bigchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/BigChange-Company-Introduction.pdf

Martin Port
Founder & CEO