I will shortly be taking up a new role that will see me working with family businesses, a subject close to my heart and one that’s in my blood. As excited as I am about what lies ahead, I understand the importance and challenges that will come with such a responsibility.

Every business has it’s hurdles and obstacles of course, but a business that includes working with family has another dimension – the FAMILY DIMENSION.

If you work in your family’s business you will know what that means.

If you have never worked with family you won’t – you couldn’t possibly know what it’s like.

If you are an advisor or supplier to family businesses you won’t really understand it either but you should.

In order for families in business to get the best possible advice and support they need to be surrounded by teams that get the quirkiness and complexities of this F-DIMENSION.

I know the good, the bad and the ugly of working with my family – as does my husband who also worked with family for a while.

Here’s an just one quick story from my time as CEO of Savekers Limited and working with advisors… I had to choose a solicitor to help me carry out an MBO back in 2002. I was young and didn’t really understand the mechanics so I visited three Birmingham law firms in turn.

With each of them I presented the same vision and aims and also told them of the issues involved with the family holding shares. All three firms could demonstrate their professionalism and expertise, all were impressive – they clearly would know how to get the deal done. However, only one of these solicitors showed that more than his professional know how he understood the F-Dimension and what we needed as a family and as a business wanting to move forward.

Guess which one I chose! Not only did Richard become the solicitor that helped me complete the MBO but he also helped me when I went on to acquire several businesses and restructure the Board.

While there is no doubt in my mind that any solicitor or accountant that can genuinely show they know how to work with all the issues of a family business has a competitive advantage, it is just as important that the bank, wealth management team, PR and marketing consultants, web/IT team, the HR consultants and H & S advisors also have a solid understanding of the issues for a family business to get the support they need to succeed. Surely it’s a win/win situation then!

Happy New Year to all those fabulous family businesses out there and those that are committed to providing outstanding support and expertise to them to.

If you are interested in knowing more about my forthcoming role or would like to share your family business story, would like help within your own family business or would like to know how to develop your organisation to better support family businesses please drop me an email

It would seem that Marks and Spencer have announced profits today of £632.5m for the last financial year. Chairman, Sir Stuart Rose has suggested that the UK has now come through the worst of the recession. In so many ways I would agree that it does sound like that especially with such profits being stated in the press.

The bad news, for some….

However, the bigger picture is that those profits have been achieved by squeezing the suppliers. Major retailers such as M & S, Next (reporting 18% increase in profit), Sainsburys (who recently boasted a 17% hike in profits), Tesco’s (who reported record profits)  and others have been able to dictate prices to suppliers for a long time and the recession has certainly allowed them to hold all the power. As the CEO of a manufacturing SME in the Midlands during the worse of the recession we supplied shopfittings to the retail, leisure and construction sectors and I know first hand how these big players had no regard for the backbone of the UK. We were crippled – the phone’s stopped ringing in October 2008.

The sad news…

My family’s 106 year old business had no choice but to enter administration in March 2009 and I still wonder about all the other victims that have fallen by the wayside as a result of the recession – and in particular as a result of big retailers and car manufacturers ensuring they survived regardless. Of course as a businesswoman I understand the cut throat decisions that have to be made at times – that’s the duty of the directors but I just hope we realise that the headlines have a great deal more behind them and that the ongoing impact of the recession will cascade for months if not longer. What about the third sector and so many others?

The horizon in the UK is radically different now and we have a pool of highly skilled executives that have been thrown into the pot, professionals that have left or been discarded and it will be an interesting two years – of course we also have the new Government and faster moving technology… so interesting times ahead and they’ll be nothing like we have known before.

Having said all that, I still believe that we have a world of opportunities at our disposal and it’s time to seize them!

As the year began we were full of optimism and hope having just secured a last mintute Bridge Fund loan of £250k to help our struggling business survive the trauma of the recession. Alas it was not meant to be and just a month later it was clear survival was no longer an option and consideration was given to how to handle this and how best to limit any damage.

Even as administration was in place it was a strange feeling and in many ways I was numb – what I would do afterwards was almost irrelevant to me at the time. As CEO I had an incredible sense of duty and responsibility and as such my only focus was everyone else. As the dust settled and life went on I had to think about what I wanted and needed – I’m still learning what the answers to these are.

And so here we are with just a few days left of the year and more importantly my attentions have turned to what opportunities are out there. In many ways 2009 (or certainly post admin) was putting in ground work, getting out into the world and seizing experiences and opportunities – and most importantly building my valuable network. I also took the time to understand what I was truly passionate about so that my future time would be spent  not only working hard but also enjoying every minute of it.

2010 will see a new company born “Jeeves Services (UK) Limited”.

Jeeves will provide a support service for SME’s and households – we will be providing planned preventative maintenance, skilled and experienced tradespeople, repairs and solutions – from my dedicated team.

• qualified electricians
• plumbers
• decorators
• joinery
• general & ground maintenance
• air conditioning and handling
• general industrial services
• cleaning & household services 

We also continue to carry out retail interior design, shop fits, flooring and lighting along with all maintenance. 

I’m very proud to say that Jeeves will be headed by Richard Villers, my loyal, trusted and long serving production assistant from Savekers – as well as many others we have worked with for many years, all who have been affected by the recession but always offer a true work ethic, flexibility, reliability and of course a valuable service.

2010 will be a successful and enjoyable year - we have no doubt!

Our website www.jeevesservices.com is currently being worked on and should be up and available for the beginning of the year. If you’d like to know more in the meantime please email me or call 07812 99 27 26.

During the administration process I proactively helped the IP’s to sell the business – which we managed to do. At the time I ran up £75 of expenses which were to be covered by the administrators. 6 months on and after several chases I received a cheque. The last 6 months have also been a time for the administrators to sell our 60,000 sq ft property just on the outskirts of Birmingham City Centre. We were assured that this sale would more than likely satisfy the amount we had guaranteed to the bank.

It always amazed me that during the struggle and lack of salary that my cousin and I endured at times, the personal guarantees we were forced to accept to save the business seemed irrelevant to fellow board members, the Union and senior employees who were all aware of them.

I wrote an email on Friday to the IP’s to acknowledge receipt of the £75 only to receive this

“I’m glad you emailed, need to let you know about an offer we have had on the property.  It is at the lower end of valuers estimates but we have had very little interest to date and they have recommended we accept.  The offer has been forwarded to the Bank for their consideration and I am waiting to hear back from them…  I just wanted to let you know that there is a strong possibility at this stage that the Bank will have a shortfall …”

And there you have it, on a Friday afternoon at 4pm the IP’s prove once again they don’t have a clue about people and how to deal with them. This is also considering that when I called them in initially, during the first meeting they told us “Don’t worry we’ll look after you”.

Personally I am ready to deal with whatever the Bank have to do – but receiving emails like the one of Friday made me so angry and yet not surprised in the slightest.

The sale of slow cookers and sewing machines has soared as has packets of seeds for home grown produce. I heard that architects have had to redesign kitchen layouts from a straight and minimal approach to one that will accommodate family dining. This can only be good news. The return to people investing in relationships and time, things close to home rather than processions and debt is long overdue.

Personally I have enjoyed recapturing and nurturing solid relationships with “wholesome” friends,  some of them had a 23year gap since last being with them and yet it hasn’t mattered one bit. As we age we all seem to learn that our real friends can be counted on one hand – but when you do recognise this and are able to turn to those friends when needed it’s a pretty great feeling. We all need to trust but it’s a two way thing and something that comes with risk,  get it right and you benefit hugely whilst getting it wrong is devastating.

I think we should all take a little time to evaluate what our personal core values are and use them. What’s really important to you?

After a quick bit of digging round I also found confirmation (from Harvard no less) that female directors are proven to be far better at corporate governance and when a board is inclusive of women the company outperforms it’s competitors. One of the many articles can be found on the Harvard website. It’s a fact that male directors raise their game when sitting on boards with women – surely a win/win situation then? The Times also reported that women help businesses to succeed.

It makes perfect sense to diversify and at the very least have a female non executive – great governance and a better bottom line too!

I have to say, I’ve noticed a few more of my male colleagues telling me that they ought to add a female non exec recently. If you are considering this, I’d be happy to discuss non executive opportunities further – drop me a line. Coming out of recession shows we need to have trusted board members, effective and committed executives and the best possible chance of success – women can help. An article in the Telegraph also talks about women in the boardroom.

I felt the duty of addressing everyone before the administrators did – I did my best. All I could say was how sorry I was – from me personally and that all the efforts we’d all put in couldn’t prevent this happening. Although standing with 60 people, I was lost and alone.

My Mum called me on my mobile just as everyone had been told and I couldn’t hold it together anymore. Again, I needed my Mum and she said everything that was needed.

People that I didn’t think cared hugged me and shared in the hurt – we were all united, all scared and confused, some saying their good byes and others calling home to tell wives and husbands – others left without speaking. Emotions were running high and we comforted each other. The cold headlines that state company’s are in administration never talk about the human fallout, the tears and worry. Statistics never explain the full picture. We are human and we hurt, no matter who we are.

Tomorrow will be another day but for the rest of today we remain at a loss with each of us needing the comforts of home and loved ones. Tonight is for grieving. Tomorrow we rebuild.

“Woolworths goes in administration” ….. “The downturn on the high street has claimed its latest victim after USC, … USC in administration” ….. ” Around 850 people lose their jobs at the failed childrenswear chain Adams when administrators announce the closure of 111 stores”

I could go on.

But what does this really mean? What IS administration?

Well as I mentioned in an earlier Blog, my company has been granted an administation order and what it means to us is heartbreak, job losses, lost skills, lost hope, the end of a significant chapter, lost legacy etc. BUT it also means the beginning of a new chapter.

The process has been awful. Administrators and insolvency practitioners, like banks, are simply doing a job and not with much humanity or sympathy it has to be said. The same applies to solictors – or certainly the ones involved in this instance. We are using a firm of lawyers that incorporated our company in 1935 but the contact there when carrying out the legal requirements for administration simply said, as I signed the paperwork “oh, what is it you did again?” and that was it.

I left the solicitors in tears, one because of the duty and upset and two because of the cold and unfeeling chap I’d encountered. The procedure to him had been “come with me”, “sign here”, “repeat these words after me” and finally “that will be £5″.

I sat in the car and gathered myself together to face what tomorrow had to bring… an announcement to the work force many of whom I’ve known all my life and others who are dear friends. No matter what or how you look at this part of the process, it’s going to be awful for all concerned.