Transformation based on trust
Born and bred in Hull, Mark Eggleston is a tenacious entrepreneur who loves a business challenge.
So when he looked at his company, timber engineering and treatment specialists W J Group, and saw slim profits on sales which were just ticking over at £2m he became determined to do something about it.
The solution was to embark on my Step Change programme. That was in 2012 and now, in 2021, sales will top £8m and return profits of more than £1m.
How did we get there? By taking a completely fresh look at the business, being bold and brave enough to make big changes, and drawing inspiration from the initial success to continue the journey and adopt a whole new culture.
Reviewing the remarkable progress made over the years, Mark told me: “‘Your Step Change programme helped me really understand where we were making profit.
“That enabled me to completely change what we were doing. I dropped my traditional, loss-making products, sold the plant that made them and reinvested the proceeds into a more profitable and growing product. It’s transformed my business.”
The next steps included finding out more about the customers, which enabled Mark to sharpen the firm’s focus and improve service. He also adopted some of our most successful techniques including getting the right people on the bus and letting go to grow.
Mark said: “The results that we got from the programme inspired me to continue working on our business. I reviewed my team, replaced some and promoted others. I installed the dashboards you introduced us to and that has been instrumental in giving us much better control of all aspects of our business.
“I have let go to grow and delegated more to my team, which has freed me up to focus on the future for the business.”
Summing up, Mark’s advice for other entrepreneurs is clear: “Know your numbers, get the right people on your team, trust them and look after your customers.”