The Happy Business Project

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Business Mentor | Entrepreneur | Strategy & Leadership Specialist
With 20+ years of experience as a multi-award-winning entrepreneur, I help business owners start, grow and scale their business.

I provide one-to-one mentoring for business owners.Most of my clients meet with me twice a month for two hours at a time...
17/09/2026

I provide one-to-one mentoring for business owners.

Most of my clients meet with me twice a month for two hours at a time. It's four hours a month when they don't have to deal with customers, staff, emails or the hundred other things demanding their attention.

For those four hours, the focus is them and their business.

We talk about what's gone well, what's changed since we last met and what's causing problems. That could be staff, pricing, sales, workload, money, confidence, a difficult decision or something they've been putting off for months.

Sometimes clients need information or advice. Sometimes they already know what they need to do but haven't quite managed to do it. Sometimes we start talking about one problem and discover that something completely different is sitting underneath it.

We work it through together and each session ends with a practical plan for what happens next.

I don't believe running a business should mean sacrificing everything else that's important to you. Your business should reflect your values, support the life you want and, most of the time at least, be something you actually enjoy running.

Having someone experienced on your side gives you proper time to think, make decisions and deal with the difficult bits rather than carrying all of it around in your own head.

I'm currently welcoming a small number of new mentoring clients in Fife, and I'm also open to working online.

If you think having me on your side could help, send me a message and we'll arrange an initial chat.

I was chatting to one of my mentoring clients recently and discovered they had a customer who had built up a substantial...
09/09/2026

I was chatting to one of my mentoring clients recently and discovered they had a customer who had built up a substantial debt with them.

The customer was going through a difficult time and there was a promise that money would be coming from a future house sale. They'd also been kind and helpful to my client in other ways, so my client was confident they would eventually be paid.

Meanwhile, the debt had been growing for nearly a year.

There was no written agreement about repayment, no firm timescale and no real Plan B if the expected money didn't materialise.

You'll perhaps remember one of my favourite sayings: short accounts, long friendships.

This is one of those situations where friendship, sympathy and kindness can start to cloud a business decision.

Bad debt can sink a company. I know because it has happened to me. One minute you're waiting for the promised late payment and the next you're consulting insolvency practitioners.

Perhaps that's why I'm a bit twitchy about debt, but it's also why my advice is based on real experience rather than something I've read in a business book.

Have clear payment terms. Chase late payments professionally but quickly. And don't allow debt to keep building indefinitely on the promise that payment will arrive at some unknown point in the future.

Turnover is vanity, cash is king and profit is queen.

Sometimes when you run a business you're too close to a situation to see the risk clearly – particularly when relationships and emotions are involved.

That's one of the reasons I love mentoring. I can bring nearly 30 years of my own business experience, but without being emotionally tangled up in the decision.

If you could use someone experienced and impartial on your side to help you think through what's happening in your business, get in touch. I'm currently taking on new one-to-one mentoring clients.

For me September is a funny month. Most of my team and customers have kids, so they're all back at school now and the pa...
03/09/2026

For me September is a funny month. Most of my team and customers have kids, so they're all back at school now and the pace of life has changed again. My kids are both at uni and return at the end of September, so this month involves a short city break before they head back to Glasgow and a few shopping trips for uni supplies.

Business-wise, we're still in the busy period in our manufacturing business, which lasts from early summer until Christmas. I'm already thinking about our marketing and sales strategy for the quieter January to March period and making sure we're making hay while the sun shines.

A lot of people talk about September as the new January in business – a time for goal setting, fresh starts and resets. I don't know about you, but this year that doesn't feel quite right to me.

For me, September is more about knuckling down to some of those jobs that have been sitting on the to-do list for ages but that only you can do.

I'm quietly working away in the background building a new website for The Happy Business Project and developing another project which I hope to share with you soon. Sometimes business isn't all about the fun, celebratory bits. Sometimes you just need to knuckle down and get the job done.

If you've got things sitting on your own business to-do list that need more than another month of thinking about them, having someone on your side can help.

I'm currently welcoming new one-to-one mentoring clients. If you'd like some proper thinking time to work out what's important, what needs to change and what you're actually going to do about it, get in touch and we can have an initial chat.

We're all used to the big push in January. New Year's resolutions, the new diary and planner and setting goals for the y...
24/08/2026

We're all used to the big push in January. New Year's resolutions, the new diary and planner and setting goals for the year.

But in business, perhaps September is the real fresh start.

For many of us we're beginning the big push towards Christmas. Or perhaps there's still work to do on the goals you set yourself at the start of the year. The kids are back at school and most people have had their holidays. No more out-of-office replies to every email you send.

What if this September you could really push your business forward? What if this was the fresh start you need?

I currently have a limited number of spaces for new mentoring clients. If you're based in Fife and think mentoring could help I'd be happy to have a free, no-obligation chat.

You've been dreaming of this day for seven long weeks. Finally you'll get time to really focus on your business without ...
19/08/2026

You've been dreaming of this day for seven long weeks. Finally you'll get time to really focus on your business without the constant distractions and the mum guilt that you're not entertaining your little ones.

That's the plan.

But the reality is the to-do list has only grown, all the tasks you've been putting off are still in your in-tray and you simply don't have the energy or attention span to do your day-to-day tasks never mind have a blue-sky vision for the future.

Perhaps it's time to think about mentoring. Making time for you to focus on your business, work out the next steps and achieve your goals.

Having a mentoring session every fortnight helps you make time to work on your business, not just in it. It creates space to develop your strategy, think about the next steps and build a business that works for you rather than becoming a liability.

Photo of my family when the kids were small!

"How's your family?"People are often surprised when I ask.Running a business doesn't happen in isolation. The people who...
17/08/2026

"How's your family?"

People are often surprised when I ask.

Running a business doesn't happen in isolation. The people who matter most to us are usually the reason we're working so hard in the first place.

If mentoring helps someone get home in time for dinner a little more often, I think that's a pretty good outcome.

My manufacturing business has a strict 50% deposit with the balance paid before delivery. In the early days of the busin...
14/08/2026

My manufacturing business has a strict 50% deposit with the balance paid before delivery.

In the early days of the business I used to take payment after delivery. What a nightmare.

People wouldn't pay and you'd have to chase them. That soured the relationship because up until then you'd been in sales mode. Now you were the credit controller. No-one likes making that call.

And the business had bad debt. Ironically, some of the biggest companies we supplied were the slowest to pay. We had a huge order for a fish farm once that failed to pay £60,000. That nearly sank the business and led to redundancies, downsizing and a lot of stress. It was the hardest time in business for me.

That was when I changed things. It wasn't the norm for my customers initially and it took a bit of persuading. I have lost orders where people refused to pay a deposit. It's hard to stick to your principles in that moment but these are often the same people who don't pay what they owe and lead to more problems down the line.

Having clear payment terms that work for your business model is important. So is sticking to them, even when the customer isn't playing ball.

My bedtime routineI have a bedtime routine and stick to it. My phone is put away early evening and there's no screen tim...
12/08/2026

My bedtime routine

I have a bedtime routine and stick to it. My phone is put away early evening and there's no screen time after 9pm. I have a cup of decaf tea and watch TV with my family before hugs goodnight.

I get ready for bed at 10pm then read for up to half an hour. I do a simple relaxation exercise and think about what I'm grateful for that day. Then it's lights out by half past ten at the latest.

My alarm is set for 7am every day. A solid eight hours' sleep every night.

On the rare occasion I'm out later my family joke that it's past my bedtime.

I know I need plenty of sleep to function well, so I prioritise it. If I'm well rested I think clearly, have more patience and make better decisions. I can work smarter and everything just feels a little easier.

While the service I offer is business mentoring, it's actually all about people. I get to know the business owner and un...
10/08/2026

While the service I offer is business mentoring, it's actually all about people. I get to know the business owner and understand what their motivation is and what success looks like to them.

Every session we talk about people. The team, suppliers, customers and family.

Being self-employed means all the decisions are down to us. We're the buck holder. And that brings with it a real sense of responsibility and can make you doubt yourself. Businesses don't have sleepless nights – people do.

Even the most self-assured person can feel the pressure. And that's where a good mentor can help. By focusing on the person behind the business and helping you feel calmer and more confident, not only do you feel better but the business benefits too.

Helping people love running their business again is my favourite part of my job.

One thing I've learnt over the years in business is that sometimes you need to have difficult conversations. With your t...
06/08/2026

One thing I've learnt over the years in business is that sometimes you need to have difficult conversations. With your team, suppliers and even customers.

Most people I know are kind and respectful and want to avoid conflict. They put off the hard conversations because they don't want to offend or upset anyone.

What then happens is things usually get worse. The little issue becomes a big problem. Putting it off rarely improves the situation.

One of the things I help clients with most is preparing for difficult conversations. It's not that I tell them what to do or say but more that we look at the options, think about the likely responses and come up with a plan that works for them.

Once the business owner has a plan of action they find the difficult conversation a bit easier. And the more they do it the easier it becomes.

You can still be kind, respectful and honest while getting the best outcome for your business.

Address

Taunton
KY119AE

Telephone

+447867411440

Website

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