CLIENT: Dominique

GLOBAL RETAIL / WHOLESALE: BABY + DENTAL MARKETS

How have you benefited from working with Emma?

" Emma has coached me from running a small-unstructured business to a multi-million pound business and provided the processes, frameworks, support and confidence to help that happen.

As a novice CEO there is so much I have learnt from Emma from business functions to conduct and engagement. Working with her is always so pleasant, relevant and she provides a safe place to express ideas, fears and to learn."

PROGRAMME: GLOBAL RETAIL ACCELERATOR

What we did:

I started working with Dominique when Brush Baby was looking to boost momentum and step change the business with a new growth phase – Already experiencing success with major UK Retail accounts in the highly competitive baby care and dental markets, Brush Baby was now looking to expand its major sales accounts internationally and also embrace online retail.

We began by providing a complete eCommerce solution including management of the brands ShopifyPlus platform, all marketplace integrations, PPC Ads (Pay Per Click) and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). All underpinned with monthly Board level coaching.

• With monthly accountability reviews I supported Dominique in developing her longer term vision for the company, creating a structured business plan, with clear sales goals and importantly started developing the stable foundations and operational building blocks needed, in order for the business to scale rapidly.
• We successfully delivered a full Shopify theme upgrade across both UK and US websites. Plus also launched a new trade only (wholesale) platform for the brand.
• We worked to upgrade retail ready packaging for International trading and developed the brand personality so it become more fun and engaging for consumers. We worked together to improve all systems and processes across the business to include the introduction of a new stock management process and the successful implementation of their first full ERP system. This delivered better functionality for the business and cross team working, plus greater rigour in reporting performance.
• With improved data and analytics for the business, came stronger leadership decisions based on demand and facts. We went on to develop a wholesale pricing model for better contracting with distributors and retailers. This allowed us to win more B2B accounts, and get to contract faster - whilst also maintaining a global pricing structure.
• Next we built further sales momentum in the business with decisive moves to grow the team and restructure the existing organisation.  We created a new digital team and became laser focused on scaling both own website sales and bringing in specialist support to boost Amazon selling capability. With overall ecommerce sales scaling up rapidly and significantly by 1400%.

Would you recommend working with Emma?

"I would certainly recommend any size business to work with Emma. She’ll fit in so effortlessly while gauging the rhythm of your business, its needs and the people within you’ll hardly know she’s an external advisor.

Hugely knowledgeable and reliable, Emma is a super person to work with."

• Through our ongoing accountability and review sessions together, we continued to worked through the priorities for business growth over the next 3 years looking to expand international markets in both China and USA and began the necessary networking and distributor research required to access fresh markets across Europe with the help of an Agency partner.
• As the business grew rapidly we used our regular sessions together to create a robust financial investment plan. The aim was to achieve fresh funding injections for the business, tackle the retail impact of the Pandemic and manage the surge in working capital demand as the business continued to grow. This restructuring of the balance sheet and fresh funding rounds were essential to support international growth and more sophisticated digital selling.
• Most recently we have worked together to improve the rigour of the business review structure across the business, with formalisation of key team meetings, performance reporting and development of relevant KPIs for this next phase of growth. We have also designed and created a senior management team first line organisation to support the CEO as the business continues to expand globally.

The business is now on track for £10m+ Sales performance and the launch of an exciting and uniquely innovative product range into the electrical dental market.

CLIENT: Freya Rose

GLOBAL RETAIL / WHOLESALE: BRIDAL SHOES + DEMI FINE JEWELLERY

How have you benefited from working with Emma?

"I wish I had invested in Emma years ago. I was always worried about the financial commitment and having worked with many other agencies and business coaches that haven’t worked for myself or the company, I lost confidence in the importance of a business coach. Emma's business ’Navigate the Noise’ is the perfect description for Emma business. Her honesty, incredible knowledge, passion and enthusiasm is outstanding.

I'm so excited to be working with Emma, I know she will help me take my business to the next level."

CLIENT: Christine C.

SUBSCRIPTION BUSINESS WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERSHIP

What hesitations did you have about signing up for Emma’s services?

"Over the years, I've occasionally wondered about getting a business coach but always put it off because I wasn't sure what they might make me do... or whether they would actually make a tangible difference. This year I had the opportunity to think about what I really wanted from my company and lifestyle. It seemed the right time to look for someone who would be able to help me make decisions and (crucially) stick to them. One thing that was really important to me was to be coached by someone who's been there and done it in terms of running and exiting their own business. I wanted to know that what I was going through was get-through-able and for my coach to empathise with where I'm at. As soon as I met Emma, I knew she was the right fit for me. She makes things seem so easy and simple. 

How have you benefited from working with Emma?

" She's got empathy and cheerleading qualities in spades and she's helping me get the things done that I've wanted to do for a long time. I don't know how, but when I ramble some things at her, she turns them into visions and plans!"

What would you say to anyone thinking about hiring Emma as their business coach?

" The biggest benefit to having coaching with Emma is that I feel reassured that I'm doing the right things in the right order. I'm not second guessing myself, which means I'm being so much more proactive. I feel more confident and like I have much more purpose.

It's exactly one of those situations where you think 'I bet I'll wonder why I didn't do it years ago' and, of course, I do. I would recommend Emma as a coach in a heartbeat (and in fact, I already have)."

What Other Clients Say...

What Other Clients Say...

CLIENT:  Maha K.

GLOBAL TOYS & GAMES BRAND OWNER, OPERATING OUT OF USA AND UK MARKETS

What hesitations did you have about signing up for Emma’s services?

“At first I felt unsure about making the investment (time and $$) into the Accelerator Programme, especially as our business had already engaged a number of agencies and retail consultants in the last few years and not seen the results that we desired. Looking back, signing up with Emma’s programme has been the best decision that we have made in the last 4 years!

PROGRAMME: GLOBAL RETAIL ACCELERATOR

What we did:

Founder and CEO of OjO Games, Maha Khawaja had already achieved the successful design, manufacture and launch of an innovative range of products into the highly competitive Toys & Games market. OjO quickly became known for it’s educational board games, toys and kits aimed at STEM learning for children aged 4-9. I met Maha at the point where she had established her market niche and was ready to take the business to the next level of growth.

We began by providing a complete eCommerce solution including management of the brands Shopify platform, with full theme upgrade, all marketplace integrations including Amazon, QVC / HSN and Walmart.com, PPC Ads (Pay Per Click) and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). All underpinned with monthly Board level coaching.

Our first step was to get clear on exactly what it would take to drive stronger sales across both UK, US and wider International markets.

We worked together to diagnose why customers weren’t yet buying at the rate or volume expected in each market.  To do this we used a series of diagnostic tools across the business.

We ran surveys out to customers to understand their buying intent and where they were in the sales funnel journey.  We used analytic tools to discover the real customer experience and identify sales conversion “blockers” throughout the brands own website.  We then went on to gather deeper levels of feedback from customers and new rounds of product testing on the OjO suite of products.

Armed with hard data and fresh insight, we could take quick action. 

The results led us to review, change and in some places upgrade the product range sold by the brand to better fit real life customer demand and their likelihood to buy in store and recommend to friends.  

It was a process of simplification, whilst listening and responding to what the retail customer really wanted to buy.

In parallel to this crucial decision to simplify the product range on offer, we also looked very closely at the product profitability for landed product in each country, the RRP and the wholesale pricing strategy for each market OjO wanted to compete in.  

How have you benefited from working with Emma?

“Emma = infectious energy, laser focus, ambition for fast results, scalable business growth and commercial success. 

As an early-stage Founder, I feel like a veil has been lifted from my eyes as I realise I have been spending precious time fire-fighting the wrong business issues, rather than boosting sales by giving customers what they really want, using methods and tactics that truly work!

Working with Emma and her team has catapulted our company into a completely different momentum.

As we worked to solve and professionalise the retail offer it quickly became clear that the sales function was missing from the business.

So we worked together to create a full structured sales plan for both the targeting of major accounts and the listing on all major online platforms globally. We recruited for a Sales Account manager role who went on to secure major accounts with QVC / Home Shopping Network and Ingram Content Group with a network of over 40,000 outlets worldwide.

Next we built a network of Sales agents across the USA to support independent retailers, museums and gift store strategy in-country.

Then we turned our attention to scaling eCommerce sales. This included a full Amazon listing review, with fixes quickly identified and an Amazon optimisation project.

Our eCommerce sales account work was supported further with the creation of detailed sales plans for securing marketplace and platform listings across specialist children’s, toy and gifting marketplaces and retailers.

We then turned to resourcing the business properly and scaling up warehousing and logistics operations to support those sales plans.

Would you recommend working with Emma?

“Without a doubt, without even blinking an eye.

This has been the best investment our company has made in the last 4 years! I keep telling Emma, if only I had done this programme at the start of the journey, I can’t imagine where we would have been today. This programme is invaluable at any point, but especially right at the early stages of your journey, because a solid, scalable and lean business plan will take you very far!

This resulted in a review of the pick, pack and dispatch operations across both UK and US warehouses, with recommendations on stronger SLA’s (service level agreements) and a change in 3PL providers.  We also designed the future organisational roles and team capability required for global retail growth.

Currently we are in the process of defining the marketing budget needed to support these major retailers fully and securing funding to meet the overall global retail growth objectives. 

With a pitch at both Walmart and Target achieved, growing online sales and exciting, breakthrough enquiries from major retailers asking for trial MOQs - for the first time real momentum is building behind the sales function. Maha's business is a genuine brand success story in the making.

What did you like most about the Business Coaching process?

"We have greatly benefited from Emma’s personal Retail Start-up and Founder experience, which she successfully exited from. It’s great to be working with someone who has rolled up their sleeves and faced all the teething issues, volatility and Founder and business risks that we do.

From top-down to bottom-up, everyone is now very clear on their priorities and how to maximise efforts to drive global revenue. Emma’s data-driven and ROI focused approach, has helped us to become much more agile in our decision-making, and is helping us to capture a little more market share from market leaders every day.

Emma has also shown us how to maximise resources and generate sales with a very lean and efficient cost base and structure. This means as a Founder I can sleep better at night, knowing that our cash burn has significantly reduced and the business is lean enough to move forward.

 

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

"I have seen Emma go above and beyond her scope of work and formal engagement. She has literally become an industry expert in Toys and Games in 3 months!

Emma is extremely knowledgeable in the e-commerce and online retail space, an astute businesswoman and is a role model for any Founder or business leader serious about achieving growth and scale, and maximising returns for shareholders."

CLIENT:  Jaina S.

GLOBAL RETAIL / WHOLESALE - BEAUTY MARKET

How have you benefited from working with Emma?

“Emma has been such a joy to work with! From my first meeting with her I felt an instant connection and knew she’d be able to help me grow my business. She really knows what she’s talking about, and in such a short space of time has helped rapidly transform how I sell and the way I sell from using her own experiences in running and growing her own business.”

PROGRAMME: GLOBAL RETAIL ACCELERATOR

What we did:

Jaina joined our Accelerator programme just after she had launched her new skincare brand. She was looking to gain momentum on her business growth and importantly, power up her sales plan.

We worked together to get clear on the scale of ambition for the business, and then mapped out exactly what it would take over the next 3 years to deliver that growth.

We began by reviewing the foundational building blocks of the business to check if they were fit for rapid growth - ensuring that the manufacturing operations could scale up along side the sales plan. This resulted in the business moving production to an outsourced provider who could produce each product at significantly higher volumes to keep up with rapidly growing demand. A true step change for the business.

Together we worked on developing the full investment case, to support a successful loan funding application, where we balanced affordability and prioritised the best use of funds for the business to get that growth.

Would you recommend working with Emma?

"I wouldn’t hesitate recommending Emma to anyone I know looking to maximise their e-commerce businesses".

With the current range already getting rave reviews and feedback from Fans, we knew the unique skincare product formulas developed by Jaina genuinely got customers the results they were hoping for – so having proved the market, we then worked on a deep dive review covering the brand look versus her dream brands and competition on the shelf. The aim was to determine where the product packaging needed to up-level and how the brand needed to develop to gain traction with major retailers. This resulted in a whole new retail packaging range and unboxing experience developed for the brand.

Importantly throughout the Accelerator programme, I helped Jaina keep a tight focus on her Sales plan and accountability in the creation and delivery of a new Ambassadors programme. With this programme in place Jaina was able to quickly scale her sales efforts online with the attraction of new sales ambassadors who would sell her product to their audience in return for a commission.

During the follow up coaching sessions we also developed a structured major accounts sales plan focused on expanding into beauty salons and retail outlets across the UK.

Jaina has been able to rapidly scale her business and has already smashed her Q1 targets for this year. An excellent start for this exciting new beauty brand.

What Other Clients Say...

CLIENT:  Laura H.

GROCERY RETAIL 

What hesitations did you have about signing up for Emma’s services?

“Number 1 was affordability and then it was making the time to meet with someone regularly to discuss the in/outs of the business. At the time I viewed Business Coaches as expensive and overpriced,  as well as it's hard to find a good one. I am really glad I was referred to Emma! Having that outside advice from someone who has been there, like Emma, has been incredibly valuable."

PROGRAMME: GROWTH ACCELERATOR

What we did:

Refill & Replenish is an innovative concept store in Petersfield with a passion for becoming the most successful plastic free food retailer in the region. With the shop featuring rows of both dry food and liquid refill stations, customers can explore plastic free retailing at it’s best.

CEO Laura had already invested substantially in the brand and creating awareness locally by educating customers at local market events and through additional pop up shops. The brand was gaining momentum and ready to create a clear roadmap for growth.

We started by going back to basics on the Brand aspirations and reconnecting with the impact the business desired to have on both the local community and the planet. With a renewed energy and passion for the business, we then used the coaching sessions to focus in on accountability for financial performance in store and driving sales growth.

We developed a long term growth plan that included the opportunity to explore retail concession stands across multiple locations.

This was supported with a series of short term, more practical “hands on” actions driven through 90 Day Spring Plans. These actions were around day to day retail trading, store merchandising, seasonal promotions, ecommerce deliveries and seeking landlord support on work required to common areas within the shopping mall to help improve footfall.

How have you benefited from working with Emma?

“Any business owner knows how it is incredibly all-consuming when running a business, where you can regularly feel overwhelmed with ‘todo lists’. Meeting with Emma has helped A LOT, working out short and long term goals - breaking them up into manageable tasks has allowed me to become more confident with making ‘bigger’ business decisions. ”

Our coaching sessions went on to cover working through the best way to resource the shop floor teams. With this came a deep dive review and a series of steps to build repeatable, consistent processes for shop opening, till management and shelf restocking so that staff could be trained easily and to the same standard each and every time.

This work together was all about raising and setting the standards for all store locations both now and in the future - and importantly writing these core operational processes down, so staff were no longer dependant on the CEO being present each day.

With the shop floor teams receiving rave reviews from customers, Laura was able to start lifting up out of the day to day running of the store and with more free time start focusing on the strategic business growth she really wanted.

Our most recent sessions together have been exploring a structured approach and planning for retail sales growth through multiple retail locations and concession stands across the region.  The team have already taken this plan to the next level and successfully invested in opening a new store in a prime high street location, positioned alongside major retail chains. 

Would you recommend working with Emma?

"YES! Emma is friendly, honest, approachable but also serious when needed. Having that outside advice from someone who knows how to help us to refocus and see (and work) the bigger picture has been incredibly valuable.

 

What Other Clients Say...

CLIENT:  Kerryn F.

GLOBAL SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE

What hesitations did you have about signing up for Emma’s services?

“I’ve been dreaming of my new subscription product for two decades but haven’t had the confidence to start it because I wasn’t clear on the what or how to move me forward... when I saw Emma’s programme, I knew it was exactly what would give me the clarity, vision and strategy I needed, and I knew I had to invest in myself and my business if I ever wanted to get where I wanted to go. I am so pleased I did. A hundred times over!"

PROGRAMME: GLOBAL RETAIL ACCELERATOR

What we did:

I worked with Kerryn as her Business Coach to create a clear roadmap for her existing PR Firm Koola Comms and her new business venture The PR Engine – an exciting and innovative PR membership platform and subscription service product for small business owners.

Through the Accelerator Programme we worked together to decide on exactly what type of business Kerryn wanted to build, including defining her long term vision for the business overall, plus the Planet Conscious values and ethics which underpinned the company culture.

We then went on to identify all of the specific activities required to achieve her launch goals for the new subscription product.

We worked to create a full financial forecast, to clarify the funding requirement for her new business. This was supported with a longer term strategic plan of action for the next 3 years of growth.

In addition, and as a natural part of the Accelerator Programme, we focused on practical implementation and software choices. This resulted in us creating a 90 Day Sprint Plan covering her immediate launch runway, software set up and foundational building blocks, to get the business off the ground with a flying start.

Finally, we covered future customer acquisition strategies (where and how she would acquire new members / clients at scale), decided on selling channels and we also devised an affiliate partner strategy for the business to support her ambitious sales targets.

How have you benefited from working with Emma?

“Emma brought enthusiasm and experience to the programme and every conversation or follow up session since then, and I now have a 3yr and 12 month business plan, as well as a 90 day action plan to help me get started.

I have clarity, focus and confidence and my subscription business is now a reality.

If you’re looking for a business coach with experience and heart, you could not be in better hands than Emma’s and I wouldn’t hesitate to book her again knowing now how much I needed her guidance to transform me from being stuck, to doing what I love with purpose.”

Kerryn has now completed her successful Founding Members launch for her new platform. She is on track to onboard an astonishing 500 new members this year as she continues to build upon her existing client work and PR Firm success.

Would you recommend working with Emma?

"100% Yes. I love that Emma is so enthusiastic about my business and understands what I want to achieve and knows exactly what I need every step of the way.

She’s been there with her own businesses and all of her clients and she completely gets me and all the challenges (and wins) so I never feel like I’m going through this alone.

I also really appreciated how Emma didn’t ask me to come up with ideas for the growth plan when I had run out of ideas or steam, and let her experience take over and drive that piece (& in many other places too).

 

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

I am, and always continue to be, deeply impressed and in awe of Emma and keep thinking how pleased I am to have taken the step to hire her as my business coach for this crucial and fundamental stage."

What Other Clients Say...

CLIENT:  Maggie, J.

SUBSCRIPTION BOX PRODUCT

What hesitations did you have about signing up for Emma’s services?

“I was not 100% sure if it would be worth the money invested, especially as I'd experienced agencies and coaches in the past who were all talk but not actually helping! Emma is so knowledgeable and is always solution-ready. She is by far the best business coach that I've had. Not only from a strategy point of view, but mindset building is some of the most important stuff that Emma has instilled on me – Thinking like a CEO. "

PROGRAMME: GLOBAL RETAIL ACCELERATOR

What we did:

Through the Accelerator Programme I worked with Maggie to clearly define the scale of business she wanted to build, what that growth plan looked like and how she could streamline the existing subscription box offer to make it easier for customers to buy. 

With a background in interior architecture, Maggie had dedicated many years to the studying of building design and spaces, particularly children’s spaces and through her online business - Little World Builder - she had created an innovative kids subscription box with monthly 3D puzzles featuring iconic buildings, craft kits and teaching children about the world. 

We defined her long term vision for the business, diagnosed issues around stock and resolved the challenges many businesses face when pricing subscription packages for best value and online conversion. 

We then went on to identify products within her range which could be sold globally as a retail product offer, outside of the core subscription service.  This led to the design and implementation of new retail packaging suitable for in-store display and physical merchandising rather than selling purely online.

How have you benefited from working with Emma?

“Emma is absolutely committed to my success - she has helped in a lot of ways, including rolling up her sleeves and actually doing some of my work for me using her own time!”

We then began work on creating a structured sales plan to achieve stockists across specialty crafting / modelling stores and global department stores to raise the game for the brand and increase visibility. This was supported with a longer term strategic plan of action for the next 3 years of growth.

In addition, and as a key part of the Accelerator Programme, we focused creating a success mindest and CEO thinking, coupled with practical implementation. This resulted in us creating a 90 Day Sprint Plan covering the immediate action steps required to build momentum within the business. 

Finally, we covered future customer acquisition strategies (where and how she would acquire new subscription customers at scale), driving fresh traffic to the subscription site using PPC Ads to support her ambitious sales targets.

Would you recommend working with Emma?

"Yes, definitely! Emma puts in all her effort during her time with you and utilises the group coaching Q&A sessions really well to answer all my questions."

 

Maggie is now working with Emma on an ongoing basis to grow her subscribers successfully, as planned, and confidently pursue her more ambitious growth plans by securing product listings in a number of well known craft and toy stores globally. 

What Other Clients Say...

CLIENT:  Treasa F.

HEALTH & WELLNESS MARKET

What hesitations did you have about signing up for Emma’s services?

“At the time I was introduced to Emma I was at the very early stage of my business and was nervous about making a financial commitment before I had really started generating enough sales. However, I quickly realised that if I wanted to grow my business, working with Emma was the best return on my investment - from a financial, time and energetic perspective. 100% I would recommend the accelerator coaching programme with Emma."

PROGRAMME: GROWTH ACCELERATOR

What we did:

When I first met Treasa she was a newly qualified Health & Wellness Coach having launched her business following a high profile 20 year Banking career. With a strong ambition and desire to create a business where she could genuinely “work from anywhere in the world” – it was vital that the business model and structure supported those goals.

Through our accelerator coaching sessions we worked to define the overall business model – first creating the vision for the business, developing the 3 year plan for growth and getting clear on how best to niche down in a very noisy and competitive market, and reach her ideal customer.

With a winning niche decided upon and a clear roadmap for growth, it was time to focus on developing the core products she wanted to offer and the sales funnel for the business.

How have you benefited from working with Emma?

“During the time I have been working with Emma I have gained so much clarity on the direction in which I want to take my business, my goals and what steps I need to take to achieve these.”

During the ongoing coaching sessions we worked to structure a menu of products and services for her customers and also building up Treasa’s much sought after, and paid for, Speaking Engagements at events internationally. This included tailoring these programmes and event packages to suit different customer needs (corporate vs individual).

Next we focused on accountability for delivering hard sales and customer attraction. The coaching sessions drove practical actions in 90 Day Sprint plans which were focused on marketing messaging and working on the full sales funnel from Facebook Ads through to a webinar series. Each step of the growth plan was pursued with the intention of automating and building a sales system of inbound leads, which now supports her rapidly growing business.

With customer success at the heart of all Treasa does, she has been able to achieve multiple high profile partnerships and collaboration opportunities globally. Treasa continues to live the dream of a business that is genuinely location independent, with plans this year to move the business to a beach in Bali.

Would you recommend working with Emma?

"100% I would recommend a business coaching programme with Emma. During my time working with Emma I have built such a relationship, have found someone who is my ‘go to’ person for all business questions and advise, and someone who is as committing to wanting my business to succeed as I am!

 

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

If you are experiencing any reservations about investing with Emma on a business coaching programme I would tell you to go for it. The change in my own mindset about my business, the clarity of business objectives and the practical advise on the steps I need to be taking are invaluable to me as an individual and to my business. "