MEET OUR BUSINESS SMITHS

Business Smiths for your team

Our Business Smiths offer the expertise you need to support your small business. Here are some of the talented professionals you can call on:

Small Business Start Up - Sian

Sian has 17 years' experience, initially in FMCG manufacturing, then as a Buyer in several blue chip companies, progressing to a position of Commercial Director in one of the biggest global businesses in the UK.

Sian is warm, approachable, very down to earth and full of good ideas. Excellent at spotting and developing opportunities, in negotiations, she strives to understand and achieve the best outcome for all parties.

Small Business Development - Simon

Simon has 15 years' experience in small business having owned, operated and sold several small businesses including a bedroom start-up that turned over £4 million in its fourth year.

Simon has recently been hand picked as a 'Small Business Expert' for The Startup Donut a colabroation between Google and The Post Office.

Simon co-owns Business Smiths, he is a great listener, warm and a lover of common sense. He uses his mix of corporate experience and small business development to interface between clients and our Business Smiths.

Funding & Business Development - Trevor

Trevor co-owns Business Smiths, he is warm, approachable and ambitious.

He's highly skilled in securing grants for our clients and uses his experience to interface between clients and our Business Smiths.

Human Resources - Jayne

A very experienced Senior HR Manager having worked with Wilkinson's, Sainsbury's and ICI.

Jayne is warm, friendly and able to draw on learning from practical experience and a sound academic grounding to solve problems in a creative yet systematic way.

Legal - Donna

An experienced lawyer qualified in both the UK and the US, Donna has nearly 20 years legal experience gained across law firms and managing in-house European and UK legal departments in organisations such as Microsoft, Palm and Onyx Software.

A commercial manager trapped in a lawyer’s body Donna is warm, down to earth and refuses to use legal speak.

Market research - Julia

An experienced qualitative market researcher who’s been freelance for over 10 years, undertaking projects on behalf of many prestigious clients including Beiersdorf, Coca-Cola, P&G, Unilever, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.

Julia is approachable, enthusiastic and skilled at asking questions that really get to the heart of what consumers think.

Marketing - Amanda

A seasoned professional, Amanda has worked at Marketing Director level for a number of blue chip FMCGs including HJ Heinz, Kraft Foods and United Biscuits, across the globe.

An antipodean, Amanda is direct and down to earth with a fun approach to work, but never takes her eye off the goal.

Brand identity - Malcolm

Having worked in agencies for 15 years as both a senior creative and managing director Malcolm became a consultant in 2005. His engagements have included work for Barclaycard, Deloitte, Durex, HJ Heinz, the NHS, Kettle Foods, P&G and Volkswagen.

Malcolm’s focus is helping clients develop inspiring brand identities that deliver real competitive edge and he is very inspiring to work with.

Business Coaching - Jessica

A fully qualified Business Coach with over 10 years business experience gained in media, publishing and FMCG. Jessica now works with small businesses, she brings her varied life and business experience to help Clients set goals and then take the steps to achieve those goals.

Her approach is insightful, honest and encouraging and her goal is to get you to where you want to be quickly and effectively.

Graphic Design - Charlie

A talented designer, who has worked for several prestigious West End advertising agencies for clients including BUPA, Mercedes Benz, Hoover, Vauxhall GM and Barclays Bank.

Charlie is warm, intuitive, creative, diligent and occasionally a bit off‐the‐wall (or should we say lateral in her thinking?)

Graphic design and art director - Julie

Julie has worked for, and created identities, for many high street names in retail (fashion and lifestyle), leisure (restaurants), identities, print, packaging and web. Works regularly with architects, interior designers and photographers.

Sees each job as a chance to do great design. Approaches all jobs with a clear understanding of where a client is and where they want to be, whatever the budget. Ethically minded she recycles almost everything except ideas!

Web development - John

A creative developer who has spent a decade freelancing in London for prestigious clients including Virgin and HSBC as well as a number of smaller firms.

John is a great listener and delivers smart, fresh‐looking sites, tailored to his clients’ needs.

Copywriting - Sarah

Having worked at the UK’s leading publishing companies, including as executive editor of a market-leading magazine and website, Sarah now writes and edits for large and small businesses, consumer and national titles – both for websites and print.

She’s creative, clear-thinking and meticulous and can ensure you always get your message across.

Finance - James

CIMA qualified, with some fantastic experience in large blue chips and small businesses, James combines a natural aptitude for numbers and analysis with a very down-to-earth approach.

He easily translates pages of numbers into a rationale of where a business is or isn’t performing and suggests sensible course correction options.

Sales - Susan

Susan is a strategic senior Sales Manager who has delivered strong results for fast "turn-around" strategies and "start up" projects. Susan works with businesses to identify sales gaps and opportunities and new channels of distribution, larger clients include Estee Lauder and Mattel toys.

Susan is commercial, entrepreneurial, people and results driven and loves nothing more than seeing those around her succeed.

Procurement - Mike

Mike is a fully qualified, experienced procurement professional who has carved an impressive career out of identifying opportunities, successfully implementing them and developing effective supplier relationships.

Very approachable and down to earth, Mike is always 100% focused and committed to delivering the target.

Supply chain - Jason

A supply chain director for several global FMCG businesses, Jason has impressive experience in all areas of supply chain.

He’s personable, straight talking and has excellent listening skills.

PR - Victoria

Victoria has worked with a wide range of clients including entrepreneurs and FTSE 100 companies in her PR career. She brings energy and straightforward media advice to any type of business, with humour thrown in for free.

The trick for successful PR, she says, is to focus more on achieving realistic results and less on admin (and don't even start me on reports!). "Entrepreneurs or any small business could turn out to be the millionaires of tomorrow" she says "...so be nice to them".