Several of Lancashire鈥檚 leading business voices have shared their insights on the secret of profitable growth.
Stick to your plan
Paul Fox is the chief executive of Blackpool-headquartered family haulage, plant hire and aggregate group Fox Group, which has been acquired by private equity firm Stellex Capital Management.
He said: 鈥淕et a plan where you want to get to. Stick to it but do not lose the ability to be agile. Get the people around you on the bus with you. If you鈥檝e got the best people around you, you鈥檒l get where you want to a lot quicker.鈥�
Get profitable quicker
Paul White is the founder and CEO of Patch, which is using tech to make booking a window cleaner easier.
He said: 鈥淭he days of building a tech company on the never-never are coming to an end. Tech founders are going to have to look at how they get to profitability as quickly as possible. Then they鈥檙e investing in growth rather than cash burn.鈥�
Innovation is key
Ian Appleton is the CEO of Chorley-based wax blender Kerax, which has a turnover of 拢40m and employs 80 people.
He said: 鈥淥ur take-out is to focus on innovation and technology to move the business forward.鈥�
Have the right values
Celia Gaze launched The Wellbeing Farm after being burnt out from her senior NHS job.
She said: 鈥淢y quote relates to the values I have for my business. Conscious business with a unique combination of purpose-led impact, sustainability and wellbeing, which all drive my business.鈥�
Focus on your core product
Derry Green is the founder of The Secret Garden Glamping and secured a 拢100k investment when he appeared on Dragons鈥� Den.
He said: 鈥淔ocus on your core product rather than go off at a tangent. What is it that you do? Since Dragons鈥� Den we鈥檝e had lots of offers to do a million different things, but ultimately we鈥檙e an experience provider. How can we expand on that, and bring profitability?鈥�
Invest in added value
Dan Hurst is the managing director of Stotts Opticians Group and commercial director of software provider I-Clarity.
He said: 鈥淲hat ties all our businesses together is investing in adding value before you take. That will eventually drive more profitability.鈥�
Do what you say
Ryan Snelson is the managing director of Chorley-based managed service provider Peak Networks.
He said: 鈥淒o what you say you鈥檙e going to do for your customers and make sure the service is right for them.鈥�
Have accurate data
Glyn Powditch is the co-founder of , which helps retailers increase sales and reduce costs.
He said: 鈥淚 think with AI now you want to track every single data point you possibly can and you want to make sure that data is as accurate as possible because of the old adage 鈥榬ubbish in, rubbish out鈥�.
“AI is at a point where it鈥檚 making all kinds of decisions based on all of your data. A lot of the time it鈥檚 not even in your control. Make sure your data is accurate and then you鈥檒l be in a position to take advantage of AI.鈥�
Have a strong belief
Dave Walker is the MD of digital technology firm +24.
He said: 鈥淭he key thing for me is starting out with your mission and your values. You鈥檝e got to have a really strong belief to be successful. Everyone in the room has a strong understanding of where they want to take their business.鈥�
Focus on right opportunities
Jeremy Lefton runs Roundhouse Properties, which has just completed the first phase of a 拢10m Blackburn commercial estate opposite Shadsworth 老九品茶 Park near the M65.
He said: 鈥淔or me it鈥檚 all about focusing on the right opportunities and making sure any new projects going forward are manageable.鈥�
Back the winners
Morgan Ratcliffe is the managing director and co-founder of Burnley-based noticed, which he founded with brother Niall.
He said: 鈥淲hat I鈥檝e taken away from the meeting is something that Derry said. He said he had a social media business disguised as a glamping business. When it comes to profitable growth, what are those organic opportunities that you鈥檙e not putting paid spend behind to really grow profitability?鈥�
Focus on the customer
Craig Townley is the managing director of Core Network Group.
He said: 鈥淢y takeaway from today is to focus on the customer. If you take them on a good strong journey, and actually care about the work that you do with them and focus on customer relationships, that鈥檚 always strong for profitability.鈥�
Strong leadership
Rob Richardson is a corporate finance partner at .
He said: 鈥淭he companies that I鈥檝e worked with which have been really successful and delivered profitable growth have always had really strong leadership and are not afraid to change direction when needed.鈥�
Get your story right
David Hackett is a tax partner at MHA.
He said: 鈥淟istening to the businesses around the table, the key is the story. Why are you doing it? Why are you in business? If you get that right, and believe in it, profitability and growth will take care of itself.鈥�
Culture is key
Andrew Dunn is the client relationship director at law firm .
He said: 鈥淚f you can create a really good culture, which entrepreneurs generally do, that will grow profit and sustainability.鈥�