Steve Lees - aka Frankie Grit
Let’s be clear, Steve’s leadership journey hasn’t been some Instagrammable sunset cruise. It’s been a full-throttle rollercoaster with no seatbelt.
He’s spent over 20 years dragging businesses through the rough end of commerce, six of those years running the show as MD in SMEs turning over £1m to £5m. He’s been in the trenches, cleaned up the mess, and come out swinging.
Steve’s a specialist in getting customers and fixing things that are held together with duct tape and denial.
He has been there and gets it.
If you’re lost in the entrepreneurial jungle, he’s the guide who’ll get you out alive, with your business, your brain, and your humour still intact.
Kirsty Markwell, number Whisperer & Mrs Grit
Kirsty’s not just some badge-wearing number cruncher. She’s a financial bloodhound with a calculator and a serious knack for sniffing out what’s holding your business back. A Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants (yeah, that’s a mouthful), she’s done the rounds in retail, manufacturing, and utilities, making sense of chaos and turning financial spaghetti into straight-up strategy.
She’s been a Finance Director in the wild world of SMEs, so she gets what it’s like in the trenches, every penny matters, every decision counts, and yes, she probably can tell you where that missing sock is (and what it’s costing you).
Kirsty’s here to help you get a grip on your finances without needing a translator or a stiff drink.
This is how frankie works
A successful coaching relationship is a two-way street (preferably one without potholes).
Here's what we expect from each other:
As our valued client, we ask you to:
- Be transparent, no skeletons in the closet, please.
- Keep an open mind, think of us as your business yoga instructors, encouraging flexibility.
- Provide accurate numbers, guesswork is for game shows.
- Be willing to try new things, like pineapple on pizza, but less controversial.
- "Get out of the weeds", unless you're a gardener, focus on the big picture.
- Find time to implement, Netflix can wait.
- Actually implement, ideas are great, action is better.
- Agree on priorities and stick to them, like glue.
As your dedicated coaches, we will:
- Ask the right questions, think of us as business detectives.
- Understand your business, and the numbers that make it tick.
- Identify and articulate "the gap", not the clothing store, but the space between where you are and where you want to be.
- Develop and agree on effective strategies to bridge that gap, no duct tape solutions here.
- Map out a workable plan, consider us your business cartographers.
- Provide guidance on specific actions, because vague advice is as useful as a chocolate teapot.
- Adjust the plan based on results, flexibility is key.
- Hold you accountable, in a friendly, non-scary way
