We share some of our key partners’ knowledge too so, in addition to focused business growth advice, you’ll also find articles around financial planning, seeking finance, and other key business related topics.
How? we can help your business.
4 outcomes:
- To grow your business with value
- Funding – prepare your business if it needs funding and accelerate that journey
- Exit – ensure your business is prepared to maximise value and ensure the transaction is deliverable.
- Turnaround – starting in a position of distress
Salary v Dividends – How should you pay yourself in 2026?
Now that the self‑assessment deadline has passed, many directors are taking a fresh look at how they take profits from their companies. The choice between salary and dividends isn’t just about “what saves the most tax.” It also affects pensions, state benefits, borrowing ability, and long‑term financial planning.
Five Years On: Helping business owners to grow and succeed in challenging conditions
Kevin Petley reflects on five years with elephants child, and the many challenges business owners have had to tackle during that time. He’s worked with over 50 businesses during those five years on Business Growth Plans and providing board advisory support.
Elephants Child featured in Your Business magazine
Elephants Child has officially landed a feature in the latest Your Business magazine – and this edition was guest-edited by none other than iconic Dragon’s Den investor and all-round business pioneer, Deborah Meaden.
Five resolutions business owners should make for 2026
The New Year is more than a symbolic reset; it’s an inflection point. Resist the temptation to get straight back into the day-to-day execution of running your business and make some resolutions to see you through the next 12 months and beyond.
What Could the Autumn Budget Mean for Growing SMEs? Thinking Ahead with Head, Heart and Hand
For SMEs in growth mode thinking about expansion, this month's Budget from the Chancellor could be more than a policy update—it may be a moment to pause, reflect, and prepare for what’s next.
Planning an Exit? The Right Timing Could Leave You Better Off
Tax rates are changing. If you are thinking about selling your business, the timing can significantly impact the net proceeds shareholders receive.
Building a Strong Foundation for Business Growth
One of the difficulties we quite often come across when we talk to business owners is their concerns around how they can take their business to the next level
Funding Business Growth
Finances and funding are a vital aspect of successful business growth. Martin Brown, our CEO, looks at some key questions business owners have on this topic.
Harnessing business growth and creating the option to sell your business in the UK’s defence industry
The defence sector is estimated to contribute around £10 billion to £12 billion a year to the UK economy. Comprising a range of long-standing and new businesses, this rapidly growing industry has always been crucial to the country’s operation and security – but now, its impact is set to strengthen even further as the government assigns more spend to it.
Creating a Marketing Plan That Works for Your Small Business
All businesses, no matter their size, should have a marketing plan.
There’s no time like the present – plan your business’s growth, funding or exit today
No matter how many times we hear it in small talk, it still doesn’t feel possible that summer is here.
50 Ways to Leave Your Business – A Musical Guide to SME Exits
If you're a UK SME owner thinking it's time to hang up the boots, pour the gin, and sail off into a spreadsheet-less sunset, you're not alone. Whether you're dreaming of tropical beaches, tinkering in a shed full of gadgets, or just never want to hear the words “VAT quarter” again, there are – dare we say it – 50 ways to leave your business.
Build your business on solid foundations – don’t overlook the business basics of management and control
Louis Cooper our new Board, Governance and Risk Advisor, looks at need for good governance principles and how they can help you drive your goals and objectives to achieve your strategy.
Confidence in a Changing World: How Are We Feeling Heading into Summer?
As a business owner, you’ve most likely experienced more than your fair share of change lately. Hard as you try to build solid foundations — growing your team, building strong client relationships, and setting clear goals for the year ahead — it can feel as if there is some universal force hell-bent on shifting the goal posts around you.
Working With Geoff Was A Game Changer
Ash Sinclair, Director of Glenway Products Ltd worked with Geoff Gwynn one of our Business Growth Advisors, for a number of months on a creating a Business Growth Plan for Glenway but also providing executive level support for Ash to help him to implement the plan and grow and develop as a leader of the business. This is how he found working with Geoff:
Looking to Sell Your Business? Preparation Is Key
Having worked hard to build your business you might now be considering selling and realising the value you have created. However, many businesses that go to market fail to achieve a successful exit. Crawfurd Walker, our Chief Revenue Officer, has worked with many businesses to get them ready for exit. He shares his tips on preparing to sell a business.
Is AI the golden ticket to your business exit?
From my experience, AI is already automating operational processes and enhancing decision-making which is proving to be a game-changer for SMEs looking to scale efficiently and attract potential buyers or investors.
Practical Steps to Grow and Exit Your Business
Having built and sold three businesses, Steve Bird, one of our Business Growth Advisors, has both professional knowledge and practical experience to share with SME owners. Here he looks at practical steps to grow and exit your business:
Women on Boards
Ahead of International Women’s Day, Louis Cooper, one of our affiliates who specialises in Board, Non-Executive Director and Board Committee development and Governance, Risk and Assurance, has shared his thoughts on gender representation at Board level.
Strategies to grow your business
The size, shape and scale of businesses operating in the SME sector is often characterized by the supplier, and the customer, having an interpersonal relationship rather than a transactional relationship that can be common in larger entities.
Grow your business with the right people and structure
Good managers understand and emphasise the value of their people, recognising them as the cornerstone of success in their business yet often the time spent recruiting and developing their people lacks the appropriate level of attention.
Navigating the Entrepreneurial Ocean
Hugh Griffiths, Board Advisor with us at elephants child, is a former military aviator, turned entrepreneur. He founded Inzpire Ltd, one of UK’s fastest growing defence companies, which he led as CEO for many years. He shares his tips for SME leaders to help them survive and thrive beyond the start up phase.
SME success in 2025
Happy New Year to you all! Wishing you the very best for 2025. Our CEO, Martin Brown shares his reflections on 2024 and looks ahead to how SMEs can achieve success in 2025
Why business valuations have dropped after the 2024 Budget and what you can do about it
Many business owners are already grappling with the recent budget changes, including increases in minimum wage levels, National Insurance (NI) contributions, and Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on business sales. However, for those considering selling their business soon—or even those currently in the process—there’s a further consequence to consider. It hasn’t made as many headlines but: the value of your business may have just taken a significant hit.
Should I Stay or Should I Go Now? Your Next Move as a Business Owner Post-Budget
The much-anticipated Budget landed, and with it, a series of changes that have business owners assessing their next move. Minimum wage rises, National Insurance contribution changes, and shifts in Capital Gains Tax all add up to a worrying time for business owners. If you’re an SME owner, you may find yourself mulling over The Clash’s eternal question: Should I stay, or should I go now?
Teamwork will make your dream work
Tell-tale signs of a weak or untrusted management team are when you get embroiled in the day-to-day operational minutia, where everyone looks at you to solve problems and your role is mainly answering queries and fixing the mistakes made by others.
Embracing AI: The Next Frontier for UK Small Businesses
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer just a futuristic concept confined to science fiction. In recent years, it has emerged as a transformative force across industries worldwide. For small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK, AI represents both a challenge and an opportunity - a powerful tool that can drive efficiency, innovation, and growth.
Business – it’s all about People
The mid 1980’s saw the emergence of the concept of the Marketing Mix, the 4 P’s - Product, Price, Place and Promotion. The model was further developed with the addition of the People, Process and Physical Evidence elements. These pillars form the cornerstone of many businesses’ commercial strategy.
Juicing It
One of the simplest ways to win new business is to sell more to people you know - a process affectionately known as juicing or squeezing the lemon1. You already have a relationship with these people, they know that they can trust you, and they value your work. So, what are your options? Geoff Gwynn, one of our Business Growth Advisors has some advice for you.
When equal shareholders disagree, how can a business move forwards?
You’ve set up a business with a friend or connection, to keep things fair you split things, including the ownership of the business, 50:50. But what happens if you disagree on major decisions? Particularly if one of you decides you no longer want to be part of the business going forwards? We’ve worked with businesses in exactly this situation.
Make yourself redundant before you sell your business
It often comes as a shock to business owners when they learn the day they legally complete the sale of their business is not the day they actually walk away. One of our experienced Business Growth Advisors, Geoff Gwynn, explains more.
7 things I wish I knew before I sold my businesses – not after!
The major overarching lesson is that you need professional help, and that help creates value in the transaction. You need to trust that your chosen professional help can save you money, like a good lawyer protecting your personal warranties, or growth advisor who can make you money by helping you set a price that exceeds your expectations.
Three steps to winning new business
One challenge we regularly come across when we work with businesses is a trepidation to sell their products and services. Non-salespeople often find the prospective daunting or just a bit uncomfortable. But if you want to grow your business, you need to be clear on what you are selling, who is going to buy from you, and how your products or services can solve their problems.
How to recruit and retain staff in a candidates’ market
Recruiting and retaining staff is a challenge for many businesses at the moment. Candidates can be choosy about what they apply for and which role they accept. It’s particularly difficult for businesses who don’t recruit regularly.
How much will a 1% price increase boost your profits?
Pricing a product is a combination of both an art and a science. It requires a balance of financial considerations and personal values. A business owner must consider how a product or service contributes to overhead and how that will drive profitability, as well as how their pricing strategy will impact their marketing and competition. Prices can be set based on cost, or those of your competitors or the value you can create in the eyes of the customer - value based pricing. Steve Bird, one of our Business Growth Advisors explains the benefits of focusing on value.
Looking for an exit? We can help you to pick the right one
We know how to prepare and help you get your business into shape for exit. We work with some excellent Corporate Finance House partners, wealth managers, solicitors and tax advisors and, we can advise on all the various exit routes open to business owners.
How SMEs can make savings
After 14 consecutive months of interest rate rises up to September 2023 and no changes yet in 2024, along with generally tough financial conditions for SMEs, what practical steps can you take to make savings?
Build your business on solid foundations – don’t overlook the business basics of management and control
Louis Cooper our new Board, Governance and Risk Advisor, looks at need for good governance principles and how they can help you drive your goals and objectives to achieve your strategy.
Confidence in a Changing World: How Are We Feeling Heading into Summer?
As a business owner, you’ve most likely experienced more than your fair share of change lately. Hard as you try to build solid foundations — growing your team, building strong client relationships, and setting clear goals for the year ahead — it can feel as if there is some universal force hell-bent on shifting the goal posts around you.
Working With Geoff Was A Game Changer
Ash Sinclair, Director of Glenway Products Ltd worked with Geoff Gwynn one of our Business Growth Advisors, for a number of months on a creating a Business Growth Plan for Glenway but also providing executive level support for Ash to help him to implement the plan and grow and develop as a leader of the business. This is how he found working with Geoff:
Looking to Sell Your Business? Preparation Is Key
Having worked hard to build your business you might now be considering selling and realising the value you have created. However, many businesses that go to market fail to achieve a successful exit. Crawfurd Walker, our Chief Revenue Officer, has worked with many businesses to get them ready for exit. He shares his tips on preparing to sell a business.
Is AI the golden ticket to your business exit?
From my experience, AI is already automating operational processes and enhancing decision-making which is proving to be a game-changer for SMEs looking to scale efficiently and attract potential buyers or investors.
Practical Steps to Grow and Exit Your Business
Having built and sold three businesses, Steve Bird, one of our Business Growth Advisors, has both professional knowledge and practical experience to share with SME owners. Here he looks at practical steps to grow and exit your business:
Women on Boards
Ahead of International Women’s Day, Louis Cooper, one of our affiliates who specialises in Board, Non-Executive Director and Board Committee development and Governance, Risk and Assurance, has shared his thoughts on gender representation at Board level.
Strategies to grow your business
The size, shape and scale of businesses operating in the SME sector is often characterized by the supplier, and the customer, having an interpersonal relationship rather than a transactional relationship that can be common in larger entities.
Grow your business with the right people and structure
Good managers understand and emphasise the value of their people, recognising them as the cornerstone of success in their business yet often the time spent recruiting and developing their people lacks the appropriate level of attention.
Navigating the Entrepreneurial Ocean
Hugh Griffiths, Board Advisor with us at elephants child, is a former military aviator, turned entrepreneur. He founded Inzpire Ltd, one of UK’s fastest growing defence companies, which he led as CEO for many years. He shares his tips for SME leaders to help them survive and thrive beyond the start up phase.
SME success in 2025
Happy New Year to you all! Wishing you the very best for 2025. Our CEO, Martin Brown shares his reflections on 2024 and looks ahead to how SMEs can achieve success in 2025
Why business valuations have dropped after the 2024 Budget and what you can do about it
Many business owners are already grappling with the recent budget changes, including increases in minimum wage levels, National Insurance (NI) contributions, and Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on business sales. However, for those considering selling their business soon—or even those currently in the process—there’s a further consequence to consider. It hasn’t made as many headlines but: the value of your business may have just taken a significant hit.
Grow your business with the right people and structure
Good managers understand and emphasise the value of their people, recognising them as the cornerstone of success in their business yet often the time spent recruiting and developing their people lacks the appropriate level of attention.
Navigating the Entrepreneurial Ocean
Hugh Griffiths, Board Advisor with us at elephants child, is a former military aviator, turned entrepreneur. He founded Inzpire Ltd, one of UK’s fastest growing defence companies, which he led as CEO for many years. He shares his tips for SME leaders to help them survive and thrive beyond the start up phase.
SME success in 2025
Happy New Year to you all! Wishing you the very best for 2025. Our CEO, Martin Brown shares his reflections on 2024 and looks ahead to how SMEs can achieve success in 2025
Why business valuations have dropped after the 2024 Budget and what you can do about it
Many business owners are already grappling with the recent budget changes, including increases in minimum wage levels, National Insurance (NI) contributions, and Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on business sales. However, for those considering selling their business soon—or even those currently in the process—there’s a further consequence to consider. It hasn’t made as many headlines but: the value of your business may have just taken a significant hit.
Should I Stay or Should I Go Now? Your Next Move as a Business Owner Post-Budget
The much-anticipated Budget landed, and with it, a series of changes that have business owners assessing their next move. Minimum wage rises, National Insurance contribution changes, and shifts in Capital Gains Tax all add up to a worrying time for business owners. If you’re an SME owner, you may find yourself mulling over The Clash’s eternal question: Should I stay, or should I go now?
Teamwork will make your dream work
Tell-tale signs of a weak or untrusted management team are when you get embroiled in the day-to-day operational minutia, where everyone looks at you to solve problems and your role is mainly answering queries and fixing the mistakes made by others.
Juicing It
One of the simplest ways to win new business is to sell more to people you know - a process affectionately known as juicing or squeezing the lemon1. You already have a relationship with these people, they know that they can trust you, and they value your work. So, what are your options? Geoff Gwynn, one of our Business Growth Advisors has some advice for you.
How to recruit and retain staff in a candidates’ market
Recruiting and retaining staff is a challenge for many businesses at the moment. Candidates can be choosy about what they apply for and which role they accept. It’s particularly difficult for businesses who don’t recruit regularly.
How much will a 1% price increase boost your profits?
Pricing a product is a combination of both an art and a science. It requires a balance of financial considerations and personal values. A business owner must consider how a product or service contributes to overhead and how that will drive profitability, as well as how their pricing strategy will impact their marketing and competition. Prices can be set based on cost, or those of your competitors or the value you can create in the eyes of the customer - value based pricing. Steve Bird, one of our Business Growth Advisors explains the benefits of focusing on value.