One helps you see where you’ve been – the other helps you see where you’re going.

You’re right. Accountants are boring, because they’re all about the past. A traditional accountant calculates year-end figures and presents them to decision-makers. A business adviser can still give you those figures – but then use them to galvanise every single person in your company. 

That’s because those numbers go right through your business like a stick of rock – and they tell every story you need to know, if you know how to read them.

And that’s why a business adviser will build on where an accountant leaves off. At Halliday’s, we’ll use the figures to paint a picture of your strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities. To set goals that are strategically linked to where you’ve been; to your capabilities, needs and the available opportunities in your market. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our clients as they face every fresh challenge, helping them spot incoming dangers and unlock new sources of growth.

Managing change

We help you manage the kind of change that matters to you, in the way that’s right for your company. 

We help you make the most of data – a must-have skill in the new zeitgeist. Using granular analysis to help you see the bigger picture. Of course, no-one could have foreseen the storm the world faced in 2020, and some sectors were hit harder than others, but the companies with the most agile data strategies and the clearest vision weathered the storm better than most in their sectors.

Managing your team and culture

We’ll show you how to make more of your team, your market and your marketing. How to empower the first, nail the second and supercharge the third.

We’ll give you an IT strategy that has futureproofing built in.

We’ll help you be the kind of leader that creates a culture within which your people can be their best. The kind of leader whose team shares your vision – not because they have to, but because they follow you through trust and respect for your understanding of where you’re going. As Ronald Reagan once said: “The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He’s the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.”

Turning Crises into Opportunities

Most people are familiar with the trope that the Chinese word is made up of a character meaning “danger” and another meaning “opportunity”. While this may be apocryphal and not entirely accurate, it remains a philosophy that drives the Hallidays approach. No point moping about all the bad things happening in the world – you may as well just accept, adapt and get on with it, because you may as well find a way to make a profit from the situation.

A great example of this is how we helped our clients Didsbury Gin to trade through the lockdown period and emerge from it stronger.

This craft gin business grew from a home experiment in 2017, before appearing on Dragons’ Den and winning investment of £75,000 from Jenny Campbell. It went on to secure huge orders with the likes of Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and Wetherspoons and have gone on to work with Aldi, Co-Op and many more bar/restaurant chains across the UK.

Hallidays (Stockport), Business Growth Hub and input from Hallidays Corporate Finance Team advised Didsbury Gin on their seed investment round and supported them throughout the deal to completion. 

However, at a time when many businesses were facing a threat to their existence (and considerable numbers had already closed their doors), Didsbury Gin knew it had to adapt or die. As we discussed the situation with them, we both knew that firms were adapting and switching their production to find new opportunities. Similarly, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy were looking for organisations who could support the Government’s response to COVID-19 – for instance, by producing ventilators and ventilator components.

So it was decided that Didsbury Gin would halt their beverage production and convert their supplies of alcohol to make hand-sanitiser to help keep emergency services personnel healthy in their duties

Over the next 3 weeks they supplied the equivalent of over 2 million bottles to the Police, NHS, Fire and further Health and Social Care Services – and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Liam Manton, one of the two Manchester entrepreneurs behind Didsbury Gin said, “We’re extremely proud to be assisting these pillars of the Mancunian community where we can at this period of uncertainty. Again Hallidays have been in regular contact informing us of what support is available during this time which has helped us. They’ve been with us since the start and have supported us as we have grown.”

From surviving to thriving

And as you and your competitors emerge from the shadow of 2020, we’ll help you move from cash preservation to cashflow optimisation – from just keeping the lights on to lighting the fuse for the next growth explosion.

We’ll help you adapt to the new world; reshape and reform at speed and scale, and sustain the pace and effect of change over time. We’ll help you pinpoint markets, out-see and outperform your competitors and focus relentlessly on building your best strategy, your best team and their best capabilities.

So if you thought you were looking for an accountant, think again. An accountant is a rear-view mirror. And after the year we’ve just had, you need the nearest thing you can get to a crystal ball.

How Hallidays can help

Our friendly team can support you with a one-to-one session working with you on strategies for your time management, goals and habits.

We can also tell you more about our One Page Plan which is specifically tailored for ambitious growing businesses that want to work closely with us to help them achieve their personal and business goals.

If you’d like any support with any of the content covered email us at [email protected] or call us on 0161 476 8276.