The Exceptional Leader Academy is based in Woking in Surrey and provides leadership training and development. Founded by Dene Stuart in 2012, the ELA offers a range of courses and workshops based on the principles of neuroscience, positive psychology and metaphysics. 

Dene runs the ELA single-handed, balancing back-office tasks with delivering in-person and online leadership coaching. While he has successfully managed his time to ensure that he meets all the requirements of running a business, one-off projects pose more of a challenge. 

Dene was planning a two-day leadership workshop and identified that the most effective way to promote it was via his up-to-date email contact list. He wanted the communication to feel personal and come directly from his account, rather than using marketing email software. However, he didn’t have the time or expertise to create a marketing email to advertise the event. It was important to promote the event at the right time, maintaining momentum while also giving delegates enough time to plan and prepare. 

Get Ahead introduced him to Sarah and Gaida who used Dene’s email template and circulated the communication from his account. 

The email campaign was highly effective, with many local business owners signing up for the leadership coaching workshop. Dene was delighted to find that the Get Ahead process is smooth and prompt. His outsourcing objective was to save time – he was pleased he saved time not just on the actual email campaign but also on dealing with Get Ahead. 

“Working with the team at Get Ahead was a very pleasurable experience. They understood what I needed and why and demonstrated a very commercial perspective. They are very pleasant people to work with and work hard to make sure that engagements run smoothly and to plan. I have no hesitation in recommending Get Ahead as a resource for any busy business owner.” Dene Stuart, Founder, Exceptional Leader Academy 

Alive with Ideas is a creative communications agency based in Basingstoke. While they have many big public and private sector organisations among their clients, they are a small business with two directors, ten employees and a team of freelancers. 

Founder Alex Mead and his team work very hard to deliver effective, dynamic marketing campaigns for their clients. However, as a small business with a varying workload, he and his fellow director can’t always find time to react to unexpected pressures. 

Unpaid client invoices were a particular problem, with Alex and his co-director Alan struggling to find time to follow them up. Equally, as a small business, Alive with Ideas cannot afford to let invoices go unpaid and still deliver the fantastic work they’re known for. 

Invoices were going unpaid not because of any disputes about the work, or clients trying to avoid payment. Alive with Ideas has many public sector clients – huge organisations with very complicated finance systems. If Alive with Ideas issued an invoice with no purchase order number on it, for example, the public sector client would be unable to pay it. Finding the right person to provide a purchase order number was very time consuming for Alex, meaning that he struggled to get round to addressing the problem. 

Alex and Alan toyed with the idea of taking on a part-time employee to chase unpaid invoices and review the details that were causing the problems, like missing purchase order numbers and inconsistent invoice numbers. However, they knew they were already at capacity and the recruitment process would eat even further into their precious time. But outsourcing instead of employing looked like a realistic solution.

Alex reached out to Get Ahead. Our approach appealed to him because he liked the flexibility we offer, and was glad that he’d only pay for the time and support needed. By contrast, he would have to continue to pay an employee the same salary even if the number of invoices they dealt with varied from month to month. 

Get Ahead listened to Alex’s needs and shortlisted a number of possible finance experts from our extensive team. After introduction phone calls with a few of our experts, Alex decided bookkeeper Charlotte would be the best fit for his business. 

Charlotte began her new responsibilities with Alive with Ideas almost immediately. She began by following up unpaid invoices and spending time addressing the reasons for the delay. In most cases, the delay is caused by public sector admin which takes time and attention to detail to solve. However, Charlotte has the experience and capacity to do the work required to get every invoice paid. 

Charlotte quickly slotted into her new role and the ongoing working relationship is now in its fourth year. She is a great fit for Alive with Ideas and they quickly saw an increase in the number of paid invoices. Charlotte and Alex meet fortnightly to review progress, and because she’s so proactive, she doesn’t take up Alex’s time in between. 

As Alex got to know Charlotte, he discovered she has additional finance admin skills that would benefit his business. Now Charlotte deals with the day-to-day accounting and invoice reconciliation for Alive with Ideas, as well as supporting their payroll process. Alex still has an accountant who handles corporation tax. As Charlotte happens to be a trained accountant too, she understands how Alex’s other accountant works and the two have become a strong team. 

Working with Get Ahead has been a real success for Alive with Ideas and we’re delighted to be supporting such a dynamic creative communications agency.

Alex Mead says, “I would highly recommend working with Get Ahead. Their proactive approach means you’ll be matched with an expert that perfectly fits your needs. The ability to flex on working hours is a huge benefit and means you’re only paying for the support that you need.”

Headline Design & Print supports B2B businesses to share their message through great design and high-quality print. Based near Guildford, they have been operating since 1986 and have become synonymous with business communication in Surrey. 

Headline’s main competitors are online printing companies. Fortunately, Headline has always managed to stay ahead by offering a more personal service, with clients able to speak directly to the team to discuss their unique design and print needs. 

As Headline provides on-demand print services for organisations of all sizes, the service needs to be available without interruption. However, when staff were on annual leave or sick leave, managing director Mark Warner found it difficult to fill in any gaps in the production process while maintaining Headline’s high standard of service. 

Many of Headline’s clients contact Mark and the team by telephone to place orders and make inquiries. When the operation was short staffed, Mark knew the team was finding it difficult to answer the phone, but he also knew this could lead to loss of business. 

Because of Headline’s reputation for a personal service, it was essential to find a solution that came with a personal touch. Mark recognised that he needed a telephone answering service run by real people, and discovered that Get Ahead could set this up for him. 

Get Ahead quickly connected Mark with our telephone answering team who are based in Scotland. Mark can now simply divert the Headline phone number to the telephone answering team who take any calls, transcribe them into emails and send them to the appropriate team member at Headline. While Mark pays a fixed rate for each call taken and transcribed, the service is completely flexible: Headline can use it when they need to and are free to turn it off when the office is fully staffed. Now that the process is in place, they can simply ask for it to be activated when Headline needs it. 

Thanks to the telephone answering service for small businesses, the Headline team are under less pressure even when someone is on holiday or sick leave. All the transcribed calls reach the right person and Headline’s customers have received a seamless service. Staff have felt more comfortable taking time off, knowing that they’re not leaving their colleagues in the lurch.

Mark says: “Get Ahead have been, and will continue to be, a key piece of the jigsaw that allows my small business to punch above its weight and deliver results that a much larger company would be proud of. In addition, the service Get Ahead deliver allows me, as the director and sales front end, to take time out of the business safe in the knowledge my clients are able to communicate with us and are not going elsewhere.”

 

Background

Coaching therapist Karen Boldy founded her business, Limelight, in Dubai in 2019, moving to Yorkshire in 2021. Karen takes a therapeutic and holistic approach to coaching, supporting her clients to embed their new ways of thinking and achieve lasting results. She works with business leaders of all levels, as well as elite sportsmen and women who are trying to improve their mindsets to stay on their game. 

Challenges

Karen branded her business as Limelight because she wanted her clients to put themselves at centre stage where they could shine. Her original logo reflected this idea, featuring images of lights in lime green, highlighting an ‘off-centre’ me’. Karen loved her logo but also recognised that it needed modernising to reflect her new and fresh approach to leadership coaching. 

Solutions

Karen already knew about Get Ahead through business networking. She approached us for support with the rebranding process and we introduced her to Kate, one of our most experienced graphic designers. 

Kate began by talking to Karen and finding out about her business. Kate recognised the conflict in Karen about the brand – Karen loved her existing logo, but also knew she needed to update it. Kate understands that changing the logo feels like a very big deal to any business owner and completely sympathised with Karen’s position. Fortunately, the two women established a connection and business owner Karen felt able to put her trust in graphic designer Kate. 

Kate began by doing some sketches, recording all her ideas visually. She felt that a simple design would be the most effective – there was no need to overcomplicate it. She ended up with a design created around the word “Limelight,” after picking up from Karen’s testimonials that the idea of “light” was important to her clients. She had found a suitable font to use as a starting point, then set about adapting it to create the strong design Karen’s business deserved. At this stage, she was using strong shades of lime and magenta, trying to reflect Karen’s drive and energy. 

When Kate showed her the new design, Karen liked the idea but felt the colours were wrong. Instead, she showed Kate shades of purple and green that she had been experimenting with herself. Karen particularly wanted to use purple  for its tranquil properties. Thanks to the trust they had built, Kate fully embraced Karen’s colour idea for the design. Now the completed logo is Kate’s design in Karen’s colours.  

Outcomes

Karen was initially surprised that the new logo was such a departure from the old one. However, she quickly came to love the message and story it tells. 

She has had new business cards printed, featuring the new logo. She took the opportunity to get rid of an obsolete phone number and improve the quality of her cards. The new cards are designed to appeal to both the senses of sight and touch, reflecting Karen’s expertise as a therapist. Now she feels even more confident giving her cards out – confidence which others pick up on. 


The new branding really makes me smile…I love it. I really enjoyed working with Kate – I hadn’t expected her to create the design she did, but when I saw what she had come up with, I knew it was right for me and my business.

Karen Boldy, Founder, Limelight

 

Background

The Original Black Garlic is a UK based food retailer and wholesaler. As the name implies (!), they sell black garlic, the must-have ingredient of the decade. The business is led by food importer Katy Heath, who came to love black garlic for both its flavour and its health benefits.

Challenges

Katy knew that strong PR could play an important part in her marketing strategy. But she also knew her business didn’t have the skills in-house to deliver a targeted PR campaign. So, she approached Get Ahead and the PR campaign started in July 2024, with a view to increasing brand awareness in time for Christmas.

Solutions

We introduced Katy to our PR expert Louise. Not only does Louise have extensive PR experience; she also has a keen interest in food and has delivered several PR campaigns for food businesses in the past.

Get Ahead worked with The Original Black Garlic to produce a detailed strategy for the PR campaigns. The strategy identified the unique selling points of black garlic, as well as the key demographics to help Louise decide which media to target.

Louise delivered a number of targeted campaigns for The Original Black Garlic. Utilising her PR expertise and contacts, she sent out samples of their products to journalists and influencers. She gained many column inches through coverage and features in national publications including the Daily Mail, the Times, the Guardian and Good Housekeeping.

The Original Black Garlic already use their own in-house marketing team for day-to-day social media posts. Get Ahead became an extension of this team and delivered additional specific campaigns alongside the work of their regular social media and marketing, complementing their posts and creating a fully integrated marketing effort.

Louise created Instagram competitions to build brand awareness, increase engagement and encourage The Original Black Garlic to trend over the Halloween and Christmas period. The competition in Good Housekeeping attracted an impressive 38,494 entries.  Our social media manager Mel repurposed content from previous years to create Christmas reels for Instagram. And our graphic designer Kate created new packaging designs which can be seen in Sainsbury’s and visuals for a full-page advert in the Guardian – her designs have popped up in social media posts too. With so much going on, it’s been important to keep Katy up to date without putting her under more time pressure. Get Ahead created monthly reports to share with Katy, so she can clearly see where her budget is going and how effective it is.

Outcomes

Katy is delighted with the results! Her mission is to move The Original Black Garlic from being a niche ingredient into the mainstream and the PR has helped her achieve it.

 We’ve loved working with Katy – she gave us great input at the beginning of the project then trusted us to get on with it. And The Original Black Garlic is gaining fans among the Get Ahead team too!

Katy says: “Get Ahead’s PR support has been invaluable. I’ve been able to concentrate on my business while Louise has delivered the PR. I love being able to use Get Ahead on an ad hoc basis – whether I need ongoing support or a one-off project, they can deliver what I need without tying me into a restrictive contract. Louise’s work has had fantastic results – I’m really proud of The Original Black Garlic and now everyone knows why!”

Background

The client’s business provides locally made home furnishings. It’s a family business with a small team, based in the West Country.

The MD received funding from a local college to cover the cost of working with an HR expert to set up the processes she needed.

Challenges

The MD had started her business because of her passion for local crafts. However, she knew that she needed clear forward planning and HR processes if her business were to grow successfully.

She was aware she needed to write a strategy and a business plan for growth. And working with the HR expert, the MD also identified that she needed support with HR contracts, job descriptions and performance reviews, all aligned with the business plan.

Unfortunately, she was also facing the pressures of running her own business, getting bogged down in day-to-day tasks. This meant she struggled to prioritise the steps she needed to take to help the business grow.

Solutions

We immediately saw the managing director’s vision for her business and felt that a more structured approach to both HR and the wider business would be beneficial.

We helped the MD to prioritise recruiting a general manager who would cover the admin and regular demands of the business. This freed the MD up to concentrate on business growth and make the HR improvements she needed to achieve it.

With the new manager appointed, the HR expert supported the MD to put a number of processes in place that would empower the staff and deliver the high standards the business deserves.

The HR expert supported the MD to map staff strengths and weaknesses. This demonstrated the MD’s faith in her team and encouraged them to take ownership of their work.

With the HR expert’s advice and support, the MD also booked one-to-one meetings with each staff member. She used these meetings to issue formal job descriptions and contracts and also carry out a performance review. The reviews covered not only capability but also general wellbeing, helping her to get more from her staff while understanding any outside pressures they were facing too.

To improve the organisation of everyday tasks, the HR expert suggested adopting a project management tool like Trello. This enabled the team to easily keep track of projects and orders, taking pressure off the MD.

Outcomes

Setting up clear HR processes had great outcomes – both productivity and morale improved! The job descriptions and performance reviews meant that each team member knew exactly what they were supposed to be doing, as well as how and why. This benefited the whole business: the staff could work more independently and not have to take every question to the MD; this meant the MD had more time to concentrate on business growth too.

Support with HR processes and business planning helped the MD to take her business to the next level and realise her vision.

Background

Eneco UK is a renewable energy company. They are well known in the Netherlands where they were founded, and where they are one of the biggest energy providers. In the UK, however, they were less well known and their work is focused on delivering clean energy to commercial customers.  

Challenges

Nigel is Head of the UK Energy Trade team for Eneco and Ben is responsible for the customer supply business. Having secured some large UK clients, they were aware that their website had not kept pace with their growth. They also knew they needed to raise the profile of Eneco in the UK and gain more commercial customers to continue their expansion. Ben reached out to independent marketing manager Brooke to discuss creating a new website. Brooke is an active part of Get Ahead’s business family and she immediately approached us to ask us for support.

Eneco is a big brand in the Netherlands and its Dutch market is made up of both domestic and commercial customers. However, what it offers to the UK energy market is slightly different, so the target market and messages have to be slightly different as well.

An additional challenge was that the new website has to appeal to a diverse audience. In addition to working directly with businesses, Eneco UK also sells energy through third-party energy brokers. The website also aims to invite owners of renewable energy sources to sell through Eneco.

Get Ahead’s task was to create a website that was consistent with the Dutch brand while also reflecting the work of the UK team.

Solutions

We created the website through strong team work and clearly defined responsibilities. Brooke had already done thorough market research and collated it into one UK-specific branding document. Our copywriter Charlotte used this document, along with input from Brooke, Nigel and Ben, to create informative, on-brand copy for the new website. The copy went through a two-stage approval process, with Brooke checking it first for messaging and tone of voice and Nigel and Ben checking it for accuracy. Our web designer Jennie conducted comprehensive keyword research, focusing on intent, and then worked closely with Charlotte to integrate these insights into a layout that strengthened the written messages.

Because the domain, brand and visuals are owned by Eneco’s Dutch head office, Jennie coordinated with their branding team to ensure consistency. She sourced and created on-brand images that aligned with the company’s visual identity and utilised their media library for additional visual content. Jennie worked closely with the Dutch web build team to complete the website within four days, efficiently managing the additional step of gaining approval from Eneco’s Dutch head office. She ensured that brand consistency was maintained while delivering an expertly designed website.

Outcomes

Eneco now has a website that showcases its strength in the UK market and clearly communicates its point of difference. Together, we had created a useful tool for Eneco’s prospective UK customers, where they can find out about the company and start (or continue!) their journey towards using renewable energy. An on-brand website also enhances Eneco UK’s credibility – an important factor in expanding their customer base.

Nigel was impressed with the teamworking Get Ahead displayed. The Get Ahead team were delighted to have the opportunity to work for an international brand as part of a multi-organisation team.

What the client said:

“We are delighted with the new Eneco UK website. Get Ahead’s team of experts understood our brand and created a site to meet the needs of our UK business. Importantly, they also understood the need to work closely with our Dutch counterparts, which they did seamlessly. We were impressed by the level of expertise displayed by each member of the team. The new site is a big step forward from where we were previously and really does justice to the competitive strengths of the Eneco UK offering.”

Background

As It Should Be is a Bristol-based business that supports organisations in making their digital  products and services more sustainable and accessible. It was founded by Jon Gibbins and became a certified B Corp in 2022. Jon had been keen to gain B Corp status – it was the right fit  for him, and the only framework in which he could build a business that aligned with his values.

Challenges

Jon had initially been running As It Should Be alongside his own consultancy work. However, when he decided to make the move to focus solely on his business, he recognised that he would need solid support, tailored to his needs.

Now he is a full-time business owner, Jon finds that his workload is either a famine or a feast in these early days of growth! He needed any support to be flexible – this would enable him to manage his budget and decide how best to prioritise the time he pays for. 

He also needed his support to dovetail into his own variable workload. When Jon is working on a project, he needs support to keep up with social media, nurturing leads and admin tasks. And when he has the capacity to do those regular tasks himself to build direct relationships with his clients, he needs support with preparing reports and other ongoing responsibilities.

B Corp status comes with certain important responsibilities and impact initiatives like pledging a percentage of profits to environmental and social causes, and submitting annual reports on the impact of the business’ practices. Jon needed help to keep the business running while he gathers and collates information for these reports.

Solutions

Jon approached Get Ahead in July 2022 and described his specific needs. After listening to his story and gaining a deeper understanding of what it means to be a B Corp, we introduced him to Dee. Dee is a virtual assistant and social media manager with a wide and varied background. Jon and Dee clicked immediately. Jon was delighted that Dee quickly grasped the concept of his business, including its purpose and drive for positive environmental and social impact.

Dee’s role includes social media, marketing and email management. She has also created and refined business development processes, increasing leads and driving conversions.

Supporting As It Should Be’s B Corp status, she manages their membership to 1% for the Planet, an ethical organisation that ensures that 1% of  member company’s profits are donated responsibly. She also manages the carbon reporting, keeping records of energy and water use, so As It Should Be can monitor and reduce  its energy and water consumption .

Because of the flexibility we offer, Jon has the freedom to adjust the amount of work he gives Dee each month, depending on his own workload and turnover.

Outcomes

Dee’s support has alleviated the pressure Jon was under, increasing his own capacity so he can focus his attention wherever it is needed. This includes retaining As It Should Be’s B Corp status and having time to develop the annual impact report all B Corps are required to submit.

Dee’s support has really helped Jon grow the As It Should Be brand. On LinkedIn, follower numbers are growing at a rate well above industry benchmarks. Online and offline, As It Should Be is getting attention for the right reasons. It’s been named as one of the top ten Bristol green techs to follow in 2024, and one of the top ten most sustainable digital agencies to work with in 2024. And during the 2023 B Corp month, it was one of the Bristol B Corps chosen to have its logo projected onto the side of the Tobacco Factory arts centre.

We are thrilled to be supporting a growing brand at such an exciting time in its development.

Background

ThreeTenSeven is a brand transformation consultancy specialising in health and wellbeing. A long-established business, they were founded in 1984 in Leeds, under the name Thompson Brand Partners. The business has gone from strength to strength, and has some very big names among its clients, including NHS England, Mind and Morrisons.

Challenges

All was well with ThreeTenSeven until 2020 and the coronavirus pandemic. As working models changed, the business’ need for a full-time in-house office manager declined and the Client Services team and Directors absorbed many of the office manager’s tasks. This was the right choice at the time, but as workplaces reopened and as the pipeline picked back up, the gap left by the office manager became very apparent. 

Solutions

Managing Director Rachel recognised that the team needed back-office support again to free up their Client Services team to focus on client work. She approached Get Ahead to find out what solutions we could offer. We matched Rachel and her team with our virtual expert Sophie, who started by managing their emails from her home office in the North West. 

Over time, the role has grown. On top of email management, Sophie now has other regular duties including managing a MailChimp database, organising time sheets, updating schedules and creating weekly reports. She also does the supermarket order so all the team get a healthy lunch! 

In addition to these regular tasks, Sophie also has a reactive role. The team communicate with each other through business messaging app Slack. Through Slack, they can contact Sophie as and when they need her. Some jobs that might take the team ages can be fixed very quickly by Sophie. She has tweaked spreadsheets so they work effectively and quickly reformatted documents so they look professional.

Sophie continues to work remotely. Slack’s capabilities mean she and the team can communicate in real time, while cloud storage and document sharing make co-working simple. 

Rachel and Get Ahead manage the reactive side of Sophie’s work. We agreed that Sophie would work eight hours per week for ThreeTenSeven, with an option for more time as required. Equally, during quiet weeks, Rachel has given Sophie permission to remind the team her support is there! Sophie can use Slack to let the team know she has capacity and is available to help. 

Outcomes

Sophie and the team at ThreeTenSeven have built a really positive working relationship. Sophie’s support means that back-office tasks are being completed reliably and on time. Not only is this good news for the business, but the team feel more supported; Rachel and the team know they can delegate tasks to Sophie, creating headspace for their core work. 

Outsourcing has been good news for the bottom line too. With an agreed limit of eight hours a week, Rachel can easily stay within her staffing budget. It’s amazing what Sophie can get done in the time!

Testimonial 

Working with a VA was new but made sense for us, and it’s worked out really well. Fiona was a joy to work with and took the time to understand our needs, rather than just fielding any old person, and it’s that right-fit that’s made the difference. Sophie just gets on with it – we know all the essential recurring weekly tasks will be done like clockwork, and it’s a real relief in a small owner-managed business. She adapted to agency ways of working and bespoke software beautifully. Once Sophie nailed the baseline tasks, they were being done in much less time than expected, which meant we could then think of other tasks we could get her to help with. It’s always like that with a smart, competent person, isn’t it – you think ‘Well, that was easy – what else can I give them?’ and they soon soak up tasks you hadn’t thought to delegate before. Now I’ll fling anything her way, from helping out with our carbon reporting to researching new job management software and buying last minute client Christmas pressies. Everyone needs a Sophie in their lives!

Background

Hut22 is a consultancy devoted to helping businesses reduce their carbon footprint and increase their sustainability through behavioural and organisational change. They’re based in Gloucestershire and are led by Kevin Couling.

Challenges

Kevin is a force for good. He’s full of ideas but because he works alone, he sometimes finds it difficult to find the time to put them all into practice.

When he first approached Get Ahead, he was facing a number of challenges. Kevin had been managing on his own for a while, but had decided it was time to focus on his strengths and get support for tasks others could do more efficiently.

He’s a good writer with clear ideas, and recognised that, to make more of his written content, the Hut22 website needed to be updated. He needed support to take advantage of social media opportunities.

In addition to marketing, he needed help to improve the output from his core offering. Kevin facilitates workshops with businesses who want to be more sustainable. During a workshop, he encourages the people he’s working with to explore issues and develop solutions, writing them down as they go. However, for this to be useful in the long term, it is vital that these notes are brought together cohesively. Kevin was struggling to keep on top of collating the handwritten notes.

Solutions

Get Ahead contacted several virtual experts to support Kevin.

We introduced him to Carrie who took over the improvements to the website. She created new pages for his services, case studies and blogs. Carrie worked with another Get Ahead expert, Mel, to create a gated content area on the website for subscribers to access free resources.

For social media, we brought in Emma. She audited his social media channels and analysed what his competitors were doing. She also asked Kevin questions about how he was using social media to establish what was already working for him. Ultimately, she created a list of recommendations, including how often to post and which channels would be most effective.

Administrator Juliet addressed the difficulty of the handwritten notes. Kevin now photographs them and sends them to her, and she collates them into spreadsheets for Kevin to share with his clients. In addition to natural organisational skills, she has also developed an excellent ability to read unfamiliar handwriting!

Outcomes

Kevin is delighted with the work Get Ahead are doing, as well as the time efficiency he has gained. The website is looks professional, functions well and is regularly updated. Juliet’s work means that Kevin is free from the pressure of having to write up notes from his workshops. It also means he has a tangible output he can share with his clients – a great way for him to add value.

Social media has evolved, with Kevin doing some posts himself and Emma taking up the slack when Kevin is busy. Get Ahead’s flexible approach makes this possible – like any Get Ahead client, Kevin can choose how many hours’ support he receives each month.

Kevin enjoys the convenience of outsourcing both project work and ongoing work to the same agency. It means he has a single point of contact for all his outsourced work, while also benefitting from a flexible solution.  

What the client says…

I’ve been working with Emma Barratt and the team at GAVA for around 10 months, calling on a range of resources for support, including: admin, website building, social media and online marketing. The range of skills and flexibility of the team mean that I haven’t yet come across anything they can’t tackle technically or in a timescale that fits with my needs.

The team are engaged, professional and always accommodating when I invariably change my mind or need something at short notice.

I’d absolutely recommend them to any SME that needs both ad hoc support and more focused project delivery.