Tag: business growth

You Don’t Need More Pressure – You Need the Right People in Your Corner

If there’s one thing I see consistently in growing businesses, it’s this: the people running them are carrying more than anyone realises.

On the outside, things look steady. Momentum is building, opportunities are increasing, and from a distance the picture looks encouraging.

But behind the scenes, decisions are stacking up, and with growth comes weight.

The Quiet Weight of Scaling

Enhancing your offering, creating a new revenue stream, stepping into a new market, hiring for the first time, delegating something you’ve always kept close – none of those are small moves. And even when they’re exciting, they can feel slightly exposing in a way that’s hard to articulate.

Because growth isn’t just operational. It’s personal. You’re putting something new out into the world, trusting someone else with your reputation, shifting from doing to leading. That transition can feel heavier than most people admit, and it rarely comes with a manual.

Pressure Isn’t the Same as Progress

At busy times, the instinct is almost always to push harder. Work longer, take on more, keep control, just get through it. It’s a deeply familiar response, and for a while it can feel like the right one.

But pressure doesn’t always create progress. What it more often creates is hesitation, indecision, and – perhaps most insidiously – burnout disguised as productivity. In my experience, growth rarely accelerates because someone applies more pressure to themselves. It accelerates when the right support is introduced at the right time.

The Power of Having Someone Beside You

Earlier in this series I explored why buying decisions are still fundamentally human, why community builds the trust that makes those decisions easier, and why bespoke fit matters more than a list of features. This final piece is where all of that comes together.

Because when growth feels heavy, what business owners really need isn’t another system or another process. It’s someone beside them; someone who can ask the right questions, offer an outside perspective, sense-check decisions before they’re made, and translate a feeling of overwhelm into a clear and manageable next step. That’s not soft support. That’s one of the most strategic investments a growing business can make, because confident leaders make stronger decisions, and supported leaders move faster.

What My Role Actually Looks Like

As a Regional Director at Get Ahead, I don’t see my role as simply matching skills to tasks, though that’s part of it. I see it as standing alongside a business owner as they navigate change, being a consistent presence through the moments that feel uncertain.

Sometimes that means helping to identify where the real pressure is coming from, which isn’t always where it appears to be. Sometimes it means suggesting a different approach, or simply reframing a decision that’s been made more complicated than it needs to be. And sometimes it means reminding someone that bringing in support isn’t a sign of weakness but a mark of leadership. Knowing when to ask for help, and being willing to do so, is one of the most mature things a business owner can do.

AI, Automation and the Human Gap

We’re operating in an increasingly automated world, and the pace of that change shows no sign of slowing. Systems are smarter, processes are faster, and information is more instantly accessible than ever before. All of that is genuinely useful, and at Get Ahead we embrace it where it adds real value.

But none of it replaces encouragement. None of it replaces the kind of considered judgement that comes from experience. And none of it can sit across the table from someone and say, with conviction, “you’re on the right track, let’s simplify this.” Technology enhances businesses, but people steady them. And steady businesses, in my observation, grow more sustainably than those running purely on pressure.

You Don’t Have to Do It Alone

There’s a quiet narrative in business that says you should have it all figured out, that you should always know exactly what to do next, and that asking for help means you’re somehow behind. It’s a narrative that does a lot of damage, often silently.

The strongest businesses I see are invariably the ones where leaders are willing to build the right support around them, have honest conversations about capacity before things reach breaking point, and bring in expertise while there’s still space to use it well rather than waiting until everything feels critical. That’s not weakness. That’s maturity, and it makes an enormous practical difference to how a business grows.

In Your Corner

This series has been about the human side of growth, because while the tools, platforms and systems will continue to evolve, the fundamentals don’t change. Trust drives decisions. Fit drives performance. Support drives confidence. And confidence, more than almost anything else, drives sustainable growth.

If you’re building something, evolving something, or simply feeling the weight of doing too much alone, then you don’t need more pressure. You need the right people in your corner. And sometimes, that starts with a single conversation.

I’m always happy to talk through where your business is right now and what the right next step might look like. No hard sell Just clarity, perspective, and support where it counts.

kristy@getaheadva.com or book in a chat –  Calendly – Kristy Roff

About the Author

Kristy Roff is a Get Ahead Regional Director with over 20 years’ experience in commercial, marketing and client relationship roles. Her career has spanned radio broadcasting – including senior positions at Global Radio – and a decade in B2B technology consultancy, giving her a broad understanding of the pressures that growing businesses face. Kristy works closely with SME leadership teams to identify the right support and build flexible solutions that drive sustainable growth. Rather than simply placing Virtual Experts, she takes time to understand each client’s business, challenges and ambitions before carefully matching them with the right specialists from the Get Ahead network. Her areas of expertise include marketing strategy, operational capacity, client relationship management and business support.

Learn more about Kristy here

In Your Corner – The Human Side of Growth

A four-part series exploring why human connection, community, and the right support still define how growing businesses succeed – even in an age of automation.

  1. In a World of Artificial Intelligence, Human Connection Still Wins the Buying Decision
  2. Community Is a Commercial Strategy (Not Just a Nice Idea)
  3. Bespoke Beats Off-the-Shelf: Why Fit Matters More Than Features
  4. You Don’t Need More Pressure – You Need the Right People in Your Corner

Why It Makes No Commercial Sense for Directors to Do Their Own Admin (And When to Change That) 

As a Regional Director supporting more than 40 businesses across Yorkshire, I regularly work with growing SMEs with a turnover of between £5m and £20m.

There is a consistent pattern. The business scales. Revenue increases. The board formalises. Governance expectations rise.

And yet directors are still managing their own diaries. Formatting board packs late in the evening. Chasing actions. Rebooking travel. Clearing inboxes. Updating operational spreadsheets.

Not because they lack support. And not because it is required at their level. More often, it is because in the moment it simply feels efficient to “just do it myself”. Over time, it has quietly become the default.

But at a certain stage of growth, that approach stops making commercial sense.

What Is Board-Level Administrative Support?

Board-level administrative support is structured operational assistance that enables directors to focus on strategic decision-making rather than diary management, document preparation or governance tracking.

It is not simply PA support. It is about protecting leadership capacity and strengthening governance processes as businesses mature.

In SMEs approaching or exceeding £10m turnover, the cost of misallocated leadership time becomes increasingly significant.

Should Directors Do Their Own Admin?

Directors are perfectly capable of managing their own administration. The real question is whether it represents the highest commercial return on their time.

A director in a £15m business may cost the organisation £70–£80 per hour once salary and overheads are included. If five hours a week is absorbed by administrative activity, that equates to nearly £20,000 per year – time not spent on strategy, growth or governance.

That is not a criticism. It is arithmetic.

Beyond the cost, there is emerging research showing that many boards today are not positioned to add maximum value. Recent UK analysis of boardroom effectiveness found that only one-third of board directors believe their board is essential to value creation, with many boards focused disproportionately on backwards-looking reporting rather than forward-thinking strategy and growth planning.

This highlights a deeper issue: if boards are structured in a way that limits strategic focus, any diversion of director time into operational tasks compounds that constraint. In growing businesses, leadership time is one of the most expensive and scarce resources available. How it is deployed matters.

The Hidden Cost: Opportunity, Not Efficiency

The greater risk is not the hourly cost. It is the opportunity cost of time lost for reflection, thinking and strategy.

Industry insight suggests that directors are increasingly overwhelmed with information and under-prepared for meetings, in part because boards are not set up effectively and directors are expected to absorb huge volumes of operational detail.

This overload makes it harder to engage deeply with strategic priorities, especially in leaner organisations where external executive support is not yet formalised.

In a £15m business, a 1% margin shift represents £150,000. Even modest improvements in strategic clarity can outweigh the cost of structured support many times over.

The risk is not that directors cannot do their own admin.
The risk is that they are.

When Should a Business Formalise Board Support?

There is no single turnover trigger. But there are warning signs:

  • Board meetings are dominated by operational detail
  • Directors regularly prepare board materials outside working hours
  • Governance documentation lacks structure
  • Follow-up actions are inconsistent

These are not failures. They are growth signals.

As organisations mature, informal systems that worked at £3m rarely sustain £15m.

Protecting leadership capacity is a sign of organisational maturity, not extravagance.

What Effective Board Support Looks Like in Practice

Board-level support typically includes:

  • Coordinating structured board agendas
  • Preparing coherent, accurate board packs
  • Tracking decisions and actions
  • Managing governance documentation
  • Aligning director diaries with strategic priorities
  • Ensuring follow-up is completed between meetings

In one of our larger SME clients, providing consistent support to the Commercial Director has released meaningful leadership capacity back into revenue-driving activity. Preparation is sharper. Follow-up is tighter. Strategic focus has improved.

The change was not dramatic. But it was material.

Governance Is Ultimately a Capacity Question

Board effectiveness is not just about who sits around the table.

It is about whether those individuals have the time and clarity to exercise sound judgement.

In growing SMEs, directors often remain highly operational long after the business has outgrown that model.

Supporting directors operationally does not dilute their involvement. It enables better oversight, stronger governance and more considered commercial decisions.

It moves leadership time back to where it has the greatest impact.

In Summary

  • Director time is one of the most valuable resources in a growing SME.
  • Administrative activity carries a measurable financial and strategic cost.
  • Structured board support improves governance and commercial focus.
  • Protecting leadership capacity signals organisational maturity.

If you sit on the board of a scaling business, it may be worth asking one simple question:

Are you spending your time where it delivers the highest commercial return?

Because capability is rarely the issue.

Capacity often is.

As we look ahead to the New Year, we can start to plan our next steps for business growth. Part of this process is breaking down an overall priority into strategic goals and identifying what your business needs to achieve them. This might be anything from moving to a new premises to using an outsourced lead generation service, but the important thing is to identify it and act on it.

In this blog, we take a closer look at strategic goals, how to write them and how Get Ahead can help you achieve them.

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When you first started your business, you probably managed very well with basic Excel spreadsheets and even pen and paper for keeping records and planning ahead. But as your business grows, you may benefit from dedicated software, developed with businesses like yours in mind.

In this blog, we look at the importance of having the right software when you’re scaling up your business, and consider some areas you could automate to make your business run more efficiently.

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A while ago, your business was a start-up. But now it’s a scale-up. How do you know? Well, if you’re turning away clients or customers because you don’t have the capacity, it could be time to scale up your business so that you can meet demand. And if you’re already reaching your goals easily, scaling up will give you greater profits as well as a greater challenge.

To ensure a seamless scale-up, it’s a good idea to write a business growth plan. In this blog, we look at how to write an effective business growth plan and what information you should include.

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Ambitious entrepreneurs want to take their business to the next level. Depending on where you are in your career, “the next level” might be a taking on a second client, or opening a second office. Whichever step is right for you, outsourcing can help you expand at an affordable pace, without committing to a huge outlay before your return is guaranteed.

Here are three ways that outsourcing can take your business to the next level:

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A report by the Financial Times at the end of last year showed that small business numbers surged during 2020. Many embraced a new opportunity life had thrown at them, starting up the business they’d always wanted to run. We know what it’s like to be a start-up, and the Get Ahead team are thrilled to be providing outsourced services for some of the pandemic’s newest entrepreneurs. Our services include admin, marketing and business development, all of which are crucial for any growing business.

For many new business owners, the time will come when you have to start taking your business processes seriously. You’ve stopped being a start-up; now you’re a scale-up. Usually this happens because your business has achieved a size where carrying information on a basic spreadsheet no longer works. Sometimes you have to change your processes in response to a problem, or you might be trying to look more professional in order to attract the right clients or finance.

Here are four things you can put in place that will streamline your systems and support business growth:

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