Operational structure for service businesses
Work becomes reactive. Decisions pile up. Processes exist but nobody trusts them. Everything slowly starts relying on the founder's memory.
Most people don't need more strategy. They need operational structure.
I help service businesses build systems that keep things on track without constant firefighting.
The quality is there. The experience of running it isn't.
Nothing feels settled. The same conversations happen repeatedly because nothing is documented or trusted.
Email, Slack, spreadsheets, people's heads. No single source of truth.
They were written once and forgotten. Or they don't match how work actually happens.
What worked at five people doesn't work at fifteen. But there's never time to fix it.
If you stopped chasing things, things would stop happening. That's not a business. That's a dependency.
This is not a leadership problem. It's a structure problem.
The goal is simple: a business that runs reliably without depending on constant mental effort from the founder.
The Help Bench works best for:
If everything already feels calm, predictable and scalable, you probably don't need me.
Understanding how decisions, delivery and communication really happen.
Identifying friction points, hidden dependencies and structural gaps.
Creating clear operational direction without unnecessary complexity.
Implementing practical systems your team will actually use.
Ensuring structure holds over time.
Choose the starting point that matches where you are. I build inside your existing tools. No new software required.
Focused engagements to fix specific operational problems. Client onboarding, delivery workflows, communication clarity, documentation.
Embedded operational leadership without hiring full-time. Monthly priorities, execution rhythm, metrics and continuous improvement.
Practical accountability for founders who know what to do but struggle to do it consistently. Weekly sessions that ensure progress.
I build structure that helps businesses stay on track when things get messy.
After 25+ years in operational leadership, including serving as General Manager of an £85M business within the Investec group, accountable for client experience across more than 70 staff handling over 1,000 client transactions monthly. I focus on practical systems that reduce mental load rather than increase it.
I started The Help Bench after seeing brilliant service businesses lose momentum early. Not for lack of quality, but lack of structure.
Most consultants add tools. I remove complexity.
A 20-minute conversation to understand where structure would make the biggest difference. No pitch. No pressure.
Book a conversation