Clareon completes first acquistion!

We are proud to announce that Clareon acquired the Oxford Pram Centre on Friday 19th September. The Oxford Pram Company is a leading independent nursery retailer that has being trading for over 40 years.

There were many reasons for making this acquisition, however one of the main reasons was because of the team. They are passionate about the products, service and most importantly the comfort and protection of babies. Mark Spolander purchased a pram and car seat for his first baby over three years ago from the Oxford Pram Centre and was very impressed with the service. When Clareon discovered that the business was for sale in May, they decided that it was certainly worth further investigation.

The business is currently being run by a team of 6 and in the coming months Clareon will be working closely with the team to introduce new systems, technology, marketing and team training to modernize the business. This will enable the team to work more efficiently which will mean more time spent with customers. We'll be sharing and documenting the effect of these changes on this blog so stay tuned...!

A big thank you to Hedges Law for all their hard work and guidance over the last few months, we look forward to the completion party!

For more about the Oxford Pram Centre, please visit www.oxfordpramcetnre.co.uk - new website coming soon!

If you would like to find out how to buy or sell a business and more importantly what to do with it after completion, please get in touch with Clareon email or call 01865 987 138.

Implementation is the key!

It is has been a privileged to work with so many great business owners across the South of England in recent months. We love helping business owners to clarify the most important actions that must be implemented to ensure that they achieve both their business and personal goals.

One of the main reasons why small businesses fail to move forward is because the owner fails to take the time to implement the great ideas that they all have. So remember to control your diary, schedule "development time" every week, start small 30 minutes and gradually increase it, otherwise your business will control you. You will be amazed at what you can achieve when you take control of your diary!

Thank you for all the great testimonials received over the last few months, here are a few random selections...

"I found the course really insightful and it helped to clarify next steps, my overall business strategy, next steps to grow the business and achieve my goals. Thank you"
Jessica Rouse - Emphasis Management 

"Excellent really good presentation, learnt a lot. Would recommend Mark Spolander to other business owners"
Regan Stewart - Future Employment

"Thank you for an insightful day. You have my business clarity and helped me realise the potential"
Sarah Parham - SVP Jewellery

"Mark Spolander was excellent, the content professional and humourously delivered. Fantastic! Thank you!"
Joanna Hill - Bagnall Centre

To find out more about attending a Growth Workshop please email  Mark Spolander or call 01865 987 138 OR contact your local Growth Manager at Growth Accelerator www.growthaccelerator.com

Good to Great - Do it Big!

There’s something about working at scale that changes the way we see and think (and feel) about things that makes it much easier for us to make connections and derive insights.

We often say “let’s get another perspective” or “what’s another way of looking at this” – working at scale does just that. By interacting with something big that you can see and touch you engage both body and mind and make use of all your resources. The physical interaction changes our perception and we connect in a real, tangible way with the things we’re working on as well as the people we’re working with.

Andy King and Mike Paton are working with a team who have a successful business, with people who are generally happy and bought into the company, their values and the strategy - but still there’s a feeling that communication is a weakness. This is despite briefings, newsletters, emails etc. setting everything out. So what's going on and, given that more of the same will get the same results, how can things be changed? By “doing it big!”

Here is the big picture they created that’s going on the wall and which they’ll use to have conversations and engage everyone. It captures everything in one place - strategic themes on the left; their journey in the middle; goals and milestones at the bottom; and vision on the right.

At Clareon we see this as being Smart and Healthy. Being Smart is having all your plans, goals, metrics and kpis in place; being Healthy is creating your culture and being able to engage, motivate and align your people.

If you'd like to create something similar with the things that matter in your business please give us a call 01865 987 138 or email Mark Spolander - we love helping people and businesses thrive.

Expansion... when is it the right time?

Another actioned packed workshop was run last week in Sevenoaks by Mark Spolander and Mike Paton. As with most of these workshop there is was a common challenged faced by delegates. This week was all about expanding premises to increase sales and filling up spare capacity.

This is common challenged faced by business owners - when is the best time to take the jump and get bigger premises? We started by looking at each business's basic performance information i.e. lead generation, conversations and sales etc. This gave the business owners great insights into what areas of the business needed to be tweaked in order for them to confidently make the decision to upgrade the premises.

Everyone left with a comprehensive visual business plan and list of key priorities to implement in order to move their business to the next level.

We look forward to the opening of all the new premises!

Thanks to all who attended and for the kind words below.

"Fantastic day, really enjoyed it. I have much better direction on where to take my business now and detailed goals. Loads and loads of experience from the presenters. Thank you"
Christian Bates - The Perrymount Clinic



"Considering that this was by definition generic, I found it extremely relevant and helpful, Thank you!"
Richard Olley - Kingswood Training Services

To find out more about attending a Growth Workshop please email  Mark Spolander or call 01865 987 138 OR contact your local Growth Manager at Growth Accelerator www.growthaccelerator.com

Take Time Out to Celebrate!

All too often we spend so some much time being busy that we rarely take time to stop, reflect and celebrate what has been achieved. At Clareon we encourage all our clients to take time out and enjoy the journey. After a successful year Clareon took Trevor and Opinder from LAPD Architects out for a Mercedes AMG Driving experience at Mercedes Benz World. Mike Paton and Mark Spolander rode in the back while Trevor and Opinder put the high performance cars through their paces. After an hour of 500 BHP fun it was time enjoy a steak lunch. Very well done LAPD Architects for a great year and thank you for the referrals!

To find out more about working with Clareon please email  Mark Spolander or call 01865 987 138 

www.clareon.co.uk

Clareon Winter Golf Break

The perfect way to prepare for Christmas - 2 days of golf and relaxation! Yet another successful event held at The Old Thorns Manor Hotel hosted by Mark Spolander and Mike Paton. All the usual fun and games combined with great business ideas and sharing challenges. A great time had by all and we look forward to returning to The Old Thorns in 2014!

Keep a look out for our 2014 events which will include Golf breaks, Finishing, Formula 1, Fine Dining and many more! If you would like to attend any of these events please contact Mark Spolander on 01865 987 138 or email.

www.clareon.co.uk

Clareon's Growth Workshop Launch by Mark Spolander & Mike Paton

After many weeks of preparation Clareon delivered the first of many Growth Workshops for Growth Accelerator. The first workshop was delviered by Mark Spolander and Mike Paton in Portsmouth on Hayling Island. Here's what some of the delegates had to say about the day:

"I got so much out of today, too much to list.  Excellent delivery - thank you!"

"Really found this workshop information, motivating and inspiring"

"Very worthwhile day spent concentrating on our business without distractions"

"I'm really glad I came and feel better about the future of my business"

To find out more about attending a Growth Workshop please email  Mark Spolander or call 01865 987 138 OR contact your local Growth Manager at Growth Accelerator www.growthaccelerator.com

Clareon Wins Contract to Deliver Business Growth Workshops to businesses for Growth Accelerator

Clareon and Mark Spolander are delighted to announce that as of August 2013 we will be running Business Growth Workshops for small business across the South of England. This is fantastic opportunity for Clareon to help even more businesses realise their growth potential. The day long workshop has been designed by Mark Spolander and Mike Paton to help small business owners gain a clear understanding of where they are now and more importantly which areas of the business they need to focus on. Using an adapted version of the business model canvas. We are very excited and look forward to working with many business in the coming months across the South.

To find out more about Clareon's Business Growth Workshops please email  Mark Spolander or call 01865 987 138 

www.clareon.co.uk

Clareon Summer Golf Break

We know what it is like to be a busy business owner so we decided to take our clients away for a few days to relax on the golf course and maybe indulge in one or two spa treatments. The latest trip was recently held at the Old Thorns Manor Golf and Spa Hotel in Hampshire. A great time was had by all with lots of great business ideas shared over a beer. The golf was won by Mark Spolander's team on the final tee with Mike Paton's team needing to hole a 5 foot putt to draw the match - ahh better luck next time!

If you would like to join us at our next golf break please email  Mark Spolander or call 01865 987 138 www.clareon.co.uk






For some it was all a bit too much fun or too many beers the night before... :)