Rockside Estates: From start-up to sale in ten years: laying the foundations for successfully selling a business.
One day Ed Vanstone, at the same time a senior chartered surveyor within a firm, decided he wanted to run his own business. Spotting an opportunity in the commercial landscaping sector, he started researching what was required.
In this case study, he tells us about his complete business journey from start to finish with Rockside; and how working with Simon Buck helped him build a business that would eventually be acquired by a national competitor.
How Chalkhill Blue helped Ed grow his business
To deliver a service that was better than anyone else
Ed explains how he got started: "With the seed in mind for a start-up, whilst I was on holiday I read a book on how to run a gardening business. I came back and resigned from what was a well-paid job.?
I began the business from my garden shed, with a second-hand hedge trimmer and an ambition to deliver a service that was better than anyone else.
It was a simple business for commercial customers like retail parks, with four?areas of service, grass cutting, hedge cutting, litter picking and weed control. In other words, keeping premises clean and tidy.
Little did I know that over the course of the next ten years, the business would grow, grow, grow and then be sold. On this journey, I would move from the garden shed to some converted farm buildings and then eventually an office and?warehouse in the Aztec West commercial district of Bristol, and by the end, I employed getting on for 100 people.
Looking back, it was important to recognise the successes that I had achieved had been step by step. Early on, it was tough balancing the running of a business with being there for my family, doing a day's work, coming home to be part of the children's bedtime routine and then getting on with work again later in the evening. There just weren't enough hours in the day.
But seeing that the hard work I was putting into the business resulted in new clients and contracts was very rewarding. So too was building up a solid reputation.?
There came a point when quite frankly, it was lonely being the sole director of the business, and I recognised that some external help was required."
Getting a coach on board
Ed describes how he started working with Simon: "Via word of mouth, I had come to understand how helpful it was to work with a business coach and in?fact, a relative of mine worked as one - but in London. I wanted to work with a coach local to me in Bristol who had a good track record, and Simon filled the bill perfectly.?
Immediately I could feel the benefit of a fresh set of eyes taking a look at the business. I am sure that other business owners in a similar position to me will recognise the feeling of not being able to see the wood for the trees.?
At the time, I had a team of about three or four and it was clear to Simon that we needed to start introducing systems and processes in order to grow. In one of the?very first meetings, he asked me to write out my role. It seems crazy to think now, but it came to four pages long. It made me realise that I could not possibly do it all.
So we started exploring how I could delegate. A first step was creating an accounting role in the business to be filled by someone with genuine accounting?experience - a specialist who would operate far better than I ever could. When we made the hire, it was liberating."
Building a team and developing systems?
Ed tells us how the business started to transform through systemisation: "By setting goals you can see the possibilities of a growing company, which gives you the confidence to resource it appropriately.
With Simon, we would look at how to write job descriptions, and really define the roles to ensure that we targeted the right people. It made recruitment a real business-led decision to drive efficiency.
A fascinating part of the work with Simon was establishing core values for the business. It gave us a consistent identity as to who we were, what we were and why we were only doing what we did. This proved a very powerful tool when recruiting people.
As effective delegation started to kick in, my role became far more about business development and I started to get some time back for myself too. I could spend more time with my family and my golf handicap improved.
We worked on ways to win new clients. Many of the systems we created were around managing leads. It means that all quotes were logged, there was a robust follow-up system in place and we could assess our charging policy. This allowed us to put our prices up to reflect our place in the market and the value that we were delivering."
Further benefits of working with Chalkhill Blue
Ed shares some of the other benefits enjoyed when working with Simon: "Team?dynamics improved after Simon introduced me to DISC profiling - a kind of personality testing. I found it really eye-opening, giving new levels of?understanding and appreciation of every staff member's strengths and weaknesses, how some people thrive on detail and others don't, how some enjoy meetings and others will try to avoid them like the plague.
Another win, thanks to Simon, was him introducing me to a new accountant. The change of working practices that came with this meant I was suddenly way more efficient at analysing the numbers. I guess just working with outside forces like a coach creates opportunities for new connections in this way.
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On that note, in the early days, I was a huge fan of the GrowthCLUB 90-day business planning sessions that Chalkhill Blue run. They are full-day events which bring a roomful of business owners together to learn from expert speakers, and then individually spend the afternoon writing a 90-day business plan. What I really liked about these was being in the room with other business owners where we could share ideas and experiences."
Selling the business?
Ed reflects on the sale of his business: "Well before the prospect of selling came up, I had a meeting with Simon about what a sale-ready company looked like. We concluded that much of it was in place already from technical things like making sure we had proper employment contracts, to commercial matters like ensuring we were not overly reliant on one client.?
One day an opportunity presented itself for a sale to a company that was acquiring successful regional businesses like mine as a growth strategy. My feeling was that over ten years I had taken the company to a natural ceiling where it was doing great, but was not big enough to compete with the national contractors. So if you can't beat them, join them.
Simon was a good person to have on my side once I has made this decision, a trusted confidant. We talked about what life would look like post-sale, and I also introduced him to the acquiring company where he did coaching with the transition team.
It's a personal thing, selling a business you have built from scratch. I had no idea it would grow to the size it did and I sold it for the benefit of my family and safeguarding the future. The whole journey was very fulfilling and I learnt a huge amount about myself: what I can do, what I can't; what I do and don't enjoy.?
By the end, I had achieved that common goal of working on the business, not in it. I had appointed a really good management team who could make decisions, giving me a degree of freedom.
A big thanks to Simon. I found him exceptionally well-experienced and always delivered his advice in a reassuring manner. He was a great listener and very understanding. I can also say that we had a laugh along the way and I appreciated his ability to bring humour to what we did."
Quickfire Q&A
What is it like working with Simon?
"Fantastic advice and general support. We affectionately thought of him as a Jedi Knight as he always seemed to know what we were thinking."
Do you have any tips on working with a business coach?
"Running a business is one huge learning exercise, and you develop through experience, reading books... there is a treasure trove of information out there. But working with a coach accelerates that learning and that is something I found hugely beneficial."
If the above has peaked your interest, we'd love to explore how?we can support you too.
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