ECOVIS London

Specialisms

Women in Business

We act for a number of female entrepreneurs and businesswomen whose businesses span a range of sectors, including technology, recruitment, finance, publishing, media, leisure and health & beauty.
We delight in acting for entrepreneurs as they seek to grow their businesses. As their advisors, we understand that we must deliver to them the same level of service and quality of ideas that they demand of their own organisation. Supporting the growth of women's business does not mean separating women's enterprise from mainstream business but instead ensuring that all services available are effective and accessible for all potential customers including women.

Uniquely, many of our partners have themselves run their own businesses, so as well as our award-winning professional expertise we bring invaluable first-hand experience. We know the common problems that arise in developing an early stage business, and exactly what owner-managers want from their advisers.

Below are two examples of female owner-managed businesses that we have helped.


Case Studies

A retail roll-out- A fast growing nationwide nail bar chain
The company had been going for 2 years before we met and a business model had been developed out of the undoubted demand for the product. What was needed, as ever, was more capital but as a retail business there was no real asset in the balance sheet to support straight bank finance. Only an equity investor would do. We managed this process through two rounds of financing.

We looked at the business model and concluded that it needed changing from wholly owned store to a concession model. The challenge here, as with all roll-outs, was to ensure that as new outlets were added, the additional profit was not eaten up by increased Head Office costs. At the same time it was vital to ensure that the infrastructure was capable of executing efficient, high-quality service and that key managers and staff were recruited who were capable of executing the plan that was developed. All those challenges have been met and the company is now entering a period of positive cash flow and profits.


London’s leading facialist - Signature skincare products
During the first 6 years in business she had created an exceptionally strong Brand position in the market. As so often, what was lacking was sales volume not because of the quality of the product but because of the lack of capital. The process of creating a 4 year Business Plan revealed that production had to be expanded in order to expose the product in the market place and that management and financial reporting infrastructures had to be created in anticipation of this increased demand. A business run by one person on her own had to be turned into one capable of claiming a significant niche in the global beauty product market.

Over 12 months we achieved this with her, educating her in how to run a growing business capable of achieving its full potential; we managed the process of attracting an equity investment of £500k, we installed proper accounting, forecasting and IT systems, introduced her to other professional advisers and new candidates for the expanded management team.


To discuss how we can assist your business growth, please contact Kathryn Moran or Donna Rexstrew.