Jim Culverwell

What does AI know about commercial property? And is the information reliable? Assuming that many business owners will increasingly be turning to the power of AI for answers to their commercial property questions, I recently carried out some research to see if it’s up to scratch. I fed a few of the most common questions clients often ask me (see my FAQ page for examples) into platforms such as Google Gemini and ChatGPT, to assess what information comes back. If I’m honest, the results are mixed! 

In my own work with business owners, I only ever like to ask a question for which I already know the answer. So, if you’re going to ask a question of Google, via AI, you need to be careful about what you ask, in order to get the answer you’re expecting. If you are using AI to support you in your business, whether to ask questions about commercial premises or something else, I wrote this blog to provide some guidance on not just what to ask, but how to ask it, and how to assess what you get back.

 

Step 1: Search

This is where you need to consider the question you are asking and which platform or platforms you are using to gather information. I recommend asking more than one, for instance, to ensure that you can cross-check the information you are getting back. Another factor to consider is whether you are looking for brand new information or to reinforce your existing knowledge? Is there any bias in your question, such as ‘What is the best way to search for new commercial premises?’ or is it purely a factual prompt such as ‘What is a break clause in a lease?’

 

Step 2: Identify

As a rule of thumb, unless you feed in a lot of information about your current business, commercial premises, and lease terms, any response you get back from AI will be generic. Don’t forget to take the information you receive with a pinch of salt, and remember it won’t necessarily take into account your particular circumstances. Can you include terms such as ‘commercial’ to avoid information on residential lease agreements, or ‘UK’ to ensure you’re not receiving information that could be confused with legalities in other countries? Add as many qualifiers as possible to avoid confusion.

 

Step 3: Qualify 

Ideally, this is when you really need expert input to get into the specifics. If you are doing this by yourself, gather the information you’ve collected in answer to your question and assess what is relevant to you. Dig into the information sources – you should be able to ask your AI platform to provide links, so that you can check out where facts have come from. Discount anything that doesn’t appear to come from a recognised source. Don’t forget to use your common sense, too! A request for a ‘commercial lease template’ might return something reasonably accurate, but it can only ever act as a starting point. Your circumstances and requirements as a business need to be assessed and used to tailor a document like this, so that the terms serve your business needs both now and in the future.

 

Step 4: Interpret

This is the ideal time to dig out any existing lease agreements, for example, or any other pertinent business documentation that relates to your AI fact-finding mission. If you are doing this yourself, some questions to ask are:

– Does this information apply to my business?

– What might be missing?

– What do I know for sure, already? 

– What am I unsure about? 

– Who can I ask for input?

 

Step 5: Apply

A word of warning – the waters get murkier from here, especially where premises acquisition and commercial leases are concerned. Consider the risks of applying what you have learned – is this an area you feel confident about, or are you concerned about any potential risks? If you haven’t contacted me yet, this would be an ideal time to book in a free call with me and let me help you sense-check your approach. I may be biased, but I believe whilst AI and the internet serve as a fantastic signposting exercise, there’s no replacement for a human brain (especially one with over 4 decades of experience!). Click here to book a call and let’s get to know each other.

 

 

For many business owners, the end of April signifies the end of their financial year. If this applies to you, although there may be a rush to get new contracts over the line or use up your remaining budget, don’t forget there is also a window of time following year-end, where things may feel a little calmer. This is an ideal time to take stock, check in with how your business is really performing and look ahead to the future. I often recommend to my clients that this is an ideal time to do a business audit. This is not an exhaustive list, but here are a few important questions I would highly recommend reflecting on:

 

Financials:

• How did your overall financial performance compare to your budget and forecasts?
• What were your key revenue drivers and costs – were they what you expected, or something else?
• What were your profitability and margins like – was this better or worse than previous years?
• What was your cash flow like and were there any sticky points throughout the year?
• What were your most profitable products and/or services – and do you know why?

 

Sales:

• How did you fare against your sales targets – and which were the best customer acquisition channels?
• How satisfied are your customers? What feedback have you had?
• How strong is your sales pipeline looking for the next financial year?

 

Operations & Team:

• Are your operations running smoothly, or are there any areas you can look to improve efficiency and reduce costs?
• Are your supply chains reliable and cost-effective? Do they need reassessing in light of your financial performance?
• Is your current technology infrastructure meeting your needs?
• What were the main successes and challenges for your team?
• Do you have the right people in the right roles?

 

Strategy & Planning:

• What progress did you make against your overall business goals?
• Do you need to adjust our strategy based on your financial results and any changes in the market?
• What risks did you face and how effectively did you mitigate for them?
• Are there any emerging risks you need to plan for in the coming year and what contingency plans might you need?
• What are the potential growth areas for your business in the coming year?
• What are the main learnings you are taking from the past financial year (both successes and failures)?
• Are there any upcoming changes in legislation that will impact your business?

 

Premises:

• How is your current workspace serving you?
• What is your premises delivering to your bottom line?
• When is your next rent review and is it something you need to plan for?
• Do you need to relocate your business premises to allow for future growth?
• If so, do you have a break clause and when is it? 
• Have you double-checked the date by which you must have served the break notice?

By making the time to take a step back and ask yourself these questions, you are able to take a logical, rational, comprehensive view of how your business has performed. From this you can easily identify any areas for improvement, mitigate future risk and develop a plan for the coming year and beyond to set your business up for success.

Need some help?

Currently weighing up which commercial premises is best for you and your business needs? It might be time to #TalkToJim, as my network would say! Click below to book in a free mentoring call and I can help you find the right solution for you and your business, now and in the future.

https://calendly.com/talk-to-jim/30min

There’s nothing quite like the excitement you feel when your business takes off and you experience a period of growth, for example a large increase in enquiries, new business and/or turnover. We all like to know the blood, sweat and tears we pour into our work, ultimately pays off and to actually see results. Your approach to risk will dictate if this trend means it’s the right time to make some big investments, or you could take the cautious approach and assume it’s just a blip. 

However, before you pop the bottle of bubbles and toast your success, or potentially miss out on a big opportunity, it’s important to do your research and discern whether it is indeed a temporary blip or a sustainable trend. In this blog, I’ll talk through some simple steps to understand what’s really driving your business growth so you can make the right choice for you and the future of your business.

Check Your Numbers

Take a look at your data – revenue, costs, profit etc – and compare your current performance spike to past periods (e.g., last month, last quarter, last year). If you don’t know already, this might help you understand the source of your growth. For example, is it a specific marketing campaign, a new product launch, seasonal factors, process improvements, or a change in the market? Looking at the facts will help you establish what type of growth this is i.e. a small, short-lived increase or sustained growth.

Look For Consistency

If you’re reasonably sure from your data that your business growth is a trend, the next question to ask is how sustainable it is. How long has the growth lasted so far? Is the growth pattern repeating? And most importantly, can the factors driving this growth be maintained over time without depleting your existing resources? If the growth is dependent on a one-time event or unsustainable practices, you have a different/bigger problem to solve.

Consider Your Risk Profile

What are the risks inherent in making plans for the future of your business, based on this period of growth? Even if you have ascertained it’s a trend, rather than a blip, and you can see some consistency, what other risks affect your business in the future? Additional investment, more resources, increased overhead? How comfortable are you taking these risks and how well can you mitigate any downside risks you can foresee?

Have The Right Conversations

When momentum is building in your business, this is an ideal time to talk to your customers. Ask them whether they are happy with your products or services. Are they likely to continue doing business with you in the short- and long-term? Do your research into industry trends and competitor activities, to help you understand if your growth is in line with the overall market. It may also be worth consulting with mentors, advisors, or industry experts to get their perspectives on your business growth. If your growth means you’re outgrowing existing premises, then you will be thinking about taking on more or moving to bigger business premises, for example, this is when my network would tell you to #TalkToJim!

Are you ready for the pressure?

If you need more space to meet the demands of your rapidly growing customer base, you may be considering whether new premises are the answer. Many clients come to me at this point and my question is always the same: what does the business need? 

It’s important to consider what the additional premises (and commensurate overhead) would deliver to your bottom line to ensure it makes financial sense. Alongside that, are you ready for the increased pressure of larger premises and potentially a larger team?

Don’t forget, I offer a free mentoring call if you’re in need of a sounding board to consider questions like this – and look at what options you have available to you to make the right decisions for you and your business.

Click here to check my availability and book your call: https://calendly.com/talk-to-jim/30min

How transparent are you in your work?

A conversation with a fellow business owner prompted this question recently. As an independent consultant who works for and on behalf of the tenant, rather than the landlord, in a commercial lease negotiation, I’ve always prided myself on my transparency with prospects and clients. Sometimes, that has meant ‘losing out’ on potential business. But is it really a loss if the prospect’s problem was solved? Not to me!

Too often I see business owners enter into the world of commercial property with little or no knowledge of which premises are right for their business, or how the lease negotiation process works. As a result, they are likely to miss things and can sometimes be taken advantage of, or worse, they end up relying on the landlord or their agent for guidance. If you are considering taking on or moving business premises in the next 12 months, I’m sharing this blog to give you an overview of the main stages of the premises search and lease negotiation process, with a brief explanation of what you may need to consider for each.

Needs analysis 

Ask yourself what your premises needs to deliver, and whether it has the correct features, technology, and specifications. How will your premises make a meaningful difference to your bottom line? Does it motivate/stimulate your team? How will you measure the value it delivers? This is the time to be transparent and honest with yourself about what your business needs to grow and thrive. You can think of it like writing a job specification as you would for a new employee – essentially it’s not very different. Your premises should deliver to your bottom line in much the same way.

Search/assess

Once you have your requirements list or ‘job spec’ together, it will be easier to assess your current premises, prioritise your needs as a business and truly understand whether you need to move, and what to look for if you do. If you decide to stay in your current premises, you can still move to the next step (negotiate), but you will be renegotiating your current lease rather than entering a new one. If you do decide to move, your next step is to find the closest match in the market, using your ‘job spec’ to search for the right premises. Consider what compromises you are prepared to make vs what elements of your ideal premises are non-negotiable. COnsider how transparent the people in the process (estate agent, landlord) are being with you vs what they may want to hide. Do not assume anyone is acting in your interest! View as many premises as you are able to, in order to form an accurate view of what is available in the market.

Negotiate 

Negotiation time. It’s important to remember: signing on the dotted line of your Heads of Terms isn’t the first thing you need to do – it’s the last! This is not a one-and-done event – it is a negotiation. As a prospective tenant or even existing tenant, you are in a position to give your Landlord a proposal for lease terms that work for you (and that you suspect they might view favourably). In fact, being transparent and laying out your ideal lease terms up front will give you more power when it comes to negotiating. Ensure you agree all the details of the deal before the matter is passed to solicitors. After that, making major changes becomes difficult!

Review business plan

Once you are happily settled into your new premises, try not to assume that ‘premises’ is ticked off your to-do list. A regular review is essential to ensure your premises continues to provide your business with what it needs. Come back to your job specification as many times as you need to assess how your premises is ‘performing’ – just as you would with an employee appraisal process – and continue to be transparent and honest with yourself about what is working – and what isn’t.

Need some help?

My mission is and always has been to empower the business owner with the right information to make the right choice for them and their business. If I can tell them everything they need to know during a chat at a networking event or one of my free mentoring calls, then so be it.

If you are looking for guidance on taking on or moving commercial premises, book a free mentoring call with me, and let’s see if we can solve your issue in 30 minutes or fewer!

Across networking events, my LinkedIn presence, and my day-to-day work with my clients, I often reflect on what I’m seeing in the small-medium business community. At present, the sentiment is very mixed. Whilst some businesses are clearly thriving, others are struggling and many smaller businesses are taking the difficult decision to close. I have recently been wondering if many of us are still expecting things to go back to the way they were.  I’ve seen this play out in a hesitancy to make decisions and many businesses adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach. Of course, this is understandable. The past 5 years have seen many large global and national events such as the pandemic, war in Ukraine, and now a change of government, each of which has had a huge impact on the economy and on business. This mixed sentiment is also reflected in recent reports from industry bodies. For example, whilst a recent report from the UK Chamber of Commerce “shows the majority of firms (75%) are still struggling to boost investment”, data from the FSB Index in May 2024 showed a more positive view: “The headline confidence reading jumped up over 20 points to reach +5.5 points in the first three months of 2024, up from -15.0 points in the final quarter of last year – the first confidence reading above zero since 2018”

 

Having survived two recessions and many, many changes in the way we do business over the past few decades, my take on the current situation is this: we have to accept where we are, rather than waiting for things to change. Human beings have a tendency to use rose tinted glasses when thinking back to the ‘way things were’. The truth is: it was probably never as good as you thought it was! The converse is also true: armed with the right facts, things are probably not as bad as they seem, right now. The main issue when we hesitate to make decisions and put things off until ‘things get better’ is that we run out of time to make the right decision. If you want to grow your business, regardless of the state of the economy – and the world – you need to accept the current state of affairs and remember that you never truly know what the outcome of any decision will be. In this blog I’m sharing a few tips on decision-making in business to help you get out of the ‘wait and see’ rut and get moving again.

 

1. Plan the end first, then you can go looking for it. What is the ideal outcome of this decision? What is your ultimate goal? Why does that matter? What is the risk of not achieving this goal?
2. Build a flexible plan that allows for different routes to reach your goal. A flexible plan is the best way to deal with uncertainty because you can be adaptable to change. Although a rigid plan might seem more appealing, if there’s no room for flexibility it might get you into trouble.
3. Do your research and gather the facts, but remember that 70 – 80% of the data is probably enough to make a decision. Of course, making decisions without all the facts is uncomfortable, but ultimately you won’t be able to avoid all the risks, no matter how much information you have.  Understanding those risks and how they may play out, takes you a long way.
4. Ask for help! If you can’t reach 70 – 80% of the information, ask for help to fill in the gaps of what you don’t know you don’t know. Imagine a puzzle – you need just enough pieces to get the idea of the overall picture, even if the small details are missing. Speaking to an expert will help you identify when you’ve reached that stage.
5. Remember making a decision is better than not making it! The enemy of decision-making is time, so put the control into your hands and make a choice sooner rather than later.

 

Are you currently trying to make the right decision about your commercial lease or premises move?

All my clients start with a certain amount of knowledge, but what they usually know “a bit about” is residential property, which is a very different ballgame from the world of commercial property. That’s why my courses, my bespoke tutorials, and my document reviews, always work to build on what my clients already know. The reality of relying solely on what you know “a bit about” is that it puts you at a substantial disadvantage because you can’t necessarily spot the gaps in your knowledge and also, won’t be able to conceal them.  

This can be extra problematic when the people you’re dealing with (the landlord or their agent and solicitor) know significantly more than you do.  They will quickly spot those gaps and they are unlikely to tell you. That’s why my suite of online courses and 121 services aim to get my clients to a level that is at least equal to the agent and/or landlord. No gaps.

If you or someone you know, would like to be on a level playing field when they come to the next engagement with their landlord, book an informal chat and let’s talk about how you can ensure you’re making the best decisions for you and your business.

Book a call here: https://calendly.com/talk-to-jim/30min

Like it or not, business has changed a great deal in the past 10 years. Post-covid we are under immense amounts of financial pressure on one side, yet experimenting with the 4-day week and working flexibly on the other. The world of work is rapidly being reimagined! Having been in business for over 3 decades I have seen huge changes in what is possible, in terms of business. 

 

In this blog we take a look at conventions in business to answer the question: are outdated conventions holding your business back? Here are some examples of how things are changing.

• Strict dress codes: Smart casual dress codes are becoming the norm in most workplaces, even in traditional industries. I always wore a suit, collar, and tie to work throughout most of my career in London (twelve years). Even when the weather was hot, there were no other options. Perhaps on a Friday afternoon, we might loosen our ties and get away with it! These days, while a suit and tie may still be required for client meetings or presentations in more formal settings, a more relaxed dress code is generally accepted (or expected) elsewhere, particularly in the self-employed world. How we dress is not seen as a reflection of our performance at work as it once was.  Personal choice and comfort seem to be taking priority.

• Traditional hierarchies: Many companies are now moving towards a flatter organisational structure, with more emphasis on collaboration between management and their team members. There are a host of benefits to this approach, such as faster decision-making and improved communication, but might also be seen as less appealing to prospective employees as there are fewer progression opportunities.

• In-person meetings: With the rise of video platforms such as Zoom, there is less need for in-person meetings, especially where distance is a factor. Meeting online can save time and money on travel, but may not always be the best option for relationship building. Personally, although phone calls and Zoom are useful for catching up with clients and/or meeting people where travel could be prohibitive, there’s something more going on in a face-to-face meeting, for building trust and creating the foundations for a solid working relationship. 

• The traditional 9-5: With the increase in hybrid or fully remote roles and more flexible approaches to working hours, the traditional 9-to-5 workday is no longer the norm for many businesses. Although employees may be expected to be present for ‘core hours’, outside of this many companies are offering increased flexibility. For those of us that are self-employed, we have the option to reject the 9-5 workday completely if we are brave enough! For me, it went out the window years ago.  For example, sometimes I’ll work from my bed, the car, or a cafe if I’m meeting a client. Other times I’ll work from my home or garden office. I’ve even been known to send an email from a ski lift whilst on holiday! 

 

What about your business – how many of these conventions are you holding onto and why? How many have you let go? The key in every case is to consider first, how these conventions came about and then, who those conventions are serving. Does holding onto a more traditional approach serve you and your business, or are they holding you back? I meet many people who still hold onto views such as:

 

“I have to work X hours a week”

“I have to have an office”

“I have to have a London phone number”

 

However, given the trends we looked at above, it begs the question: In 2024, what do you really need to run a business? And what conventions, if any, do you actually need to follow, to be successful?