Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs)

Jean is Founder and Director of Roberts Management Concepts Pty Ltd and since 1985 has worked in all States and Territories of Australia and in New Zealand, USA and Canada as a consultant, facilitator, trainer, writer and speaker.

Corporate sector assignments include:

  • consultancy services as ‘corporate writer’, assisting the Managing Director with drafting of internal documents
  • consultancy services with a direct-marketing company, assisting with sales support
  • strategic planning consultancy with the senior management team of a national retail franchise
  • evaluation of sales submissions, especially in the critical stage of introducing new or improved products
  • evaluation of internal processes for selecting tendering opportunities or responding to tendering requirements:  establishing a policy framework to ensure that tendering has the status of a core business function

Consultancy Services

Jean can deliver consultancy services to provide advice to the business sector on the following topics:

  • Tendering and Outsourcing
  • How and why different people sell and buy differently
  • Small Business Traffic Lights – Red (don’t do this!), Yellow (be careful here!), Green (do this) – and how to turn Red Traffic Lights to Green.
  • Engaging suppliers
  • Business Brainpower – Do what you do best!
  • The Issue of Trust in Business Relationships
  • Cost, Price, Value and Return-on-Investment
  • Should I start my own business?
  • What can we learn from William Shakespeare as a Small Business Owner/Manager?

These services can also include workshops covering:

  • Project development
  • Writing submissions
  • Left-brain and right-brain orientation
  • Forward planning
  • Effective meetings
  • Preparing tenders

Please Contact Jean to discuss your requirements .

Speaking and Guest Lecturing

Jean is an accomplished speaker who is available for speaking opportunities and guest lecturing. Topics include:

  • Promoting Innovation within Organisations
  • Driving Change
  • Human Factors that Contribute to Risk
  • Attracting and Retaining Good People
  • Starting Out and Surviving as a Sole Operator
  • Traps in Tendering and Outsourcing
  • The Gulf and the Transition between Mediocrity and Success
  • Succession Planning as a Strategic activity
  • Life-cycle of a Happy Committee of Management Member
  • Community Building as a Rural Adventure

Please contact Jean to discuss your speaking requirements or view Jean’s Speaker Profile.

Training and workshops

A One Man Show is often referred to as a ‘micro-business’ – a term that emphasises the business rather than the person: the subject of this book is the person in the One Man Show.

Jean offers half-day and full-day workshops to assist new and prospective business owners on developing their business plan, maximising their resource base and managing the business lifecycle.

These workshops are available as either a half-day or full-day session.

Workshop 1: Have I capitalised on my resource base?

Some participants may have previous SME business experience, either as a business owner or employee earlier in their live – if so, they should be encouraged to use this as their frame of reference. If not, they should be encouraged to use Jean and/or Shakespeare’s business experience as a frame of reference in working out how the Resource Base applies to their own preparation and analysis.

Where possible, participants to work in small groups on specific tasks with each small group reporting back to the whole group to facilitate full-group discussion.

Pre-workshop reading by participants – Section 1 is recommended, and Section 2 is required reading – familiarisation only.

Post-workshop assignment

Participants should be given a prepared one-page table with 3 columns and 5 rows – during the final 20 minutes, they should write down 5 things to introduce or improve into their business thinking and acting through a defined period, eg three months, and at the end of that period, to write and submit a 2-page summary of the use and usefulness of their choices.

If possible, participants could share their summaries in full group discussion – to learn from each other.

Workshop 2: The view from above – predictable business life-cycles

Some participants may have previous SME business experience, either as a business owner or employee earlier in their lives – if so, they should be encouraged to use this as their frame of reference: or they may have been observing a particular business through the past few years. If not, they should be encouraged to use Jean and/or Shakespeare’s business life-cycles as a frame of reference in working out how these tools apply to their own preparation and analysis.

After initial discussion on participants’ thought on their pre-workshop reading, facilitate discussion on ‘theoretical frameworks’ on p92-97, followed by an introduction to the Continuous Business Life-cycle Innovation stage (p99-100) for Workshop 2B, and Innovation and Establishment stages (p99-108) for Workshop 2A. Participants should be encouraged to plan how they anticipate their business life-cycle going through the next 12 months.

The full-day workshop also includes: Sigmoid Curve Business Life-cycle (p116-127) – paying particular attention to Jean’s and Shakespeare’s life-cycles (p118 and p122) and finally the specific stages on p125-127). Participants should be encouraged to plot their business life-cycle to date and beyond – or to plan how they anticipate it going through the next 12 months.

Post-workshop assignment:

Participants should be given a prepared one-page table with 3 columns and 5 rows – during the final 20 minutes, they should write down 5 things to introduce or improve into their business thinking and acting through a defined period, eg three months, and at the end of that period, to write and submit a 2-page summary of the use and usefulness of their choices. If possible, participants could share their summaries in full group discussion – to learn from each other.

Workshop 3: Small Business Traffic Lights

Some participants may have previous SME business experience, either as a business owner or employee earlier in their live – if so, they should be encouraged to use this as their frame of reference. If not, they should be encouraged to use Jean and/or Shakespeare’s business experience as a frame of reference in working out how the Traffic Lights apply to their own preparation and analysis.

After initial discussion on participants’ thought on the Green, then Yellow, then Red, and finally Turning Red Traffic Lights to Green – (p134-146). Suggest breaking Participants into four groups, with each group taking only one of these four topics to highlight the most relevant and important to them as a group, with reasons for their selection. Each group, through a spokesperson, would then facilitate whole group discussion on their selection and the reasons for same.

Preparation by the Workshop Facilitator would include listing appropriate references from the book to particular items within the four lists.

Post-workshop assignment

Participants should be given a prepared one-page table with 3 columns and 5 rows – during the final 20 minutes, they should write down 5 things to introduce or improve into their business thinking and acting through a defined period, eg three months, and at the end of that period, to write and submit a 2-page summary of the use and usefulness of their choices.

If possible, participants could share their summaries in full group discussion – to learn from each other.

Please contact Jean to discuss your workshop requirements or view Jean’s Speaker Profile.