The unfortunate reality is that most business owners have no idea about the value that a skilled business consultant and mentor can bring to their business. They have no clues. Contemporary society acknowledges the positive impact that a private tutor can have on a student’s understanding of their subject and the influence this can have on final grades and academic outcomes. Increasingly, society understands the benefits that a personal trainer can bring to the physical and health outcomes of their clients. Sadly, many people are far from understanding the role and benefits of business coaching and mentoring, with  considerable scepticism in this area - many believing it’s a guy in a suit that blows hot air and states the obvious, and charges money for this.

This section will provide real case examples of business outcomes that have been influenced by the head Bizness Crew business consultant, Peter Solanikow. By the way, the only suit Peter wears is a tracksuit.

Czysty Blysk was established in Bytom, Poland in 2015. Peter Solanikow played a critical role in the establishment of the business by developing the concept, the vision, the branding and the strategy. The owner of the business, Malgorzata Maron, who worked at the local supermarket as a checkout operator for the previous 6 years.

The business was started on a very small scale since the starting budget was less than $1000.

Czysty Blysk was established as a cleaning agency with the owner being the sole cleaner initially, but with a vision to expand considerably in terms of services and staff. Due to the scale of assistance needed to achieve this objective, Peter suggested an equity stake in return for ongoing support. This was accepted.

Peter Solanikow created the branding for the business, which included the logo, colours and portfolio of marketing materials, as well as a pricing strategy. Czysty Blysk has always charged a premium price, with a focus on quality of service, something that was lacking in the industry. A year later, Peter assisted the owner in applying for, and successfully receiving a European Union grant for an equivalent of $23 000. These funds were used to purchase commercial cleaning equipment and allowed the business to expand its services to cater for commercial clients. Soon after, a number of commercial contracts were won and the business needed staff. Within three years the business was employing three full-time staff. Peter Solanikow designed a recruitment and selection strategy as well as developed a comprehensive remuneration package that aimed to attract, motivate and maintain quality staff. With more staff, the organisation had greater capacity and opportunities and so business services were expanded to include domestic and commercial cleaning, grave maintenance, vehicle cleaning and upholstery care and cleaning.

With an experienced owner and loyal staff, great business reputation, numerous clients and a comprehensive stable of cleaning equipment, Peter Solanikow decided in October 2020 that it was for the business to hit the mainstream media through a media campaign. By the end of November 2020, Malgorzata Maron, appeared on regional television as well as the regional newspaper. The test campaign was a success.

By 2021, Czysty Blysk employs 6 staff, is self-sustaining to the point that the owner travels to Australia annually for a period of 3 months, and has further expanded its service offering. Czysty Blysk is the biggest venture that has been undertaken by the Bizness Crew with assistance in all aspects of business operations over many years.

This case highlights how a young lady with practically no money, no experience and no opportunities changed her life around by establishing a relatively simple business that has grown considerably over a number of years thanks to dedication, hard work, government support and guidance by an experienced business management expert.

Whilst in Poland, Peter Solanikow was recruited to undertake a business concept audit by two friends who wanted to become business partners in a new venture. They had an idea about importing worn clothes in bulk from Germany and selling them in Poland. They hired a business expert to assess the viability of this business idea.

Peter understood that only small margins could be made on such clothes. The two entrepreneurs admitted they could not see themselves making large-scale sales for the foreseeable future. They had limited funds, needed to purchase a van, rent premises and the venture would need to support both of them. After listening to the proposal and the partners’ vision for this venture, Peter concluded that this was not a viable proposition and presented his reasoning to them.

The two entrepreneurs took Peter’s advice and did not pursue this venture. This decision has probably saved them a lot of money, stress, a bad business experience and possibly even a loss of their friendship.

This case highlights that sometimes bad news given by an experienced business expert can actually be good news in the long run. We all know that businesses fail. In some cases future business failure is obvious to a business expert who is independent and guided by experience rather than emotion. Not getting into a bad business, or pulling out of a bad business sooner rather than later may not be easy, but in both cases are actions needed to be taken in order to save on negative emotions and loss of funds.

Business is supposed to be fun and an extension of one’s passions, hobbies and interests. 69 Tours is Peter Solanikow’s “hobby business” that was inspired by Peter’s passion for travel. Established in Melbourne on September 7 2016 as a luxury tour operator providing tours of Melbourne for small groups, the business had expanded within a few years to include tours of Sydney as well as the sale of Australian souvenirs in Australia and overseas. Business was going well until 2020 when Australia’s tourism sector was pretty much closed down.

Trend forecasting is something that should be undertaken by every business owner as this helps to identify future opportunities as well as threats. However, sometimes there are “wildcards” which are occurrences that simply cannot be predicted or forecast. Covid-19 hit Australia pretty hard by the end of March 2020. This was nearing the end of the tourism season for 69 tours. So it was not a concern for Peter at that stage. However, as months passed and the situation remain bad, Peter was getting increasingly anxious. In September he undertook a media campaign and found 69 Tours discussed in a number of tourism magazines and tourism portals. Unfortunately, the phone continued to remain silent.

Melbourne based tourism operator, 69 Tours was hit hard. A lack of international tourists and on-going lock downs of states in Australia meant that there was simply no demand for private tours. In addition, without domestic and international tourists, there was no demand for souvenirs. Two key components of the business were very badly affected. The “business expert” was now really challenged and the challenges were affecting him and his business - badly!

Back to trend forecasting. As time passed it was becoming obvious that there wasn’t going to be turnaround in the industry anytime soon. If articles in the media did not drive demand, it was time to consider other options.

If internationals were not able to come to Australia, then Australia would go international. The decision was made to export Australian souvenirs to Europe. Effort was made to expand the scale and scope of 69 Tours Souvenirs, the souvenir arm of 69 Tours. In fact, the collapse of the Australian tourism industry meant that there was plenty of opportunity to buy souvenirs and other Australian themed products really cheap.

The number of products that were acquired by 69 Tours for sale meant that these were no longer simply souvenirs. Most of the product lines now had practical uses, such as beach towels, clothing, bags, and products for the home. The common denominator was that they all had an Australian theme. This opened up opportunities not just to sell overseas as both souvenirs and practical products, but also to distribute domestically with an emphasis on the practicality of the products and their unique attributes (colour, design, Australian theme). Making contact with business buyers in Australia allowed Peter to identify business procurement needs. At the same time he could supply an almost infinite number of products thanks to the industry contacts and relationships developed with manufacturers in the past. A new service was born! Procurement services as part of the Bizness Crew service offering.
Procurement services provide business buyers the opportunity to buy products at lower prices than in the past through the Bizness Crew who have direct access to manufacturers that have products located in Australia.

This case highlights the importance of trend forecasting and being able to adapt the business to economic, social and market realities. A capable business owner should be able to turn a threat into an opportunity. This is not always possible, but good analysis should be undertaken to assess the situation and identify possible options.