G A Electrical Contractors Ltd.

I initially decided to participate in an SMI programme after attending two ½ day workshops on basic time management skills and realising the benefits of making better use of my time.

I returned from the workshop and called a meeting with the entire office team and talked them through what I had learnt and we put a few very small changes into place from which resulted some immediate benefits.

I have always felt that my company had progressed well over the past few years and that I was focussed and knew how to resolve various challenges and plan for future growth, but at the tail end of 2008 work began to dry up and a couple of our jobs lost money and I did not have a clear plan of what I was going to do to take us through what for everyone was going to be a very challenging year.

The difference the program has made to our business is that we all have clear defined goals of where we are going on both the short term and in the next 3 years. We have managed to secure £578,200.00 of new business and are now invoicing within days of completing a project whereas before we had gone several months.

I have a managed to free up so much of my time by communicating to others clearly what I would like them to do that I now have regular slots booked into my diary to develop existing relationships and build new ones with key clients. I also regularly talk and meet with our suppliers and have negotiated better discounts and trading terms.

Everyone in our office has developed clear processes detailing what they do and how they do it, we also monitor all key elements of the business in graphs and charts which keeps us focussed on what we are trying to achieve.

Another major goal we have achieved very quickly is diversifying our company to offer green solutions to our clients, we have researched heavily and gained the skills needed to become accredited to install wind turbines, solar panels for Electricity and also solar hot water and carry out regular energy consultations for businesses, schools and colleges.

The program has also made a difference to my personal life, I had been wanting to lose some weight and get fitter for some time but had not put a clear plan into place, I made a goal to get down to a certain weight which I achieved on March 19th. I also now plan things with my family more in advance, rather than waste the precious time we have together.

The entire process of meeting John and working my way through the SMI program has provided great benefits for me, I feel in control and confident about the future even in the present economic climate. I know we are doing all we can to grow our business but also monitor what we are doing to make sure we are doing everything as efficiently as possible and most importantly making a profit doing it.

I would recommend an SMI program to anyone who feels that they could achieve more with their time and generally wants a better quality of life.

Yours Faithfully

Carl Vink

G.A Electrical Contractors Limited

www.gaelectrical.co.uk