The TAB York Effect: Tripling PPS Ltd's Revenue in Record Time

I joined PPS in 2016. Sadly, my mother-in-law Sue was terminally ill, and she and Bob were looking to sell the business. I joined Bob on the board as a shareholder with my wife, Becky, and my brother-in-law, Jamie. I have a marketing agency background and was ready to try something new. We’ve all worked hard to take the business forward, and we’re seeing huge growth and demand for what we do.

I remember it clearly. It was early 2021, I’d just sent off the final share purchase agreement to acquire a business in Keighley, and I was waiting for the lawyers to reply. As I flicked through my messages, I saw one from Elliot. His experience of working alongside his father-in-law in a family business, overseeing business growth and putting senior leadership teams in place resonated with me.

I also liked the idea of having a sounding board outside the immediate family. When you’re part of a family business, the trick is not to turn every family meal into a board meeting. It’s important to set aside time to talk business and to use that time properly. It’s also important to seek perspectives from outside the business and the family and to have someone keeping me accountable as the MD. I saw that TAB would give me those things, and that appealed.

The PPS board also sees the value of having third-party scrutiny and validation of business decisions because the quality of those decisions will affect everyone in the company. That’s the biggest benefit, I think. I’ve been able to make better business decisions, knowing that they have been externally scrutinised.

I’ve made every big decision over the last two years through my TAB board or discussed it with Elliot, which has helped make our business growth journey go far more smoothly. It wouldn’t have been such a straight line without The Alternative Board – it has added real value.

Not everyone understands the mental anguish that can come with running a business. Hearing about the experiences of others is very therapeutic!

In addition, board members don’t always agree with each other, and it’s the disagreements that I enjoy most. I like to be challenged – in fact, I welcome it. I don’t get it elsewhere, except my wife, who is recently back in the business following maternity leave!

Often, I learn as much, if not more, from other members’ topics as I do from my own. Hearing about their experiences will often spark off an idea in my head and get me thinking about how something similar could work in our business.

For example, we introduced the Sue Grainger Award at PPS earlier this year in my mother-in-law’s memory. Everyone in the business can nominate someone who has gone above and beyond each month, and the winner receives £2,000 of holiday vouchers. That idea was sparked from a TAB board discussion.

It was to dismiss an underperforming member of my team. I was giving them the benefit of the doubt, and clearly, emotion was attached to my decision-making. My TAB board members took the emotion away, looked at the situation objectively and were able to focus purely on what was best for the business. I think when you’ve got five people telling you vehemently and unanimously what they think you should do, that’s powerful.

Ultimately, I am making decisions where tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds can be at stake. Making sure they make good decisions is key, and TAB is definitely a worthwhile investment.