Saving time and working smarter not harder

Rob Watson, ph9 Ltd, TAB Member since 2012

Rob Watson has little formal education and admittedly went to one of the worst schools in the UK, but you would have no idea of that with the business, ph9, that he has since grown. Rob’s bullish personality and determination from an early age has certainly helped him to achieve his goals. In his first ever job interview, Rob’s concluding line was "I’ll start on Monday" … he got the job and that was the beginning of his life in web design.

ph9, a web solutions business, was started in 2004 with just Rob. There was a lot for Rob to learn – basic understanding of what is involved in running a business and developing processes to work from. There was a lot of trial and error. It took 5 years of hard work to get to the point where he was in a position to recruit his first employee. As for many business owners, this is a big step to make sure, as Rob said "you have the right people on the bus!".

It was when Rob had just one employee that he came across TAB. He realised that he was being very reactive and to move his business to the next level he needed some help to stop him getting 'side-swiped'.

TAB has given Rob clarity, the confidence that he’s moving in the right direction and tools to ensure his team are focusing on the things. "We have two 44 inch screens in the office so that all staff can see our KPI and rolling P&L so we all know what we need to achieve." said Rob.

Rob sees TAB as insurance – "I couldn’t be without it to help me through some of the challenges I face," he said, "and the bit of time I need to invest each month in the Board meetings and 1-to-1 sessions has made me more efficient and focused."