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DEXVLQHVVRZQHUPD\KDYHIdealog.co.nz | The Transformation Issue
079
idealog/WOLF & FOX
How did you come to be in
the business advisory space?
What is your background?
I dropped out of school early
and found myself in a warehouse
assistant role. I ended up being
with that business for a number of
years, working my way up to the GM
role. While I was at that job, I began
studying for my MBA in the UK, part-
time at Warwick Business School and
began starting my own businesses, four
to date! After the GM role, I was offered
a few great opportunities overseas but I
had been giving people business advice
on the side over breakfasts, lunches
and dinners for a while and decided
that this was my passion, so I decided
to make this my full-time thing.Before founding Wolf & Fox,
where did you feel you could
best help entrepreneurs in
where they were struggling?
People seem to have a real problem
achieving growth, especially in a
profitable manner. I think we all have
big aspirations, however, quite often
lack some of the hard skills needed to
achieve success. Because of my history,
I’ve been lucky enough to work in so
many different businesses and roles
and have had all sorts of challenges
thrown at me, which gives me a nice
broad skillset that allows me to fill
the gaps a business owner may have.
I find most business owners are great
at what they do, but very few are
great at business.Where do you find New Zealand
businesses’ strengths lie?
I think our biggest strength is our
motivation and resilience. Once people
are pointed in the right direction, they
have phenomenal work ethic and a
real ability to put in the work and get
things done. The problem is often that
we are distracted by having too many
opportunities and that really limits us
because we don’t put concentrated
effort into one thing, and instead
chase too many things, resulting in
not successfully achieving any of them.What about their weaknesses?
Where do you commonly see
room for improvement?
There is always room for improvement
in knowing the business numbers.
Most New Zealand business owners
don’t seem to really understand their
numbers and the impact they have on
the business. Never underestimate the
power of having things like a strong
margin and controlled expenses in
your business, it makes up for a lot
of small mistakes.What size businesses do
you work with, and how
does the coaching you offer
change depending on
business size?
I generally work with businesses in
the 0 to $5 million space, I like working
directly with the owner. I’ve worked
with business up to around $50 million
but that isn’t where my passion lies, soToss Grumley is the founder of Wolf & Fox, a business
consultancy which helps advise companies of all
sizes, from pre-launch companies, right through
to more established businesses looking for growth.
Idealog has a chat with Grumley about how he got
into the advisory space, what New Zealand businesses
are best at and where their weaknesses lie, and more.To find out more or
get in touch with Toss,
visit wolfandfox.co.nz.wolf & fox
founder
Toss Grumley
I now focus on working with those with
whom I can have the most impact on.What do people most
need from you?
Business owners mostly require
strategy, structure and accountability
from me. I work with people heavily on
their strategy, marketing, brand, and
numbers, and then ensure through
accountability and ongoing coaching
that they stay on task and achieve
their goals.What are the most important
things for a business owner
to get right?
Business owners need to have a sound
economic model. You need to think
about if your business can actually
make money. What are the fixed costsand what are the variable costs?
What is your break-even point? So
many people ignore these important
factors. Once these are sorted out, you
need to think about who your target
customer would be and how to best
meet their needs and reach them.Who is in your tribe?
What businesses generally
reach out to you?
My tribe is anyone who is motivated
to have success in their business.
I get a lot of people with a focus on
brand, a niche, or a new and better
way of doing business. ■F
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