E193: Stuart Baxter - Levers For Hitting 10% Year on Year Growth. From Sub £1M to a £28M, a 93 Employee Operation, Safelincs

Stuart Baxter has been a driving member behind the growth of Safelincs, a £28M fire and safety solutions business in Lincolnshire, since he joined as Product Admin 15 years ago. As the Managing Director of Safelincs, Stuart is responsible for the operational side of the business and hitting their ambitious 10% year on year growth targets. In this episode, Stuart gives an honest account of the growth of Safelincs. From a sub £1M brand with 9 members of staff, to a £28M operation with 93 employees, he shares all.  Listen to find out why his business finds staff retention far easier than recruitment, hint, it’s because they care about the humans working in the business. Find out how their team makes sure expos develop a good return for them as a business, the power of employee investment both financially and psychologically, hiring on attitude and teaching them the skills. To be successful online you need some basic principles, be adaptable, be agile and be willing to make mistakes. In this ever changing landscape, businesses that take risks and adopt the latest technologies that are RIGHT for their business will win.  Listen now! Topics Covered:  00:00 - Joined small start-up as Product Manager, entrepreneurial spirit 04:23 - Allowed to try, generated business, build relationships  08:49 - Investing in business growth 09:39 - Safelincs started as a family support system 14:00 - Extensive investment in training for roles 18:03 - Treat individuals with care for business success 21:12 - Business growth and expos. 22:45 - Focused expos on potential customer base for success 26:44 - Sales team includes non-sales member 31:33 - Conference attendance may prompt valuable business insights 34:58 - Focusing on quality 37:05 - Investing in people and leveraging conferences 40:27 - Honesty and support matter in delivering information 41:49 - Change in technology over 15 years 45:17 - Outsource support for business specialisation and expertise 50:07 - Employed new staff, investing in platforms, AI 51:54 - Book recommendation