Manchester Business Consultant for Media, Tech and Makers

• Creative and media at Salford Quays

  Invest Manchester describes Greater Manchester as the main creative cluster outside the capital, with MediaCity at Salford Quays as one of its main sites. It says broadcasters create a commissioning pipeline and supply-chain work for independent producers and post-production firms. A small production company often lives on one commission at a time.

• Digital, cyber and AI

  The agency presents Manchester as a deep tech talent pool in digital, cyber and AI where ideas can scale. Behind the headline names sit many small software houses, security consultancies and agencies that sell by the project or by the retained month.

• Advanced materials and manufacturing

  Manchester's listed strengths here cover sustainable packaging, technical textiles, surfaces and coatings, composites and light alloys. These are batch and specification businesses, where one customer approval can decide a quarter.

• Financial, professional and business services

  Invest Manchester calls this a major part of the local economy. Accountants, lawyers, insurers' advisers and outsourcing firms serve the companies of the region, and many are partnerships where senior people carry both client work and management.

• 01Independent producers commonly wait on a broadcaster's payment schedule while crews and kit hire are due earlier, so each commission needs its own cash plan.
• 02Packaging and materials makers often depend on a few brand customers, and a change in one customer's specification can strand stock and machine time.
• 03Security and software firms commonly sell hours to clients who want fixed prices, which makes scoping the most valuable skill in the business.
• 04Partnership-style practices often struggle to give senior people time to manage, because the same people carry the billable work.

UTC+0 (winter), UTC+1 (summer). Against Manchester, Indian clocks run 5 hours 30 minutes ahead through the winter and 4 hours 30 minutes ahead through the summer.

We book the first call once the scope of the problem is clear, so the conversation starts from your business and not from a calendar.

• Professional services
• Technology
• Manufacturing
• Healthcare

Trades to start from

• Film, video and audio production houses
• Software development companies
• Cybersecurity companies
• Packaging manufacturers
• Textile manufacturers
• HR consulting and outsourcing firms
• Genetic and speciality testing labs

• Business Consulting

  A cash view per commission or per customer order shows producers and makers when the money actually arrives against when it leaves.

• Business Strategy

  Choosing which two or three customers to grow with gives specification-led manufacturers a way to reduce dependence on one buyer.

• Business Process

  A written scoping routine helps software and cyber firms stop fixed-price work from turning into unpaid extras.

• Business Audit

  Reviewing margin by job and by partner clarifies where a practice earns its keep and where it only looks busy.

1. First call by phone or video, to hear how your business runs and what is stuck.
2. A written scope that says what we will look at, what you will receive and what we need from you, with the fee written in your own currency.
3. Your first sheet: the one page of numbers or decisions that the work starts from.
4. A review rhythm agreed with you, so the work is checked against what actually happened.