Jessica Williams, Just Williams
As Jessica Williams’ business, Just Williams, approached its landmark ten year anniversary, she realised that the organic growth of the past nine years was not enough to fulfil her mighty ambitions. Despite her vision and determination, Jessica knew that she didn’t have the tools or structure in place to support her plan.
Reading the testimonials and hearing from previous Scale-up Leaders’ Academy (SULA) alumni made Jessica realise the profound impact the programme had on those entrepreneurs and their businesses. With her "scale now or never" mindset, the decision to join cohort seven became an easy one.
Jessica’s experience on the programme has proven to be transformative, both personally and for the trajectory of Just Williams.
“When you are on the SULA programme, you are constantly holding a mirror up to yourself and the gaps you have and those of your business become obvious. This can feel uncomfortable but if I hadn’t recognised the gaps, I wouldn’t have been able to make the improvements which are starting to transform the business.”
Initially, Jessica had only loose goals for her business. But thanks to SULA, she developed a clear five-year plan with specific metrics to track progress. She restructured the business, doubled the size of her team, and with the support of a non-executive director, began seeing immediate results. Taking the learnings from The Academy she had the confidence to move at a faster pace and think more strategically.
“The changes that we have introduced since being on the programme have resulted in the business growing by 42% in the last eight months. We are more profitable and are on track to achieve our goals this year.
“By introducing a new structure, I now have time to concentrate on scaling. I have the opportunity to look at what we can do better or differently so we can continuously improve internally and for our clients.”
The different perspectives which are brought to the table in SULA provided an additional benefit in taking part in the programme: “What made my time on the SULA programme even more powerful was being surrounded by like-minded entrepreneurs in the cohort who are all trying to achieve the same thing as you.
“Being an business owner can be a lonely place and throughout the programme you build a bond with the other participants. Being part of the cohort brings different perspectives and I felt a real sense of belonging to a community of people all going through similar challenges and experiences as we all grow our businesses. This support would not have been there if I had done it on my own.”
Overall, Jessica’s experience is clear: “If we don’t scale we will always remain as we are. SULA has given us the structure to help us achieve that scale.”
If you're ready to elevate your business and leadership skills to the next level, join the Scale-up Leaders’ Academy. Apply now and take the first step toward unlocking your full potential.
