£180k
saved through sales team efficiency by a national freight forwarder, after training with Cooper Vance.
Track record of running everything from 70-year-old family businesses to £45m e-commerce growth machines.
Growing pains
Square pegs. Round holes.
Every business that grows fast ends up with square pegs in round holes. A process built for ten people now creaks under thirty. A spreadsheet only one person understands. A good team that still waits for you to decide.
Sound familiar?
Every decision comes back to you.
Holidays mean your phone stays on.
You find out about problems too late.
The numbers arrive weeks after the damage is done.
Your best people are stuck firefighting.
Nobody owns anything properly, so everyone chases everything.
The same jobs get done by hand, every week.
Copying, checking, chasing. Hours you pay for and never get back.
You’ve heard AI could help.
You just don’t know where to start, or who to trust.
Growth feels heavier, not easier.
More sales means more problems landing on your desk.
None of this means you’ve done it wrong. It means the business has grown up faster than the way it’s run.
Is this you?
This is for you if
You own and run an established UK business
Turnover is roughly £1m to £10m
You have 10 to 50 staff
You’ve been trading 5 to 15 years
You’re still the bottleneck, and you know it
This isn’t for you if
You’re still proving the idea works
You want a 60-page report to file away
You want someone to tell you everything’s fine
You aren’t willing to let go of anything
You want AI for the sake of saying you use AI
Not sure? Book the call. If I’m not the right fit, I’ll tell you straight.
The plan
Spot them. Shape them. Shift them.
Cooper Vance is MD-level advice for the owner who runs the business. Not theory. Not a template. Advice from someone who has done the job and is still doing it.
01
Spot
We start with a 30-minute MD to MD call. You tell me where it hurts. I ask the questions a chair would ask. We find the square pegs costing you the most.
02
Shape
We agree what to fix first, and what to leave alone. You get it in writing, in plain English: the next three things I’d do if I were you.
03
Shift
I work with you 1-2-1 while you put it in place. Processes, numbers, people, and the right AI and automation where it saves real time.
You stay in charge. I make sure the changes stick.
Four things. Done properly.
Processes
Work that runs without you
Clear ways of working, written down, so jobs get done the same way whoever is in.
Systems
Numbers you can act on
A weekly view of sales, margin and cash you trust, early enough to change the outcome.
People
A team that owns it
Clear roles and decision rights, so your managers decide and you stop being the bottleneck.
AI & automation
Hours back, every week
Practical AI and automation for the repeat jobs. Only where it genuinely helps. No hype.
Also available: in-house workshops on using AI properly, and the fortnightly MD to MD newsletter.
What changes for you
A holiday that’s a holiday.
The business keeps moving while you’re away, because decisions no longer queue for you.
Problems spotted in the week, not the month after.
You see the numbers early enough to act.
Managers who manage.
Your team knows what they own, so you stop doing their jobs as well as yours.
Hours back from the jobs nobody should do by hand.
Automation takes the copying, checking and chasing.
A business worth more.
One that runs without its owner is easier to grow, sell or step back from.
Someone in your corner who’s done it.
A sounding board who understands the pressure, because they carry it too.
£10,400
Start with one sum: hours a week spent on admin, times the cost of an hour, times 52 weeks. Ten hours at £20 an hour is £10,400 a year, gone on jobs AI could do.
AI that works
AI won’t run your business. It will run the boring bits.
Most owner-MDs have been told AI changes everything. Most tried ChatGPT once, then went back to the spreadsheet. The truth sits in the middle.
AI is very good at the repeat jobs: the weekly report, the order admin, the chasing. It’s poor at judgement. That stays with you and your team.
Every guide below is an automation we built and run inside a real UK business. Step by step, in plain English, with a person signing off anything that matters.
Start here
Claude for the Boss
Six modules, 30 ready-to-use prompts and a 30-day plan to get AI saving your team time. £79 + VAT, instant download.
Numbers You Trust Every Monday
£79 + VAT
Weekly sales reports that build themselves, with figures your team won’t argue with.
Profit You Can See
£249 + VAT
Which channels, customers and salespeople actually make you money. Excel planner included.
Customer Service on Autopilot
£79 + VAT
Weekly service and review reports, drafted, checked and sent without anyone chasing.
Get Paid and Stop Refund Leaks
£79 + VAT
Find the money slipping between your shop, your accounts and your spreadsheets.
Orders and Accounts Without the Admin
£79 + VAT
Daily orders and trade account setup handled by AI, with your staff approving the key calls.
The Trading Back Office
£79 + VAT
Pricing, product pages, stock forecasts and supplier tracking, with a person signing off every change.
Rather we set it up for you? Fixed-price setups from £595 + VAT.
Done it. Still doing it.
I’m Andrew Pickersgill. I don’t advise from the sidelines. I run a business today, so I know what Monday morning feels like.
- McGovern & Co. A 70-year-old builders’ merchant. I took it from paper to fully automated finance, sales and social media systems.
- Power Tool World. A £45m e-commerce business. I started seven days before Black Friday, then built the process and structure that let its owners step back.
- Today. MD of an established UK distribution business with a 32,000 sq ft warehouse and around 29 staff.
- 1-2-1 advisory. I work with sales and leadership directors on how they run their teams and their numbers.
Everything I recommend, I’ve done myself. Including the AI.
In their words
His sessions are tailored and structured around my needs… as a client you know that Andrew isn’t just delivering off the shelf generic training.
Drew Frame MCIPS
Head of Procurement, NHC Procurement
His ability to get to the crux of a problem and find solutions that work for the business is first class.
Joanne McNeil
Senior HR professional
His patience, engaging presentation style, and attention to detail sets Andrew a step above the rest.
Pamela Wilson
Principal Consultant, Pharma IT
Still on the fence?
“I’ve had consultants before. All slides, no change.”
I’ve run businesses, not just advised them. You get plain advice and help putting it in place, not a deck.
“Nobody understands my business like I do.”
True. That’s why you stay in charge. My job is to ask the questions and get the structure right around you.
“I haven’t got time for this.”
That’s the problem we fix. It starts with 30 minutes.
“It’ll cost a fortune.”
The first call is free. You’ll know what any further work involves before you agree to it.
“AI is hype.”
Often, yes. I’ll tell you where it saves real time and where it doesn’t.
“What if you’re not the right person?”
Then I’ll say so, and point you to someone who is.
Next steps
Shape up or stay stuck.
A free 30-minute MD to MD call.
In 30 minutes you’ll get:
- An honest outside view of where the business is holding you back
- The one or two changes I’d make first, and why
- A straight answer on whether working together makes sense
No pitch. No obligation. If it isn’t a fit, you still leave with something useful.
Or email andrew@coopervance.co.uk
Straight answers
What happens on the call?
You talk, I listen, then I ask the questions a chair would. You leave with my honest view and one or two first moves.
Are you a consultant, a coach or a fractional MD?
MD-level advice for the owner. Practical help on how the business runs, from someone who runs one. Not a life coach. Not a report writer.
What does it cost after the first call?
The Growing Pains Diagnostic is £1,500 + VAT: half a day with you and your business, then a written 90-day plan. MD Advisory is £1,500 + VAT a month. You’ll get a clear scope in writing before you commit to anything.
Do I need to be into AI?
No. Most of the work is processes, numbers and people. AI comes in only where it saves real time.
Where are you based? Do you work remotely?
The North East. I work on site across the North East and remotely anywhere in the UK.
How quickly will I see a difference?
That depends on the business and how much you’re willing to change. I won’t promise a timeline I can’t stand behind.
Not ready for a call?
Start with Claude for the Boss, my practical guide to using AI in an owner-managed business, £79 + VAT. Or join the fortnightly MD to MD newsletter below.
Still got a question? Ask it on the call.