Business in a Box – A Case Study

An owner of a plumbing and heating business, and user of our Business in a Box subscription service, came to us for advice.

Feeling the pressure

He was feeling the pressure. Business was going great for him but as a result he was pretty burned out. He hadn’t spent much time with his family in the last year because his workload was so heavy. He knew something had to change before long. He had used subcontractors from time to time but he wanted someone dedicated to his business like he was.

He was considering taking on his first employee. He knew there would be a lot of cost involved in that and needed to know if it was the right decision. Could his dream of being able to take a step back from the business occasionally for a family holiday or simply a rest day, while the business continued to run with no problems be a reality? 

Luckily for him, we’d already thought of all his concerns and had the answers right at our fingertips and ready to share.

What’s Business in a Box?

Business in a Box is a Notion workspace put together by Together We Count for plumbing and heating businesses.  Think of it as a fully customisable intranet or ‘second brain’.

Business in a Box is a subscription service that is pre-loaded with easy to use resources for the key business functions. We add a minimum of 5 additional resources to the already large library of resources each month.

This is how we were able to help him…

·        Calculating Salary

o   Using a calculator we have created we were able to show the client the true cost of employing someone and what that would mean on an annual, monthly, weekly and daily basis. This helps to give a clear picture of the extra work that would be required to cover the cost of the employee and still make a profit.

·         Planning to hire worksheet

o   The planning to hire worksheet helped the client think about other areas of consideration when hiring staff such as what perks he wanted to offer an employee and what work he would shift to a team member.

·        Job description

o   From managing director to plumbing apprentice, we had pre-written job descriptions ready to share with the client.

·        Potential hire tracking worksheet

o   This resource helped him keep track of the potential candidates, giving each one an overall score.

·       Telephone interview questions

o   A telephone interview can help to filter out applicants and decide who it would be worth meeting face to face. The questions here aren’t all about work but are designed to see if you have a good rapport.

·        Interview template

o   Interviewing can be nerve-wracking for the interviewer as well as the interviewee. The interview template we provided gave the interview structure and ensured nothing important was missed.

·         2^nd Interview questions

o   When the list of potential candidates had been whittled down to a few, the second interview template helped the client get down to the nitty-gritty and make his final decision.

After taking the plunge

Once the candidate was chosen we continued with our support and the following resources:

·         Staff onboarding

o   There is a lot to think about when you take on a new starter. As this was the first time The client had done this, he was very grateful for the step-by-step guide. Not only did it help him remain professional throughout the process, but it also made sure he was taking the necessary steps to be a responsible employer.

·         Employee handbook

o   This has been a vital resource for the client. There is no way you would remember to tell a new starter absolutely everything they need to know about company policies and other important company information. Even if you did tell them they wouldn’t remember it all! Having an employee handbook has enabled the client to confidently share every bit of important information and the employee can refer to it whenever they need to. On average, an employee handbook cost £600 to buy. This comes as part of many other resources for just £35 per month.

·         Calculating holiday

o   Every employee is entitled to holiday. The client wasn’t sure how to work out the entitlement so was grateful for the resource. The employee started halfway through the year so this allowed him to work out the pro-rated entitlement. This ensured the business wasn’t overpaying and the employee was getting exactly what they were entitled to. He even decided that he was able to offer birthdays off as a perk.

·         Employment contract template

o   The client knew he needed an employment contract for his new team member but didn’t know where to start. Whilst we did advise him to seek legal advice, our example template gave him a chance to think about what information he needed to get his contracts written up.

·         Vehicle management tracker

o   After the client’s employee probation period was complete he decided it was time to give him a company vehicle. The vehicle management tracker we provided him with proved extremely useful to him. It allowed him to keep clear records of everything relating to the vehicle and set reminders for a few weeks before the MOT was due. He even added his vehicle to the tracker.

 

Ultimately, the plumbing and heating business owner, and user of Business in a Box was able to confidently transition from a sole trader to an employer and boss. We were able to provide the client's plumbing and heating company with the tools he needed to grow his business.

Overall, you can see that just £35 + VAT can give you the resources you need to take on your first hire. Templates, checklists, guides and examples for you to hit the ground running.

If you are considering taking on your first employee or adding to your team in any way, we have at our disposal the resources and knowledge that can help business owners make informed decisions about the future of their company. With careful planning and execution, any small business owner can take their business to new heights.

Employment resources are only a small part of Business in a Box. For just £35 + VAT per month you can access all of these resources and many more, plus, the library is continuously growing and being improved.

For more information on how to access the resources mentioned in this case study and the rest of Business in a Box, please email info@togetherwecount.co.uk.

Here’s what he had to say

Business in a Box has helped me so much and I am extremely grateful. The resources have helped me taking on my first employee and saved me so much time and money. Business in a Box has given me the confidence to know that I can succeed in business. It has also given me the tools and resources to make my business more efficient and professional. I would recommend Business in a Box to any small business owner who wants to take their business to the next level. Thank you, Business in a Box!