RUSSELL & Russell was set up 40 years ago to allow business owners to grow their companies. Managing director Stuart Clark says the firm has taken a hit due to Covid but has plans to triple profits over the next five years.
Name: Stuart Clark
Position: Managing director
WHAT IS THE BUSINESS CALLED?
Russell & Russell Business Advisers Limited
WHERE IS IT BASED?
Glasgow
WHY DID YOU SET UP THE BUSINESS?
WE are business advisers and chartered accountants and have been in business for more than 40 years. Our principal services are business and tax advice to owner managed businesses, allowing them to grow their businesses and improve their profits and then take home more of what they earn. The firm is currently family-owned and under the control of Ken and Alastair Russell but, together with my colleagues, Rosslyn McMaster and Ian McMonagle, we have put a succession plan in place with Ken and Alastair that meets all our needs, but we were only able to do this by sitting down and discussing what we all wanted to achieve.
HOW HAVE YOU COPED WITH CORONAVIRUS?
THE amount of man hours spent understanding the ridiculously complex furlough scheme etc is incredible. It’s meant that our bottom line this year has taken a hit in the short term, it should stand us in better stead in the long term as more of our clients will still be there in years to come.
WHAT IS YOUR TARGET MARKET?
MAINLY business owners. Being an owner can sometimes be a very lonely place – you cannot talk to your team about your issues, you are often flying by the seat of your pants and you are expected to know everything.
Sometimes we are more like therapists and people come in and just unload and talk about their problems which we can then help them to resolve or devise a plan for moving forward. We also know that accountancy is viewed as a “dark art” and so we want to help our clients to understand their key numbers.
HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM COMPETING BUSINESSES?
WE’RE not interested in just churning out year-end accounts that are at least nine months out of date. We want to have meaningful conversations with our clients to help them achieve their goals, grow their business and take home more of what they earn. With Covid-19, this sort of approach is more vital than ever to help support these businesses that will help the economy to bounce back.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT RUNNING THE BUSINESS?
JUST that – running the business. Coming up with new systems, improving the lives of our team members, who in turn provide a world class service to our clients and help them to grow, save money or simply just sleep easy at night knowing that we are taking care of business for them.
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN RUNNING THE BUSINESS?
THE end is never in sight. There is always something to be improved!
WHERE DO YOU HOPE THE BUSINESS WILL BE IN 10 YEARS?
FOR the team to be happy, healthy and to continue to work alongside clients we love and to transform the lives of business owners by assisting them towards business success. We aim to triple our profits over the next five years, but this should be a by-product of getting everything else right.
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