A minute with a Boost mentor: Paul Bury

Through the fully funded Boost Growth Mentoring programme, business owners and managers can access a wide variety of professional experts to help them develop and grow their business.

We highlight some of the mentors working with Lancashire businesses behind the scenes. So take a break and read about Paul Bury, an advertising and marketing specialist.

Why did you choose to become a mentor?

As well as spending time in the boardrooms of my own companies, over the course of my career I have been lucky enough to be involved in board decisions for many of my clients. As a result of this I have had extensive experience in most, if not all, of the issues facing small, medium and large companies.

I became a mentor as I wanted to offer this experience and expertise to the Lancashire business landscape as Lancashire is where I was born.

How do you make a real difference to Lancashire businesses?

I work closely with the client to understand their aims, sometimes helping to crystalise their vision and mission and then help develop step-by-step plans designed to elevate the business and help the business owner achieve their goals, often both professionally and personally.

I am really passionate about adding as much value as possible and aim to combined strategic thinking with practical ideas and initiatives that make a difference.

What is your area of expertise and why is it an important area to for business leaders to address?

My expertise lies in helping to develop effective marketing strategies and plans and I often get involved in helping to embed ‘marketing thinking’ into the entire business. Effective marketing strategy is central to profitable business and I work with clients to help make their marketing plans meaningful, pragmatic and empowering for the business owner.

What has been your most inspirational moment as a mentor?

There have been many. The most inspirational moments are when a client calls and reports a significant improvement in performance, increases in profit and the realisation of their mission. This gives me a huge sense of satisfaction.

What are the key challenges for Lancashire businesses at the moment?

We are obviously in very tough times with the economy in recession and businesses of all sizes under pressure. As we know though tough times lead to opportunity. I encourage all the clients I mentor to be positive and think ‘big’ while at the same time have realistic plans in place to cover the potential consequences of recession – such as planning for cash reserves, re-evaluating goals, ensuring the team is working effectively and so on.

As a mentor, what are your three business growth tips?

There are many things I aim to pass on to clients during the mentoring programme but probably the most important three are: 

1. Have a clear purpose – understand and define what do you want and why you want it.
2. Self discipline – stay on track and focus on what is important
3. Maintain consistency – keep doing the ‘main thing’ well and in line with your values and ethos

Paul Bury has been in business for over 30 years, mainly within the advertising and marketing industry. He has held several board positions in leading agencies and worked in leading agencies in London and Manchester.

His mentoring skills include creating robust growth plans and helping clients develop effective marketing strategies that are designed to achieve positive results.

Would you like to see your business grow? So would we. To speak to someone from the Growth Hub about business support, contact Boost online or call 0800 488 0057.