Last week I was at an event in Liverpool to celebrate Dream High.
I was there to:
- celebrate Dream High turning 20.
- celebrate the work done and to mark the end of Dream High… because the funding has ended.
If you’ve not come across Dream High, it’s one of those brilliant Liverpool organisations that quietly gets on with helping people. It’s a non-profit that provides free, confidential support to start-ups and small businesses across the Liverpool City Region.
I’ve seen that impact first-hand. I was a panel member for a number of years, and I’d give my time to businesses who needed help on the financial side.
And even before that, when I went into business myself, the first networking event I ever went to was a Dream High open coffee morning.
That is where I first met Debbie Elliott-Brown, who was the business co-ordinator at the time.
It was brilliant to see Debbie there last week too. These days she looks after me as Membership Manager at Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, where we’ve recently become a strategic partner.
It’s funny how things go full circle.
The three-legged stool
One of the speeches was from the patron, Ian Meadows. He talked about how Dream High was started after hearing about Dr Ernesto Sirolli and his work supporting entrepreneurship around the world.
And the bit that really stuck with me was Sirolli’s “Trinity of Management”.
The idea is simple: every business is like a three-legged stool.
To stand up, it needs all three legs:
- Great product or service
- Great marketing
- Great financial management
If one leg is missing, the stool falls over.
It’s obvious when you hear it… but it’s amazing how often businesses try to get away with only two legs.
Leg 1: A great product or service
Most business owners I meet are strong here.
They care. They’re proud of what they deliver. They’re usually obsessed with quality.
In fact, many are too strong on this leg… in the sense that they keep tinkering, improving, adding extras, going above and beyond… without charging properly for it.
(But perhaps that’s for Leg 3 – first, let’s move on to Leg 2.)
Leg 2: Great marketing
This is the leg that makes a lot of business owners feel a bit awkward. Marketing can feel like showing off. Or being “salesy”.
But marketing is really just making sure the right people know you exist, and understand why they should pick you.
If you don’t do that, you can have the best product or service in the world… but nobody will know…and nobody will buy!
Because your competitors with the slightly worse product but better marketing will hoover up the work.
It’s annoying, but true.
Leg 3: Great financial management
This is the least exciting leg… but it’s the one that stops you falling flat on your face.
Because cash flow problems don’t normally show up with a siren and a flashing light. They creep up quietly.
Margins get squeezed. Costs drift up. A couple of slow payers knock you off balance.
You’re busy, but the bank balance isn’t moving.
And then one day you look at the numbers and think, “How are we working this hard and still feeling skint?”
That is exactly why good financial management matters.
Not “doing accounts once a year”. Not “hoping it’ll be fine”.
But knowing your numbers, keeping an eye on cash, and making decisions based on facts rather than gut feel.
Most businesses don’t need more effort. They need balance.
That’s the thing I kept thinking about during the event.
Most of the struggling businesses I see aren’t lazy. They’re not stupid. They’re not lacking ambition.
And none have a bad product or service.
They’re just out of balance.
A brilliant product.
A bit of marketing.
And finances that are… “left until later”.
Or:
Tidy finances.
Good service.
But no marketing engine, so growth is slow and unpredictable.
If you want a business that’s stable, profitable, and actually enjoyable to run, you need all three legs.
A little thank you
So, while it’s genuinely sad that Dream High is coming to an end, I’m grateful it existed at all.
It helped a lot of Liverpool businesses stand up when they might otherwise have fallen over.
And it definitely helped me too, right at the start, when I walked into one of those coffee mornings and met Debbie.
So here’s my challenge for you this week:
Which leg of the stool is weakest in your business right now?
- Product or service
- Marketing
- Financial management
Be honest with yourself.
Because once you know which leg is wobbly, you can fix it… before the whole thing tips over.
Cheers
Jon
PS We’re pretty helpful on the finance leg!