Steve Barrett

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Helping franchisors, founders, and business owners scale, strengthen leadership, and create value with intention. 

 I work with leaders at moments of growth, complexity, or transition.
That might be scaling a franchise network, strengthening leadership capability, or preparing a business for exit.

The work is the same at its core.

It’s about creating clarity, reducing dependency on the owner, and building a business or leadership system that holds together as it grows.

£46m business experience | 30+ years senior leadership | Franchise operator & advisor | ICF, EMCC & Gallup CliftonStrengths certified

I’ve spent over three decades in senior leadership roles across multi-site, franchise, and growing businesses. I’ve carried responsibility for performance, people, profit, and tough decisions. I’ve built teams, scaled operations, navigated change, and lived the pressure that comes with growth.

I don’t advise from the sidelines.
I work with the perspective of someone who has carried the weight.

Most businesses don’t struggle because of a lack of ambition.
They struggle because growth outpaces structure, leadership, and clarity.

What works when a business is small rarely works as it scales. Founder-led effort turns into bottlenecks. Decision-making slows. Standards drift. The owner becomes the point everything runs through.

My role is to help leaders design their business, leadership, and operating model intentionally, so growth creates value rather than friction.

Sometimes that looks like stepping in as a fractional strategic advisor.
Sometimes it looks like coaching and capability building.
Often, it’s a blend of both.

The goal is always the same: a stronger business that doesn’t rely on one person to hold it together.

I work across three core areas. They are different expressions of the same capability.

I work alongside franchisors as a fractional strategic advisor during the critical 10 to 50 stage of growth.

This is where complexity increases, expectations rise, and the business either becomes system-led or remains founder-dependent.

The focus is on installing the operating foundations, leadership capability, and execution rhythm that allow the network to scale, perform, and build long-term value.

I’m a certified strengths-based coach and work with leaders and teams to understand how they perform at their best.

Strengths work is not an add-on. It’s a performance lever.

Used well, it improves clarity, accountability, decision-making, and leadership effectiveness, particularly during periods of growth or change.

This work often supports the wider business goals, rather than sitting alongside them.

I support business owners who want to reduce reliance on themselves, strengthen the fundamentals of the business, and create options for the future.

That may be preparing for exit, stepping back from day-to-day operations, or building a business that continues to grow without constant owner involvement.

Building with an exit in mind is not about selling.
It’s about designing a better business to own.

I don’t sell fixed programmes or generic solutions.

I work with leaders to:

• Clarify where the business or leadership system is today
   
• Agree a clear destination and priorities
   
• Build the structures, capability, and rhythm required to move forward
   
• Adapt the approach as the business grows and circumstances change
   

I also bring access to a trusted network of specialists when deeper expertise is needed, reducing friction and accelerating progress.

The work is practical, structured, and grounded in the reality of running a business.

When a business or leadership team is built with intention:

• Growth becomes easier to manage
   
• Decisions become clearer
   
• Dependency on the owner reduces
   
• Value increases over time
   

You may never sell the business.
But you will own something stronger, more resilient, and more rewarding because you built it the right way.