Supporting businesses’ aspirations and dreams can be very rewarding. Our Partnership Manager Kama Targonska recently spoke to Paul Breslin, MD of Breslins, a business and tax adviser, about their unique approach on how they help their clients succeed.
Kama Targonska: You founded Breslins in 1993 as you wanted to create a business advisory with a unique approach to the SME market. Can you tell us more about that?
Paul Breslin: I established Breslins to offer a proactive, hands-on advisory, tax and accounting service to growing businesses. We all dream of having a great business and fantastic work/life balance. At Breslins, we want to help businesses achieve this objective. Life is too valuable and too short to waste the opportunities it presents.
Kama: What is the first thing you do when you sit down with a new client?
Paul: We believe that there are three vital functions every business needs to focus on for growth: sales, operation and finance. Looking at the finance function in particular, we work with our clients by supporting them with accounting systems, but also advise on the different routes to finance. In the SME market, finance is not always easy to source. That’s why we work with many strategic partners to assist in short-term and long-term lending to help them move to the next level of growth.
Kama: Can you give us an example of a business you have helped source funding for?
Paul: We recently worked with a marketing agency in London which looked for a short-term loan to hire new team members and update their IT systems. We successfully helped them source the right funding and, six months after, they had doubled their turnover and profit. A great success story.
Kama: With a growing focus on technology, customer service is become increasingly important as it cannot (yet) be fully automated. Do you agree? How do you ensure that your team delivers the best customer service possible?
Paul: I completely agree. Customer service sets you apart in any industry where there is some sort of automation. At Breslins, we try to integrate with our clients as much as possible, as a trusted adviser and almost as part of their team. This collaborative approach helps us understand their vision, mission and key parts of their business. We also work closely with a range of independent partners and businesses to help clients move forward in their business journey.
Kama: Breslins has started several initiatives to bring the business community in and around Birmingham together. Earlier this year we attended two networking events – a great way to meet local businesses.
Paul: Yes indeed. We have established a Breslins Club which provides an informal forum for local businesses and strategic partners with regular networking opportunities and access to practical business advice and guidance. In addition to that, we also host our 1000 Trades friendly gatherings, which bring together established businesses as well as those just started or looking to start up.
Kama: Thank you so much for the chat and we look forward to attending and co-hosting more of events over the next months. My final question is: How do you take your coffee?
Paul: Strong and full of promise…just like new business owners starting out on their journey!
Originally published March 12 2019 , updated February 24 2020
