Former investment banker Kerrie Keeling founded her own building and refurbishment firm, A Woman’s Touch, in 2003.  Kerrie was tired of the antics of workmen in the United Kingdom and knew if she offered home improvements without the hassle of missed appointments, shoddy work and inflated bill, she could succeed. To further differentiate her new company from everyone else, one of her strategies was to build a property maintenance company that included a large team of tradeswomen.

“The opinion of trades’ people was so low that to excel was actually very easy,” Kerrie said.

Kerrie developed a unique niche…. primarily female workers! No male tradesmen unless accompanied by a woman and everyone gets called if Kerrie’s employees are running late.

With this brilliant concept, Kerrie’s company has indeed flourished and the company now employs 40 people, including plumbers, carpenters, decorators, architects and builders. Women make up more than half of her workforce, which is truly remarkable since the construction industry in the UK consists of less than 1 percent women.
Since taking two of my business courses in 2007, Kerrie’s business has leapt from a turnover (revenue) of £200,000 to £800,000 and she has expanded her company from a small area of London to six national and international sites. She has been inundated with positive press on her rapidly growing company as well as a flood of many new customers.

“The fascinating part is that I work in the ‘declining’ property/construction industry and I am totally bucking the trend,” Kerrie said. “I have a new challenge of recruiting enough quality staff,” she added.

In my courses, Kerrie says she learned critical drivers for her business and some key tools and skills that have proven to be very valuable for her company.

“Your courses helped me get perspective. I learned how to assess what I was doing and why; and then you gave me the tools to do it in the best possible way,” she said.

Kerrie told me she learned the importance of knowing your competitors. “You told me that the size of my business is directly related to how much I know about and differentiate myself from my competition…. That I should know as much as I can about my competition, even down to the color of their underwear,” she joked. “I can now make a ‘crackingly’ detailed analysis of my competitors…and I’m close on knowing the color of their knickers!”
Upon going home from my course, one of my key strategies she put into immediate practice was that customers can never be number one….employees are her most important asset, not the customers. She said she learned that if her staff is unhappy, so are her clients and equally important, if her employees are happy, so too, are her clients.
“Just this one distinction alone has really seemed to help catapult my business forward… and the best part is that everyone, including me and my customers, are much much happier!”
She took the skills and tools and strategies I teach and executed them. Kerrie’s business has now quadrupled in size and is continuing to grow. 

“Rather than losing money like before, we are now making really good profits. A key milestone for me is that this year I have finally been able to pay myself more than I was earning in my previous job of investment banking. I can’t believe I struggled for so long when the answers were out there,” Kerrie said. “I am so grateful to have come across Keith!”

Kerrie is also actively planning the future of her company. She said her goals are continued national and international expansion of her company, working with the government to develop fast track, multi-trade training for tradeswomen and the development of an environmentally friendly alternative for every construction project.
Not only has Kerrie had amazing success in her business since my course, she also had opportunities that many could only hope for in a lifetime. She was invited to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen at a reception for women who have made an impact on their industry. Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay hired Kerrie to refurbish his restaurant at the prestigious Connaught Hotel in London. Most recently, she was recruited onto a BBC TV series called The Last Tycoon. On this TV series Kerrie and a group of 11 other entrepreneurs will be flown around the world to compete in entrepreneurial challenges.
Kerrie’s business results have been so spectacular, but like a lot of people who choose to work with me, she also says that her personal life has dramatically changed for the better as well.

“Bottom line, the quality of my marriage and my life have improved dramatically. I live in a wonderful world of gratitude,” she said. “I’m not stupidly optimistic or annoyingly positive… just open, honest and grateful for the learning opportunities,” Kerrie added. “My life is richer in so many ways as a consequence.”

The advice she offers to other entrepreneurs or people considering taking my business training courses is “don’t wait… don’t procrastinate! Why spin your wheels and do it the hard way?”

“If you have ambition and want to succeed, you can’t afford NOT to study with Keith. You will come away with a tool kit and distinctions that will enable you to strengthen and then explode your business,” Kerrie said.

“You will also develop an amazing network of like-minded entrepreneurs who you will keep in touch with and they will continue to hold you accountable for years to come,” she said.

I am so proud of Kerrie and her incredible growth. She will tell you that this surge in her business is a direct result of what she learned at my seminars and business training programs. Her excitement is obvious and the reason is her growth….. Always remember: Growth is the Mother of Passion!

How big could your business be if you only knew what to do?
Congrats, Kerrie! You are a Superstar!

Best,
Keith Cunningham