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• How close is your organisation to a financial tipping point you haven’t yet recognised?
• What would you do if your creditors or the tax office called tomorrow demanding payment?
• Could your business survive a cash flow crisis next quarter?

If you’re worried about your business cash flow or growing debt, this episode is for you.

In this episode, John Downes speaks with restructuring expert Ben Verney, who helps organisations in distress navigate recovery through practical restructuring, Voluntary Administration, and turnaround strategies. Together they unpack what business restructuring really means, when to act, and how to protect jobs, reputation, and future value. For CEOs and founders, this conversation offers clarity, calm, and the confidence to make the right next move. It also helps you understand where you could significantly put yourself at personal and professional financial risk.

== How to recognise early warning signs of financial distress

== The role of Voluntary Administration in saving businesses

== Metrics every CEO should track to stay ahead of problems

== How to manage emotional and legal pressures during crisis

== Practical steps to protect your people and your company’s value

00:00 Introduction to Ben Verney and His Expertise

04:29 Defining Business Restructuring

06:20 Case Study: Restructuring During COVID-19

09:41 The Voluntary Administration Process

17:42 Challenges and Considerations in Restructuring

23:01 Alternative Solutions and Flexibility in Restructuring

28:15 Emotional Challenges for Business Owners

30:02 The Importance of Seeking Advice

31:57 Key Metrics for Business Health

34:15 Understanding Legal Liabilities

38:07 Voluntary Administration Process

39:56 Restructuring in Different Business Environments

46:56 #CriticalFewActions™ for Business Owners and Senior Leaders

When I work with successful business leaders to create their Strategic Plans and help them implement them, I often see them wait too long before confronting distress signals. Most CEOs believe short-term fixes will solve cash flow pressure until it becomes a crisis. Restructuring, done early and professionally, is a way to preserve value and lead responsibly.

1 – Recognise distress early

Too many businesses treat tax debt as cash flow.

So, what can you do?

• Review cash flow, payroll, and tax obligations monthly.
• Engage advisers before problems compound.

2 – Build a realistic recovery plan

Delayed decisions destroy trust and options.

So, what can you do?

• Model multiple turnaround scenarios and discuss them with your board or peers.
• Communicate early with creditors and your team to maintain confidence.

3 – Lead through restructuring, not from fear

Restructuring done right saves livelihoods.

So, what can you do?

• Treat restructuring as a leadership skill, not a failure.
• Strengthen your reporting and diversify income now to future-proof your organisation.

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• Do you know what your business is really worth, beyond what’s on paper?
• 
  
• Are your brand, customers, and systems working as valuable assets? Or are they being overlooked?
• 
  
• When it comes time to sell, will you be negotiating from strength or surprise?
• 
  

If you’re thinking of an exit and you’ve never valued your intellectual property or brand, this episode is for you.

In this episode, Strategic Mentor, John Downes explores what underpins a solid strategic plan and implementation of that plan as he speaks with valuation expert Fiona Hansen about how CEOs can uncover the real worth of their intangible asset: brand, customers, and systems. Fiona explains how these unseen drivers of value can make or break a negotiation and why smart CEOs treat IP valuation as an ongoing discipline, not a last-minute exercise.

== Why systems, customer bases, and brand are often undervalued assets.

== The core valuation methods every CEO should understand.

== How to calculate customer lifetime value and reduce valuation risk.

== Why your brand can never be worth more than your business.

== The critical steps to prepare your business for exit.

00:00 Why Valuing Intellectual Property Matters

01:09 Case Study – How a Mobile Betting Company Valued Its IP

05:04 The Three Core Valuation Methods Explained

12:34 How to Value a Customer Base

15:21 Brand Value and the Louis Vuitton Example

21:46 Market Valuation vs Traditional Techniques

27:30 Preparing Your Business for Exit

32:56 The #CriticalFewActions™ for Senior Leaders

When I work with successful business leaders as a Strategic Mentor, exploring what underpins a solid strategic plan and implementation of that plan, I often find they’re focused on profit and revenue but overlook the assets that create them. Most CEOs underestimate how much systems, customer data, and brand equity contribute to overall enterprise value. Here are the three key insights I took from the conversation:

1 – Systems as Assets.

The first insight is about valuing your systems.

Problem: Many treat systems as cost centres, not core value drivers.

So, what can you do?

• Identify the systems that enable sales and efficiency.
• Estimate how much revenue depends on each—this defines your asset value.
• 
  

2 – Customer Value

The second insight is about customer bases.

Problem: CEOs see databases, not long-term revenue streams.

So, what can you do?

• Measure churn and retention over several years.
• Segment customers to calculate lifetime value (CLV).
• 
  

3 – Brand and Profit

The third insight is about brand.

Problem: Awareness alone doesn’t equal brand value. It must link to profit.

So, what can you do?

• Identify how your brand supports pricing power or loyalty.
• Use industry royalty benchmarks to quantify brand worth.
• 
  

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Are you protecting your business, or leaving value exposed every day?

Could a single contract clause undo years of hard work?

Would investors discover something you never knew you didn’t own?

If you want to protect value and avoid costly legal surprises, this episode is for you.

John Downes speaks with Rachel Delaney, Founder and Fractional General Counsel at Resident Legal. Rachel shows how early legal action saves money, builds confidence, and makes a business exit-ready.

== Why early legal involvement creates confidence, not cost

== How to lock down your intellectual property before investors ask

== Ways to empower teams through Contract Playbooks

== The rise of wage-compliance risk and how to avoid it

== Why exit readiness starts with strong legal foundations

00:00 Rachel’s legal journey and career path

02:17 Why startups need early legal support

04:13 Case study: IP issues that cost founders

06:37 Legal essentials every startup should know

08:07 How Contract Playbooks protect and empower

10:49 Understanding wage theft and compliance risks

14:01 Legal challenges during growth and major deals

16:51 Fractional legal counsel for scaling businesses

23:55 How to prepare for exits and mergers

38:40 #CriticalFewActions™ for Senior Leaders

When I work with successful business leaders, I often see them delay legal steps until problems become urgent. Waiting too long is always costly.

The first Insight is about locking down intellectual property early.

If you don’t own it, you can’t sell it.

• Audit all IP ownership with founders and contractors.

• Include written IP assignment clauses before work begins.

The second Insight is about being contract-ready.

Teams lose deals—or accept risk—without a playbook.

• Build a Contract Playbook listing red flags and escalation rules.

• Train staff to use it and call for help early.

The third Insight is about preparing for exit long before sale.

Messy records erode confidence and reduce value.

• Treat legal housekeeping as part of value creation.

• Build your data room now so due diligence confirms success.

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Are you a business owner or CEO striving to elevate your business to new heights? But right now… you’re not hitting the targets or objectives your business needs to achieve. Or maybe you’ve hit a roadblock you can’t move past, a major challenge with no clear solution, and there’s no one in your world you can talk to about it.

This isn’t another generic...