In focus / Costs & performanceSales are up.
Sales are up.
So why is cash still tight?
A closer look at revenue, direct costs and when the money actually arrives.
Read the perspective ↗Business advice, research & digital delivery
Make better decisions about costs, growth and digital investment.
Business advisory, market research and digital delivery for founders and small businesses. From reviewing commercial performance to building better reporting, we turn a defined business question into a clear piece of work.
Illustrative photography. Not Tresswell staff or clients.
The wider business picture
Business in focus.
Selected reporting and commentary to inform your next business conversation.
BBC News ↗Tokenomics: Why making AI pay is tricky
Tresswell asksWhat would a useful AI trial need to measure?
Read on BBC News
The Guardian ↗How small firms use AI to support their workforce
Tresswell asksWhich repeated task would you examine first?
Read on The Guardian
The Independent ↗Where are small businesses finding value in AI?
Tresswell asksHow would you define a worthwhile business outcome?
Read on The Independent
Enterprise Nation ↗Steady but not strong: small businesses and cost pressures
Tresswell asksWhere does your commercial review need more detail?
Read on Enterprise NationArticles 1–3 of 4
Selected 8 November 2026. Illustrative Unsplash photography; some headlines are shortened. Read each article at its original publisher. Access terms may apply.
Our case studiesA closer look at
A closer look at
the work we have done.
Three business questions. Explore the analysis, the findings and the solution developed for each.
Healthcare operations01 / Healthcare operations
Finding capacity in a cardiology procedure service
Session and procedure analysis to identify where readiness, cancellations and list design warranted review.
Solution developed
Explore the case study Readiness, session planning, flow and performance review to validate with service leads.
Agriculture & public sector02 / Agriculture & public sector
Turning programme data into clearer funding priorities
A performance framework that connects unit records, evidence quality and subsidy-allocation decisions.
Solution developed
Explore the case study A structured route from validation to selective expansion, redesign or inactive-unit review.
Life sciences strategy03 / Life sciences strategy
Balancing portfolio concentration with selective growth
Portfolio, channel and adoption analysis to distinguish established value from growth hypotheses.
Solution developed
Explore the case study A proposed 90-day sequence with owners, outputs and commercial KPI reviews.
Organisations are anonymised. Sector imagery accompanies figures from the analysis; implementation status is explained in each study.
View all case studiesOur expertiseFour areas of support.
Four areas of support.
A defined piece of work.
Choose the business issue you need to address. We agree the scope and the deliverables before work begins.
Commercial Performance
Understand costs, margins and the work behind the numbers.
- Cost and margin analysis
- Pricing scenario comparison
Market & Growth Strategy
Build a clearer view of customers, competition and routes to market.
- Customer and competitor assessment
- Market opportunity brief
Operations & Productivity
Find where time, capacity and handovers need attention.
- Current-state process map
- Workflow and capacity review
Digital & Data
Connect reports, websites and systems to a business need.
- Management report or dashboard
- Website or digital prototype
Research & commercial intelligenceUnderstand the opportunity
Understand the opportunity
before you commit.
Focused research to inform a new market, a commercial investment or your next competitive move.
01 / Demand
Market research
Understand customer needs, market potential and buying decisions.
Explore the approach 02 / OpportunityCommercial due diligence
Examine growth assumptions, customer concentration and commercial risks.
Explore the approach 03 / CompetitionCompetitive intelligence
Compare competing offers, pricing and positioning to inform your next move.
Explore the approachIndustriesThe business model
The business model
changes the question.
Apply commercial, research and digital thinking to the way your business earns and delivers.
Explore industry applications01
Professional services
Protect the economics of work sold by time, scope or expertise.
Explore the business questions02Retail & e-commerce
Connect the customer proposition to product and channel economics.
Explore the business questions03Hospitality & local services
Bring pricing, capacity and the customer journey into one review.
Explore the business questions04Technology & digital businesses
Make the customer need and the operating model clear before building.
Explore the business questionsWhy act now?The next decision
The next decision
deserves better evidence.
When pricing, growth or a digital investment is on the table, define the question before committing more time or money.
Find a reason to review nowTresswell perspectivesQuestions worth
Explore all perspectives Questions worth
bringing to the table.
Costs & performance / AnalysisRevenue is growing.
Revenue is growing.
Why is cash still tight?
Separate sales, contribution and payment timing before deciding what growth really means.
Read the perspective 8 November 2026 · Includes a fictional worked exampleFind a starting pointWhere does your business
Where does your business
need attention?
You do not need to choose a service first. Select the issue closest to what is happening in your business.
A relevant starting point
Commercial Performance
Look at revenue alongside direct costs, delivery effort and cash timing before deciding where to act.
Example deliverable
Prepare a brief about this issue A cost and margin review with pricing scenarios and clearly stated assumptions.
Monthly newsletter format / The Tresswell BriefingOne issue.
One issue.
Three findings.
One useful action.
A monthly briefing for founders and smaller teams. One business issue, three useful findings and one action. Read online or download the designed PDF.
November 2026 / Issue 01Growth is not the whole picture.
This month: why revenue, delivery effort and cash timing need to be reviewed together before deciding what stronger performance looks like.
Read the November newsletter Open the PDF editionRecent research & consulting perspectives
On the reading desk.
Selected external reading on technology adoption and the way businesses organise change.
Visit the news & insights deskGOV.UK · 29 October 2026
AI adoption survey 2026
Research into how UK businesses use AI, the barriers they report and its self-reported effects.
A question for your business
Read the original source Which business question would a proposed AI tool help you answer?
Oliver Wyman · 2026 perspective
Why IT operating models need to change before agentic AI
Oliver Wyman argues that scaling agentic AI depends on the way work, ownership and controls are organised, beyond selecting a platform.
A question for your business
Read the original source Is the workflow ready for a trial, and who will review the output?
GOV.UK · 26 June 2026
SME Digital Adoption Taskforce: 2026 update
A published update on work to help smaller businesses adopt digital technologies.
A question for your business
Read the original source What support and implementation effort would a digital change require?
Curated 8 November 2026. These are external publications, not Tresswell research or press coverage. Each practical question is our own editorial interpretation.
Working with Tresswell
Know what the work involves.
A focused engagement, with a clear agreement and time to review the result together.
- 01
Discuss the business question
Share the situation, the available information and the decision you need to make.
- 02
Agree the engagement
Set out scope, deliverables, responsibilities, timing and fees before work begins.
- 03
Review and hand over
Work through the analysis, case-study findings or deliverable, its limitations and the agreed next steps.
Before we startA few questions
A few questions
worth asking.
Understand what a focused piece of work involves before preparing a brief.
Do I need a complete proposal?
No. Begin with the situation, the decision you need to make and what a useful outcome would look like. Our project brief tool helps you organise those points on your own device.
Prepare your project briefWhat would I receive?
The deliverable depends on the question: a commercial review, research report, process map, management dashboard or defined digital build. The scope should state the format, inputs, assumptions and handover before work begins.
Compare the four service areasHow are scope, timing and fees agreed?
These should be agreed for the defined piece of work before it starts, including responsibilities, milestones and exclusions. A change to scope should prompt a review of the implications before proceeding.
Read our approach