"I've started four businesses from scratch, turned around a further seven, raised venture capital and led a successful management buyout and exit. It's the lessons I've learned along the way that I'd now like to pass on," explained Paul.

"I've had meetings with the Mafia in Moscow and dealt with a distributor in Venezuela, who it turned out was also a gang leader. I've found that it doesn't matter who you're dealing with there are still some golden rules of business, which can apply to everyone, everywhere. You need to play to your strengths, concentrate on what you're good at and don't try to be everything to everybody.

"And it doesn't matter who your customer is, or where they are, if you don't look after them, someone else will. I learned that lesson in Iraq during a telecoms deal. No-one had visited the customer for some time because of the conflict. I did, however I did get stuck in Diyarbakir at the border between Turkey and Iraq."

Deals brokered in volatile places can be very lucrative, if a little unpredictable. Understanding the nature of business and people is vital, which is useful wherever the business is based. As a business consultant Paul is now helping business owners get what they really want from their businesses, whether that's to expand, export, step back and take a back seat or to sell on and start another venture.

"Many small business owners have cash-flow issues or need to grow their businesses and just simply don't know how to do this; engineers start businesses because they are great engineers, marketing gurus start businesses because they are great marketing gurus and guys who like to dig holes start businesses because they like to dig holes - not because they know how to run businesses or have probably ever done it before," Paul continued.

"There are tens of thousands of businesses operating here in the north of England; it's a very diverse, stimulating and dynamic place. I want to do something exciting and there's nothing more exciting than being involved in a successful business. It's all about being able to grow the business, which means helping the owner and the people working in it to grow too.

"However it's quite normal for a business owner to work 70 hours a week, every week, be involved in every aspect of their business but maybe not getting what they want from it.

"There comes a time when a business owner should be able to spend more time working on the business rather than working in it. I start by asking them where they'd like to be in five years time; having a strategic plan and an aim is the first step. If you don't have an aim, how do you know when you've achieved it?"

Strategic planning is one of Paul's strong points. With over 25 years' boardroom experience, most of it as CEO or Chairman, he knows how to implement a strategy too. It's not possible to grow a start-up business to $178 million in two years or achieve a £1 million turnaround to an unprofitable company in just ten months without a good strategy.

It's not all glamour though. "I've made the teas, in fact there've been some places I've worked where I've had to buy the tea bags and mugs even before I could make the teas," Paul joked. "And I've done the travelling; the first week in Russia, the second in Africa, the third in Saudi Arabia and then one week in the UK, before starting it all again the next month - I did this for four years. And on the way I've worked across a number of industries, most notably in the IT and technology sectors, and across all aspects of business, from professional services to sales and marketing, and from manufacturing to finance."

Paul believes there are many businesses operating in the UK that could be doing so much better, if only they expanded into international markets. Many of these may be hesitant to do so because they don't know how to take that next step.

"As well as working with SMEs and owner managers I'm also extremely interested in Non Exec Director roles in progressive companies; ones which would benefit from my experience. As well as the UK and European markets I also understand the global scene and I believe many UK businesses are missing some very exciting and profitable opportunities. It's all about finding the right business partner, especially in the more challenging business environments, such as Latin and Central America, Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East, but these often offer the highest rewards. I have extensive experience in all these areas and would relish the opportunity to help others achieve success," added Paul.

Paul is a Managing Partner of Consult PB Ltd.

For further information please contact Paul Beaumont on 01422 375447 or 07702 400 000 or email paul@consultpb.co.uk