Scaling a business is likely to be challenging whatever space an entrepreneur operates within. Primarily, it poses two potential obstacles: increasing business and developing the business’ operation to keep up with the increase. In a people-led industry, such as concierge and lifestyle management, it is paramount not to lose track of clients’ needs and desires. One can then see the imminent challenge with scaling a concierge business, especially with just a single individual at the helm. One such example is HCT Finance CEO Hayes Thomas (@iamhayesthomas), an expert in concierge services for high-profile individuals.
Thomas arranges the likes of nightclub tables, travel, and hotel reservations for his clients – precisely the kind of hospitality services that were significantly stunted by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, one challenge became two, as the entrepreneur was tasked with scaling a lifestyle management business in a global crisis, where social interaction, the very asset concierge services thrive on, was severely limited. It took an exceptional business person to not only survive the aforementioned but prosper in its wake.
“The biggest problem I had was keeping up with demand,” Thomas explains. “My revenue went from £0 to £1m in 18 months.” The CEO found himself faced with a fundamental dilemma: spending time searching for talent to keep up with his business’ growth could risk losing the attentive service that set it apart in the first place.
Conveniently, the solution to Thomas’ problem lined up with his vision for the industry’s future. Q2 2022 is set to see the launch of HCT Finance’s lifestyle management application. Through FinTech, all of HCT’s lifestyle services can be housed in one place, allowing optimum efficiency for both clients and the service provider. Many of the admin tasks typically handled by a person were automated, which allowed Thomas to reduce his reliance on human talent and focus on providing world-class service to his clients.
Going forward, the application promises to revolutionize the world of concierge by locating both lifestyle and financial management in the same place. The aim is to strip back the amount of time VIPs spend manually comparing the likes of flight prices and reduce the online platforms used to one: HCT Finance. Clients are provided with equal access to exclusive deals and fair financial treatment, resulting in a lifestyle more in line with their true desires.
Like almost every other sector of the economy, concierge services had to make adaptations for the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Continuing to grow HCT was no easy feat, but Thomas took the opportunity to bring more unique opportunities to his clientele of hundreds of high-profile individuals. The likes of dining experiences with private chefs and virtual reality experiences ensured the company’s ongoing retention and growth and cemented HCT as a leader in top-quality client service.
With a bit of luck, the next two years will not bring the same complications for the lifestyle management industry that the last two have. In that time, HCT looks to become the number one lifestyle management service globally. It’s a process that will be driven and defined by Hayes Thomas’ continued commitment to innovation.