Jon Miller, Chief Client Officer at Partners&, highlights key risks that SMEs should be managing and how to build resilience for scale
Liberti Club: Why should resilience be an important priority for scaling SMEs?
JM: Typically operating with leaner teams, tighter cash buffers and less room for error, even small disruptions can derail momentum in scaling SMEs. Building resilience strengthens the ability to manage the risks that come with growth, from cashflow pressures and talent shortages to supply chain shocks and volatile market conditions. A resilient business is more attractive to investors and better equipped to capitalise on new opportunities.
Liberti Club: What are your most in-demand solutions at Partners&?
JM: We’re advising clients on solutions that build resilience across the 21st century risks in business today and helping them to prevent, mitigate or transfer risk across every part of their world to help them deliver their plan with confidence. We’re seeing growing demand for support in the following areas:
- Cyber risk & vulnerability assessment – providing an outside-in view of how a cybercriminal would target their business and protecting vulnerabilities.
- Employee attraction and retention – this increasingly involves supporting physical, mental and financial health & wellbeing, with bespoke employee benefits programmes now critical in the war for talent.
- Business continuity & tolerance for disruption – working with businesses to plan for the unexpected, equipping clients to withstand operational shocks and critical supply chain interruptions.
- Credit insurance & economic insight – protecting cashflow by safeguarding against late or non-payments and enabling safe growth through informed credit decisions.
- Shareholder & key person protection – safeguarding leaders both personally and professionally in the event of the loss of key individuals whose absence could materially impact the business
- Risk management services – including health & safety, business continuity planning, property surveying and claim defensibility support.
- Mergers & acquisitions advisory – increasingly in demand among clients pursuing buy-and-build strategies or preparing for their exit and retirement.
Liberti Club: Why are partner ecosystems important enablers for growth?
JM: As a next generation insurance advisory business, we take a holistic approach to risk, looking beyond traditional insurance to deliver solutions across a client’s wider risk landscape. Our ecosystem partners bring deep expertise exactly where it’s needed, enabling us to extend the level of advice we provide. Clients gain timely access to the right expert as their business evolves, tailored interventions aligned to their priorities, and access to a trusted and rigorously vetted network. It enables us to continue to support clients beyond just insurance – the essence of what we mean by Partners And.
Liberti Club: Why are fractional C-suite solutions an important part of your partner ecosystem?
JM: For our own growth through M&A, it’s given us access to seasoned specialists with experience in similarly high-growth environments, increasing our bandwidth and confidence during periods of integration and rapid scale. It’s freed up internal leaders while still retaining the depth of expertise needed for complex areas such as financial due diligence on acquisitions and largescale internal system transformation projects.
For our clients, fractional C-suite leaders deliver high-calibre executive expertise at a fraction of the cost of a fulltime hire and immediate ROI, closing skill gaps that slow decision-making, providing mentoring for rising leaders, and offering specialist insight to prepare for investment or exit.
Liberti Club: How can founders get the most value from advisers like Partners&?
JM: It begins with deep discovery, taking the time to fully understand their business so our advice is grounded in real insight. The strongest outcomes come when our team is treated as an extension of the founder’s leadership, where conversations are open, honest and willing to explore the challenges they face. In our experience, long‑term, collaborative relationships always outperform short‑term transactions, because it’s the relationship itself that unlocks the greatest return.
To find out more about how Partners& can support your business, email [email protected].