Case Study: Refiya Turner
Innovate & Elevate Rochford District Programme Helps Consultant Refine Her Marketing Strategy and Reach the Right Customers.
When Refiya Turner decided to launch her own consultancy after more than 30 years in corporate organisational development roles, she knew she had valuable expertise to offer. What she needed was clarity on how to position that expertise in the market and how to connect with the businesses that would benefit most from her support.
Through the Innovate & Elevate Rochford District Programme, Refiya accessed a series of specialist marketing workshops and one-to-one advice that helped her sharpen her marketing approach, focus on the most effective channels, and build confidence in growing her new business.
Delivered by Let’s Do Business Group on behalf of Rochford District Council and funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), Innovate & Elevate Rochford District is a fully funded business support and leadership programme designed to help local SMEs innovate, lead and grow. The programme provides access to expert-led training, mentoring, networking opportunities and tailored business advice to help ambitious businesses strengthen their operations, embrace innovation and achieve sustainable growth.
Turning Experience into a New Business
Having spent decades working closely with senior leaders and executive teams within medium and large organisations, Refiya recognised an opportunity to support growing SMEs facing operational challenges.
“I’ve come from a corporate background but felt like I no longer really fit. I’m at that age where I am way too young to retire, but I’m also at that age where I’m too old to be hired, so I thought how can I use all my knowledge and experience to create a business.”
Drawing on her extensive experience as an organisational development practitioner, Refiya created a business focused on helping construction and SME business owners build stronger operational foundations.
Her work supports founders whose businesses have grown successfully but are becoming increasingly reliant on them to function day-to-day.
“What I come in to do is help those founders be able to have the business run without them needing to run it, so that they run the foundation and do what they need to do to grow it, but they aren't needed to do the work.”
Refiya Turner, Founder
Rather than acting as a traditional consultant, Refiya works alongside business owners to identify operational bottlenecks, implement practical systems and processes, and create the structure needed for sustainable growth.
Discovering Innovate & Elevate
Refiya first heard about the Innovate & Elevate Rochford District Programme through Rochford District Council's business newsletter.
While she felt confident in many aspects of starting and running a business, marketing presented a new challenge.
“I think my main concern was, in terms of marketing, how do I position myself? I know how I want and need to build the practice, I understand about sole trader policies, GDPR, privacy and HR. What I needed to understand was how I made this into an income, whilst genuinely bringing value to small businesses.”
Recognising this gap, Refiya took advantage of the programme's funded marketing support delivered through Let's Do Marketing.
Developing a Focused Marketing Approach
As part of the programme, Refiya attended several marketing workshops, including:
LinkedIn Do's & Don'ts for Success
Introduction to Social Media Marketing
Understanding and Developing a Marketing Strategy
Strategies for Successful Email Marketing
She also received one-to-one support from marketing consultant Stacey Pretty, giving her the opportunity to discuss her target audience, messaging and customer acquisition strategy in greater depth.
Reflecting on the support, Refiya said:
“The courses were brilliant. They were very helpful, and it helped me to assess different channels and go, they’re not the ones that’s going to work for me, these are the ones that are going to work for me. So, I’ve been able to eradicate the ones I’ve been wasting my time on, and focus my attention on what is going to work for my business.”
The workshops helped Refiya identify the marketing activities most likely to generate meaningful conversations with her ideal clients, allowing her to concentrate her efforts where they would have the greatest impact.
Creating a Clear Growth Strategy
With greater clarity around her marketing, Refiya has developed a structured business model built around three key pathways.
The first focuses on networking and relationship building, creating opportunities to have meaningful conversations with business owners and understand the challenges they face.
The second centres on practical tools and products designed to help SMEs improve operational efficiency, including standard operating procedures (SOPs), process maps, strategy documents and business templates.
The third pillar focuses on education and founder development. Through videos, tutorials and online content, Refiya aims to help business owners better understand the challenges they face and build confidence in making decisions about growth, succession and long-term business strategy.
One area she is particularly passionate about is helping construction businesses develop stronger operational systems.
"A lot of construction organisations fail because they don't have a good, thorough SOP in place," she explained.
To make operational processes more accessible, she is developing innovative approaches that transform traditional SOPs into visual mind maps and process maps, making them easier for teams to understand and implement.
Looking Ahead
With her marketing foundations now in place, Refiya is continuing to build her business and expand the resources available to SME founders.
She has already launched a YouTube channel and is developing educational content aimed at helping business owners better understand common operational challenges and opportunities for growth.
The support she received through Innovate & Elevate Rochford District has helped her move from uncertainty around marketing to a clear and focused plan for attracting clients and growing her business.
By combining decades of organisational expertise with new marketing knowledge, Refiya is now well-positioned to help SMEs create stronger, more sustainable businesses that can thrive beyond the founder.