Welcome to the Aurelius Advisory site
I work to live, not live to work (although it wasn't always that way in my early career). And a big part of life for me is quality time with my family. This is us on the Tsitsikamma Canopy & Zip-Wire Tour near Storms River in South Africa. We're all adrenaline junkies!
Hi
I'm Richard McMullan, the Founder of Aurelius Advisory.
I’ve been intrigued by how businesses work since studying management science in the final year of my Master’s degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering in 1989.
However, my career only makes sense in the rear-view mirror (if you squint and close one eye). There was no career plan, I simply went to roles that looked interesting.
I’ve been an IT Systems Analyst, IT Strategist, a Business Strategy Consultant to small, mid, and large businesses, Head of Marketing & Strategy for a £400m business, and, as Managing Director, scaled a £1m business to £20m (after seeing sales plummet by 40% during the 2008 crash).
I'm a Chartered Director, I'm a Board Chair, Non-Executive Director and I'm the Honorary Treasurer for Belfast Chamber of Trade & Commerce.
I co-own four businesses: three of which are direct to consumer (manufacturing and selling 100% natural supplements for horses, dog and small animals) and the fourth provides global sales and marketing support for B2B companies.
I’ve acquired five businesses (and failed twice because of the owner's over-estimation of what their business was worth).
The relevance of all that history?
Simply that I’ve experienced the good, bad, and ugly of leading businesses, seen what works well, and what doesn’t across nearly 30 different sectors! And whilst we don't live long enough to make all the mistakes possible, I've given it a good go (as well as having my fair share of success).
Since 2015 I've used that experience to help 70+ business owners scale up their business and reduce it's reliance on them.
When I’m not working...
You’ll most likely find me with my family or outdoors playing golf, paddle-boarding, wild-water swimming, windsurfing, kayaking, or hiking.
The knees can’t do football now, and the shoulders don’t stay in for rugby, so I took up hockey in 2021 (at the tender age of 54) to feed my thirst for competitive team sport!
I hope we get to work together – I love sharing what I’ve learnt, and get a huge buzz from seeing my clients succeed.
