Our Story
When I was sixteen, my father was seriously injured and spent months in a coma.
Overnight, my family's life changed.
My mother had never worked in the business. I was still at school. Suddenly there was a company to keep running, staff depending on it, and decisions that couldn't wait.
My father survived. The business didn't.
Dominique Horton
Dip Mgmt FCCA AICB BSc(Hons)
Founder
That experience has stayed with me throughout my career. It taught me that businesses don't always fail because they're unsuccessful. Sometimes they fail because the one person holding everything together suddenly isn't there.
After more than thirty years helping SME's and owner-managed businesses through growth, change and uncertainty, I'm now bringing together that professional experience and my personal story through DAY ONE.
DAY ONE exists to support Directors, owner-managed businesses and their families when unexpected illness, incapacity or loss leaves someone else suddenly in the driving seat.
What makes DAY ONE unique?
Not consultancy.
Not accountancy.
Not legal advice.
Not corporate finance.
DAY ONE sits beside families, shareholders and leadership teams, bringing business continuity expertise to help them understand what matters now, what can wait and what comes next.
Every situation is different.
No two businesses are the same.
No two families are the same.
No two DAY ONE conversations ever begin in quite the same way.
Some people contact us because an owner has passed away unexpectedly. Others because someone has suffered a serious illness or accident. Sometimes we're called by an accountant or by a solicitor. Sometimes by a son, daughter or spouse.
Investment
No family expects to find themselves responsible for a business overnight.
No shareholder plans for the sudden absence of the person leading the company.
When that happens, the cost of making the wrong decision can be far greater than the cost of getting the right support.
You're not paying for time.
You're investing in time to make the right decisions.
Leadership transition
When life unexpectedly hands you the responsibility for a business, we help you carry it –
until one day, you realise you're no longer carrying it –
you're leading it.
Our Role
Think of us as the calm voice in the room.
Not because we have every answer.
But because we've helped businesses navigate uncertainty for more than thirty years.
When emotions are high and decisions feel overwhelming, our job is to slow things down.
To bring perspective.
To explain complexity in plain English.
To help everyone understand what matters today...
...and what can wait until tomorrow.
