Muted blue-grey seascape with jagged snow-covered mountains across the water
Horizon North

Horizon North helps good businesses
become easier to understand,
trust and choose.

Sometimes, a business
becomes harder to explain
as it becomes better at what it does.

New capabilities develop. Experience grows. Customers change. Opportunities become bigger.

And somewhere along the way, the business people see from the outside no longer quite reflects the one you have built on the inside.

That’s usually where I come in.

Understand. Trust. Choose.

  1. 01Can people quickly understand what you do, why it matters and why they should choose you?
  2. 02Can they see the experience, evidence and expertise that gives them confidence in you?
  3. 03Do your communications make it easy for the right people to take the next step?

The work

  • Diverse Marine

    From vessel builder to fleet growth partner.

  • Jennyfields

    Building an ongoing conversation with customers and professional partners.

  • Bladen

    Bringing a remarkable British brand back to life.

  • Caister Lifeboat

    Making history relevant to a new audience.

Black-and-white portrait of Charles Skillings, smiling, in front of a waterfall

Hello. I’m Charles Skillings

I have spent over 30 years helping businesses understand what makes them worth choosing – and finding clearer, more effective ways to communicate it.

My experience spans automotive, marine and manufacturing, alongside a wide range of independent, owner-led businesses.

Horizon North is my independent consultancy. I work directly with owners and leadership teams – sometimes to solve a particular problem, sometimes as an ongoing part of the business.

Either way, you work with me.

How I can help.

A particular challenge
Something is not working, is not clear, or needs to change.
A period of change
The business is growing, evolving or heading somewhere new – and the way it is understood and presented needs to keep pace.
Ongoing support
Marketing needs direction, decisions need making, and someone needs to keep the external picture in view.

And no need to decide which before we talk.

Something on your mind?

You don’t need to know what the answer is.

If something about the way your business is understood, presented or marketed isn’t quite working, tell me what’s bothering you.

Begin a conversation