 Statistics vary by +- 5% on the number business failures within the SME community in the UK, however all statistics in the UK agree that up 60% of small and medium businesses fail within the first year and a further 30% within three years. It’s been proven that part of the reasons for business failures is lack of proper business planning, understanding business finance, cash flow challenges or lack of business support, either prior to the business starting or during the business operation. However, this does not have to be your fate. Benjamin Franklin says, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” To avoid such a pitfall, I’ll be sharing five very brief tips to turn your business around or in some cases, how to avoid failure altogether. 1. Knowing your business objective is key. This is probably the stage at which you have to be true to yourself. You should be asking yourself Soul-searching questions, such as “why am I in this business and what do I seek to achieve”? This will probably lead to other related questions such as, ’Am I in this more for the money than anything else?’’ Do I enjoy this?’ If the answer to the first is ‘yes’ and ‘no’ to the second, you are either in the wrong business or job role or lost your passion for it. Or you may be in the right business, but performing the wrong role within the business. Who says you have to be the CEO because you started it. Maybe you are better at being the Head Chef. This could be where you are most productive, rather than leading the organisation as a whole and administering the business. What do you do if this is the case? Business Consultants at RBSS are here to assist you in thinking through and putting systems and procedures in place to achieve your business objectives. Let’s help you with a full business valuation, performance and health check. 2. Take action as soon as possible! When things start to go wrong in a business, the signs are always there. Sometimes we hope they get better and hold on for too long or take the wrong action when we do take action. The more you procrastinate, the fewer options you leave open to save your business. This could lead you down the path of making decisions out of frustration as opposed to wise and calculated ones. One of the most crucial steps would be to get in touch and be open with your accountant if you have one. You certainly do NOT want a court making the final decision for you! If you are not sure where to start, RBSS is there to give you unbiased advice. 3. If the stumbling block is mainly financial or a cash flow problem and you have the luxury of borrowing money off friends and family, then you can do so. However, the reality is, not everyone has that option. That’s where RBSS can step in. We can help you explore various finance options and secure finance that suits your business circumstances. We work closely with UK’s leading innovative business finance providers and advice on how to improve profitability and improve margins. We have helped hundreds of clients successfully raise the right kind of finance at the right time for their business. Finance is the blood of any business and the flow of it is crucial but not always available. 4. This next point is often avoided as much as possible even by large well established companies. Always contact or call a meeting with colleagues, staff members or directors including other stakeholders as soon as it is necessary. Whilst you may not be able or need to share all the gloomy information, try as much as possible to share what needs to be shared to put hearts at rest. With the speed at which bad news spreads on social media, you certainly do not want those concerned to hear the news from a third party. The above would apply especially to where there needs to be staff cuts and business needs to continue with as high a moral as possible and manage expectations. Even at this stage, staff could help structure your decision making process. 5. Review Customer Relationships. Another key point is to review your relationship with your customers. In any business, after your staff, your customers are the most important. What is your relationship with your customers like in key areas like; customer service, online presence including social media, advertising etc. With the amount of competition and speed of change and expectation, you need to be consistently reviewing and updating your position on and offline. We at RBSS can help you analyse your position in the marketplace and where you need to be, making your business still sustainable and able to compete effectively. Notice I haven’t said much about marketing and advertising at this stage. Well there is a reason for that. It’s one step at a time. Let’s address some fundamentals. Don’t wait for things to get bad before you contact us. Contact us for a full business performance and health check. We will assess the 5 key drivers of your business and give you a health report on them. Furthermore, we will help you with key planning, methods and implementation to turn things around and make things better. Our mission is to build and fund better and sustainable businesses. Contact our experienced and professional Business Advisors at RBSS on 0333 355 1696. We are at hand to give you unbiased advice, be it at the business planning stage, the implementation stage or the growth stage of your business. Business Support Romford | Business Support Hornchurch | Business Support Upminster | Business Support Brentwood | Business Support Barking | Business Support Dagenham | Business Support Ilford | Business Support Stratford | Business Support London
|
