Following on from Jeremy Anderson’s blog on target audiences, I felt it was important to cover the topic of getting connected. Accessing and convincing the right, yes I said the right influencers is paramount in the ever changing landscape we operate within. So here goes…

Thousands of well-run and profitable businesses are struggling to get the money they need to invest, grow and employ more staff. This is seriously damaging the UK’s hopes for economic recovery.

The choking off of lending, following the credit crunch, has caused many businesses to be suspicious of banks. This distrust has been compounded by poor service, archaic lending rules and a string of financial scandals that have led to a loss of trust.

Preparation for Growth: Restructuring your business

During my time working with SMEs, I have noticed a trend where businesses often start small, relying on family members, long-time friends or ex-work colleagues to help the business get started.

The team is ‘all in it together’ and sacrifices from them all will have been made along the way to get the business on its feet. This is all well and good and if the business is thriving there is no issue. But what happens when success really takes off and the business needs to expand and quickly?

Employers are obliged to provide employees whose employment is to continue for more than a month with a written statement of terms of their employment, often referred to as a "section 1 statement". It must be given no later than 2 months after employment begins. The required information relates to terms that the employee will want to know, such as pay, hours, holiday entitlement, place of work, to name but a few.

Talent and technology are often quoted as the two main drivers of growth. Without effective leadership, companies face an uncertain future. For smaller companies who do not have corporate leadership development programmes, the problem of how to secure additional leadership capacity can be more acute especially in an increasingly knowledge driven economy. 

There is always the ‘buy it in’ option – hire someone with a proven track record elsewhere who is already ‘developed’.  But this doesn’t always give the right cultural fit or send the right message to the rest of your team.

You do want to improve your sales, profits, cash flow, don’t you?

Being able to plan for success would be great, wouldn’t it?

Seeing your numbers in a clearer light would help you sleep better at night, I’m sure.

In essence Plan, Do, Review and Change or Carry on

The process of innovation has changed - it is much quicker than it used to be and it is more likely to rely on significant data.

Instead of spending several years considering how a new technology performs under research conditions before starting to develop it, today’s entrepreneurs work to much shorter product development cycles. They are more likely to be testing several ideas simultaneously and refining them as they go.

While data-based inventions are still relatively few and far between, this is rapidly gaining traction as an important area of innovation activity.

Social media has changed the recruitment business because now recruiters can identify and connect more easily with “potential passive” candidates and discuss new opportunities.

In order to avoid people being lured away it is important to ensure that the entire benefits package and working environment are competitive and attractive.

It is becoming more prevalent that candidates are not only motivated to move jobs by the financial rewards of a higher basic salary or a lucrative bonus, or commission payments, but by the intrinsic factors on offer as well.

The threat from fraudsters continues to grow as criminals find ever more inventive ways to try and con people out of their money.

Figures from a recent report, the Annual Fraud Indicator, show that fraud now costs the UK more than £190 billion a year.

According to Financial Fraud Action UK (FFA UK), fraudsters are using tactics such as scam emails and fake adverts on social media or internet searches which offer substantial discounts on goods and services to trick people into visiting fake websites and handing over their card details.

Funding for growth is a continuous journey, but one that is particularly onerous for those businesses in the early stages of development.

Many small businesses are started with overdrafts or credit cards or with help from family or friends, or by putting up the family home as security. At some point, the business has to stand on its own two feet if it is to remain viable.