The business environment is especially challenging right now.  With rising costs, weak demand, staff shortages, and general industrial unrest 2023 looks like being a challenging year.  Having said that, things are bound to pick up eventually – they always do.  And the businesses that come out the other side will be well positioned to capitalise on the opportunities the upturn presents.  So, just hang in there!  Follow these survival tips and you should be fine.

Concentrate on cashflow

One of the main reasons businesses fail is poor cashflow management – if you reach a point where you have insufficient available cash to pay bills and wages Then the business will be declared insolvent.  So, assess your likely cashflow for the next 12 months and try and anticipate any times where your expenses may be especially high, your income particularly low, or both are likely to coincide.  Paradoxically you may be at most risk when things are going well – if you pick up a big contract and have to hire more staff, move to bigger premises of invest in extra equipment this will drain your cash but there is likely to be a delay before the income catches up. 

Make sure you have access to expert help and advice

There will be some aspects of your business that fall outside your core competencies and you need to find capable and experienced people to help you with them.  First of all explore free sources of advice and help.  However, in some instances you’ll have to pay for professional assistance.  Don’t be tempted to tackle these things yourself as your time is better spent doing the stuff you are good at – it’s a false economy!  You’ll almost certainly need to hire an accountant, and possibly a book-keeper.  An IT expert to keep your computer systems operational, a web designer to take care of your online presence and possibly a marketing expert are also must-haves. 

Keep your cost down

Analyse every expense and review your arrangements at regular intervals.  Survival sometimes means having to take tough decisions so be ruthless with anything that’s not an absolute necessity.  Try to negotiate better deals with all of your suppliers and explore alternatives.

Tighten up your credit control

The quicker you get paid the healthier your cashflow.  So, generate invoices at the earliest opportunity and make your payment terms clear.  When payment becomes due send a reminder and follow up if that doesn’t do the trick.  If you get a bad debt don’t be afraid to hire a debt collection agency – people usually pay up when they realise you are serious about getting your money!  Monitor your cashflow situation on a regular basis.   If it is always a worry you might do well to look at some kind of invoice finance solution.

Credit check new customers

It’s great getting new clients and customers – but only if they pay on time.  Do some basic due diligence before you put yourself in a position where they owe you money.

Enhance your business offering

Are there any inexpensive ways improve your existing products and services to offer better value for money and attract more clients?  Or could you add new products and services to broaden your appeal and open up fresh income streams?  The more diversified your offering and revenue sources the more you spread the risk if the economic situation changes.

Back up your data

If you lose your data, either through a system failure or because you’ve been hacked, the business will struggle to recover.  Make sure everything is backed up on the cloud and put the necessary security measures in place – this is an absolute must!

Can you raise prices?

Even a small increase in your charges can make a big difference to your bottom line.  And right now, with inflation a big issue, your customers and clients won’t be surprised!

Can you sell more to your current customers?

It’s easy to overlook them but if you can encourage them to buy more it’s cheaper than acquiring new customers (eight times less expensive by some estimates!).  Can you offer them additional products and services, or encourage them to buy more by offering bulk discounts?  Another idea is to offer them rewards for recommending your business to others.

Review your marketing efforts

Try and identify which marketing channels and activities are producing the best sales results.  If you haven't already done so, explore no-cost and low-cost ways to publicise your business, including social media websites such as LinkedIn and Facebook.  Also look at ways to make your website more effective – do you need to improve SEO, rewrite the home page to make it more engaging or add fresh content?

Focus on improving productivity and profitability

Are you and your employees wasting time on tasks that don’t produce revenue?  It may be that you suspend certain activities in the short term, or you look at outsourcing jobs that would then free up your people to concentrate on things that actually make a positive impact on the bottom line.

Stay on top of compliance

Make sure your business compliant with current laws and regulations in the UK.  Check that all your employment contracts up to date?  Have you got all of your important documents filed and accessible.  Staying on top of this stuff puts you in a much stronger position if things get tough – you don’t need an employment tribunal, a fine or a dispute on top of everything else!

Build a tight team

If your business hits turbulence survival is a team effort.  Do all you can to get full buy-in from your employees.  Make them feel valued and communicate with them – ask them for ideas on how to make the business work more effectively and what steps you can take to boost morale.

Stay strong

We hope you find these tips helpful – and if you want to celebrate your business survival later in the year we’d love to host you and your team at Clevedon Hall!