5 tips to get your business booming

As the reports surface of the UK economy shrinking by over 20% in April, with over 600,000 job losses already and the furlough scheme winding down, you’d be forgiven for having a conservative outlook on business right now. A recession seems inevitable and the relatively free flowing money at the turn of the year has very much dried up.

However, the opportunity for growth has never been greater and there’s plenty of success stories out there. So how do you capitalise on these opportunities and become one of the ‘lucky’ businesses thriving through adversity?

Here’s our five top tips:

1. Cost control

When every pound needs to stretch that little bit further it’s time to keep your costs down. Reduce usage of any resource you can, repurpose resources that you can’t get rid of, re-negotiate the prices on anything you still need and remove anything that’s no longer making you money.

2. Adapt, don’t recover

When business gets disrupted most businesses focus nearly all their attention on how to recover their old services. Look forwards and you’ll see that the business environment has moved.

It’s not about hoping that old services become popular again, it’s about adapting old services to make them better, more relevant, more valuable to consumers today.

3. Stick to strategy

When the only constant is change itself, it can be easy to find your business further and further away from what you’re aiming for. Detailed plans and forecasts are near enough impossible at the moment so strip your strategy back. Focus on your vision of where you want to be and then build a one-page-plan of how you are going to get there.

The plan should be a guide not a rule book and stick to what you are good at. Each adaptation should be to move you back inline with your vision, so it’s your services and operations that adapt, not your strategy.

4. External solutions for internal problems

Keep track of what’s going on around you, what looks like it works and what clearly doesn’t. Competitor analysis and product surround tools can be great for identifying opportunities to adapt, but in its simplest form just keep track of what your competitors are doing and don’t be left behind.

Also, keep an eye on what businesses in other industries are doing. Whilst they might not be directly comparable to you, they might give you ideas you can adapt and apply.

5. Utilise support

They say that there are only seven types of story and every book is just an adaptation of these. Much the same can be said for business. The solution to your biggest challenge has probably been done by another business somewhere at some point.

In the hardest business conditions we’ve ever faced, it’s time to use the support that’s available. Build a network of colleagues, professional acquaintances and business advisers and use the advice and support they can provide.

To discuss this further, please contact your usual Monahans representative or contact your local office.