Tips to get your business booming

Sarah Fitzgerald, Business Services Partner at Carpenter Box, offers advice to help you thrive during economic uncertainty.

The Bank of England just raised interest rates to 3 per cent and said that the UK has entered a recession. With high inflation, particularly due to energy prices, businesses are having to trade under extremely challenging conditions.

However, there are many opportunities for growth and there are plenty of success stories out there. So how do you capitalise on these and become one of the ‘lucky’ businesses thriving through adversity?

Here are our top tips:

Have accurate information

It is important to ensure your management information is up to date and accurate to allow informed business decisions made. Up-to-date management information will also assist in the preparation of forecasts.

Regular forecasting will be increasingly important to monitor cash flows and identify any pinch points. Sensitivity analysis and increased rigour may need to be factored into cash flow models to reflect different short-term scenarios.

Stay on top of your cash

Most businesses go through slow periods. A seasonal business, for example, will have decreased income during the off-season compared to during the on-season. There can be less obvious peaks and valleys in your income, though, that you have to prepare for ideally in advance of them arising.

Your cash flow forecast can help you monitor your day-to-day cash flow and anticipate when times will be slow before they arise. By anticipating when cash coming into your business might be light, or when you might have to spend more than you’re accustomed to, you can avoid a cash crisis.

By examining your cash flow over the previous years and forecasting your future cash flow, you can better anticipate financial cycles and how they may affect your bottom line.

Adapt, don’t recover

When business gets disrupted, most businesses focus nearly all their attention on how to recover their old services. By looking forward, 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, and more valuable to consumers today.

Stick to your strategy

When the only constant is change itself, it can be easy to find your business further and further away from your initial objectives and goals. 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 in line with your vision. You should adapt your services and operations, not your strategy.

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 which you can adapt and apply.

Take advantage of support

They say there are only seven types of story, and that 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 difficult business conditions, 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.

How we can help our clients

Carpenter Box can provide guidance to help review your business, provide advice on accessing support and assist with identifying options for cash flow needs.

We can provide support for your business strategy, including preparing forecasts and projections to assist with decision making, and applying for financial support where needed.

For more information, please visit www.carpenterbox.com or call 01903
234094.