No one sets out in business to fail but unfortunately it does happen. According to an article on smallbusiness.co.uk, small business survival rates are as high as 91% after the end of year one but after 5 years, just 40% of them will still be trading so it’s prudent to set yourself up for success. Having worked with many SME’s over my career here’s my top tips to staying the distance:
1. Develop A Business Plan
A key factor in failure of any organisation is lack of planning and a Business Plan will force you to look at what your business is doing, how it will do it and potential challenges. You will also need a Business Plan if you are looking to receive any grants or funding so it will show that you are taking your company and its future seriously. Once you have a Business Plan don’t leave the plan on the shelf and simply tick it off your ‘to do list’, refer to it and constantly improve and refine it as your business evolves and develop. If you are unsure where to start take a look at Bplans.com, they have a great selection of free business plan templates to download.
2. Don’t Try And Do It All Yourself
Easier said than done when you are starting off but it’s important to be realistic and honest about your own skill level, what you can learn and what is just way outside your abilities. These days there’s a lot of
support out there for small businesses and this often includes expert support on areas such as finance,
marketing and legals so research what’s available to you locally and take advantage of everything you
can. If there’s still areas outside of your abilities, then look to outsource.
3. Get Yourself A Mentor
The ability to stand back and be objective about your business will get harder over time, a mentor will
help with this and much, much more. Mentors come with many years’ experience and can help you in
sharing their knowledge and information as well as supporting you in not making the same mistakes they made. They also make great sounding boards and are there to support and encourage you and help
grow, not just your business, but you. As a trusted advisor they will help you set boundaries and will
challenge you to ensure you are moving the business forward. Many mentors can also be great
connectors, knowing many people, one or more of whom may be perfect connections for you!
4. Be Financially Prepared
You have to be conscious about what monies are coming in and out of your business, you know that so
here’s some thoughts on ways to help this. When you start up you have to have enough cash in the
business to keep it going for some time without any cash inflow. Put aside some reserves, it may take
longer than you think to start the cash coming in, this doesn’t mean your business won’t succeed but it
can take longer than you initially expect. Also seek some financial support, this can help with cashflow
the best decisions for you in terms of salary and dividends.
To find out more about how we can help your business succeed take a look around our site.