Louis Cooper our new Board, Governance and Risk Advisor, looks at need for good governance principles and how they can help you drive your goals and objectives to achieve your strategy.
As a business owner, you’ve most likely experienced more than your fair share of change lately. Hard as you try to build solid foundations — growing your team, building strong client relationships, and setting clear goals for the year ahead — it can feel as if there is some universal force hell-bent on shifting the goal posts around you.
The size, shape and scale of businesses operating in the SME sector is often characterized by the supplier, and the customer, having an interpersonal relationship rather than a transactional relationship that can be common in larger entities.
Happy New Year to you all! Wishing you the very best for 2025. Our CEO, Martin Brown shares his reflections on 2024 and looks ahead to how SMEs can achieve success in 2025
The mid 1980’s saw the emergence of the concept of the Marketing Mix, the 4 P’s - Product, Price, Place and Promotion. The model was further developed with the addition of the People, Process and Physical Evidence elements. These pillars form the cornerstone of many businesses’ commercial strategy.
You’ve set up a business with a friend or connection, to keep things fair you split things, including the ownership of the business, 50:50. But what happens if you disagree on major decisions? Particularly if one of you decides you no longer want to be part of the business going forwards? We’ve worked with businesses in exactly this situation.
One challenge we regularly come across when we work with businesses is a trepidation to sell their products and services. Non-salespeople often find the prospective daunting or just a bit uncomfortable. But if you want to grow your business, you need to be clear on what you are selling, who is going to buy from you, and how your products or services can solve their problems.
Recruiting and retaining staff is a challenge for many businesses at the moment. Candidates can be choosy about what they apply for and which role they accept. It’s particularly difficult for businesses who don’t recruit regularly.