As we approach 2023, there are some pretty common themes I hear which occupy the thoughts of business owners in the UK SME space…
📢 People: Finding the right people with the right skills, keeping the right people, and attracting enough people to cope with demand. Outsourcing versus in-house.
📢 Cash flow: Struggling with managing cash flow and cash reserves, as the business often experiences peaks and troughs in the demand for their products and services. The current and future cost of servicing their debt.
📢 Competition: Either from more established rivals with deeper pockets, me-toos or alternative options businesses.
📢 Finance: Accessing appropriate funding without strings or identifying finance attached to strategic partnerships and an understanding of their business model and culture.
📢 Regulation and compliance: The UK has a complex set of regulations and compliance requirements that SME owners must adhere to in order to remain compliant. This can be time-consuming and expensive.
📢 Growth: Finding new customers, avoiding a sales plateau, launching new sites, products, and services, scaling up, partnering, JVs, mergers and acquisitions.
📢 Then what?: No coherent exit strategy, too little focus on the outcome, how to get there or who can support the process to make it happen