We’ve been in business for 17 years and we’ve learnt a few things along the way to get through the bumps in the road. I have been in a lot of meetings this year with established businesses both large and small and in confidence, everyone is down about the economy at the moment and its impact on their businesses.  Many of us are glad that ’24 is no more but here are our 6 ways to survive ‘25

Be Tough – How long do we spend sweating over the tough decisions in business?  Not being paid on time?  Being squeezed on price?  Colleagues not performing?  Today is the day to sort it out and you’ll be able to sleep tonight.  Whether being tough or rewarding people, do it in a manner that fits the values of your organisation and avoid confrontation BUT be tough and think of yourself as a vehicle to deliver the facts.  You probably don’t have the luxury of time to let things carry on.

Pan for gold – find the best in your team and give them everything they need. They want to succeed; you want their success. The more you can give them (and it doesn’t have to be a salary bump) whether that’s training, support, regular check-ins or more responsibility, let them know they’re treasured.

Get out – out there we mean.  Network!  Bring fresh ideas into your business.  It seems like a long dark winter of being stuck inside on video calls.  The sun has come out and its time to get out.  Ok, we are all busy doing all other things running a business entails but face-to-face conversations expose many more opportunities for engagement. Its time to say yes to local business network invites, join industry specific networks, widen your network online and offline.

Shift your focus – if something isn’t working for your business, look at what could be changed to make it work. Are you focusing all your attention on a sector which is giving you marginal income, but another area is bringing in more? Can you exploit those opportunities? Can you look sidewards? Is there another sector that aligns to yours you haven’t explored yet?

Find your voice – we love a bit of AI but nothing replaces human to human communication.  Make your communications sound like you, so write it yourself.  You created the business so know all the thoughts and inventiveness that went into creating it and you are the best person to tell the stories. The AI bots don’t care if you make any sales this month, only you do. Make sure you’re the one talking, not AI, customers do see the difference.

You’re in sales – your business could be anything, you could run a zoo, a software company, a garden centre or be a solicitor, but at the end of the day you rely on customers, and that means sales. You are a salesperson, you are selling your business and what you offer all the time, in all your interactions. Sales is not just trying to close a deal, treat it like helping your customers get to the next stage of their decision process.  Be informative, understanding of their pressures and a partner in their growth as they are a partner in your growth.  Be on their side!