Member Article

Lord Sugar on business: know their numbers

It’s not uncommon in business to hear the mantra ‘know your numbers’. Whether it’s entrepreneurs being berated by Dragons in the hit TV series for not knowing their own numbers, through to those heated conversations with your finance director or accountant that push you to get a hold on your sums, at some point, you will have been assured of the importance of knowing your numbers.

It’s much less common to talk about knowing their numbers. Perhaps it’s a British approach but we tend to shy away from asking straight out about the financial standing of our new clients or suppliers. But it’s essential we do.

In his guest post for Company Check, which can be found at hub.companycheck.co.uk/sugar-5-business-tips/, Lord Sugar, renowned business owner and investor, shares his tips for entrepreneurs, including the necessity of knowing your clients’ or suppliers’ numbers.

The importance of due diligence

As Lord Sugar explains, knowing the financial standing of those you do business with is essential to develop an effective relationship and mitigate the risk of financial upsets further down the line.

As he states, “there’s no business out there that doesn’t rely in some part on another, for the provision of services, products or promotion. Your business will have suppliers and it will have customers and it’s important to know their numbers as well as your own.

“Why? It comes down to trust and, to be frank, just being sensible. Due diligence sounds like a big undertaking but even just having a basic understanding of a company’s credit rating and financial status can alert you to potential issues and arm you with the knowledge you need to form a more secure relationship, based on trust and transparency. That’s why websites like Company Check are so powerful.”

Sugar’s business advice

As well as suggesting entrepreneurs know their clients’ and suppliers’ numbers, Lord Sugar gave four other tips for business owners, including the importance of building relationships, being transparent and how to grow together. Take a look at his full article at hub.companycheck.co.uk/sugar-5-business-tips/.

Company Check is offering a free trial of its Pro service to anyone signing up between the 28th September and 4th October. Sign up now at companycheck.co.uk/specialoffer - no payment details required.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Alastair Campbell .