Member Article

Businesses are going for growth

By Rob Davis, Head of Technology, Sage UK Small and Medium Business Division

Research has shown that one in four UK small businesses have set the target of 10% growth or more in the past year. On top of that, more than one in ten firms had a target of 15% growth or more in the same period, with one in twenty (5%) aiming for 25% growth or more and nearly half are planning to hire more staff.

These statistics, taken from a survey of business owners by Sage, underlines the ambitions of small and medium-sized firms in the past year. Growth is firmly back on the agenda for Britain’s business owners.

With a rise in confidence reflected in businesses’ predictions throughout the past year, how can small and medium sized firms un-tap further growth in 2015? Here are five tips to help you with your growth aspirations.

1) Harness the power of technology

The rate of technological advancement continues to march on, and effective use of technology lies at the heart of many successful business growth strategies. Many small and medium-sized companies have been able to use cloud-based technologies to give them capabilities that were previously the preserve of large corporations with big IT budgets, while others are leveraging mobile technologies and big data to boost the productivity of their employees and access new customers and markets.

By pre-empting rapid growth you can actually put the systems in place to help you manage surges in demand and growing complexities. Technology can also be used to move your business into the next gear. Whether that is by allowing a more flexible way of working for your employees, or by being able to manage your business online and on the move – arming employees with the right tools and infrastructure is fundamental to achieving sustainable growth.

2) Offer mobile and flexible working to staff

By law, all businesses must now offer flexible working arrangements to staff – and research has shown the growing importance to the workforce. More than half of employees (57%) say the availability of flexible working in their workplace is important to them, and 500,000 people have adopted flexible working in the last three years. Flexible working can empower your staff and increase productivity by unchaining employees from their desks, as well as allowing for more efficient use of space and reduce overhead costs.

3) Close the mentoring gap

Small businesses in the UK could double their chances of increasing their turnover by using a business mentor – yet four out of five organisations are not utilising one. Small and medium-sized firms need to look outside their business to thrive. Research has shown that 70 per cent of small businesses that receive mentoring survive for five years or more - double the rate compared with non-mentored entrepreneurs. With small and medium-sized firms making up 99.9% of the UK business population, the wider implications for the economy could be huge if mentoring was widely adopted.

4) Don’t miss the boat on exporting

The Chancellor is aiming to see £1 trillion of exports by 2020, but many businesses are still not exploring this as route to growth. Exporting not only leads to greater revenues and improved profits, it can also diversify risk because you are selling to a number of countries and are no longer reliant on a single customer or the domestic market. The life cycles of your products or service can also improve as they extend lives in new markets, and there are economies of scale to be untapped by producing greater volumes, and operational efficiencies. Whilst exporting is not a silver bullet for business growth, an export drive should be a consideration for firms in their quest for expansion.

5) Explore alternative routes of finance to fuel growth

With many business owners turning their backs on traditional routes of raising finance, technology has opened up a whole range of doors for connecting firms with potential investors. One such route is crowdfunding – where funding a project or venture through raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically through the web. Many people who use crowdfunding are of course looking for the next Amazon, or the next Google, but often they are very savvy investors that can also add a huge amount of value and experience to your business beyond finance.

You can hear more about how firms can unlock their growth potential in 2015 at the Sage blog.

http://www.sage.co.uk/blog/index.php/category/grow-your-business/

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sage (UK) Ltd .