BUSINESS FOR TOMORROW

BUSINESS

FOR TOMORROW

The year 2020 has seen rapid and unforeseen change for individuals, communities and businesses across the world. In this edition of the Hazlewoods magazine we have taken the time to speak to a wide range of business leaders about the changes they have encountered in the last few months and how they have adapted to make sure they have a #BusinessForTomorrow.

BUSINESS LEADER OPINIONS

The family business view: Bence builders’ merchants

There is no doubt that in times of crisis, a business needs strong leadership. Agility has been the keyword for many; with the Government announcements coming thick and fast in the first few weeks, business leaders were under pressure to comprehend the changes and what they meant for their businesses, and then communicate this to their employees effectively in a relatively short space of time.

The start-up view: The Cotswold Book Room

Although taking on a 70-year-old book shop may not seem like your typical start-up opportunity, husband and wife team, Gideon and Cathy, have cleared the decks in the Wotton-under-Edge based independent bookstore and have been working hard to bring it into the 21st century.

The recruitment point of view: GB Solutions GB Solutions is an established recruitment agency that has been operating in Gloucestershire for over 20 years, providing both temporary and permanent staff for businesses of all sizes in office roles. Partner, Sue Waters, spoke to us about the compulsory changes in their business as a result of lockdown and the recruitment outlook from their perspective.

The international business view: Stewart Golf

The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly caused disruption to businesses globally; although a lot of this disruption has been debilitating for many, some businesses have found themselves in a more positive position than they might have considered possible. Stewart Golf has been one of those ‘unlikely beneficiaries’ as founder, Mark Stewart, described it when we spoke to him about how the business has benefited from an unforeseen market change.

H A N D B U I L T

The sustainable business view: Zellar

Looking to the future, finding ways to manage cash and make prudent decisions for business money is going to be key to survival for many. Zellar founder, Gary Styles, agrees with this; he spoke to us about his passion for climate change and his aim to aim to make Zellar the lowest cost path to sustainability educating consumers and helping SMEs to achieve net zero carbon within 10 years.

The development business view: RRA Architects

Working from home became the hot topic of lockdown and it seems everyone has become used to seeing journalists on television reporting from their perfectly set up home offices; concerts from A-listers home studios; we have even seen Brad Pitt playing Dr. Fauci in his home library. But for many of us the home office has been a hurried, makeshift affair struggling with trying to organise an area to work from with enough plug sockets, reasonably stable internet, whilst also keeping a watchful eye on the children.

EXPERT OPINIONS: #BusinessForTomorrow

David Owen, CEO GFirst LEP

Recovery from the coronavirus pandemic represents the single biggest economic challenge since the Second World War. However, it also presents the single biggest opportunity to reshape the British economy to make it more inclusive, productive, sustainable, innovative, and resilient.

As more companies announce home working policies and close offices, urban dwellers will start to make the move to predominantly rural areas to live, work and play. As well as bringing positive financial benefits to the county it means that “Blended Working”, a mixture of working from home combined with time at a co-working site, will continue to become an accepted and expected form of working. This ambition will need to be supported by the acceleration of broadband delivery and a network of ‘work from anywhere’ locations; private sector, Growth Hubs, local authorities and repurposed commercial office sites.

During recession and periods of high unemployment it is usual to see a growth in start-up businesses. This pattern is likely to repeat itself during this recession and possibly to a high degree as working from home becomes more widely spread. We are lucky to have a fantastic Growth Hub network in the county to help these new businesses.

“Think Gloucestershire” is a campaign we would like every Gloucestershire resident to be aware of and think about. Think Gloucestershire means staycations in the county, it means shopping locally and it means businesses buying products and services from other Gloucestershire businesses.

In this hugely challenging time, the response of our business and wider community has been incredible, and I would like to thank all those who have gone above and beyond in their daily roles.

Sam Holliday, FSB Development Manager

There is not much that is certain about the future of business but one thing does seem assured – to become a #BusinessforTomorrow you simply cannot just repeat what you did before. We are all fed up of hearing the phrase ‘the new normal’ but at least it is a constant reminder that the old normal is well and truly buried.

The successful future businesses will have learned from the coronavirus epidemic that you constantly need to be ready to reinvent your business, to think differently and to act differently – and to be adaptable for the inevitable future changes to come. It won’t be easy, but we are blessed with the most creative SMEs in the world and that creativity could be the key weapon to win this very challenging current battle.