BUSINESS
Whether you’re a sole trader or running a small to medium enterprise (SME), you will inevitably come to the point where you’ve outgrown your original business plan and it’s time to grow
READY TO GROW? Perhaps you want a larger customer base, new premises or to take on more employees. Maybe you want to diversify your products or try stepping into new markets. An exciting but nerve-wracking time for anyone as your new business is now stable and steady, and ticking along nicely. Sometimes you can see the next step it’s clear - you are snowed under and need another employee, or you’ve outgrown your current premises so expanding into a new location is the obvious step. But often the path isn’t that simple. You can see there is room for growth, but you’re not sure what it should be, or there are too many options to decide which would be best.
NEXT STEP – DO YOUR RESEARCH
The Business & IP Centre (BIPC) Brighton & Hove based in the Jubilee Library in Brighton gives you free access to £50K worth of business, market and industry databases, which will make up the core of your business growth decision making. Our information specialists also offer free impartial advice that can help highlight opportunities and clarify your next steps.
MARKET & INDUSTRY INFORMATION
Market research is something we cannot stress the importance of enough in regard to how invaluable it is for the longevity of any business. The BIPC has four industry and market databases – EMIS, Euromonitor, Mintel and IBIS World – to help you research the state of your industry, how COVID has affected it, what your competitors are doing, future trends and predictions and even information about your customers - what problems they are facing that you can solve or what their spending habits are. In examining the market, you can often find gaps and niches which can be stepped into.
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COMPANY CONNECTIONS
Let’s say you’re considering working with another company, such as a HR provider, but aren’t sure if they are stable or financially secure. Or maybe a company list of new suppliers or a business-to-business mailing list would be of more use for your next step to growth. Whether you’re working locally, nationally or are considering going global, the BIPC has two company databases which are key for such information – FAME (UK & Ireland) and Kompass (global). Look into the details of a particular company or make a detailed company list – looking to contact new businesses less than three years old in your county, with up to 50 employees, in the food industry and a turnover of less than £2.5M per year? No problem.
BIPC Brighton & Hove ❛❛ gives you free access to £50K worth of business, market and industry databases, which will make up the core of your business growth decision making
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