4 minute read
Ready to Grow?
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
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.
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 ❜❜
AREA INSIGHT
A common conundrum is where to set up a new shop or customer facing premises, especially in such a city as Brighton, jam-packed with businesses on every corner.
Another of our databases - Local Data Online - can help you in planning this step. Select a town or city and it will narrow it down on an area you’re interested in – say the Marina, an industrial estate or the town centre, and tell you what businesses there are, the locations, the premises sizes and costs so you can pick and choose.
Perhaps your new fl orist location should be on the high street, one of the busiest roads – or, as there’s already two fl orists on that road, maybe by the restaurants, or train station as there’s no competition from nearby footfall. So look up all the available premises in your chosen location.
You can also look at where the major business happens regarding your industry type - is the majority of coffee sold on high streets, industrial estates, via independent retailers or other locations, such as train stations? Find out everything about the area before contacting the commercial properties teams. ❛❛ To make an informed decision about your business growth, it is vital to do your research first and all the information you need is out there – gathered by experts for you! ❜❜
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
A major hurdle in any company’s potential growth is the funding to make it a reality, and although a lot of companies worry about this a great deal, there are a surprising number of options available for SMEs. Small business loans are available from most banks, with financial advice given freely, and the government’s small business loan option has helped many. Or maybe funding or grants suit you more, in which case the BIPC has the GrantFinder database, which will find you what you need! There’s no interest to pay, but each will have specifi c deadlines and criteria to meet for the funding to be awarded, which some businesses fi nd a headache, but others fi nd useful to keep them on top of their growth progress.
To make an informed decision about your business growth, it is vital to do your research fi rst and all the information you need is out there – gathered by experts for you!
Book a free advice session with one of the BIPC information specialists to discuss where your business is and where you’d like to be, and they will help you search the relevant information databases or sign post you to the right business expert for advice.
