Survive and then Thrive – UK Business Advisors are ready to help

April 9, 2020 By Gordon Carmichael

Other than the cruel personal impact of COVID-19, there is unequal pain and gain for UK businesses. Hospitality businesses are grounded and businesses with sought after services and products are struggling to cope with demand and managing their supply chain.

There is no one magic solution for all!

More than ever, business leaders need to keep a cool head and make the right short term decisions to enable their business to survive or operate differently. Supporting staff as far as possible is a defining characteristic of well-led businesses. The businesses that make the right decisions now and plan effectively for how to be prepared to thrive in the recovery should have a bright future post coronavirus.

You are no doubt being bombarded by emails and other communications offering advice, help and “seven steps to solving everything”. The UK government has announced an unprecedented range and magnitude of support for businesses and employees – you will have found that many of the offerings are work in progress. Make the most of what is on offer from the government to stabilise your cash flow and support your staff.

As premier business advisors to SMEs we have activated our nationwide network of experienced advisors to help businesses survive and then thrive. We can provide initial support, be a sounding board for decisions and share our experience, at no cost, over the phone or by video call.

You are encouraged to visit our support page at https://ukba.co.uk/coronavirus/

When will the recovery start to emerge? Clearly it is too soon to say. However, you should plan on sensible scenarios and refine these as the COVID-19 crisis develops. We really can help with this.

Fortunately, by using technology and digital tools many businesses have been able to have some or nearly all their staff working from home. For tech smart businesses this was a minor change, as they were already using conferencing, mobile technology and collaboration tools. They had tested their systems and contingency plans for mass home working. For others, this was a huge shock and a steep learning curve. Shortages of some IT equipment has not helped. IT support companies have had massive increases in demand while also moving staff to home working.

Forward-looking companies that have had to furlough employees to protect their business and jobs are investing in online training so that staff can upskill while at home.

A whole new lexicon has emerged into common usage, for example, Zoom, VPN, Slack, Webex, Zoho and Teams. Video call etiquette is still developing!

If you are one of the many businesses that need people in a work location or in the field providing key services, then you are dealing with significant challenges not least ensuring the safety and wellbeing of your workforce.

Some things will be different post coronavirus:

Businesses are likely to retain newly found remote working and collaborative practices.
New competitors will emerge as businesses pivot to change their offerings.
Some businesses will, unfortunately, cease to trade, but others will start up and flourish.
Suppliers and customers are likely to reward companies that treated them well. Employees that were fairly treated will be more loyal.
Companies that have acted in a mercenary way are likely to have damaged their future once the dust clears. Their staff, customers and suppliers will remember.

It will surely endure that businesses that take quick informed decisions, plan well and lead strategically will be the stars of tomorrow.

If you need guidance for your business and want to thrive please visit https://ukba.co.uk/contact-urgent-support/ and contact us. There is no charge for the initial conversation. We are ready to help and have an extensive network of experienced advisors across multiple disciplines.

Keep safe and plan well.

Gordon Carmichael

Chair UK Business Advisors

Urgent business support during Coronavirus/ COVID-19 Emergency. Nationwide network of Business Advisors available to support you

March 20, 2020 By Gordon Carmichael

UK Business Advisors Emergency Business Support during the Coronavirus Emergency

Business Support – Coronavirus COVID-19

Businesses and individuals are facing unprecedented challenges and uncertain times due to the COVID-19 emergency. Our support page link is at the end of this newsflash.

Like you, we are feeling the impact to our work, families and friends. UK Business Advisors (UKBA) have contingency plans in place and are we already remote working and communicating via phone and video calls to support our clients.

As premier advisors to UK Small and Medium sized businesses, we are ready to play our part to help our clients and the wider business community during these difficult times. We remain confident that businesses that show decisive leadership can survive and bounce back.

UK Business Advisors have activated our nationwide network of experienced advisors to help business owners and directors plan what is needed. Even with government grants, business rates relief or emergency loan support there will be difficult decisions to be made quickly. We can provide initial support and share our experience for free over the phone or by video call – please click on the link below for more information, actions you should consider now and how to contact us for urgent support.

It is important not to make panic decisions and make sure that you give your business and employees the best outcome.

Gordon Carmichael

Chair UK Business Advisors

Click here – Urgent Support Page during the Coronavirus emergency.

Excel automation

March 23, 2017 By Bob Lewis-Basson

Not more spreadsheets to analyse and chart…

Always a regular cry in the office. Reports produced on a regular basis need to be embellished, with charts that involve some fairly complicated calculations – cross-reference look-ups, previous month comparisons, and all that sort of thing.

Probably, now this is done largely by hand. The data sits in several spreadsheets and/or databases, and is extracted, filtered, pivoted and everything else that was necessary to get it ready, before feeding into a chart. When the chart was ready, it is pasted into the report.

Wouldn’t it be great with the data is all in one place, and with a single front-end, the necessary criteria set from drop-downs. Once these selections have been made (locations, benchmarks, which dataset to use, and so on) you click a button and go and make coffee. Actually, you haven’t really got time to make coffee as the process takes just a couple of minutes – if that.

In this instance, any number of queries can be run; sometimes one query, sometimes several to generate the data. Each one automatically loading a into an Excel workbook, in to the right columns, in the right order to aid presentation. Then, your screen explodes into a fresh multi-coloured set of charts based on the information just collated! And is that the pivot table I slave over every month appearing before my very eyes!

In the past that has meant spending anything between a couple of hours to a couple of days for more complex reporting every period. Multiply that by twelve, and it becomes a not insignificant amount of time in a year m to get these twelve reports, graphs and charts prepared.

Say it was half a day of someone’s time, at the average salary of £26,000 – that’s a cost of around £60+ to the business for each report, or chart. Each and every time.

If reporting is weekly, that’s going to be more than £3,000 every year – more likely a lot more than that. If it now takes 30 minutes to do the whole job, that’s a total of just over 4 days for the whole year’s worth (at one report a week). The four days will cost under £500. So you get to keep £2,500 to do something else with.

What would you like to do with it?

Excel automation by Bob Lewis-Basson – 07802 441 728

Power up your business with a Virtual Non-Executive Director

March 6, 2017 By Gordon Carmichael

The benefits of Non-Executive Directors are well understood by many successful business owners. They bring an independent view and additional experience that enable better decisions to be made by the management board. Our Home Counties and London Group Business Advisors have developed a Virtual Non-Executive Director (VNED) service that offers Managing Directors and business owners the same independent view and advice without the complexity of shareholdings, appointing legal directors and director’s service agreements.

Every company is different and yet there are many similar and transferable aspects from other industries and markets. Our experts are able to utilise their broad business experience and extensive network of contacts to support companies to achieve their strategic objectives. An independent view that challenges existing or new strategies can substantially enhance the robustness of a company’s direction. Sometimes difficult decisions are required to deal with business problems and the VNED can act as a sounding board to provide guidance and help the decision making process.

Our approach recognises that established and start up businesses have different needs at different times in their life cycle. New businesses often have a need to demonstrate credibility externally to customers and investors. Appointing a Virtual Non-Executive Director can enhance this.

How does it work?

The optimal Virtual Non-Executive Director approach varies with the needs of a business, the existing in-house skills and the “personality” of its MD and management team. Our experts are adept at engaging with companies to strike a balanced approach between coaching, practical advice, strategic input and holding the management to account where appropriate. Prior to engagement, we offer a confidential, no obligation, no holds barred discussion to establish what is actually needed and to establish priorities. A flexible approach is adopted to accommodate the practical time constraints of running a business, the need to react to short term opportunities or threats, planning for growth, the changing needs of the business and potentially planning for exit.

Businesses need to get things done but don’t always have access to the in house skills or expertise required for projects or specialist activity. If appropriate, our business experts can introduce trusted resources from their network that can jump start new requirements.

What does it cost?

The VNED service is charged on a monthly retainer basis with no long-term commitment and no surprises. The service is designed to deliver on-going value to the MD and the company. The monthly cost depends on the level of engagement agreed and will be tailored to your needs.

Contact Gordon Carmichael on 01276 818125 or gordon.carmichael@hcbusinessadvisors.co.uk to discuss how our Virtual Non-Executive Director service can benefit your business.

Navigation

Businesses and individuals are facing unprecedented challenges and uncertain times due to the COVID-19 emergency. Our support page link is at the end of this newsflash.

Like you, we are feeling the impact to our work, families and friends. UK Business Advisors (UKBA) have contingency plans in place and are we already remote working and communicating via phone and video calls to support our clients.

As premier advisors to UK Small and Medium sized businesses, we are ready to play our part to help our clients and the wider business community during these difficult times. We remain confident that businesses that show decisive leadership can survive and bounce back.

It is important not to make panic decisions and make sure that you give your business and employees the best outcome.

Gordon Carmichael

Chair UK Business Advisors

How does it work?

What does it cost?