INFORMATION
Take the next step to growing your business
By Keith Oates (pictured), Director at Mistral Associates
If you’re looking to grow your business, you need your own, unique growth plan. However, there are common challenges at each stage of growth.
START-UP BUSINESS You’re either intending to start your new business or started within the past couple of years. • Cash flow • Struggling to get a good and regular level of custom
• Limited resources – financial and human
• Time constraints – your day to day work makes planning really difficult
Your plan must focus on managing time and increasing efficiency. Automate and standardise
wherever you can without damaging your USP. Don’t overstretch – match your plans to circumstances.
SCALE-UP BUSINESS You’re passing the survival stage and becoming a successful business but you need to scale up or get stuck. • Lack of robust financial management system and scalable business structure
• Customer growth actions not yet embedded
• Time constraints – still running the business, making all decisions and doing day-to day-work
Focus on putting in the essential
resources and processes your business needs. Create a managed expansion and identify actions to take a more strategic role with less direct involvement. Long-term ambitions are key – decide if you’re committed to trusting others or staying as you are.
BECOMING A MATURE BUSINESS Your business is successful so it’s now down to two choices – stay comfortable or evolve.
Building for a future
in construction By Jade Lewin, Assistant Chemist, Structural Adhesives Ltd
From Brexit to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, businesses are adapting for the future. Construction is facing monumental change. In the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire, Government introduced building regulations to ban the use of combustible materials above 18m. This affects all new high-rise
buildings such as flats, offices, hospitals, care homes and schools, with some calling for the ban to be extended further to cover buildings that are not high-rise. Corporations are pooling time
and money into developing new materials to pass the stringent fire tests to gain A1 or A2 fire ratings and be classified as non- combustible. Not only must construction companies assess the combustibility of their products, they must evaluate how they are designed. The research and development
team at Structural Adhesives Ltd are working tirelessly to develop
A1 and A2-rated adhesives that can be used for bonding substrates in buildings above 18m. 30 years’ experience is being
used alongside knowledge from degree level qualifications in chemistry to develop innovative technologies that overcome the challenge of drastically reducing the combustibility, while maintaining the adhesives ability to form a durable bond. As well as being non-combustible, any adhesives used on the exterior of high-rise buildings must be equipped to tolerate harsh weather conditions. The availability of an A1 or A2
adhesive would be a breath of fresh air for architects, giving greater flexibility of design for high-rise buildings. Designers would benefit from the advantages of an adhesive, such as aesthetics and bonding dissimilar substrates, while being assured of fire safety and regulatory compliance.
business network June 2019 81
‘Long-term ambitions are key – decide if you’re committed to trusting others or staying as you are’
• Brand identity and scalability • Larger competitors start paying you attention
• Staff development and retention becomes critical
• A narrow focus can now become a weakness
• The business must be able to run successfully without you
Your plan must focus on brand
building and business processes, retaining and developing core skills and identifying new opportunities. Sound financial management
and balanced performance reporting systems are essential.
Look at diversification and
acquisitions; embed actions and processes that rejuvenate your business. You need a strong management structure and communications – letting you focus on the overview.
NEXT STEPS An experienced and independent viewpoint is essential and will help with funding applications. Mistral Associates works to not only create but also implement your plan, but your local Growth Hub is a great resource to start.
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