The buyer’s job is not often thought of as glamorous or exciting but, in many ways, can make or break a business.  With buying representing anything upto 70% of revenue you need to employ the best you can afford whilst still keeping an eye on them!

With a global economy, purchasing from a foreign country opens you up to difficulties over specification, quality and, more worryingly, outright fraud.  For those who only source from the UK it is important the buyer still has a good grasp of specification, who the major suppliers are and the quality needed.

A common error is to always choose the cheapest when there are many other factors to consider,   for example reliability, flexibility, logistics, loyalty, credit terms and so on.  Many of these also apply to the purchase of services as I expect lots of us have been unpleasantly surprised by the likes of banks, insurance companies and utility suppliers!

I mentioned fraud, earlier, and it is something none of us want to believe our staff are capable of but it happens from time to time.  A close personal relationship between buyer and supplier can reap dividends when things are in short supply but, get too close, and the temptation can be difficult to refuse.  What starts off as a bottle of whisky at Christmas can escalate and suck a buyer into a situation where he, or she, can be ‘coerced’ into price rises and more.  Bigger companies often move buyers around to remove this problem – as much as possible.

With buying being so important to your company profits we provide a free introductory meeting to discuss purchasing, and its pitfalls, so please call us 07967 123201 or email andrew@thetakeoverexpert.com

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Enthusiasm for business wanes as the year moves into autumn so what can you do to stay focused
on the job? This is a phenomenon called ‘Christmas creep‘. Any mention of Christmas and we’re
distracted.

There are also the big trading days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday that distract from making
money to spending it.

But there’s no easy way of saying this, you’re in trouble if three months out you’re struggling to
maintain your enthusiasm and achieving business goals.

So how do you keep your team and yourself focused on business tasks whilst reaching milestones
and goals?

Incentives
We all need motivation, and nothing encourages people more than a relevant incentive so here are
some examples:-

Business Functions
For example, a team lunch or dinner every quarter may be the reward for exceeding a goal.

Time Off
An extra day or two off work is an incentive most workers would work hard to win.
Trophies and PrizesWho doesn’t like a nice trophy? Handing out an award is an economical way of showing your
appreciation to the winner and, when it’s done at a team event, the winner also gets applause from
their colleagues. The memory of this event can last for years and be an incentive to win it again the following year.

In Summary
As the leader, you can help yourself and your workers to fight the urge to think too far ahead with
reasons to stay in the present – i.e. with incentives to work. The fun can start when you and your
workers have reached the milestones and achieved the business goals for the year.

For help in maintaining your business focus call us for a free initial consultation. Call us – 07967 123201 or email andrew@thetakeoverexpert.com

The post Maintain Your Enthusiasm For Business as Christmas Approaches appeared first on The Takeover Expert.

The UK needs entrepreneurs to create jobs on a scale not seen in our lifetime.  Large companies are unlikely to make much difference, in the short term, and every new public sector job has to be paid for by private sector taxes.

We know things look quite tough right now but, if you look beyond this, the opportunities for people with vision and energy are massive.  Now is the time to look forward and create, grow – or buy – a business and take advantage of the opportunities that have, and will, present themselves.

We are working with range of clients all of whom see opportunities where others just see problems.  At one end of the scale we have a person who is looking to buy her first business and, at the other end, a seasoned businessman looking to add to his home improvement chain.  By the way both of these purchasers are in the retail sector so it is not all doom and gloom.

Perhaps you have lost your job or just feel it is time to take control of your life and have an idea you wish to pursue – then do it!  Or do you want to be one of those people who, in years to come, say “I wish I had given it a go.”  Whatever ‘it’ was.

Giving people jobs is a hugely satisfying part of growing a business and, by creating employment, you will be giving your workers a sense of purpose and the means to improve their lot in life.  Higher employment improves the whole community both in terms of aspiration and health.

We believe there will be government help to kick start new businesses, as we move into the autumn, but you need to plan ahead to get the best out of this assistance.  Why not call us for a free initial discussion about your new business idea and see how 2020 could finally have a happy ending. Call us – 07967 123201 or email andrew@thetakeoverexpert.com

The post Entrepreneurs Create Jobs appeared first on The Takeover Expert.

Recent events have shown the advantages of home working, including more family time and less commuting, so expect requests for more flexible working. Whilst this looks like one more problem for you to juggle please try to look for the positives. For example, less permanent office staff could mean smaller premises, smaller car parks, smaller canteens, and so on, all leading to a reduction in overheads.

Home working can have a downside, as human beings are social animals, and the lack of physical contact can be a problem for some.  This means you will need to organise group meetings or, possibly, social functions so everyone feels engaged in your business.

Some industries, for instance the creative sector, have suffered with home working as a lack of physical meetings have hampered their innovative work.  This is because ideas don’t ‘bounce’ off people in the same way over a Zoom meeting.  As a consequence, many want most of their staff back in the office full time in order to give their clients 100%.

Now this makes for a conundrum – how do you get people back to the office when schools and public transport aren’t functioning at 100 % capacity and it is difficult to see this being sorted for quite a while yet.  As a business owner we think you will have to be patient and operate a ‘give & take’ policy for many weeks to come.

One other influence, to be considered as we go forward, will be the green agenda as the reduction in pollution has been apparent to all of us over the last weeks.  If we want to make a better future, and prevent more global warming, we must use this crisis to effect change.  My view is the government may look to change employment legislation, to encourage more flexible working and reduce commuting, as part of the way ahead.

Why not use this crisis to take the lead and make your own positive changes in how you employ people.  What this means for you, the business owner, is you will need to be prepared, backed by evidence, when you are talking to members of staff about who can and who maybe can’t, work from home even on a part time basis.

Remember, you are not alone, we are here to help you formulate the plans and gather the evidence for your business requirements as you head to a more flexible future.  The first meeting, or call, with us is free so please contact us to get ahead. Call us – 07967 123201 or email andrew@thetakeoverexpert.com

The post Does Flexible Working Suit Your Business? appeared first on The Takeover Expert.

The UK state pension, as a proportion of pre-retirement income, is amongst the lowest in the world and our government is currently looking at stopping the triple lock potentially making it even worse.

If you are within a few years of wanting to retire then these are very relevant facts and, if you are to avoid a severely reduced lifestyle, we suggest you investigate how your business can provide the replacement income after you stop working.

By the way, the current full state pension is around £9100 a year and I am not sure many of us could handle that much of a drop in disposable income.

You could sell the business and live off the interest but with rates historically so low you will need a lot of money to provide much of an income.  You could install managers to run the business and you take out dividends or you could invest the proceeds of the sale into another business that doesn’t need much input from you.

Whatever route you wish to take we say you need to be sorting this out now as your time, and sometimes health, ticks away at an alarming rate.  Ideally you need around five years to achieve the best outcome but there are many improvements you can make even if you only have a couple of years or a few months before you retire.

One more thought, for those of you who might think the state will come through for you – the current system is a giant Ponzi scheme where a decreasing percentage of workers pay their taxes to keep an ever increasing percentage of retired people with pensions.  You know this isn’t going to end well!

Call us for a free, no obligation chat, on how to get your business ready for sale, putting in a new management team or just to make your life easier, and more profitable, whilst making your future retirement a much happier place. Call us – 0797 123201 or email andrew@thetakeoverexpert.com

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Many years ago I saw an office sign which read ‘When you are up to your neck in Alligators it is difficult to remember the original idea was to drain the swamp.’  I think this is very relevant to the current situation as many business people are so wrapped up in dealing with the Corona Virus crisis they have lost sight of the bigger picture.

Yes it is important to get through every day, and keep your business afloat, but we are seeing business people exhausting themselves by thinking they have to do all of the heavy lifting on their own.  For example, this week I met a guy who looked shattered and it turned out he had been running his business single handedly, for weeks, whilst his sons and staff were furloughed.  His sons, meanwhile, felt left out and frustrated whilst he ran himself ragged.

I am willing to bet you have staff, and/or family, who would really like to step up and help out – if only you would let them – because their job and wage packet is also on the line here and they are just as worried as you but stuck at home fretting.

Please be aware of furlough and health & safety rules before you bring people back!

Accepting some help is not a sign of weakness but it is an opportunity to take a breath and get some perspective.  Whilst this crisis shows no sign of ending soon, and it is a changing situation week by week, you need to be looking ahead in order to plan the successful navigation of your business to better times.

I mention sharing the burden with people within your business but there is also help available from others, like us, who often bring a totally different perspective to the table because we are not facing your alligators every day.  If you just want someone just to talk to, in the first instance, then that is free of charge and we will do our best to help you find the drain plug to your particular swamp! Call us – 07967 123201 or email andrew@thetakeoverexpert.com

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Most people understand physical meetings are often dysfunctional so if we are to take decisions based on virtual meetings, for the foreseeable future, perhaps we need to see if we can make them work better for us.

Physical meetings are great for humans who like to be social, have a bit of a gossip and so on, but not so good to make the best decisions where, quite often there is a domineering figure who overpowers the less confident, or junior attendees.  This leads to people saying what they think the leader wants to hear rather than what they really want to say.

In the virtual world size, accent, status, dress, sex etc all have a much reduced significance thus elevating substance over style.  The downside is many people find virtual meetings draining due to the stress of many trying to speak all at the same time.  In our view the key is to have a good moderator and keep numbers down to less than 6 or 7 with everyone given their opportunity to speak.

Amazon have pioneered a different approach – all meetings start with everyone reading a written memo, in silence, that summarises the main agenda items.  The narrative, as opposed to bullet points, forces the reader to think about their proposal. The next Amazon difference is, once the discussion starts, the leader speaks last of all so much less chance of everyone saying what they think the leader wants to hear.

We think the Amazon system, or a version of it, translates easily into the virtual world and businesses who make it work for them will be the winners.

Whilst no-one has all the answers we believe our many years of experience, across a range of businesses, enables us to offer insights which could help you navigate these difficult times so, for a free initial discussion, why not call us – 07967 123201 or email andrew@thetakeoverexpert.com

The post We Should Go on Meeting Like This appeared first on The Takeover Expert.

Like most business people we have been trying to peer into our crystal ball to see the future and to help us we have been reading leading economists views only to see there is no consensus.  The danger here is you pick one whose opinions reflect your own, and act upon them, at a time when politicians make policy on the hoof and throw all your plans out of the window.

The same applies when politicians say they are ‘Following the Science’ which implies there is only one scientific opinion and we all know this isn’t the case.

These two instances illustrate we all need to canvas a range of opinions and then use your business experience to apply the most logical approach to how you frame your future.  The skill here is to keep reviewing progress, as the business world unfolds, and not be afraid to make changes as the situation changes. No idea, or plan, is wrong as long as it works.

It has been fashionable for some time now, whilst interest rates have been low, to borrow money, finance assets and hope you can trade your way out of a problem – which is ok as long as there is someone to sell to.  We suggest those who couldn’t pay March’s wage bill, or their vat, will have learnt a valuable lesson – if their business survives the coming months.

This pandemic, and the coming recession, will just reinforce the lessons we have learnt in a number of previous recessions,

1 Look after your customers and staff.
2 Treat your suppliers with respect.
3 Don’t trust your bank to help you.
4 Cash is king!

The corona virus has been a big wake up call for everyone and is an opportunity to re-shape your business for a very different future.  We are here to help you make some sense of this changed world and our initial discussion, or zoom meeting, is free of charge so please give us a call – 07967 123201 or email andrew@thetakeoverexpert.com

The post The Dangers of Just One Opinion? appeared first on The Takeover Expert.

When things are going well it is easier to run a business by consensus where everybody has a say and, because of this, no-one is accountable when things don’t work as expected.

When business is difficult people naturally turn to wanting a strong leader who will provide direction, motivation and a positive attitude to give them confidence.

The present crisis has thrown up a very good example of this in the form of the New York State Governor, Andrew Cuomo.  The three term governor has, in the past, been described as ‘abrasive, bullying and over controlling’ yet is currently being hailed as ‘the control freak we need right now.’  Cuomo presents the facts in a soothing  but firm tone and it is this unwavering approach that is giving confidence and hope to many people.

We have always believed successful businesses need one leader, not a committee, to focus direction and results and this is very evident in the current crisis.  This doesn’t mean everyone else is ignored, quite the contrary, listen to everyone but eventually one person is needed to distill this into a plan and carry the whole business forward.

The ‘dictator’ still has to be accountable and, for most SME’s, this comes in the form of shareholders, other directors or, in extreme cases, an insolvency practitioner!

You must still be open to questioning by staff, and other stake holders, as worried people need regular reassurance things will turn out right in the end.  As the leader you must also set a good example to follow – beware a ‘do as I say not as I do’ approach or you will lose any goodwill and failure will almost certainly follow.

Running a business is a lonely place and in these difficult times most of us need someone to bounce ideas off.  If you are looking for help in making plans to get you through this period, or need advice on how to be a crisis leader,  then please get in contact with us.  The first call, or video chat, is free and might just provide the ideas necessary to save your business.

Call us on 07967 123201 or email andrew@thetakeoverexpert.com

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But you can be forgiven for having some sleepless nights worrying how it might affect your business.

We believe you should take this opportunity to have a long hard look at all aspects of your business.
For example do you have a disaster recovery plan and have you tested it?

Can some, or all, of your staff work from home? Losing access to your workplace can happen for a
number of reasons, not connected with world events, like a fire or a major police incident. Maybe
this is the time to look at flexible working or taking on more part time staff who can occasionally
work more hours if required.

In a manufacturing, or goods supply business, how resilient is your supply chain and do you have
backup suppliers you can bring on stream at short notice. The same goes for warehousing, deliveries
and warranty work.

A big issue thrown up by the current crisis is finance. If your income stream is interrupted how will
you pay the wages, the rent and the taxes? It would seem prudent to run through a few scenarios
and stress test your business against them.

We don’t want this to be all negative – your staff will have more faith in you, plus a more positive
attitude, if they know you have plans in place rather than your head in the sand!

You will feel a lot more confident once you have taken steps to protect your business and you will be
in a strong position to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by your more short sighted
competitors when the interruption has passed.

We have only mentioned a few of the areas to be looked at but if you want help to take a
comprehensive look at your business then call us. Our first meeting is free and we work with you,
hands-on, to provide solid practical plans and answers.

For help in reviewing your processes and procedures, mentoring your business or advice on buying a business call us on 07967 123201 or email andrew@thetakeoverexpert.com

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