Your quick guide to some quick business wins
Summer is the season of holidays, slowing down, catching up and maybe even kicking back a little.
But for business owners and directors, it can also be a prime opportunity to lift the bonnet and kick the tyres of the company.
A company health check will allow you to get an accurate picture of how things truly are under the surface and be able to identify and address small problems before they can escalate.
We’ll outline some of the techniques and exercises you can conduct to give you some new ideas and help improve your current processes and procedures. The cumulative benefits will add up but will all ultimately help to create a better business for the rest of 2025 and beyond.
Working practices
2020 was only five years ago but in so many ways it can feel at least double that.
One key area where this applies is in working practices. First through necessity, then through expediency and choice – many businesses have adapted to new ways of working.
But how many businesses have truly analysed our current mix of office hours, hybrid, work-from-home and remote work systems and shifts?
It sounds like a simple proposition – if your business was formed today, instead of reverting back to a traditional 9-to-5, Monday-to-Friday pattern – how would it be optimally set up to meet the demands of the current environment, especially regarding hybrid or remote working.
What current systems can be improved? What equipment needs updating or purchasing to enhance remote work effectiveness and what new training is required to maximise efficiency and reduce friction between employees and teams?
Major overhauls can be fun and stressful to execute but often, planned incremental improvements and tweaks can be a more sustainable and effective goal.
Automation
The increase of automated and remote solutions to regular and ongoing tasks has presented many opportunities for business owners to regain focus and time.
Many entrepreneurs and directors with a hands-on approach and mentality might find it difficult to delegate automation and outsource tasks but there are many viable and productive ways to handle essential but time-consuming jobs.
Whether it’s accountancy, HR, order processing, social media or other business functions – many can now be automated to meet the demands placed upon them.
The most precious commodity for any director is time and looking at areas that can be automated and removed from your plate to free up time can be the most productive exercise you’ll complete all year.
Reboot the business plan
No matter how long the current version has been in operation, Summer is an excellent time to review and reboot your business plan.
It can often be forgotten that a business plan isn’t a static document created just to secure funding and investment; it’s meant to be an active, adaptive mission statement and a roadmap. If either of these missions change then so does the plan.
Revisiting it, especially if it predates any significant changes, allows you to adapt it to new circumstances. Your initial goals may have changed, or been reached and surpassed – so what are your new ones?
Rebooting the plan should be a refreshing exercise for business owners because it will allow them to clarify the priorities for the company and individuals – helping everyone understand how their work contributes to these goals.
Another crucial or overlooked part is to update the marketing, advertising and promotion sections. When it was written social media might not even have come of age or the environment for reaching targeted customers and audiences might have changed significantly, requiring responses to take advantage of a more online customer base.
Integrating how you reach existing and potential clients how and where they want to be reached is essential for any sales strategy and should be updated as regularly or more than the business plan.
Follow in their footsteps
Another regular exercise directors and senior staff should take is to complete the customer’s journey for themselves.
Do it as themselves or invent a persona/scenario and follow it through. How easy is it to find/purchase what they want? Does the journey need simplification or tweaking? If you have a physical store presence or other face-to-face interactions then ask a friend to “mystery shopper” it and provide honest feedback.
Directors are also customers of other businesses so applying the perspective from this experience of the reality of your own business is important.
Focus on finances
While working through this checklist, also be aware of the regular individual warning signs that can indicate bigger underlying issues.
The ones that aren’t terminal in and of themselves but can become significant in future if not addressed. For instance these could be constantly being at or breaching an overdraft limit; having to ask suppliers or creditors for additional borrowing or time-to-pay.
Increasing bad debt can be another sign as could reducing working capital or suggesting issues with debt management systems. Similarly, if it’s taking longer to collect payments, the compound effect can be a negative drag on cash flow and can have knock-on effects making you later in paying your own creditors.
Not all creditors are equal and if you own HMRC any corporation tax, VAT or National Insurance arrears then prioritise these repayments.
The finances can also indicate other issues that need to be tackled such as inefficient debt collection, credit management or holding an unnecessary amount of stock.
Monitoring staffing requirements is also an essential part of these regular checks. Too few staff will cause obvious issues but too many can be an obvious drain on resources. What about the staff you already have? Is there a high-turnover? If so this can indicate morale issues, poor hiring, training or retention issues which can also be critical negative factors that management need to be aware of.
A lack of managerial knowledge and engagement regarding these and other financial problems could indicate concerns about the overall sustainability and stability of the business in the short and medium term.
Help is at hand
If your Summer health check raises concerns and issues that were previously overlooked then it’s crucial to take action sooner rather than later. This is where taking impartial professional advice can be most advantageous because a fresh pair of eyes and ears will help provide potential solutions that haven’t been conceived or considered.
It’s why we offer a free initial consultation to any director or business owner who needs one.
Our advisors can look at the obstacles and options and discuss these with you especially concerning future business viability.
Once they have a clearer idea of your goals and ambitions for the business, they will be able to help you focus on the improvements necessary to lay the groundwork for a stronger, more resilient future.