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Businesses have had a tough time over the past couple of years and just as things seem to be improving the government has introduced huge cuts which undoubtedly will have further impact. In addition, the coalition would like to see commercial businesses leading the growth of the economy. Ummm sounds perfect doesn’t it? But surely the economy needs to be stronger and businesses need to be supported to make this ambition a reality? The dramatic contraction in growth domestic product (GDP), which in the 4th quarter fell by 0.5%, coupled with the hundreds of thousands public sector job losses will undoubtedly shake the confidence and the ability of the private sector to pick up the expected slack in the economy.
Businesses need support and guidance to ensure that they can support economy growth and realise government plans, without it they will simply batten down the hatches and ride things out. The coalition does have some plans and with the closure of Business Link they have committed to a new online business support service ... which sounds great, but it’s not a new thing, business link have been providing an online service for years ... and it will be interesting to see how the new and improved one can compensate for the lack of face to face support. According to recent research undertaken by The Launchpad
99% of digital, media & creative companies want face-to-face business support
Although it is good to have a central location to access general business information, this doesn’t account for regional and sector specific issues and demonstrates a lack of communication with the business owners themselves. The coalition may argue that they plan to introduce 40,000 business mentors who work in business and will provide their services for free. Great ... job done! Surely this cannot be the answer? Firstly, how 40,000 volunteers will come forward to work with other businesses for free when their own businesses are facing challenges is beyond comprehension and secondly who is going to monitor the quality of mentoring being given? It is crucial for businesses to receive appropriate interventions to enable growth.
The Launchpad has been set up to give businesses in the digital and creative sector an opportunity to access the support they require. The services on offer will be delivered by professional people with business, mentoring and advisory experience.
“We have developed a range of affordable, relevant and bespoke packages to suit different budgets and needs” says Nancy Dykins co – founder of The Launchpad “but we also want to encourage a move away from expecting free support as this is simply not going to happen in the way it has done before. We are driven by improving the bottom line and expect our clients to view working with us as a short term investment in order to achieve overall long term success”.
As our economy changes and the cuts bite we need to find a way to bite back. And as business owners we have no option but to diversify in order to survive. In short there are many things we cannot change but we can choose how to approach the change!
By Michele Bentham
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