On the first day of Christmas, my mentor taught me, resilience as a strategy for growth…
Christmas is a time to slow down, relax, and reset for the year ahead. For the SME leaders we work with with our help to grow: The management course, offers the opportunity to reflect on the past year and think about the new strategies needed to ensure that the new year is happy and prosperous. But also, to show about their role in leading the business.
Here are twelve practical lessons I’ve learned from working with young business leaders across many different sectors and our community of business school members.
Resilience as a strategy for growth
Think of a business that can equip you to endure economic disruptions, but also adapt quickly to changing market conditions and take advantage of new opportunities. The strongest SMEs I’ve worked with have done exactly that – looking down on uncertainty while maintaining a competitive edge.
This includes setting a strategy for growth and innovation that drives innovation, leading with purpose and bringing the team on board with the changes. A key component of help to grow: The management process understands that new challenges are more than obstacles to overcome, rather opportunities to learn, innovate and build momentum for long-term success.
Disruption Fork
When clarity begins to emerge, the next big change is certainty. You can create a good plan but without confidence, it is impossible to move forward. Developing your knowledge and support network will help you build your confidence as a leader and build your business.
Louise Morgan, founder and director of TMPPR and helped grow it: Managing Alumni, what it means by accident, feels by accident. ”
Seek out mentors and people in your shoes
One of the biggest highlights of our alumni is the importance of having a mentor and peer group to share ideas and challenges with. Business leaders have been there and done it, but also those who are at the same stage of their leadership or business evolution. An outside perspective brings business benefits and makes the growth journey more enjoyable.
Richard Sadler, director, CJCs that combines goods and materials to restore the property: “My advisor with the help pressed me in the right ways, he encouraged me to see if we look at some customers who want to change a lot with us.”
Get Your Edit Fix
With a community of over 10,000 small business leaders, we help SMEs in a huge variety of different sectors but organization building and employee engagement is critical to every industry. Pruden & Smith, BESpoke and Handmade Revenery Jeweller, has achieved records a year after its creation Rebecca Smith completed a Government-funded grant to grow: Management course at the University of Brighton, business school. His main takeaway was to deal with rebuilding his team.
Entrepreneur and creative director at Pruden & Smith, Rebecca Smith, said: “I think a lot of small businesses are like stepping stones to be able to support bigger roles. Ways for people to see how they will develop in the future. The process allowed me to identify which areas to outsource the roles we need to find our growth.”
Production of KPIS
The universal lesson from the course is to be crystal clear about what productivity is important within the context of your business. Once a business’s PINS is down to measuring its productivity, KPIs can be set to align employees and work around a common goal. This provides confidence that critical KPIs, not passive metrics, are being tracked.
Small adjustments often make a noticeable difference – for example, simplifying systems to reduce wasted effort, or reviewing processes with the team to see where work has decreased. The goal is to use these metrics to support informed decisions, not to supplement reporting for the sake of it.
You don’t need to be an accountant
But you need a firm grip on finances. A characteristic that I have always seen in successful business leaders is that they have a good understanding of what finance and money management are, when to look for growth capital and invest important capital to grow important capital raising activities.
Knowing your math helps you manage risk, speed growth, and calculate where margins can be strengthened. It also gives you confidence when talking to potential lenders, partners, or investors.
Know how to use your time wisely
A mother of three young children, Alumni Lauren works three days a week at Guthrie & Ghani – creating strategic focus, strategic prioritization, prioritization, and strong management critical to success.
Lauren Guthrie, founder of Guthrie & Ghani and former Finani in the first series of the Great British Sentaing Bee, when I found out that I had help growing up, and how I’m sad where I find my life. Now, I know that the time I have is limited to the things that really matter. ”
You don’t know what you know
It doesn’t matter how many years of experience we have as leaders, there is always an opportunity to learn more, and to ensure that you are leading your organization in the right way.
Paul Kenny, managing director of yorkshire based at aquatrust: “My journey was not linear – I didn’t go to university, and I got real help coming back to 50/51. It taught me. It taught me. My business. Helping to grow: Management is controlled by learning Mindset and it gave me the tools to lead to finding aquatrust in its next chapter.”
Moving from corporate work to leading an SME is a learning curve
Leaders making these changes often gain a deeper appreciation of how each part of the business contributes to performance. With that comes a great sense of responsibility, but also the opportunity to understand the magnitude of leading a growing business and make decisions at real speed.
Karsten Smet, CEO of the ACI and Alumni group said this about his experience of changing jobs: ‘What happens when you are in a C-Level position in large organizations you don’t know how SMES works. You don’t really understand how all the different things really fit together or how decisions are made. Help for growth: The management course gave me this insight and time to define the future of my business and get my organization invested in it. ”
It’s never too early to look into exporting
Exploring overseas markets encourages firms to deepen their offering, strengthen processes, and build resilience through diversification.
Byron Dixon Mbe, Chairman of the Small Business Charter and founder of micro-fresh, says: “I can’t delay more than that, and it is very easy to do in other opportunities. They wait too long for opportunities to arrive. See it as an option for all. To those in that position, I would say this: The question is not “when?” But rather “Why do we just send?”
Work in the business, not in it
Taking time away from everyday pressures helps leaders think about the skills, future capabilities, and investments that will shape the next phase of growth. Obviously it also provides an opportunity to think about their role and how that contributes to growth.
Rachel Hicken, Pig and Olive Co-Founder and Alumni: “I’m very good at working, my founder Simon knew that they needed to re-use the business. I learned that leaders need to re-use the big picture. It also gave me the confidence to look at the numbers well and understand the story they tell and gave me the confidence to make investment strategies.”
Treat succession planning as a growth strategy, not just an exit strategy
In conversations we’ve had with family-owned business leaders over the past five years, we’ve seen that effective succession planning leads to stability, builds resilience, and unlocks business growth. The data supports it; According to the initiative, 74% of family businesses with a succession plan agree that having a plan has strengthened their business and helped them grow.
Having these conversations early reduces employee uncertainty and gives future leaders hope going forward. It also creates room to plan investments and allocate responsibilities thoughtfully.
Jingle all the way into the new year
As the year draws to a close, I hope these bite-sized lessons show that proactive choices, critical thinking and a willingness to learn can strengthen any growing business. With renewed focus and room to breathe, you as SME leaders can enter the New Year with purpose and confidence.
Business leaders can get more help with the growth: management course and register for a course in their area by visiting: www.smallBalbusinessChartercmagement
