2015 could prove to be a crucial year for small businesses

With the General Election looming many are talking about what policies will make the difference for small business owners this year and whether the winning party will be able to build on the foundations of the growth of the last 18 months. We take a look at what small businesses need to do to continue to succeed and what the other trends might be for small businesses over the next 12 months.

FSB’s 2015 General Election manifesto

A recent post by the FSB’s John Allan, national Chairman spoke of the rise of the small business in 2014 – whose numbers broke 5 million for the first time. 2014 also saw an exponential rise in the number of small businesses innovating, growing and taking on their first employee – helping to tackle the unemployment rates. Coupled with this small firms saw there productivity grow and Mr Allan commented that small businesses were finally beginning to get the recognition that they deserved.

In order for firms to continue this upward trend the FSB argues that changes need to be made, and as such it has produced a manifesto that outlines what they believe needs to be the focus post-election. Mr Allan continues that the party that wins the election will need to look at ways to support and nurture all business not just big or small – it will need to help sustain growth ensuring responsible business practices, whether that be via using apprenticeship schemes, enhancing supply chain activities or ensuring a better flow of payments between businesses. He warned that whilst the future looked good the uncertainty in the Eurozone could still have an effect on the year ahead and that the FSB’s General Election manifesto contents that include reforms to access to finance, unfair business rates and the still growing skills gap would offer a more sustainable route for small business.

Alternative funding routes

Others have spotted the issue of access to finance and the route by which small businesses can source additional funding as a key trend for 2015 too. With the development of crowd funding sites such as Kickstarter, Crowdcube, Buzzbnk and Seedrs the route to funding has diversified – no longer is the bank the only option. These platforms also enable a globalisation of funding and experts are also pointing towards an increasing appetite for risk once more – good news for the innovative entrepreneur.  

Growth of the tech scene

James Caan, the well known angel investor, entrepreneur and equity head points towards our growing tech industry as sector to watch in the coming year. Silicon Valley is, of course, the giant of the sector but East London has been building a reputation as the go to area in the UK for tech services - providing a great platform for US companies to cross over to the UK, as well as for startups to work within a community. Caan suggests that the next 12 months will see the UK learn even more from their US counterparts and that signals the possibility of greater growth. However the tech industry isn’t solely in the capital and along with areas such as Manchester and Bristol parts of Kent has also been hailed a tech hot spot with Canterbury, Folkestone and Ramsgate highlighted as tech centres for the county. A mixture of great links to both London and the continent and lower business costs means that Kent could be well positioned to further take advantage of the growing tech industry in 2015.

Social media continues to diversify

Linked to the growth in the tech sector many are also urging small businesses to continue to take full advantage of social media. Caan points to the development of advertising on Facebook and Twitter and that images are becoming an increasingly important way to attract clients – meaning that 2015 could well be the year for Instagram. Small businesses have historically used social media extensively and Caan urges small firms to continue this trend. The opportunities that a strong social media plan can have on your business are huge and will only continue to grow in 2015.

2015 is going to be an interesting year across all business, but especially for small businesses – as ever the key is for small business and entrepreneurs to grab opportunities and run with them. The General Election and the winning party have the chance to make some real differences to the way that small businesses work in the UK, and with small businesses and entrepreneurs making up an growing percentage of the UK economy the parties would do well to listen to the sector, their votes could be the deciding factors.

Ex-dragon Doug Richard forecasts “The Perfect Storm” for creative entrepreneurs

The Kent County Cricket Club at the Spitfire Ground, Canterbury hosted the third of the Best of Kent Shows on Thursday 11^th September for the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce. This leading business to business event encompassing an exhibition and a conference with leading speakers and workshops welcomed over 600 delegates and 60 exhibitors, who used the day to network, building existing and new business contacts.

Doug Richard & the creative entrepreneur

Keynotes came courtesy of Andrew Priestley, QJ and serial entrepreneur Doug Richard, who gave an inspirational speech on the rise of the creative entrepreneur in the UK. As the greatest nation for creativity – a recent report published in January by Department for Culture Media and Sport revealed that the creative industries in the UK outperform all other sectors, generating over £70 billion a year - he laid out a case for now being the perfect time to start a creative business. He argued that with the democratisation of access to finance making it easier to tap into alternative means of funding such as peer to peer or equity lending and the growth of websites such as Kickstarter plus the fact that economically the UK is at the start of a new cycle equals, in Doug’s words, the perfect storm for new creative businesses to establish and grow.    

Having worked with a number of new businesses in the East Kent area he continued he felt confident that the area was also in great shape to support new creative firms in the future. As part of a strategy for success he also spoke of the need for businesses to re-contextualise their offering dependant on their location, that contrary to what many would argue, new businesses do not need to be able to create innovation for innovations sake in order to be successful. In fact, some of the most successful new businesses are created by taking an existing product or service and bringing it to a new area. By the very act of moving it to a new region the product or service changes becoming different and unique due to it being re-localised.

Carole Barron, Chair of The Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, who hosted the day commented “It was a great day for local, regional and national businesses. There was a great buzz around the event with exhibitors and delegates making new connections and building relationships. All the workshops and keynotes were well attended with incredibly positive feedback on the topics and delivery.” She continues “Now, we look forward to the next Best of Kent Show; the North Kent B2B on Thursday 16^th October at the Woodville, Gravesend. Keynotes are from CEO and co-founder of Angels Den, Bill Morrow, Lauren Lovett and Barnaby Wynter and there will be representatives from the London Paramount project attending to speak about the latest developments."

Offering opportunities to all types and sizes of business

With all this on offer the North Kent B2B is an event where you can give your contacts list a boost and meet a range of diverse, interesting businesses. You can gain insight through attending the sessions scheduled by industry leading speakers and find out how to apply their lessons to your business to increase your sales and profitability.

The Best of Kent Shows’ North Kent B2B is sponsored by Caxtons, chartered surveyors, one of the largest independent property consultants in Kent along with Hatten Wyatt and Thames Gateway.

Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce runs the event, and members of the Chamber will also be available to offer free business advice. Jo James, the Chief Executive of the Chamber, comments “The Kent B2B's are the biggest events in our calendar and they draw businesses from across the county and the UK. This year’s events have shaped up to be a great mix of inspirational speakers, exhibitors, masses of networking opportunities and workshops. I look forward to welcoming businesses from across the county and further afield to an informative day.”