Operations

Whatever the economic conditions there is always a need for businesses to take stock and think about their business practices. Her are a few ideas which might help in the current climate:

Spread the risk  - one way to attract a wider customer base is to make the most of the internet. Selling online enables you to approach a wider audience for minimal cost. However, you will need to plan and resource online selling properly, including providing payment security, attracting visitors and meeting orders swiftly.To find out more about ecommerce and selling online, visit the Business Link's e-commerce pages or  eHampshire's Profitable eBusiness pages.

Streamline your operation: Consider moving to smaller premises, or sub-letting your existing space. Sell off excess equipment and look at staffing - are your people concentrated in the right areas? Will flexible working be more cost efficient? If considering redundancies, remember that it's bad for morale and trained replacements may be hard to find when business picks up.

Don't overdo it - avoid taking on more than you can handle. This is known as overtrading – an imbalance between the work you take on and your capacity to do that work. Once again you can run out of cash to finance these new orders.

Also, if you are expanding into new markets or need new equipment to remain competitive, avoid using cashflow to finance this – you may need this cash to keep you afloat . Use alternatives such as asset finance.

Make your business more sustainable - managimg your resources more effectively and efficiently can bring real dividends to your business.  For further information on how to do this, visit the Sustainable Business Partnership website or Business Link's Environment and Efficiency pages

Work smarter -  smarter working in difficult economic times is a way to put money into your and your employee's pocket without increasing salaries.  Working more flexibly, whether this means implementing varied hours or allowing your employees to work from home, saves money.  Find out more about introducing smarter, more flexible ways of working within their organisation by visiting the MATiSSE web pages.

Next: Redundancy