The pace of change in the modern world is staggering sometimes these days and in business this is no less true. So basically this means that to be prepared for such change can be a massive challenge to any business owner these days. We have to set up to be and ultimately remain as flexible as possible to be able to quickly and effectively able to adapt at short notice. Here we examine 5 tips to help us flexibly running a business.
Location
Getting your location right is an especially good idea. You will want to be getting as much exposure as possible for your product or service so it’s important to make sure that the market you place yourself in can reach as many potential customers as possible. A good example would be choosing to position yourself in an EU nation, here you will have access to a huge single market of over 500 million people and can access workers from all over.
Workforce
This is a good example of where we need to be careful about our expenditure. It’s important to pay well and treat your key people properly for staff retention. But for other less critical positions, it may be a good idea to keep as many casual workers as possible on as if you have a workforce that is on long-term and permanent contracts and things get a bit tight it can be very costly to let staff go.
Premises
You need to be wary of taking on premises that are not of the right size, large spaces can be very expensive and if you have a change in space need and a lot of the area is going spare then you don’t want to be lumbered with the rent and rates that will cost you. One solution is to keep your core premises smaller and when busy use temporary storage such as Life Storage Brooklyn in times of need.
Online Presence
Make sure you have a good online presence. The great thing about being online is that it allows you a much greater geographical range than you would with just a physical presence. You can offer goods via mail order or if you offer a service that can be offered online then the world is truly your oyster. If things go quiet it’s at least not the outlay of a series of shops or premises that you need to shut down.
Cashflow
Cash is king and sometimes it can be a bit tight though. It’s always good to have good access to extra capital for times when things are not going quite as planned. It’s really easy to find yourself in such a situation, for example, if you have a few customers that are being slow on paying invoices it is the perfect reason to have an overdraft facility on a business account. This way you can be sure that the business keeps on a level footing and operates well.
