As 2018 draws to a close how is your business poised for 2019? Are you ready are prepared for all the changes your business may encounter in 2019? Or maybe you are shoring up your defences for a stormy year ahead? What is probably beyond doubt is that the year ahead is likely to be challenging in so many ways and change is inevitable. How your business reacts to change however can make the difference between a successful year and a disastrous one. There are always winners and losers when change happens. Successful managers and owners tend to back the winning team.
So what can you do to prepare for the year ahead? If you trade outside the UK here are a few tips we think may help keep you ahead of the pack.
- Look closely at your supply chains – how robust are they? How have they prepared for change? What plans have they shared with you.
- Are all your eggs in one basket? Reliance on a single geo-political area for supplies is dangerous.
- Diversify your supply chain. There is a big world out there and some destinations are much less likely to be affected by changes at home – as a bonus you may even find supplies cheaper!
- Look for new products to buy – and look far and wide – keep you eyes open
- Think about currency fluctuations – do get caught out by sudden political storms – there may be many this year and there is a lot you can do to avoid them.
- Who do you sell to? Are you reliant on one market? Diversify now – many new opportunities will emerge this year – believe it or not there is government support available too.
- Are you selling into the worlds biggest markets? If not why not? Can you afford to ignore them?
- If it’s geographically close it’s cheaper and easier to transport? NO think again some of the cheapest destinations are actually in Asia.
- I prefer to stick with what I know. – This is a very dangerous option – the world as you know it is changing!
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help. There are people out there who have done this before – they know how to do it and can point you in the right direction – expert help can save you £1,000’s in the long run.
We wish all our customers – new and old – a very happy and prosperous New Year.