It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.
It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years.
Here we speak to Nishi Patel, Managing Director at N-Accounting.
We will be in recession in 2023, and in a recession it is much harder to borrow, so businesses must be far more organised with their cashflows in the coming months.
If borrowing is needed it must be planned for in advance.
It is vital that companies find ways to add value to their offering, and attempt to do more with the same resources.
The main focus for all should be on maintaining profitability, and in order to do that, businesses must hold their nerve and, whatever the circumstances, never discount.
During the 2008 recession, most businesses slashed their prices, but that caused long term issues for them when they tried to pull themselves back up.
In a recession, people don’t stop spending money, they just want better value. And they are more likely to part with cash if they can see a business’s credibility.
Therefore, it is important for businesses to work harder on their marketing and be specific about who they are helping.
They need to ensure that their culture is clear, accessible for all and owned by the whole team so that everyone is performing at their best to remain competitive and deliver value.
Finally, companies must also work harder on their solution and be clear on how they can help.
Even if businesses have a dip in sales, or a quieter time, they should focus any capacity they’ve got on creating good quality content, because even if they’ve got a good solution, they need to get the word out there and tell their story.
