Many small firms are struggling after lockdown – here’s how to bounce back

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MANY small firms are struggling to emerge from the ravages of lockdown.

One in nine have laid off staff and 67 per cent have furloughed employees, the Federation of Small Businesses reports.

One in nine small firms have laid off staff and 67 per cent have furloughed employees

Here are free support schemes to help you bounce back . . . 

  1. THE ‘RECOVERY ADVICE FOR BUSINESS’ SCHEME: Thousands of experts are offering online legal, marketing, recruitment, digital and accountancy help via this project from start-up network Enterprise Nation.

    See enterprisenation.com/freesupport.

  2. INDIE BIZ LIVE: This online festival next Thursday, run by TV business expert Kate Hardcastle and backed by TV stars, will feature videos of the best indie businesses.

    See indiebusiness.live.

  3. THE GREAT BRITISH BOUNCE BACK: This publicity platform provides personalised media and PR support for just £10 per business — and the first 500 firms who sign up get the package for free.

    See thegreatbritishbounceback.co.uk.

  4. AMAZON SMALL BUSINESS ACCELERATOR: This new e-learning scheme offers modules from top businesspeople.

    Speakers include Jenny Tooth, CEO of the UK Business Angels Association, and Lucy Hall, named the country’s most influential woman in tech by Computer World magazine. Choose from Start, Grow or Turbo.

    Sign up at enterprisenation.com/accelerator.

Tips to raise you up

IS IT possible to build your small business during even these most challenging of times?

Joanna Jensen, who set up leading baby-toiletries brand Childs Farm during the 2008 financial crash, reckons the answer to that question is a resounding YES.

Joanna Jensen believes businesses can use the unlockdown time right now to turn themselves around

She believes businesses can use the “unlockdown” time right now – as months of restrictions are finally eased – to turn themselves around.

Here, Joanna shares some of her top tips . . . 

  1. Don’t give up on yourself. If you can dream it, then you can do it.
  2. Fortune tends to favour the brave, so small firms need to be agile, think out of the box, innovate and not be afraid to take risks. Of course, this is hard when you are looking over a precipice, but being fearless is often a key success factor for successful business.
  3. Try to think about how you may be able to deliver your products or services to customers in different ways from before. Safety and convenience are really important things to think about during this time of coronavirus.
  4. Shop locally and with independent companies where you are able to, and share the love with your friends on social media.
  5. Always go with your gut feeling – and try to surround yourself with positive people.

Keep it in the family

FAMILY firms are vital to helping the economy recover from its recent battering.

They account for one in five of the 1,551 largest companies in the UK, according to the Institute for Family Business.

These pillars of our prosperity employ more than 13million people, generate a quarter of gross domestic product and cough up more than £180 billion a year in tax.

Elizabeth Bagger, Director General of the Institute for Family Business, says: “People often assume when we talk about these firms, that it exclusively refers to small businesses.

“This latest research demonstrates this community’s diversity in terms of business size, geographic location and sector.”