The Key to Development for Small & Medium Enterprises (SME’s)

With the UK experiencing such economic uncertainty since the recession in 2008, great emphasis has been on the economic recovery and growth of our nation’s business structure. More and more independent smaller businesses are struggling to compete with much larger enterprises, and without additional support from banks or government bodies, it seems unclear as to the future of SME’s in light of the negative connotations associated with the impending rising interest rates over the coming quarters.

For many small and medium size businesses, owners fight through the difficulties with outstanding determination and are indeed an admiration to many, but as one analyst recently asked “Why suffer the pain of business, when you could easily see a specialist who can diagnose and medicate the problem?” This suggests that a unique business strategy for developing businesses is key to progression and growth, whilst avoiding the demise of many perfectly manageable ailments associated with businesses at risk of losing their footing.

Essentially, everything is relative and must be treated as such. It is not surprising that small to medium size business enterprises do not succeed beyond their infancy, as every element of business growth and support is generalised, and in doing so, ignores matters that are specific to certain areas of success for growth. Therefore, by applying the same model to businesses of given ages or sizes, we can begin to establish the specific business acumen necessary for smaller enterprises.

Smaller businesses can easily be compared with premature babies whose survival is paramount to how they are looked after, as well as how much they grow, and cared for in the right way, with specialist help, they can become successful and create as many new jobs and resources as that of larger sized long-term enterprises. As with life, businesses need to adopt strategies specific to each stage – nurturing, growth and expansion – whilst maintaining the health of every aspect of their creation, otherwise, one ailment may easily cause a reduction in efficiency throughout the whole process, thus putting it at risk of demise, effectively ending its life.

So how do we enable smaller businesses to employ more staff and reach a higher threshold? Well, in essence, there simply needs to be more emphasis on specific growth strategies for the various stages of enterprise – from infancy to old age – considering the needs unique to that stage in their development, rather than focusing on supporting larger businesses that are a safer bet for the future. This model of support and development, effectively parenting, looks to be a much more productive way of achieving economic success, in every sense of the word.

This post was written as part of the Nollett Business Solutions blogging program, which provides businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become dynamic engines in an ever-changing world. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.