5 Ways to Help Your Business Grow Post Lockdown
The last year has been incredibly hard for the economy, but no one has felt it more so than small businesses. With the constant changes in law, safety practices, and lockdowns being imposed, it’s been near impossible to plan what the next steps for small businesses actually look like.
We have however seen a silver-lining amongst the difficulties, with nearly half a million new businesses registered in 2020. We’re all too aware that starting a small business isn’t always smooth sailing and decided it could be really helpful if we pointed you towards some communities in Brighton, share some strategies and tips that could help your business grow as we emerge from lockdown.
Empowering Your Business With Coworking
Small business owners, entrepreneurs, and freelancers often work alone from a spare bedroom or single desk office - although comfortable, it’s not always the best way to keep motivated, inspired and connected.
Projects in Brighton is a great example of a coworking space that champions small businesses and supports communities so that can support each other, meaning you can benefit from events, networking - and can often get a huge amount of advice and guidance that you otherwise would’ve had to pay for. Businesses from a range of industries collaborate together to help the small business community thrive, and it’s something we’re proud to be a part of!
Until you’ve had a business community around you, you don’t realise what an asset it can be - coworking opportunities may vary from place to place, however if you’re looking to branch out and take the next step for your business, we could encourage getting a tour of your next workspace!
Take Advantage of Government Aid
In Brighton in particular, the local council does a lot to support small businesses - so take advantage of it while you can!
Currently, Brighton Chamber is running the Reset. Restart program, which is aimed at improving the skills of SMEs so they have the knowledge they need to adjust to challenges in the future.
There’s more grants and services available for business support through Brighton and Hove Council, including the Restart grant which can give up to £6,000 to non-essential businesses and up to £18,000 for hospitality & leisure businesses. On this page, you can find all the business support funding that’s available in Brighton at the moment.
Get Involved in Online Events and Training
Getting involved with online events and training not only helps you support the businesses running them, but also expands your networking circle and puts you in contact with people who know what it’s like running a business.
LinkedIn regularly hosts online events which can connect you to your peers, as well as Eventbrite and even MeetUp having business focused events running. Being able to interact with other entrepreneurs can be really beneficial, even if just for moral support.
Brighton Chamber is running the aforementioned Reset. Restart program, but they also run training regularly throughout the year on everything you could need to know. Getting involved with the community and educating yourself on ways to improve your business without needing to pay an agency can make a huge difference to your businesses’ success.
Wired Sussex is another great service for finding training, or even businesses to connect with if you need to outsource some work - and of course, if what you need help with is in the realm of digital marketing, Creative Bloom runs accessible but in-depth training short courses on SEO, PPC and Google Analytics.
Internships
If you’re a more established business and you think that having some extra hands on deck could be what you need, why not look into internships?
You can choose to advertise the position as paid or volunteer work, and with all the Universities in Brighton, there’s bound to be students looking to bump up their CVs with some extra experience. As long as you have a clear plan for what this person can bring to the team and what the intern will get out of the experience, having an intern could be a great way to lighten your workload and get some new perspectives.
Need a more permanent employee? Currently, the Kickstart Scheme is being used to create more job placements for young people. The Government will fully fund their wages at minimum wage for 6 months, and will provide grants to help with the admin costs of getting it all set up. If you’ve been looking for a new permanent team member, this scheme could be a great way to find the right fit.
Social Media
This last section is about building your own community - social media isn’t just a powerful marketing tool, it’s social in nature.
Investing in your social presence can connect you to customers who want to support you and your brand, not just buy your product. Depending on your business, different social platforms will work best - luckily, we have another blog which includes a breakdown of the different social media platforms and what they can do for you.
Your company's values and overall ethos should be intertwined to your social media posts regularly - ethical shopping has become more common since the start of lockdown, meaning that many customers want to know who you are and what you stand for before they buy. As an example, if you run a vegan soap making business, you should be posting about why veganism is important to you on social media; lots of companies make vegan products, but the community wants to support people who truly believe in it.
Over time, and with the right strategy, you can build a community online that will support your business through hard times in the future. There is a lot of help out there and it may feel a little overwhelming diving straight in after the year we’ve all had, so take advantage of the help and ideas available to you in your local town or city.
