Competitor analysis – know who you’re up against
Knowing who your competitors are is a key piece of business intelligence, helping you understand your market and the core threats and opportunities in your sector.Competitor analysis is the process of identifying, researching and gauging the threat posed by your competitors and is usually carried at prior to launching your business. But monitoring competitors is a useful exercise to undertake regularly, for several reasons.Regular competitor analysis help to: Understand where you sit in the mark...
September 14, 2020Lessons learned in lockdown – for your business and life
Lockdown has been (and remains) a tough time for business. Having to shut your business at short notice, or switch to an entirely digital, remote-working model, was a stressful experience. But there are things we have taken out of lockdown. Whether it enabled us to explore new ideas or dive into some fresh thinking regarding work, life or a business venture.So, what lessons did we all learn from this enforced period of business shutdown, quarantine and remote working?...
September 7, 2020How to prepare for the end of the furlough scheme
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) – or the ‘furlough scheme’ has been a lifeline for many UK businesses during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.The scheme has provided short-term financial support for businesses during the UK lockdown, allowing companies to pay their workers 80% of their usual wages whilst the workforce is furloughed and out of work at home.This has helped to preserve jobs and reduce the necessity for sweeping job cuts. It’s also kept the workforce on the payroll ...
September 2, 2020Government £20m Small Business Recovery Grant
SME Recovery Grant The Government has made £20m of funding available to boost small businesses to recover from the Coronavirus pandemic. Now more than ever small businesses need to know how much cash their business needs to survive, what strategies and plans they will put into place and the actions that are important to recover from the impacts of Covid-19.Why not let Valued be the one to deliver these services to your business as the great news is, the grants can cover our fees for o...
August 20, 2020Starling Bank – How they are changing the game for SME banking
We were thrilled on Wednesday to be joined on our live broadcast by Oliver Krishnan of Starling Bank who shared with us some insights on Starling Bank and how they are changing the game for SME banking....
August 3, 2020Understanding who your customers are is essential for your business
Understanding who your customers are is half the battle when it comes to developing successful marketing activities.When you understand the specific characteristics and needs of your customer base, you can deliver your solution at the right price, in the right place and in their language.Learn more about your customers and you will be ahead of your competition in no time. This will save you time and money in the long run. It’s about going slowly now to go quickly later. By answering the follow...
July 14, 2020Setting the right goals for your business
If you’re going to grow your company in the right way, pinning down your goals and having a clear vision for the business from the outset is vital.You may want to increase profits and create an income that supports your lifestyle, or you are looking to increase market share and aim for hypergrowth. You may even be aiming to increase the overall value of the company to get the best return when exiting the business....
July 7, 2020Emerging from lockdown to your new ‘norm’
Emerging from lockdown to your new norm will for some allow a sense of things getting back to pre-COVID-19, whatever that normality may look like. For some it will be the simple pleasures of takeaway coffee, McDonald’s drive-through and online shopping for non-essential items; things we never dreamed could be on hold. Restarting the economy, albeit in a risk-managed way, comes with the pressure to not stuff this up and force a return to lockdown. So, what can businesses do to prepare for conta...
July 4, 2020Your business has a great story to tell
Your business has a great story to tell. If you are looking to employ a PR consultant to help drive media coverage, make sure you have done your groundwork for your best chance of success.Here are the four questions to ask internally: Have you nailed your value proposition and business objectives? Your announcement must be newsworthy not just news. When you are competing with hundreds of other press releases on a journo’s desk, you need to be saying something new and interesting. It might...
June 15, 2020How to safeguard your team’s mental health
Last week it was Mental Health Awareness Week and it got us to thinking how to safeguard your team’s mental health. The coronavirus pandemic has forced a significant amount of change and upheaval onto you and your team – in a very short amount of time. We’ve gone from ‘business as usual’ to closed offices, working from home and the full reality of isolation during an emergency lockdown. To combat this change, it’s important to take steps to care for your employees....
May 25, 2020Working from home – five top tips from our team
It’s been a few weeks since Coronavirus changed the way we live and work for the foreseeable future, and so we wanted to check in to see how you’re doing? With the type of job that you do, are you able to work from home (or WFH as the cool kids on Instagram are calling it)? How are you finding it? What have been the challenges for you? Have you noticed any benefits to working from home as opposed to an office?As you may know, our team normally works from our offices in Consett. That said, we...
May 13, 20208 C’s to help you focus on what you can control in your business during Covid19
Every news story is covering the C-word. Here’s 8 C’s to help you focus on what you can control in your business during Covid19: Cash, Credit, Colleagues, Customers, Condense (your plans), Change, Communication and Compassion. The information overload is real. The ramifications of Covid-19 on businesses are being felt and speculated upon every minute of each day – probably leaving you feeling like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Here’s eight simple words also beginning with ...
May 6, 2020Supporting your family and team through the lockdown
As a business owner, along with your own wellbeing and resilience, supporting your family and team through the lockdown is critical. While the #Covid19 lockdown is out of your control, you can minimise the impact on your family and team to help bolster morale as well as business out outcomes.Many of our clients have been busy ‘firefighting’ and haven’t had a chance to document a clear plan beyond this critical phase. Hopefully the initial shock of going into lockdown is fading and you have...
April 22, 2020The value of cashflow forecasting during a crisis
Understanding the value of cashflow forecasting during a crisis is often the last thing on anyone’s mind. Yet, many business owners are seeing income either disappear completely or drop to dangerous levels. To be able to navigate the future path of your cashflow, you need to start forecasting – so you can map out your financial position over the coming months and can take the appropriate action to safeguard your cash position....
April 15, 2020How to keep your business running during an emergency
Many business owners at this time are wondering how to keep your business running during an emergency.‘Business continuity’ as it’s known, is the process of planning out how your company can continue trading – when disaster hits. In essence, it’s your Plan B for how to set up a means of trading, when you don’t have access to your usual offices, workspaces or equipment. Right now businesses are having to put ‘Plan B’ into action....
April 9, 2020Valued Business Community
Valued Business Community – a safe space online for us to help support one another during the COVID-19 crisis It’s a worrying time for us all both personally and professionally. Whether you’re a sole trader, partnership or limited company. Regardless of shape, size, sector, how many employees you have or the number of dependents counting on you at home, COVID-19 otherwise known as Coronavirus, means that we’re living in unprecedented times. Certainly, I can’t remember anything like thi...
March 10, 2020Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update
As concerns about the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 increase for small businesses I wanted to update you on what we are doing at Valued to care for both our employees and clients during this time....
March 9, 2020Getting yourself in the performance zone
Getting yourself back into work after a few weeks break can be hard. You might be struggling to get back into your routine and engage your brain in work. Or, perhaps you spent time setting your goals and planning your year and you’re full speed raring to go. There is, however, an optimum approach somewhere between these two scenarios – we call this hitting ‘The Performance Zone’....
February 24, 2020Newsletters – how to get started
A newsletter is a great way to connect with your customers and prospects probably sits on your ‘to-do’ list. Here’s a quick guide to help you achieve it....
February 19, 2020Nail your marketing goals this year
If you’re looking to nail your marketing goals this year then you will quickly realise that marketing and selling is all about making a connection with people looking for solutions. And now that we (mostly) control most of the channels we advertise through such as your website, your Facebook page, your Instagram feed or your email database, it’s time to make the most of them. Build some time into your day to ensure you have the fundamentals of your marketing sorted. Are you making the most o...
February 12, 2020How to say NO if you’re a YES person
One of the hardest things for business owners is to learn how to say no if you’re a yes person. Are you a yes person? Even when you’re snowed under with work, family, and life admin, do you find yourself saying yes to things you don’t really have time or headspace for?...
February 5, 2020How to use Forecasting and Scenario Planning
For centuries, accounting was all about reviewing historic information – but that only told you about the past, not what was going to happen in the future. That changes once you know how to use forecasting and scenario planning.If you’re only looking back at past periods and historic numbers, that limits the insights you can achieve into your business. With a backward-looking ideology, it becomes difficult to plan, run through different scenarios or understand the path of the business.Foreca...
January 27, 2020What are SMART goals and why use them?
What are SMART goals and why use them in your business? You’ve probably heard of SMART goals and, spoiler alert, they’re not rocket science… but they do work. SMART goals are an excellent filter to maximise planning outcomes. With the SMART acronym comes five simple parameters; that any goal (if you truly want to achieve it) must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. When thinking about goals vs SMART goals, consider the difference between “I want a healthier...
January 22, 2020Understanding Your Balance Sheet
Now we have explored what you need to read your profit and loss understanding your balance sheet is the next step.To understand the financial position of a business at a specific point of time, look at the balance sheet. Together with the Profit and Loss Statement, and possibly other reports such as the Cash-flow, these reports provide a complete understanding of the financial position and business performance. So what’s involved? – The balance sheet has three sections: a...
January 16, 2020Understanding Your Profit and Loss Statement
One of the most frequent questions we get asked is how do you go about understanding your profit and loss statement.Your profit and loss statement (P&L) helps you understand your business performance and profitability over time and its main purpose is to list income and expenditure.Whereas a balance sheet is a snapshot in time, the P&L shows transactions over a specific period of time. This can be a month, quarter, financial year or any other period, and it can be a stand-alone report or a compa...
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