I speak to a lot of business owners from many sectors and backgrounds. We have said for a long time that business isn’t easy, but it does seem to be a particularly hard road for everyone just now. Some have already thrown in the towel while others are just getting by and are in survival mode. Others are doing well in spite of the economic climate.

The headwinds are getting stronger. The increase in Employers National Insurance and in particular the drop in the threshold is going to add significantly to the cost of employing staff. If you only have a handful of employees, then you are sheltered by the Employers Allowance which wipes out the first £10,500 of the charge. We employ a lot more and the cost will not be insignificant for us. We just have to suck it up!

The Government has explained why they need the money, and it is easy to see that they need it but it does not make business any easier. Add to that the increase in minimum wage and all the other employment regulations and you wonder why you would want to be self-employed. I suppose we are all waiting for things to get better.

There are many businesses that look as if they are doing well, but in reality, it is just an illusion, and they are struggling just like most others. However, there are a good few business owners who are doing well. They are in the right sector with the right experience and attitude. We just need few more to get into that position.

At the end of the day most businesses are simple. You have something to sell, you market that and make the sales, fulfilling the order and ensuring you have made enough margin to keep doing it over and over again.

Each of these 5 steps is an essential element to building a successful business. But over and above that it also has a lot to do with personality. Running a business requires mental strength and reliance. I don’t think many of us had much of these when we started but if you survive your first few years in business these qualities become ingrained into your personality and your mindset.

I suppose it is just what we would call experience, and you cannot teach that, you have to experience the highs and lows and the bruises, broken bones and the triumphs. I don’t think that I got any broken bones in that sense (I did break my wrist when I parked my car in a field at speed) but I most certainly have plenty of mental bruises. I think that one way or another, we all do.

When I meet business owners who have been doing it for a while, they are generally the nicest of people, relaxed (at least on the surface) and genuine (for the most part). But behind that exterior I think we all have a core of steel. I know there are some who would deny this but otherwise you would have buckled under the blows from running a business. You have no choice but to make the difficult decisions because the buck stops with you. These decisions while necessary are hard and require mental strength.

One thing that you learn, sometimes the hard way, is that you get things wrong. When you are called upon to make decisions, the best is the right decision. Next best is the wrong decision. If you get it wrong you have to recognise it and backtrack. The worst decision is to make no decision at all because the problem will just fester and probably end in tears. One of my favourite expressions that was given to me by my farmer father-in-law is “a sharp knife and a clean conscience”, If you want to know the context, I’ll tell you sometime. I have applied it in business so many times. When I haven’t, the problem has just festered and got worse. If the cut was made in error, sometimes I could reverse it, but not always. Despite this it is still my preferred approach.

Make the decision and move on, you have too much else to get done in the day to procrastinate.

Alan E Long

The Long Partnership

07770 738770