Daily Mirror - 24.07.2019

mirror.co.uk WEDNESDAY 24.07.2019 DAILY MIRROR^41

DM1ST

[email protected] Biz Bureau, Your Money, Daily Mirror, One Canada Square, London, E14 5AP

BIZBUREAU

MAKING THE BEST USE OF A QUIET PERIOD

The summer holidays can be a

stressful time for owners of small

businesses. With customers away

relaxing on the beach, many

established entrepreneurs are used

to this potentially quiet period. But

for those just starting out, it can be a

frightening experience.

Here Bobby Lane, expert adviser

to growing businesses, gives his tips

on what you should be thinking

about during the downtime.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO CHANGE

YOUR HOURS: Do your numbers. If

you are a retail business and most of

your customers are away, then put a

small forecast together of what it will

cost to stay open. Your staff costs

and overheads could well outweigh

the money that you could make. It

may be worthwhile to change your

opening hours for the summer

holidays or even close for a week.

PLAN AHEAD: Use the quieter time

to plan your marketing activity for

the last quarter of the year. Review

your website, look at how to

generate new customers when

September comes. When you are

running at full speed, you never have

time to think about these things, so

take the opportunity now.

REVIEW YOUR BUSINESS PLAN:

Think about where you want to take

the business and what your ultimate

goals are. If you want to grow, how

are you going to get there? If you

want to sell, what do you need to do

to make that happen? If you want to

maintain your position, is that going

to be possible? Put what is in your

head down on paper. Also, put some

financials together for the

next three years.

TIME FOR AN UPGRADE:

The last few years have seen

an explosion of fantastic

systems that will help small

businesses to run more

efficiently at a fraction of the

cost. This includes everything

from stock control and email

marketing to customer management

and the processing of invoices. It

could be a perfect time to look at

what’s around, what other

businesses are doing, and to find

ways of improving your systems.

RECHARGE: Don’t underestimate

the benefit of taking some time off.

You will come back to the business

with more energy, drive and maybe

some new ideas.

q

EXPERT

HELP

for your

business

ON TREND

Lexi, left,

and Natalie

BIZ

TIPS

We’re fashioning a

new ladies’ brand

Dear BIZ

We are sisters, with backgrounds

and a wealth of experience in

fashion manufacturing and

clothes design, and we’ve set up

an online womenswear label,

Stylecheat.com.

We decided to launch the brand

because the clothes we wanted to

wear weren’t available at high

street prices, so we are making

them ourselves.

We offer all the latest wardrobe

must-haves, from playful dresses

and beautiful skirts to cute

co-ordinates, at prices that won’t

break the bank, such as dresses

for £45.

We’d love any advice you’ve got

on how we can get our brand out

there to the masses.

Natalie Reynolds and Lexi Panayi,

via email

BIZ replies

Word of mouth is one of the best

forms of advertising, so encourage

happy customers to recommend

you to friends, family and work

colleagues.

Rewarding loyalty is also a great

way to keep the tills ringing, so

ensure you look after and nurture

those who have already bought

from you to entice them to come

back again and again.

Excellent customer service is

vital. Listen to any gripes you

receive and address them quickly.

Offering flexible options for

delivery is also a must.

Also, consider a scheme where

customers gain points as they buy

towards savings on future

purchases, look at invites to the

launch of your next collection, or

heads-up on special events or

offers. Do things that will help to

make people feel valued.

Barry Everett and his wife

Margaret understand the

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too well, after making two

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again in Greece.

The couple, in their late sixties,

had been visiting Cala Blanca for 20

years. But following his double cardiac

arrest, Barry could no longer get travel

insurance from their bank. “I knew very

well from a hard lesson learned by a

friend – who was left with a £68,000 bill–

that I would have to buy comprehensive

travel insurance,” says Barry.

Barry began looking at providers

that would cover his medical history.

He chose AllClear, a specialist medical

travel insurance provider, after a

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“On the way back to the airport in

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to fl y.” Barry had experienced a heart

fl utter and needed extensive tests. The

couple missed their fl ight and had to be

put up in a hotel:

Couple claim on two

holidays but save thousands

of pounds with AllClear

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