Thought Piece: "More important than ever to get support and advice for your business", says CLEP
Paul Foster, Head of Programmes at CLEP
– By Paul Foster, Head of Programmes at CLEP
Most business-owners would agree that 2023 has been a challenging year so far. National and international issues have clearly had an impact and put pressure on overheads which have risen through the year.
Recent positive news on a slowing of the rate of inflation is tempered by the fact that this doesn’t mean that prices will return to their previous levels. In business, as is the case for the average person in the street, we are going to have to get used to things costing more than we have been used to before.
So how as a business do you stay ahead? Do you need to review your pricing strategy? How do you know if your product or service needs to flex to changing needs and spending habits?
There is no fixed answer, no ‘one-size fits all’ solution to those particular questions.
What is clear though is that all business-owners from time to time need to try to make the time to take a step back and take a strategic look at their business, assess its various strengths and weaknesses and try to map a way forward.
At Cumbria LEP we have a fully-funded support service which will support our business-owners to do just that.
Our Cumbria Accelerator programme has just launched and is already seeing high levels of interest from businesses wanting support.
We have a wide-range of delivery partners, with expertise in different sectors, helping us to deliver 1-2-1 and group support sessions to over 600 businesses until the end of March 2024.
It can be difficult to find the time to step away from the day-to-day running of a business to focus on actually driving it forward, so when you do take time to do this, wouldn’t it make sense to do it with an experienced, impartial external advisor? Someone who understands how businesses operate and how they can try to future-proof themselves?
Our advisors will help you assess where your business is at present to help you develop a plan to overcome challenges and move forward with confidence. They can also advise on finance, funding, HR and a range of other areas.
To access the Cumbria Accelerator service please contact me at paul.foster@thecumbrialep.co.uk and we will get you matched up with an advisor so that you can start to look forward with confidence.