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Top 10 tips for trading in tough times
- 1. Top ten tips for trading in tough times Geoff Jones Enterprising Communities Programme Officer www.wcva.org.uk 0800 2888 329 help@wcva.org.uk
- 2. Top ten tips for trading in tough times Introductions and what we are looking to achieve
- 3. Top ten tips for trading in tough times What is the impact of the economic downturn on the Third Sector? • 36% of organisations predict that their financial situation will worsen over the next three months • Increasing redundancies in sector • Changes to funding • Lack of finance to support wages • Services going out to tender • Local authority cuts (Source-WCVA state of the sector survey)
- 4. Top ten tips for trading in tough times Tip No 1-Planning • Planning is key to sustainability • Focus of efforts • Best use of resources • Understanding of costs • Mission and goals • Risk management vs. Innovation
- 5. Top ten tips for trading in tough times Tip no 2: Income diversification • Trading-mission related and unrelated • Cost recovery • Contracting • Tendering and procurement • Asset based development • Counter cyclical business activities
- 6. Top ten tips for trading in tough times Tip no 3- Assessment of financial health • Liquidity-cashflow forescasts • Profitability-profit and loss account • Solvency-balance sheet
- 7. Top ten tips for trading in tough times Tip no 3- Assessment of financial health • What may happen to forecast income • Can we increase or preserve our current income levels • What cuts can we identify to make money go further • Are we solvent • What activities do we wish to sustain under all circumstances • What are our longer term prospects
- 8. Top ten tips for trading in tough times Tip no 4-Governance “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked”-Warren Buffett
- 9. Top ten tips for trading in tough times Tip no 4- Governance • Has the board undertaken a performance review? • Does the board have the appropriate guidance and advice? • Is the appropriate level of monitoring in place? • Is the board prepared to take unpopular decisions?
- 10. Top ten tips for trading in tough times Tip no 4- Governance • Are their appropriate controls and procedures in place to prevent fraud? • Fraud is currently estimated to cost the charity sector £1.1 billion (or 1.7% of annual turnover), according to the National Fraud Authority’s 2012 Annual Fraud Indicator. • Payment fraud • Employee/volunteer fraud • Cyber-enabled fraud
- 11. Top ten tips for trading in tough times Tip no 5-Joint working • Sharing of resources • Collaboration and consortia • Formal merger-Age concern and Help the Aged • Identification of issues with joint working 1. Organisational culture 2. Branding 3. Competing for roles
- 12. Top ten tips for trading in tough times Tip no 6-Asset Development • Community “ownership” • Benefits to local economy • Builds credibility & viability • Base for new community enterprises and services • Access to finance • Sustainability
- 13. Top ten tips for trading in tough times Tip no 6-Asset Development • Assess market demand • Mission drift • Sweat the asset • Balancing assets • Good practice
- 14. Top ten tips for trading in tough times Tip no 7-Know your customer • What is your USP • Who are your customers • What/why/how do they buy and what do they expect • Customer segmentation
- 15. Top ten tips for trading in tough times Tip no 8- Make the best use of staff and volunteers • Employers obligations-policy and procedures • Skills audit of staff and volunteers • Introduction of flexible working patterns • Use competitive job market to get highly skilled individuals in job and volunteer roles
- 16. Top ten tips for trading in tough times Tip no 9- Is your marketing fit for purpose? • What does your brand say about you • Utilise free and low cost marketing opportunities • Social media
- 17. Top ten tips for trading in tough times Tip no 10-“Keep calm and carry on”
- 18. Top ten tips for trading in tough times • Any Questions? “Questions are never indiscreet. Answers sometimes are”. Oscar Wilde
- 19. Social Enterprises and you Geoff Jones Enterprising Communities Officer Wales Council for Voluntary Action www.wcva.org.uk geoffjones@wcva.org.uk 029 2043 1758
Editor's Notes
- Icebreaking exercise: Get individuals to speak with the person next to them and then introduce that person, Look to identify the following key points. Who they are, where they are from and what is their role in that organisation and what they are looking to get out of session-Have they got a top tip to discuss?Captain Edward smith-Captain of the Titanic
- Put the need for innovation in a context-Wider demand for services with less fundingChange in the funding paradigm-Move away from traditional direct grant funding to use of loans and other financial instruments
- Ask where you are going. Set your targets in a financial plan for income and expenses. You need to know what success means for you and when you are going to get there. Have a plan. A business plan isn’t just something you show the bank. You need to know how you are going to reach your goals – so if you haven’t thought it all out yet, now is the time to get planning. Take it one day at a time. Know what your key actions are going to be every day. Write down six priority tasks and number them from 1 to 6 in order of priority. Start with number 1 and work on it till you complete it, then do number 2 and so on. Know your customers. Why do they buy your product? What do they think of it? What do they read? Who do they go to for advice? The more you know, the higher your chances of retaining them as customers. Make a list of your most important clients, and fill in as much information as you can to dig up more sales opportunities. Work on your business, not in it. Stand back from your business, and have a long look at it – how do you rate your marketing, operations and finance out of 10? Which comes out top and which is bottom? Start the worst and decide how it should work and how you can measure the improvements.
- Business that prosper in a recession are referred to as counter cyclical- Can they think of any examples?- Debt collection, affordable luxury items, sweets, chocolates contraceptives
- Liquidity- does your organisation have enough cash to pay its bills in the immediate and short term?Profitability-does income exceed expenditure in the medium term? Is the business making a profit or a lossSolvency: are assets greater than liabilitiesMy other piece of advice, Copperfield, said Mr. Micawber, you know. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery
- Sharing of recourses- what could work better working with others? Shared equipment, shared staff, running joint training sessions, sharing back office services
- Market demand links with thorough market research