After a few weeks away I am back to reporting my life as a small business owner. The good news is that I have managed to get the overdraft I needed from my bank to make sure that I do not jeopardise my cash flow.
Getting payments from some of my customers during the recession has been difficult, especially as some of them change their payments terms in order to balance their own cashflow. This knock on effect really does put some small business owners in a difficult position.
My priority for the last few months has been cash flow and ensuring that my eye is kept on my costs and overheads. I have shopped around to make sure that I‘ve have got the best deals on things like stationary, business phones, travel and other little overheads that all mount up on a monthly basis if you don’t keep an eye on things. I feel that I’m spending more time ensuring that I don’t get ripped off than actually planning for my business.
Although it is a tough time economically to do business, there is still money to be made. My business miamoo is having its best year despite the fact that I am operating in a niche premium market. My customers Waitrose, Ocado,and Boots.com have been really supportive of me and my brand and I will always remember their support through these tough times, which is more than I can say for the politicians and the government.
Sometimes I feel that the government has no idea what its like for people and thousands like me who have taken a risk to run their own business and that they are totally divorced from the realities we face.
I hear a lot of ‘words’ from the mouths of politicians like, ‘innovation and entrepreneurs are the future’, but I don’t see any concrete measures that they put in place to encourage innovation or support small businesses, for example, I don’t see tax breaks put in place to help businesses get started for the first three years. I don’t see how the government has helped small businesses access finance. This is very worrying as according to David Frost, director general of the BCC, ‘It’s clear that another tough year is in store for the private sector’.
What really annoys me is the bureaucracy that surrounds a government initiative which on the face of it looks like it could benefit a SME. Take for example the hiring of student internships:
‘Thousands of individuals will be able to enrol in internships part-funded by the Government, in a £13.6 million plan to help graduates find work. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is working with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to provide internships in small businesses across the country.
According to the Federation, one in five small businesses is keen to take on a graduate intern. John Wright, the National Chairman, commented:
“Graduates on placements in small firms will be able to gain invaluable work experience and develop real skills at a time when the job market is sluggish at best, and small businesses will benefit from the skills of this trained and available workforce. Research shows that one in four graduates are offered full time employment in the business at the end of the placement, so graduate internships are a win-win for both the business and graduate and any support small firms can get to put them in place is very welcome.”
The programmed is part of the Government’s Backing Young Britain campaign, under which £1bn has been pledged to create 150,000 new jobs. The campaign has already seen support from major companies, such as Microsoft, IBM and Tesco.
Now, the scheme has been extended to small businesses. It is administered through
partner universities, who coordinate with local businesses to provide the internships’
Source: www.adviceresourcesfundingdirectory.co.uk
The problem with trying to apply is the amount of paperwork that one has to complete just to make an application. I am not TESCO where there is a HR department full of people making these kinds of applications. I am Saira Khan, small business owner responsible for carrying out all duties, and I cannot afford three days out of my business to gather information to fill out an application form to hire a government assisted student.
I have no idea who I am going to vote for this election, but let me tell you at the moment I do not feel like any of the political parties care or understand the needs of entrepreneurs. I believe that politicians are more comfortable with the unemployed, the public sector and those employed in corporations – but self-employed people I feel are discriminated against in so many ways and the inspiration and motivation from the top for individuals to take a risk and start their own ventures is non-existent.
Next Week I’ll share the details of my trip to an enterprise event in Burnley.
Tags: Saira Khan, small business, The Apprentice
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March 27th, 2010 at 5:37 pmIvet Nikolov says:
I do agree with Saira, there is a lot of bureaucracy surrounding government support for entrepreneurs, especially start-ups. At the same time the internet is offering a great opportunity for government institutions to simplify the way they communicate and help businesses. Business Link is a very good example for an online resource for business people, where relevant information can be found quickly and efficiently. The same approach can be applied to government sponsored internships or financial assistance schemes, which would save time and resources both for the government and also us – time-starved entrepreneurs.