The coronavirus has wreaked havoc on business and economies around the world. We are now in the deepest recession since records began. As many longstanding businesses fold and High street names fall into administration, it can be a daunting time to consider starting a new venture.

However, a recession can also provide a fledgling business with great opportunities.

1 – Finding gaps in the market.

We saw how many companies responded to the need for protective equipment, including masks and hand sanitiser over recent months and used this demand to grow their businesses. As we continue to navigate our way around this “new normal”, gaps in the market will start to come to the surface. If you can identify those gaps and act to fill them, it may give you a strong head start.

2 – An agile and nimble business.

As a new business with relatively small outgoings and limited financial overheads, you may have more flexibility than your competitors. If you operate online then you may already be in a stronger, more agile position than others. Many firms and consumers are looking at reducing expenditure, so if your product or service can save them money and is equal to – or better than – what they had previously, you stand a good chance of attracting their business. It’s crucial that you have a solid grasp of what your competitors are doing. How can you differentiate yourself from the crowd? You should do some analysis and work out your profitability margins to ensure you are making a profit.

3 – Take advantage of a deep talent pool.

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on peoples’ jobs. As many companies wean themselves off the government’s furlough scheme, redundancies and lay-offs are a persistent issue. This means there is an abundance of talent ready and waiting for that next opportunity and eager to help take your business to the next level; now is a great time to be hiring.

4 – Innovation is key

One of the common traits of some of the most successful small businesses is their ability to innovate. Those businesses with collaboration and creativity at the heart of their cultures can generate new ideas that deliver improvements in product and process that fuel their growth. We only need to look back at the last recession to find businesses that used innovation to their advantage; Uber and WhatsApp both began trading in 2009 and look at where they are now.

5 – Business resilience

Finally, getting your company started during a recession is a sure-fire way to building a more resilient, lean and efficient business. Habits learned during a recession often stay in place through more prosperous times, helping to create a robust business, much more capable of navigating future bumps in the road.

4 legal steps you have to take

So, you’ve decided to take the plunge and make the most of your entrepreneurial spirit. However starting a new business can seem like a logistical nightmare, with a seemingly never-ending list of tasks to complete, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s worth thinking about the legal steps you need to consider to make sure your business starts off on the best possible footing. Here are four areas to get started:

1 – Consider the structure of the business

Whether you’re a limited company, a sole trader or a partnership – your new business can be set up in several different ways. Consider the best structure for your business now and in the long term.

2 – Prepare your terms of business

This is essentially the contract between you and your customer. Terms of business are important for determining what your business is required to provide, ensuring that your business gets paid and for limiting your business’s liability if things go wrong.

3 – Support for any employee

If you’ve taken people on to help grow your business, it’s important to have an employee statement of terms in place, so that both parties know their obligations. A company handbook sets out various policies and good practice which – if followed by you and your staff – should limit any potential claims brought against the company.

4 – Get insurance cover

If something unexpected happens in your business and you’re not insured there’s both a financial and a legal implication: you could be committing an offence and face penalties. So, ensure you have adequate insurance which covers professional indemnity, employer’s liability, building and contents cover, public liability, cyber security insurance, fleet insurance for vehicles used on business and credit insurance to protect against non-payment. Due to the complexity of the insurance market, it’s worth seeking out an insurance broker to assist you with this.

If you have any queries on anything contained in this blog, call us on 028 82 242177 or email reception@jamesmnulty.co.uk