I’ve been pinged! I knew it was going to happen. Two of the younger members of my family have tested positive for Covid (they’re ok) so inevitably I got the same message on my phone that apparently 600,000 other people have got. You must isolate. I’m not the only one at A4G. We have one positive test and a few others who have also been pinged. Of course, we have an infrastructure that allows us to get on with our jobs without leaving our homes. Obviously my plans for a weekend of clubbing are in ribbons but I think I’ll get over that. But for businesses who provide services that require their staff to visit customers, this is devastating. If you operate on a net 10% margin and 10% of your staff are self-isolating, that’s your profit gone. In amongst this, let’s salute all those who are starting up new businesses. In twenty years’ time, they will look back at the circumstances of how they started and feel a huge sense of pride. Well hopefully they will. Because a recent study by the Federation of Small Businesses suggested that 20-25% of new business fail in their first year. Of those, it suggested that 42% failed due to their being no market need for their service or product. 29% failed because they ran out of cash and 23% failed as they didn’t have the right team running the business. And that’s in normal times! As always, A4G does their bit to help and if you’re starting up, in your first few years or just looking for a bit of a re-fresh, our latest podcast is for you. In this episode we cover: How to do market research to ensure there is a need for your product or service (and it’s not just something you want to do) How to easily put together a business plan (you don’t need to over complicate it) How to serve your customers and provide more value How to decide on how to structure your business The importance of getting insurance from the start Whether you need to get legal advice this early on Search ‘A4G Chartered Accountants’ where you get your podcasts, or click the link below. Listen now Read more… Business Breakthrough Startup Programme Get started now Subscribe to our Podcast Subscribe now Contact me today! Malcolm Palmer FCA Managing Partner 01474 853856 malcolm.palmer@a4g-llp.co.uk Send me a message Ask me a question Fill in your details below and I’ll come back to as soon as I can! If your enquiry is more urgent, please do give me a call. Your full name* Contact no.* Email address* Business name* Industry / Profession* Your messageOne last thing...*By ticking this box you agree to being contacted via email or phone by one of our Advisers, and for the information you provide us with to be kept securely for future communications in line with the new GDPR Yes, I agree Share this article Other posts of interest 15th February 2021 Coronavirus HR Factsheet – Download Read more 25th August 2023 Case study – How much is your “efficiency” costing you? Read more 20th July 2020 7 steps to turning leads into customers Read more See more articles