Issue #75 - Get set for a great 2024 👊
Can we look ahead to 2024 with confidence? | Bionic Wrapped | How to choose a product or service to sell | Are energy prices still going up? | Chapel Health & Fitness | Tunes | Words | More
🦾 GO
New year, new hope? 🤞
Welcome to Issue #75 of The Backbone - the fortnightly newsletter from Bionic.
It’s been two years since Covid was at its worst and a year since energy prices peaked, but 2023 was another tough year for business owners.
Interest rate rises, inflation, and skills and labour shortages all contributed to 30,199 company insolvencies in 2023, according to a study from Creditsafe, a credit checking agency.
We did some number-crunching with ONS data and found this is the highest number of insolvencies in the last ten years and only 2% less than the 2010 figure (when we were still very much in the grip of the credit crunch).
A bit of relatively good news for the year ahead is that energy prices seem to have stabilised (though rates are still around double what they were this time in 2021). And we’ve also seen inflation drop to around the 4% mark - prices aren’t coming down but at least they’re not going up so quickly.
Hopefully, this means inflation rates will soon return to what we’d consider ‘normal’, and there’s already talk of interest rates being cut by the Bank of England.
So it’s worth approaching the new year with renewed optimism.
If you’ve kept your business running through everything the last few years have thrown at you, then be confident that you can take on whatever the next one has to offer. Have faith in what you’re doing and keep going.
We’ll make sure you’re kept up to date with the latest news that could affect your business, and don’t forget that we can help save you time and money when sorting out those business essentials - energy, insurance, broadband, and finance.
Last year we helped sort business essentials for more than 39,000 businesses of all shapes and sizes, right across the country. And we want to help even more this year. Here’s hoping for a great 2024 for your business and ours.
📨 S U B S C R I B E
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🗞 READ
How to choose a product or service to sell 🛍
Running a business can be tough - fierce competition, increasing overheads, and increasing expectations for customer satisfaction are just some of the challenges you’ll need to hit head-on. And it’s even tougher when you’re starting out.
But arguably the biggest test for aspiring business owners is finding the best products or services to sell. Without the right offering, how can they expect to attract customers and turn over a profit? This guide will help you determine how to choose a great product or service whether you’re a startup or an established business looking to expand.
Why are energy prices high? Are they still going up? 🔥
As you can see from the Ofgem graph above, energy prices came down considerably over the last 12 months. But you’ll also notice that prices are still around double what they were in early 2021.
We can’t tell you what prices will do in 2024, but this blog gives some context to recent price volatility along with the latest gas and electricity rates for businesses of all sizes.
🗣 SHOUTOUT
#SmallBusinessStory - Chapel Health & Fitness ⛪
Each month this year we’ll be focusing on a particular type of business as part of our Small Business Superheroes celebrations. As it’s January, we thought gyms would be the way to go. First up is Tony Dandy, who runs a quirky gym in a converted chapel. We quizzed him on his highs and lows, and how he’s adapted and grown the gym over the years.
Bionic: What are you most proud of as a business owner?
Tony Dandy: I guess being around for 20 years, especially when I first started, chucking money into the gym and stuff, but I’d say continuously seeing people join us and change their lives is an achievement. I’m also proud that I do a lot in the community, I’m chairman of the community centre, we put a lot of money from the gym back into the local community and I get involved.”
B: How do you market your business?
TD: It’s word of mouth in the village for the gym itself, for the outdoor stuff its social media, because we do that in the city centre, Victoria park. The PTs help, because they make videos in the gym, we have a couple of PTs who aren’t staff and they just pay to train clients in my gym, so that helps because every time they post a video, they tag us in the post. They’ve got quite a good following already.
B: How have you adapted to the energy and cost of living crisis?
TD: I’ve been very lucky, especially with the heating this winter, I got a really good gas and electric deal back in 2021, so that’s fixed until 2025. I’m guessing once 2025 comes around, then it’ll go up, but for now it’s not too bad.
B: If you could go back to the start of your business journey, would you change anything?
TD: Yeah. Probably. I’ve made a few mistakes, I’ve spent money on things that didn’t work for us, like sunbeds for example, I personally don’t agree with them so I’ve got something in my gym that I cant stand! I would have put more emphasis on the gym itself, at the start I was focusing more on the boxing side of things because that’s what I was interested in.”
B: How do you ensure you are meeting the needs of your demographic?
TD: I test everything out myself, before I buy something, I go somewhere and test it myself. You have to consider the clients, I might try out a piece of kit and like it, but then I have to think half of our members are over 60, so maybe that won’t work for them!
👩🤝👩🏾 S H A R E
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📚 FACTS
Did you know…there are loads of free online training courses that can help you with all aspects of running your business? Here’s a round-up of some to look out for in January and February 👇
🗺 Introduction to Social Media for Small Business. Part One - Strategy - January 13
🔥 8 Ways to supercharge your startup's finance & fundraising - January 16
💷 Loans for Small Businesses - Virtual Q&A - January 17
🍃 Practical Green Advice for your Small Business - February 6
🎥 Video Marketing 101: Getting Your Business Found in the Digital World - February 13
📊 BUSINESS
Get your business costs sorted 💷
Bionic - the business price comparison experts - compare a range of business essentials to help you save time, money, and hassle.
Our tech-enabled team will answer all your questions in simple terms, and help you find the best deal on business energy, insurance, phone, broadband, or finance. No jargon. No-fuss. #BeABionicBusiness 🦾
Simple and Straightforward. Roger and Out. 👌
Check out more ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Trustpilot reviews
Playlist 🎵
A pretty balmy December has been followed by a very cold January, so we thought we’d choose a playlist to help warm things up while you’re going about your daily business. Curated by Rob Vera - a friend of The Backbone and also the host of this week’s podcast - Warm Electronic Music for Winter does exactly what it says on the tin and kicks off with Destiny by Zero 7. What more could you ask for?
Podcast 🎙
*Puts on a very Peter Kay voice* “Whoooooo remembers the 80s and 90s?” If so, then have we got a podcast for you?! Turn of the Century is all about conversations that don’t suck about the music, movies, TV, etc. of the 80s, 90s, and 2000s (and all that that implies). Alongside the music chat, we’ve had Heat, Buffy, Seinfeld, Scrooged, Die Hard, and more.
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🏡 HOUSEKEEPING
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🚫 STOP
Thanks for making it to the end of another Bionic small business bulletin 🤝🏻
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