Issue #78 - Business as usual 🤜🤛
Do you need to recession-proof your business? | How to set up and manage payroll | What is cyber insurance? | Filth Florist small busienss story | Words | Tunes | More
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Do you need to recession-proof your business? 🛡
Welcome to Issue #78 of The Backbone - the fortnightly newsletter from Bionic.
After seeming to flirt with the idea for most of last year, it turns out the UK is now in recession after Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.3% in the three months to December.
But does it really matter?
The UK economy has been stagnating for more than a decade now - austerity, inflation, a lack of public and private investment, and other factors have all played a part in that - and then there’s the fact that GDP might not be the most reliable measure of economic health, as explained in this episode of Macrodose.
But while the impact of a small recession might not be felt by most of us, it’s clearly not good news. So here are some ideas to help make your business more resilient to a downturn…
💸 Concentrate on cash flow - keeping on top of cash flow (and maintaining a strong cash reserve) is key for any business. Find out more at this Bionic guide.
🤔 Make money in other ways - is there a way your business can offer additional products or services? For example, can your salon sell hair products or offer other services, or could your deli have a seating area to serve coffee and alcohol?
🤝 Build customer relationships - customer loyalty is the best way to get repeat business, so work on your customer relationships (maybe offer incentives) to keep them coming back.
✂ Cut your overheads - OK, this is where Bionic can help. If your utility contracts are coming up for renewal, shop around to get the best deal on your next contracts. It’s also worth checking other suppliers to see if you can get your stock cheaper anywhere else.
And on that note, here’s the next video in what we’re loosely calling our “Did You Know..?” series - there’s no cooling off on business energy, which means it’s important to make sure you’re completely happy with your contract before you sign.
(for more like this, check out our micro business tips playlist on YouTube)
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🗞 READ
How to set up and manage payroll for the first time 💷
Whether you’re planning to hire your first starter or expanding your workforce, you must have payroll set up and working properly.
To help you avoid costly HMRC penalties and unhappy staff, our guide to setting up payroll will walk you through everything you need to know - from understanding how to set up the system to managing it correctly to ensure your business can run smoothly.
What is Cyber Insurance? 👾
If your business uses any type of connected devices, such as laptops, payment devices, and even smartphones, it’s at risk from hackers and cyber attacks.
According to a 2023 survey from Cyber Security Breaches, 32% of businesses in the UK have experienced cyber attacks or security breaches.
Something that can help battle this problem is cyber insurance. But what exactly is it? We’ll walk you through everything you need to know about cyber insurance and how it could save your business in the long run.
🗣 SHOUTOUT
#SmallBusinessStory - Filth Florist 🌼
To continue our theme of February florists, Bionic spoke to Rosy Sida, who fronts Filth Florists - a unique studio based in London. We heard all about her business journey and how her business has evolved over the last few years.
Bionic: What is unique about your business?
Rosy Sida: We're a bespoke studio. So, every single piece of work we create is completely unique, we don't do anything by cookie-cutter standards. We supply weddings and events, but our work is floristry that performs as artwork too.
B: What advice do you have for other business owners?
RS: When you start a business, people will give you advice left, right and centre, often unsolicited! My advice would be ‘you don't have to listen’. I think you know your business best and obviously, there’s a time and place to ask people for advice, but the bottom line is you don't have to listen if you don’t want to.
B: If you could go back to the start of your business journey, would you change anything?
RS: I think- and this is something that I think I'm still learning to do- but I’d want to trust the process a bit more. And actually, if it doesn't go the way you want then to be happy that at least you gave it a go. I know a lot of small businesses who ran during the pandemic and then for whatever reason stopped. That’s not a failure, these businesses gave it a good go, they put something into the world that was completely them, which is really, really brave.
B: What’s next for your business?
I used to do more workshops than I do now. So, there's some of that planned for this year. The wedding side of the business is pretty well established now. At the minute, I'm working on building the brand up. I want to do more set design and brand activation stuff, angle towards beauty and fashion.
B: How do you currently market your business?
RS: When I first started, Instagram was how I built my platform, basically for free. It does work as free advertising, so that definitely built our following. But I do get a lot of work via word of mouth which is something I like. A lot of people say it's interesting, even in this age of technology and with endless streams of visual media at our disposal, I still get a lot of work through recommendations. I mean, obviously I love Instagram and it's a vital tool for me. But it’s still really nice when I get an email from someone being like ‘oh, I know this person, they mentioned you’, it’s a really nice feeling.”
Head over to Bionic to read more of this small business story, or watch the full YouTube interview below 👇
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🔊 LISTEN
Playlist 🎵
This week’s Daylist playlist has been chosen by Steph, Digital Marketing Manager at Bionic. Chilling lush Thursday morning is more than two hours of chilled, jazzy, lo-fi beats - the perfect way to ease into the weekend.
Podcast 🎙
Last time we asked for some podcast recommendations, Glyn, Chief Customer Officer at Bionic, hit us up with loads of ideas. After Issue #77’s music nerd-fest, we thought we’d go with something more cerebral this time out. Hidden Brain uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behaviour, shape our choices and direct our relationships.
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Small business owners are the superheroes of the high street. But small business owners rarely get their voices heard. Now there’s a place where they can chat, share advice and help each other through the lows and highs of running a business. To get involved, we just need your business email address (we won’t use it for anything else) and we’ll send you an invite.
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