Set for Success in Business
Posted by Rachel Flower / April 25th, 2020 / No responses
We’re putting the finishing touches to a session we’re running at Festival of Entrerprise (online of course!). We’re going to be talking to small business owners about the how to sell, what to sell, consumer behaviours and trends, protecting yourself and your customer, being strategic and honest in your messaging.
And we’re also busy relaunching our “Legal-Easy” online solutions, equipping small business owners with essential contracts for SMEs, training, and support on how to do your own checks on the small print.
“Can’t I just get free stuff off the internet?”
“I’ve got some contracts from a friend so I’m ok thanks”
“It’s all too complicated and expensive, I’ll just ignore it for now.”
“I’m only small, I don’t need to worry about that stuff”
“I just trade with people I trust.”
Unfortunately 8 of 10 entrepreneurs fail in the first 18 months, according to Bloomberg. According to the last ONS study into the area only 45% of startups survive beyond five years, whilst a recent study by the insurer RSA suggests that 55% will fail to make their fifth birthday.
Key reasons for business failure are related to cash flow, being overly reliant on one or two larger clients, and having disputes with suppliers & customers.
These things can be easily avoided with some strong foundations in place to build your business offering upon. But accessing traditional legal advice can be expensive, time consuming and feel complex to small business owners. We get it. Everyone in Serenwood has worked in Big Law and we know that that level of professional advice is out of reach to most small businesses.
Despite the fact that Serenwood already offer a very competitive alternative to traditional legal firms, we still find that small businesses are reticent to engage us. These same businesses often spend £1000s on websites, marketing and fancy branding, but stop short of protecting their brand, trading on solid terms with their customers and ensuring their supply chain is robust. It’s human nature, though, to concentrate on the fun & sexy stuff. Try as we might, we’ve struggled over the years to make contracts as interesting as a new sales funnel or an ad campaign.
So a few years ago we came up with a great idea. We designed a group programme specifically for small business owners to get-savvy on their own terms. We did a soft launch of our Get-Savvy Business Club, aimed at small businesses who want to grow strong. There was the option to upgrade into an annual membership programme making it super affordable for small business clients to get their hands on our professionally drafted contracts as well as ongoing support, training, education and networking with other like-minded businesses.
We got some great feedback but it was very difficult to get momentum, the age old problem about how to persuade small business owners to proactively invest in legal and commercial support.
But in the wake of Covid-19, we’ve seen a massive influx in demand again. Small business owners have been taking time out to reflect, rebuild (or the dreaded “pivot” word) and to focus on how to protect their business going forward. They are talking to us about customer promises, setting strong boundaries, meeting deliverables, being clear on cancellations and refunds.
(and yes, we’ve talked A LOT about force majeure clauses).
So with that in mind, we’re launching a pared-down version of the Get Savvy Business Club, aimed at getting small business contracts and training out to the market as quickly as possible. I’m partnering with Gemma Went, small business mentor and digital marketing expert, to get this out as far and wide as possible to help people at this time.
Helping small business owners to access much needed legal know-how, professionally drafted contracts, training and knowledge – to keeping trading and growing from a stronger foundation.
No more excuses. It’s time to stay safe. Let’s make the time to protect your business.
Email hello@serenwood.co.uk and we will send you details of the Legal Easy solution.
