There wasn’t anything particularly earth shattering in the budget for small businesses was there? So I’ve been surprised by how many people have said they felt deflated and discouraged by the growth forecasts, and that they now felt “we’re going to be in for a few tough years”
Add the Brexit uncertainty to the mix and you can see why some people are feeling the gloom.
Here’s the thing -if you want to decide that’s the case then of course that will be true for you. Because if you’re looking for evidence of low growth and difficult times then you’ll find them for sure; that’s just how our brains are wired – to look for things to support what we believe is true.
But how about looking at it another way?
What if we decide we can have whatever sort of year we want?
What if we decide what growth we’re going to have, and find the ways to achieve it?
Growth forecasts
The cheery news from the Chancellor is a growth forecast of just 1.5% this year, followed by 1.4% and 1.3% for the following 2 years. But just think what range of results must go into that figure – from the struggling and declining, through to high growth and top performing businesses and sectors.
I’ve been reflecting on the results my clients are seeing at the moment too, and I’m seeing an average of 19% growth in sales this year, with some clients growing by over 30%.
And according to a report out this week, Nottingham is the top city in England for small business growth, with 34% growth expected this year.
So clearly we don’t need to roll over and lower our own expectations. Just because the economy overall isn’t expected to grow much doesn’t mean any less opportunity out there for us.
How can we take control of our growth?
- Get clear what you want for your business next year
- Create a plan of how you’re going to achieve it
- Know where your growth is going to come from
- And execute your plan with daily, weekly and monthly consistency
And if you need any help with that, it’s exactly what we do!
So don’t let stuff in the news affect your confidence in your business; I’m convinced that we make our own luck and we create our own results, regardless of what’s going on out there.
I’m not saying we can’t get buffeted by what goes on in the larger economy, but by having a plan we’re committed to and building a strong financial base we’ll have the very best chance of deciding what our own budgets get to look like next year and beyond.