With the worst of the pandemic hopefully behind us, for many SMEs simply returning to business as usual is good enough.
But should firms be actually using this time to build back better? Shak Asghar, of Middlesbrough-based business support consultancy Nudl, believes so. Here he explains why businesses across the North should be looking at funding options to allow them to grow, rather than just standing still.
“It’s great that we’re getting back to normality and I know that the past year has been so, so tough on many businesses – it’s a relief to just get on with daily life.
“However, as the saying goes, if you’re not moving forward, you’re falling behind, which is where funding comes in – it’s a risk-free way to raise the capital needed for any type of growth initiative.
“That’s the main reason I set up Nudl; to make accessing this type of cash easy and straightforward, so business owners don’t have to take out loans or overdrafts just to get ahead.
Money for nothing
“One thing I often hear from businesses is that they’re doing fine as they are, with loyal clients and a steady stream of work, but guess what? No matter who you are, you could always be doing better. “And that’s why grants are so amazing – it’s free money, with no risk and no repayments, to help firms try something new and leave their comfort zone.
“There are so many things it can be spent on, from new premises to staff training, so I don’t believe there’s a business out there that couldn’t make use of a little extra capital. “Having said that, we also know that another reason that a lot of company owners don’t apply for financial support isn’t because they don’t want it – it’s because they don’t know how to go about it.
“A good funding application not only covers how much money you want and what you’ll spend it on; it also needs to give a full overview of your business, your aims and your achievements – and can make all the difference between success and failure.
“At Nudl, we work with firms to explain the whole process without jargon or complicated business speak before teaming up to create the strongest application possible.
“We want to take the hassle out of applying, meaning more businesses can get the cash they’re entitled to.
Spend, spend, spend
“There’s a bit of a misconception that funding can only be spent on physical things, such as buildings or equipment, but that’s far from the truth. “In reality, there is funding available for whatever a company needs to grow, whether that’s recruitment, training existing staff or paying for PR and marketing support.
“For example, with the world becoming increasingly online – particularly since the pandemic – something we see a lot of at the moment is grant funding to boost a team’s digital presence, whether that’s to support training or to get someone in to take over that aspect. “The important takeaway from this is that the funding isn’t just there for bricks and mortar, so if that’s not what a business needs – and in many cases it isn’t – that’s fine; it won’t have any bearing on the success of the application.
“At heart, all these grants – and, just as an example, the North East Growth Hub currently has 75 options for funding on its website alone – are about boosting businesses in all industries across the North – who wouldn’t want a bit of that?”
