Birmingham is one of the best cities in the UK for business. In fact, it’s been named the country’s most entrepreneurial city outside London by the Centre for Entrepreneurs. If you’re ready to start growing your Birmingham-based business, you’ll need to implement smart strategies to help ensure continued success. By making the right investments, your business will outshine the competition and go from strength to strength.
Growth programs
Birmingham City University offers bespoke services, specialist advisors, and knowledge transfer products designed to help local businesses implement new technology, know-how, and skills in order to fuel growth. For example, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP), Europe’s leading growth programme, helps businesses enhance their competitiveness, productivity, and output via key knowledge, skills, and tech. Alternatively, Innovate for Advantage helps businesses develop new innovative products and services, as well as streamline processes, in order to improve overall performance. It draws upon a varied range of expertise, including e-business, web design, design, marketing, digital technology, engineering, social enterprise, business process improvement, and eco-friendly technologies. And, the Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise Network (KEEN) is a new business development programme created to help West Midlands-based SMEs grow their operations and revenue. It’s partially funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Insurance policies
Investing in the right insurance helps your business avoid unseen risks and costly fines while you grow your business. For example, management liability insurance personally protects you (and any other employee with management responsibility) against a range of claims, including health and safety law breaches and errors in financial reporting. Any resulting penalties can be expensive in these situations, but management liability insurance will cover any legal and compensation costs. And, if you’re looking for investors, you’ll likely be required to have this coverage. Additionally, accidents happen in the workplace every seven seconds. By investing in workers’ comp insurance, you’ll benefit from straightforward and comprehensive coverage that significantly decreases the financial ramifications of illness or injury that occurs during the scope of work, Cerity explains. Specifically, workers’ compensation insurance covers the cost of medical treatment and lost wages for employees injured on the job.
Employee training
Employee training is a key investment to help fuel business growth. In particular, employee training can help improve engagement, and businesses with engaged employees end up outperforming businesses lacking engaged employees by as much as 202%. Employee training and career growth opportunities essentially help employees feel valued. In turn, they’re motivated to give their all to their role. Additionally, organising customer service seminars is an effective way to also improve customer experience. When your business is able to successfully satisfy customers and exceed expectations, you potentially won’t have to deal with any poor reviews, which in turn deter future customers.
Growing your Birmingham-based business takes time, dedication, and smart planning. By investing in proven growth methods such as development programs, insurance, and employee training, you’ll be in a better position to expand your reach and revenue into the future.