Benjamin Franklin famously said “fail to prepare, you prepare to fail”. At First Recovery we couldn’t agree with this statement more. Our business is all about disaster recovery and understanding that the better the business continuity plan, the better the chance of surviving a business disaster and long term business recovery.

We know that from various business surveys, Brexit and the uncertainty surrounding it, is high up the list of current concerns for SMEs and small businesses. Another recent report from the Boston Consulting Group revealed that small businesses are likely to suffer most from Brexit. It concluded that the UK’s exit from the EU is likely to negatively impact small businesses through:

• Lower levels of capital investment;
• Reduced access to external finance;
• Reduced innovative activity;
• Lower levels of growth.

With this in mind, all businesses, whatever their size, should prepare for Brexit, by conducting a Brexit audit:

• Do you employ any EU nationals? What skills do they bring to the business?
• Do you have contracts with EU businesses?
• Manage your supply chain. Do you import goods from the EU? Can you source the same goods from within the UK? If you can’t, what are the VAT implications for you?
• Avoid currency uncertainty. Work with currency experts to help you develop a currency strategy.
• Talk to your bank and make them aware of any circumstances that could impact your cashflow.
• Know your target market. Can you expand outside Europe? Do Australia and China offer opportunities for your business to expand?
• Plan ahead – make sure you are forecasting at least a year ahead and review your figures each week so you know your numbers inside out. That way there will be no surprises.

As with business continuity planning, if you prepare for the future you give your business the best chance of not just surviving, but thriving long term.