Business schools: Your country needs you… to save our SMEs
With tighter restrictions coming into place across the country, local businesses would be forgiven for feeling fear and uncertainty about what is coming next as we go into a second wave of Covid-19.
No business is immune — but those in the SME category are particularly at risk.
Small business owners have been significantly impacted by local lockdowns and measures to curb the coronavirus pandemic. They are less likely than their larger peers to hold large reserves of cash or to have the administrative capacity to access the support they need.
But while the SME community undoubtedly needs financial support to weather this second storm, almost as important is what it often missed: advice, guidance and networking.
Don’t underestimate the power of having someone to turn to, someone to discuss problems with, someone to bounce new ideas off and offer some fresh thinking. Running a business can be a lonely job — networking and advice can be just as important as a cash injection.
Small to medium businesses make up 99.3 per cent of total businesses in the UK, and around three fifths of employment. To keep our economy going, it is essential we look after them. While the government has implemented several schemes using financial levers, ministers should think more holistically, and support business leaders directly through a nationwide programme of advice and access to a network of expert mentors.
For this, we must turn to our business schools.
Business schools have the ability and the opportunity to provide the advice that all businesses need to succeed, reaching out into their communities of entrepreneurs. They are located all over the country, meaning they can provide local, relevant advice for SMEs in their area, supporting the regions at this crucial time.
Under the current government plans for levelling up, this is more important than ever.
The only businesses that will survive a second wave are the ones that can adapt to fit into the new Covid economy — but they will need advice on how to navigate their way through this. Local, specialised support from business schools can help businesses pivot to tackle new customer needs.
We have already seen how successful this approach could be. Last month, the Small Business Charter launched the Small Business Leadership Programme. Funded by the government, this programme provides a 10-week course for SME owners to help them navigate the turbulent times we’ve all experienced since coronavirus first hit.
As we continue through this crisis, we must look forward to the world we want to build back after. I regard the next few months as the biggest opportunity for enterprising businesses — opportunity comes when there is a certain amount of flux in the business environment. Disruption highlights gaps and therefore presents the opportunities for those looking to start a business.
This is exactly the kind of behaviour we need to encourage. Back in the mid 80s, we started the enterprise allowance scheme: if people had an idea, we would agree you could draw unemployment benefits for 12 months without looking for work. Out of this simple system, 350,000 businesses started, and 30 years later two made the FTSE 100. Britain is an extremely entrepreneurial society — people just need the opportunity and the encouragement.
What we need now are similarly radical ideas to harness people’s entrepreneurial talent in this time of great uncertainty. As some of the key crisis support schemes are wound down, we must look to future-facing ideas which help build back and encourage our business network.
Business schools have the unique opportunity to do this. We must ensure they are central to the future economy we want to build.
Main image credit: Getty