Over half of the UK’s SMEs don’t
realise the true value of having a succession plan, but in today’s
fast-paced corporate market ignorance is far from bliss.

Without a succession plan, your legacy could fail or be
driven in an unprofitable new direction, so it’s important that you prepare for
whatever life throws at you, your family and your organisation.

Here are some of our tips for those business owners who
still haven’t finalised their succession plans.

Prepare Your Successor

You need to make sure that your child has the business
acumen and qualifications needed to succeed in your organisation, and this
means supporting them through university and helping them to earn experience in
your company and others. Find them a university course that will give them a
solid grounding in your market or in business in general. You also need to
share with them your vision for your business and guide them through everything
they need to know about making it a success going forward.

Help Them To Network

Alongside a grounding in business, your offspring will also
need a strong network of connections to support them through their journey to
becoming the leader of your business. Once you’ve found them a university
course that will give them the education they need, you can set them up with
accommodation that will allow them to mingle with and befriend future
innovators, visionaries and titans of the business world. If you’re looking at
student accommodation for your child in a bustling city like Cardiff, then
consider using premier accommodation provider Collegiate, which offers
properties packed with amenities to help students socialise and prosper.
Students living
in these properties are able to network with the best of their university’s
student population, allowing your children the chance to meet and bond with
future industry peers who could provide them with valuable support.

Create A Comprehensive Plan

When you think of creating a plan and actually having a
document ready for your children for when you leave your business, you probably
think of just giving them the basic facts and letting them work out the rest
for themselves. However, this could leave them struggling to get up to speed
when they take over from you, particularly if you have to leave suddenly due to
an emergency. As such, it’s important that you have a comprehensive plan in
place that includes details of everything your child could possibly need to run
your business efficiently.

Leave Them With A Supportive Team To Guide Them

Once you’ve left your business, you need to make sure that
other staff members remain to provide your child with guidance and the benefit
of their experience. Long-term
staff members are incredibly important to the success of your business, so
create a supportive internal culture that staff will enjoy being a part of. You
should also make your senior team aware of what will happen after your
succession and make sure that they all feel confident in remaining with your
company.

Succession planning in business can be a long and arduous
process, but by using these tips you should be able to understand what you need
to do and create a viable plan for a prosperous future.

Trading CFDs is an
excellent way to make profits whether you are a veteran trader or a beginner.
It involves putting your money on an asset depending on where you think the
price is headed. You buy if you expect it to go up and sell if you think it is
going to decline.

If you are just starting
out, you may need to take some time to understand the details of CFD trading. There are as many
platforms as there are providers and all come with their varied
functionalities.

As a result, you will need
to:

• Study how CFD trading works
• Create an account
• Figure out a trading Plan
• Find trading opportunities
• Choose a trading platform
• Open and close your first position

Study How CFD Works

First off, you must
understand what Contracts for Difference are and how they work. It may also be
necessary to find out about other forms of trading in order to understand it
better. The best way to understand CFD trading is by taking a
course with a reputable academy or provider.

There is also a lot information about this form of trading online. Reading articles from expert sources such as Saxo Markets will give you detailed information about CFD trading.

Create an Account

A beginner trader may be
advised to begin with a demo account. This allows you to learn the ropes as you
practice trading before getting into the thick of it. It is easy to open an
account and it will take you a few steps and very short time to open one.

You are required to fill
in some details which will then be verified. Once that is done, you must
deposit some funds into the account. From them on, you can top up your account
using your credit or debit cards or an online payment service like PayPal.

Create a Trading Plan

Your strategy will be
informed by several factors including the following:

• Your commitment and availability
• Your motivation
• Available funds
• Attitude towards risk
• Your preferred markets to trade
• Choice of strategies

Your trading plan will direct your trading
activity. Also, it will help you to fine-tune your strategies and guide you
into making better decisions when you are under pressure. Moreover, it helps
you to determine your expected profit, acceptable loss as well as risk management
approaches.

Find Trading Opportunities

There are lots of markets
to choose from. However, you cannot simply jump on the first one that comes up.
Remember, you must study the prices to determine the direction they are taking
before you buy or sell.

Markets include shares,
Forex, commodities, cryptocurrencies as well as indices. Your chosen platform
should be in a position to help you with is often an unnerving task.

Choose a Trading Platform

There are many platforms
to choose from that will help you with your accounts, positions and strategies.
They send you customized alerts and help you with trading as well as risk
management tools.

Open Your First Position

Everything you have been
doing so far has been leading to this moment; your first position. Once you
have chosen a market, you are ready to play ball. First of all, decide whether
you are going long or short.

Study your market of
choice and try to predict the direction the price is taking. Then, monitor all
your open positions and close them by choosing the ‘close’ option. If you think
the price is spiraling, go short. If it is rising, go long.

You will either make a
profit or a loss depending on how your predictions go. These will be calculated
by multiplying market movement by your trade’s size.

Conclusion

As you buy and sell, keep
in mind the prices. Also, be prepared for your predictions to go either way.
Making losses is a part of trading. However, you will make profits too. You could
also have a sound case of beginner’s luck and make a profit on your very first
try.

The trick is to be
patient, using the right tools to manage risk and knowing when to stop losses.

With over 5.9 million SMEs in the UK, the competition can be fierce in some sectors.

So if as a small business owner you’re looking to grow in 2020 it’s important to stay on top of business trends and news.

In post we’ll discuss the top three emerging small business tech trends you need to pay attention to.

By taking advantage of these rising trends you’ll be more effective, save a ton of time and take your business to the next level.

Top 3 Small Business Tech Trends

1. Cloud Technology

The cloud is going to become increasingly prominent in the years to come as companies move more of their business functions to online-based systems. As of 2018 research finds, 88% of UK businesses were already using cloud services.

Thanks to the cloud, small businesses can access technologies that were beyond them not so long ago. And that facility gives them a level playing field with much larger enterprises.

Another major advantage of the cloud is its affordability. Because you only pay for the services you use, your running costs will be much lower. Besides, most cloud-software make it easy to upgrade to more features as your needs change. So you can keep a lean infrastructure as you scale your business.

Cloud software also allows for flexibility and remote working with more ease than ever before. The end result of that being contented staff – if you have them – and improved staff retention.

Indeed, this is the case for accounting software. Here is what cloud accountants BrooksCity had to say.  Cloud accounting software gives SMEs the opportunity to invest in a low-cost technology platform. One that offers robust solutions and the ability to stay on top of your accounts from anywhere and at any time.

2. Automation Software and AI

Every year businesses in the UK are losing 120 hours to admin duties. This is a significant amount of time that small business owners can use instead to push their business forward. The rise of automation can be seen as a relief at a time when everyone is busier than ever.

Although still in its infancy, the rate of adoption for automation software is increasing at a rapid pace. And with good reason, entrepreneurs are able to achieve more with less by replacing manual processes with automated ones.

AI assistants for example can take mundane tasks like scheduling, notes taking or follow-ups off your plate. Think of all the time you spend chasing late payments, another growing problem.

Or you can use a chatbot to interact with your customers on your behalf. This not only frees up your support staff but gives customers instant answers to their queries.

Automation can be used for any number of processes, no matter their complexity. A growing number of very affordable solutions make this a very interesting proposition for small businesses looking to get ahead of the curve.

3. Personalisation of Customer Service

The customer relationship is in a constant state of evolution. We live in an era of technology with a range of channels through which prospects may reach you.

Today’s customers are product and brand aware and tend to have sound knowledge of the organization they are working with or buying from. In such an environment there is a massive expectation for customized services.

Such services must cater to the exact needs and wants of your customer, increasing their feeling of connection to your company. In other words, it keeps the customer satisfied.

As recent statistics show, seventy-eight per cent of consumers view content relevant to them as a determining factor in their decision to buy. And two-thirds of them, can and will switch brands if service is poor.

This means that the delivery of a personalised customer experience should be at the heart of your customer relationship strategy.

Conclusion

As we have seen, the small business space is ever evolving. But if you take the time to implement these key tech trends you have every chance of hitting your business growth goals and leaving your competition in the dust.