The Practitioner: Funding for growth - options galore
The Practitioner is astounded at the choices available for funding the firm
AFTER A SUMMER of sunshine and not so much rain, growth is now the order of the day for my firm.
We have signed up on a leadership/growth-type course and embarked on the first few sessions.
It is good to have a mentor who isn’t encumbered by knowing how an accountancy practice works. It is making us think about every little process and the why’s and wherefores of how we operate.
Growth is the key word, however, and we are looking at ways that we can grow organically, to begin with. We have always classed ourselves as an innovative firm, and we have a couple of new offerings that we are hoping will pull in a larger market share.
With growth comes additional cost and investment of course, and we have been fortunate enough to get hold of some matched funding grants within the area.
Embarassment of riches
It really has been an eye opener on that front; I’m almost embarrassed that I didn’t know the extent of grants and funding available to SMEs.
Staff from the regional finance organisation have been more than helpful, even though I’m pretty sure they must be on some sort of commission with the amount of calls and emails they have sent me to make sure I’d filled in the online application form to get the ball rolling.
It’s fine having a great idea that you want new clients to sign up to, but without marketing it’s pointless. With that in mind we have recently appointed an external media company to take over our social media activity.
Facebook and Twitter are now updated daily with various links to our website and blog, and while it’s difficult to track the amount of new client activity our Google ranking has certainly increased. We now hover between page 1 and page 2, whereas before the social marketing work we were on page 5 at best!
It’s exciting times here for the practice; the staff are responding well to the new ideas and talking positively to clients about them. Growth is the word!
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The Practitioner’s uncensored thoughts come from within their own practice – having left a regional firm in the heart of England