Alongside this advice are statistics showing that businesses which seek external advice are more likely to succeed: the FSB stated that "research has shown that 70% of small businesses that receive mentoring survive for five years or more which is double the rate compared with non-mentored entrepreneurs". Data from the BIS Small Business Survey 2012 shows that medium sized businesses are more likely to seek business advice than SME's. And 68% of the SME employers canvassed for the survey intend to grow their businesses over the next 2 to 3 years, with 60% focusing on developing leadership capability, 65% on developing new products or services and 74% by increasing their workforce skills.
So for those smaller and micro businesses not to lose out on valuable external business advice, it is worth pointing out that business advice does not need to cost a fortune. Carefully selected, clearly scoped coaching or mentoring with agreed outcomes can be a worthwhile investment. Growth Accelerator is offering workshops for micro businesses with between 1-4 employees to explore routes to growth without great expenditure. Ready for Business offers business plan support for start-ups and the new Enterprise Nation initiative will provide a supportive community for enterprising business owners. Find out more about any of these schemes, and how business coaching can be a valuable development tool, by contacting Yourcoaching isla@yourcoaching.co.uk
