Advice and planning pay

Bosses in the south east who have taken expert advice and drawn up a business plan are among the most optimistic about the future growth of their companies, according to the latest Business Link research.

The quarterly South East Business Monitor shows that half the region’s companies are confident that their turnover will grow in the coming 12 months and a quarter are expecting to recruit new staff.

The survey also reveals that across the south east 62 per cent of businesses with an action plan in place foresee a better year ahead and more than a third (34 per cent) believe they will need to take on additional workers.

Similarly, Business Link customers have higher than average expectations for the future and are more likely to have increased their turnover and staff over the last year than non-users of Business Link services.

The South East Business Monitor draws on interviews with 1,800 small and medium-sized enterprises from the region. The survey gauges the state of the business community and helps ensure that business support services evolve to meet the changing needs of users.

“Business planning is essential for long-term business success,” says Business Link Kent chief executive Claire Coday. “In fact, nationally we have evidence that SMEs seeking out and implementing business advice typically achieve profit levels at least twice that of businesses going it alone.

“During the past year we have spoken to more than 5,000 companies in the south east across all sectors of the economy. And there is a marked difference in business optimism, depending on the attitudes of individual businesses towards taking advice and planning ahead.”