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Money, money, money
The sun was shining and the scene couldn't have been better for my first Wyseminds financial masterclass. I had invited my most established group of Wyseminds entrepreneurs – Claudia (WAW), Shokoofeh (TANFIT), Agnes (MENDED) and Loviisa (NAPP) – along to celebrate their journey so far but also to encourage them to think about their next phase of development and growth.

I was taught very early on by the co-founder of Specsavers, Doug Perkins – AKA Dad – that lawyers and financiers should be supporting your vision or idea as early as possible. His view was that if you brought them in only once you had framed your triumphant picture of success then you should be prepared to have the same kind of relationship and connection as if they were someone invited late to a party. In other words, not connected to the original excitement and therefore always always seeming as if they want to dampen the fun.

Planning your future, therefore, should not be an afterthought and so our get-together, Finding the Right Next Step for Growth, was designed to bring in a financial understanding to support the next phases of the entrepreneurs’ journey. Claudia, Shokoofeh, Agnes and Loviisa – all armed with with their three-year visions, business canvasses, and a three-minute pitch –  were joined by Leslie Pots, owner of Adviesbureau 1963, which was set up to support the financial needs of small and medium enterprises, including how to bring financial models to life, how to calculate revenues, costs (ongoing and one-off) and crucially, how to make the right choice of who to support your future dream.

It turned out to be quite a day, with no question left unturned, from "where do we account for certain costs in our projections?" to  "how can we calculate the right gross margin of my total product mix?" and "how do I know my pricing is correct?". The most important lesson turned out to be about understanding how you are different and who your idea serves. If you are clear about this, you gain in confidence and make better decisions (I think Loviisa changed a few things over the course of the day) and as a result your passion transforms into a clear purpose for yourself and others.


Recession equals opportunity. Yes, really.
Two summers on from the global pandemic and It feels as if there is a definite move towards pre- and post-covid performance comparisons, with new entrepreneurs coming through to Wyseminds driven by a pre/post performance comparison rather than focusing purely on pulling themselves out of covid. So what? Well, one is all about survival, where we do what we can to succeed whilst the other means that we are more confident that we have arrived at a safer place and are brave enough to pull back the sheets to compare the performance that once was. A word to the wise, however: performance comparison is fine but future performance requires a different approach especially with a recession on the horizon.

Given this potentially gloomy outlook, my reading over the past few weeks has very much been focused on patterns of success in a recession. Despite ‘2022 turning out to be gloomier than anyone’s expectations’, to quote the opening phrase of a recent Harvard Business Review article on how companies should invest in a downturn, it seems that recession can also present opportunities as it ‘separates the wheat from the chaff’, leaving customers, suppliers, and talent who were connected to the chaff, seeking to belong to the wheat.

Of course, this is not always straightforward, as Doug Perkins said in an interview with Wyseminds during Covid: "sometimes it takes time to identify what you want and need to move forward. And you can’t beat good, old reliable SWOT and PEST analysis, as old fashioned as they may seem, to see the gaps and the opportunities that suit you best."

As with his advice on getting your financiers in late to the party, this has become a firm starting point with me at Wyseminds when looking with entrepreneurs into the future. And as supporting entrepreneurs to explore and grow by creating a company with a clear purpose is a passion of mine, I was also particularly gratified to read that business leaders were encouraged to ‘separate [themselves] from the crowd and plan for the next expansionary phase’ with, naturally, the right balance of operational efficiency and a defined idea of how to separate said wheat and chaff.
 
 
This last month we followed Shokoofeh’s journey; Shokoofeh is the founder of Tanfit and has been part of the Wyseminds Lift-Off programme for the past 12 months, taking the time to discover the right next step that’s led her to start making some big plans for women the world over to shine and be seen. Read her journey with Wyseminds >
 
 
 
How Wyseminds is supporting your future growth
We are investing in our online system to ensure more entrepreneurs are able to create a seamless path to resilient growth. This month we are getting together with digital learning agency, RMMBR and its fabulous team, to bring greater accessibility to "your journey" with a step-by-step programme that ensures we never lose a great idea!

Ready to start your own journey?
If you would like to find out more about how we support entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, perhaps you have been inspired by Agnes, or know of someone who needs to know more about the power of "sticking to the knitting'', we have our introduction workshops running July and August. Take a look at what’s on here.

Alternatively, you can plunge right in and sign up to our Lift-Off Programme here.
 
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