The majority of small businesses don’t last beyond five years, a worrying figure that is hard to escape if you follow small business and startup news.
It’s obvious that starting and growing a business is a perilous occupation. Having an idea is one thing, but how do you take your lightbulb moment from startup to a growing business?
Access to finance, business support groups and a strong team are critical for many businesses in their early days, but entrepreneurs also need to focus on building their brand through marketing and PR and, in the run-up to Black Friday, ensuring they have a robust website that will be fit for purpose for the foreseeable future.
But when you are owner, manager, marketer and web designer in one, it’s hard to prioritise different business strategies to ensure your firm enjoys fast, controlled growth. So we’ve rounded up a panel of experts and small business owners to give advice on how to grow your business – from taking on your first employee to pitching to suppliers, and everything in between.
During our live Q&A from 1-2pm on Tuesday 24 November, our panel (listed below) will offer expert advice on how to grow your small business, whatever stage you are at. Taking part is simple: you just need to register to comment, and once you have signed up, you can post your questions in the comments thread below this article.
Alternatively, tweet @GdnSmallBiz with your questions, or email them to smallbusinessnetwork@theguardian.com and we’ll post them for you. Comments are currently open and we welcome questions in advance.
Johno Harris is a business growth manager at Business Growth Service, supporting SMEs throughout the Thames Valley region. Previously he worked as general director for Success Motivation International, a professional development company
James Brooke is CEO and co-founder of Amplience, a cloud-based merchandising and marketing platform. He founded his first internet company in 1994 and since then has been at the forefront of interactive media and e-commerce
Julie Baker is head of enterprise, business banking at NatWest, and is responsible for delivering new ways to provide enterprise support. She also chairs the enterprise board and acts as the Royal Bank of Scotland’s representative at the British Bankers’ Association on the enterprise agenda
Neeta Patel is CEO at New Entrepreneurs’ Foundation, an entrepreneur development organisation. Its aim is to develop the entrepreneurs of the future and enable them to build market-leading businesses
Steve Folwell is managing director of storage company Lovespace. Previously he worked for the Guardian as director of business development and brand extensions. He has also worked at McKinsey and ITV, and holds a MA in mathematics from the University of Cambridge and an MBA from London Business School
Armand David is a managing director at Brands2Life, an integrated communications agency that helps businesses use communications to deliver business impact. He’s an expert at helping organisations tie their marketing efforts together
Swati Biwal is the founder of Cheeky Food Company, making handmade savoury sprinkles, chutneys and pickles. The brand was launched in Selfridges’ food halls across the UK in August 2015, and is now stocked at various independent stores and online marketplaces
Rob Percival runs an online education business which has taught over 300,000 people how to build websites and make mobile apps. He also runs web hosting company Eco Web Hosting
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