How can SMEs prepare their businesses for Brexit?
Brexit is consistently in the News headlines, building an uncertainty among SMEs. With an Taoiseach Leo Varadkar citing that Brexit poses “unprecedented economic, social, political and diplomatic challenges for Ireland” . These concerns affect SMEs who are focused on exports and imports in particular. In a report by DBEI, exporters within the Food and Beverage industry have been identified as strongly impacted. This has resulted in 29% of this group stating they have postponed decision making which could grow their business. If you are wondering where do I start, how am I going to grow my business?
Connect with local government supports and clinics
To help prepare in March 2018, The DBEI released a guide to the different supports that are being offered to companies ahead of Brexit. These supports range from the “Get Prepared Grant”, local clinics and a Brexit scorecard tool. You can find the guide here: https://dbei.gov.ie/en/Publications/Publication-files/Building-Stronger-Business-Getting-Brexit-Ready.pdf
Look within your own assets:
Notwithstanding the fact that a third of SMEs are highlighting the requirement for finance as a key challenge due to the lack of collateral and extensive onerous paperwork involved, only 27% of SMEs are actually following through and applying for loans. In contrast trading receivables will allow you to access unrestricted funding directly from the capital market investors removing the need for collateral, personal guarantees or other restrictive conditions.
If you would like to discuss funding, please contact the InvoiceFair team as we can help you fund your own growth.
Here are some DBEI publications that discuss Brexit:
https://dbei.gov.ie/en/Publications/Publication-files/Brexit-Survey-The-view-of-Irish-SMEs.pdf