Four Ways Your UK Business Can Survive in the Long Term

As difficult as it can be to launch a successful startup, most entrepreneurs can tell you that the biggest challenge in business is maintaining that success in the long term. Depending on the industry, at least half of all startups can fail within the first two years. With each passing year, the survival numbers fall even further. So among businesses which have survived over many years, what are the keys to this sustained success?

Reduce unnecessary expenses

No business survives without being profitable in the long haul. It can take time to balance your books, and turning a big profit in one quarter doesn’t make your enterprise a success. You need to do a thorough assessment of your long-term outlook and cut costs that don’t lead towards building your core competencies. When you go through the numbers with your accountancy services, try to break down the expenses into what’s essential and non-essential. Are you paying over-the-top rates for a fancy London address that doesn’t add value to your business? Commercial space in nearby areas like Bromley can be more affordable and expansive, boosting your employees’ well-being and productivity without hindering your ability to deliver value to your clients.

Recognize change and adapt

Businesses continuously face change, even in the short term. Trends can come and go with the season; new technologies emerge each year that can disrupt industries, and political disputes can upset existing supply chains almost instantly. But when you’re trying to survive over the years and decades, you have to be prepared to adapt to long-term shifts as well. Netflix is a modern success story when it comes to businesses adapting to change. They are a recognized leader in today’s entertainment industry but started as a DVD rental service in 1997. Years of experimentation with online streaming in the early 2000s led them to become the dominant video-on-demand service platform they are now, capable of producing their big-budget shows.

Stay true to your core values

If you’ve been an entrepreneur your whole life, it’s easy to think that company values permeate through your organization. Yet many employees across industries have stories to tell about workplace culture is different from what’s on the corporate page. As a business founder, for instance, you may value the power of creativity and encourage those around you to work on new ideas. But further, down the chain of command, employees might be overburdened with work to the point where they have no extra time – or support from their immediate supervisor – to become innovative. If your company truly values things like creativity, diversity, and open communication, see to it that those values are infused continuously into every level of operations.

Serve the community

Japan’s business scene is a case study of long-term survival. It has thousands of businesses called “shinise” which are at least a hundred years old. While the highly traditional society of Japan and the tendency for such companies to be run by the same family for generations are contributing factors to this longevity, a strong relationship with the local community is one key factor which UK businesses could emulate. Your relationship with customers shouldn’t be a one-way source of value; both sides need to help form a dynamic and mutually beneficial relationship. Lead your business to serve your community, supporting local events and assisting other startups in gaining traction, for example. By adopting a mindset of long-term survival, you can look past what’s temporary and position your business to thrive for many years to come.