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Running a business can be lonely. When you’re the person making the decisions, carrying the responsibility and trying to work out what to do next, it can be difficult to find people you can have an honest conversation with. That’s one of the things that makes the Business Growth Programme different. A room full of other business owners who understand the pressures, challenges and uncertainties of running a business, without judgement and without having to pretend everything is fine. Sometimes, having the right people around you can change the way you see things. Be bold | Be brave | Be Outside the Bubble #BusinessGrowth #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #PeerLearning #BGP
Running a business can be lonely
Keeping your team busy doesn't necessarily mean you're making money. 🧮 One business was charging an hourly rate for council maintenance work, but hadn't included its overheads. On paper, it looked like they were breaking even. In reality, they were making a loss. Knowing your true cost per hour is essential if you want to price work profitably. Busy isn't the same as profitable. Be bold | Be brave | Be outside the bubble #BusinessFinance #PricingStrategy #Profitability #SMEs #BusinessGrowth #OutsideTheBubble
⚠️ Breaking Even Isn't Always Breaking Even
Is the Business Growth Programme for you? Dan’s answer is simple: it doesn’t matter what sector you work in or whether you have an academic background. What matters is whether you’re responsible for the strategy and want the space, challenge and perspective to take your business forward. From managing people and P&L to marketing and making the right decisions, sometimes you don’t need another answer. You need someone to challenge your thinking. 🤔 Be bold | Be brave | Be Outside the Bubble #BGP #BusinessGrowth #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #CranfieldSchoolofManagement
Think the BGP isn’t for you? Think again.
Raising your prices can feel uncomfortable. Especially when you genuinely care about your customers and want to be fair to them. But should that discomfort come at the expense of your business? If your pricing doesn't reflect the real cost of running your business, you can end up making it harder to deliver the quality, service and support your customers value. Being fair to your customers matters. So does building a business that can actually sustain them. What do you think? Be bold | Be brave | Be Outside the Bubble #PricingStrategy #BusinessGrowth #SMEUK #BusinessOwners #Entrepreneur
Kind Business Owners Still Go Out of Business.
A strategy becomes much more valuable when it’s been properly challenged. Dan shares how presenting their business plan to an external panel forced them to test their thinking, listen to difficult questions and make changes based on the feedback. And importantly, the plan didn’t stay with the leadership team. It became something the wider organisation understood and could refer back to. Good strategy isn’t about getting everything right first time. It’s about being willing to challenge your thinking. Be bold | Be brave | Be outside the bubble #OutsideTheBubble #BusinessStrategy #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #BGP
Sometimes your business needs an OUTSIDE perspective
Sales chase revenue. Finance protects profitability. If they aren't talking to each other, profit slips through the cracks. Be bold | Be brave | Be Outside the Bubble #BusinessGrowth #SMEStrategy #Profitability #BusinessLeadership #OutsideTheBubble
Your Sales Team Could Be Selling You Into Losses
What makes a business plan truly valuable? 📊 It’s not just about putting ideas on paper. The real value comes from the research, the numbers, the data and the thinking that happens behind the plan. As Dan reflects, the BGP process pushed them to go much deeper than their usual annual strategy planning: “I've never written a plan like this.” From analysing the numbers to bringing the leadership team into the process, the plan became more than a document, it became something that shaped the way the whole organisation thought about the future. Because a strong business plan shouldn’t just sit in a folder. It should help you decide where the business is going next. Be bold | Be brave | Be outside the bubble #BusinessGrowth #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #BusinessStrategy #CranfieldBGP
What makes a business plan actually useful?
Discounting feels harmless... Until you realise how many extra sales you need just to stand still. Protect your margins. Be bold | Be brave | Be Outside the Bubble #PricingStrategy #ProfitMargin #SmallBusinessTips #BusinessAdvice #OutsideTheBubble
⚠️ That "Small" Discount Could Be Costing You Thousands
When was the last time you truly switched off from your business? 📵 For many business owners, stepping away for a day can feel almost impossible. There’s always another email, another decision, another thing that needs attention. But sometimes, getting out of the business is exactly what gives you the space to think differently about it. As Dan reflects, being able to step away helped put things back into perspective: “I should be able to leave the business without being imprisoned by the business.” That’s not about working less. It’s about building a business that doesn’t depend on you being switched on every minute. Be bold | Be brave | Be outside the bubble #BusinessGrowth #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #BusinessStrategy #CranfieldBGP
When did you last switch your phone off... on purpose?
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