Sir Bernard Zissman has high hopes for Birmingham business
It may be daunting but Midlands businesses have always been battlers, says Sir Bernard Zissman
Hope springs eternal
It’s probably fair to say that in the current economic climate there is a great deal of pessimism around and precious little optimism.
This is perhaps no surprise in an era when our lives have become dominated by mass media, press and television who at times appear intent on making our lives a total misery by painting the gloomiest possible picture.
Inevitably, the media will maintain that they reflect what is happening in the real world and, to a point, I would agree.
However, in many offices, on factory floors, in restaurants, coffee shops and wine bars and in other places where business people tend to congregate, the fight is on to succeed in spite of the depressing news which engulfs us.
It is not difficult to appreciate why the picture has become confused.
We sit and read of the battle of the giants. The Prime Minister says one thing, the Chancellor agrees – in a roundabout sort of way – and the Governor of the Bank of England says something else completely.
And what he is saying is clear: “When you’ve dug a dirty great hole don’t keep digging!”
And there is still more confusion in terms of Government’s approach to supporting businesses.
Here in Birmingham, we hear a great deal about enterprise and entrepreneurs and how they are the bedrock of our region’s success. Small businesses employ somewhere around 13 million people and how do the Government reward this huge band of employers ? They saddle them with over £70 billion of regulation, reduce capital allowances and are about to add an additional burden to extra business rates.
Despite that we hear that entrepreneurs are the very people who will be out there working their socks off around the clock to lead our country out of recession and back to the vibrant economy we enjoyed not too long ago.
Sadly, we’re saying goodbye almost on a daily basis to businesses, many of which have become household names.
We feel their loss in an almost personal way, whether it’s because we used to shop ‘there’ for years or even generations, we used to drive one of ‘those’ vehicles for ever, we’ve enjoyed ‘that’ product or ‘this’ service over the years.
But ultimately, no businesses is owed a living. If they don’t move with the times, if they don’t give the customer what he or she wants at the right time and at the right price, and even worse if they are overstaffed and overpaid, they are doomed to fail.
It is little wonder, amongst all these conflicting messages, that the man in the street is confused.
Small business folk struggling to survive simply cannot understand why they are too small to save whilst the big boys are too big to lose.
At some point we need to take matters into our own hands, so let’s look at the opportunities right on our doorstep.
Birmingham and its region are fortunate to have a host of bold and innovative entrepreneurs who not only have the skill and energy but also the cash to invest in supporting good businesses who have hit a problem – usually a cash problem – or fresh start-up companies willing to give it a go even in these times.
Many would shudder at the thought of entering the world of enterprise right now but I wonder whether there is a better time to start a new business than at a time when the economy is on the floor and, hopefully, can only go in one direction?
Certainly, it takes courage and it means risk but Birmingham and the West Midlands have plenty of experience to help new entrepreneurs get going, and we’re certainly up to taking risks.
We are particularly fortunate to have a number of routes to successful funding, the first is of course Investbx, the Midland’s very own virtual trading platform.
In many ways, Investbx symbolises the ambition of the city of Birmingham and the West Midlands.
The vision and support shown in getting such a groundbreaking concept up and running really does show our collective resolve to seek innovative solutions to economic challenges, in this case bridging the difficult £500,000 to £2 million gap in raising finance.
Already, Investbx has three companies listed and is the opportunity which every small to medium business with ambitions to grow should consider.
The latest arrival on Investbx is Early Equity plc, the dual listed local company of which I am chairman, which invests in new businesses and those which might be in need of equity investment.
Early Equity works closely with Advantage Business Angels, of which I am also chairman. ABA is a network group which provides backing for businesses needing suitable investment to grow, and together with the network of Investbx provides the West Midlands with a unique route to investment when the banks continue to find life very challenging.
This is not a time for the faint-hearted and certainly not a time to give up hope.
If you’re thinking of starting up a new business or if you are in business with good prospects and an enthusiastic management team and are stuck for funding, the solutions are out there.
Birmingham’s heritage in terms of the financial and business and professional services is peerless and I truly believe that the solutions to the problems we face globally are right here within touching distance.
So leave those intent on digging holes to keep digging. Let us here in Birmingham and the West Midlands, the engine room of the nation, do what we have always done, take advantage of the situation, seize the initiative, work even harder – if that’s possible – and emerge from these dark days of recession, credit crunch, call it what you like, even stronger than when it began.
Recession is like a very, very, bad winter, but like all winters, they end and with spring comes sunshine, hope and a much better feeling.
