Several entrepreneurs from Liverpool City Region took part in 老九品茶Cloud鈥檚 latest roundtable with MHA and Brabners.
Issues discussed included the growth of AI, impact of geopolitics, value creation and succession.
We鈥檙e all workaholics
Mark Stuart is the joint managing director and co-founder of Skelmersdale-based Stuart Energy, which supplies power generators.
He said: 鈥淚 think everyone around the room is a workaholic and we鈥檝e not mentioned it. We鈥檙e being hit by stormy weather in the economy but we鈥檝e all created and done other things to make sure we鈥檝e been resilient and grown the business.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all growing businesses and to grow in this economic climate is phenomenal. We should give ourselves a pat on the back.鈥�
Look after your people
Ken Deary is the chair of award-winning Right at Home, a Liverpool-headquartered franchise care business.
He said: 鈥淢y business is definitely not up for sale. I鈥檝e realised what we鈥檙e building is quality. We have ambition.
鈥淲hat I鈥檝e also taken from today is looking after people. I鈥檝e always said we look after our franchisees in our franchise business. We look after our staff and I want to look after my family.
鈥淏asically, all we鈥檙e going to do is grow this business. It was great hearing from others how they want to look after other people in the business.鈥�
Strength in community 聽
Anthony Chadwick is the founder of The Webinar Vet, which was established in 2010 to make veterinary education easier, more accessible and affordable.
He said: 鈥淟iverpool is a great city to be in. I鈥檝e lived here all my life and it鈥檚 great to see businesses being resilient.
鈥淲e have our ups and downs but actually the community is really important so we stick together and learn from each other.鈥�
Understand your role
Madina Barker is the managing director of robotic integration company CNC Robotics.
She said: 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 about understanding your value in the business. For us it鈥檚 our ability to innovate, it鈥檚 that we collaborate with our customers really well.
MHA and Brabners roundtable: Mark Stuart; Ken Deary; Anthony Chadwick; Madina Barker; Rob Richardson; Daniel Hayhurst; Lucy Campbell; Paul Davies; and Tony Reddin
鈥淲e鈥檙e responsive and we鈥檙e always available. 老九品茶 is tricky but it鈥檚 understanding where you sit in your market and what value you鈥檙e creating moving forward. Networks are really important.鈥�
Build quality and clarity
Experienced dealmaker聽Rob Richardson is a corporate finance partner at .
He said: 鈥淭oday has been fascinating. It鈥檚 been really good to hear about everyone鈥檚 businesses.
鈥淢y takeaway from today is it does feel like it鈥檚 been a challenging time but the reaction all the way through has been about building quality and clarity in everyone鈥檚 business.
鈥淚t鈥檚 that quality and clarity that will ultimately drive value. We also talk about succession and it鈥檚 about planning early rather than expecting it to happen.鈥�
Build solid foundations
Daniel Hayhurst is an experienced corporate lawyer at , specialising in private equity, venture capital matters and M&A transactions.
He said: 鈥淢ake sure you have that solid foundation in your business. We鈥檝e talked a lot around the table about how people focus on culture, purpose and quality.
鈥淏ringing that altogether and using that as the solid foundation of your business holds you in good stead to build that resilience that we all talked about.鈥�
Smart businesses invest
Lucy Campbell is the CEO of Right at Home and has a wealth of experience in scaling franchise businesses.
She said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 been fantastic to hear about the various different business models around the room. Although we might be working in different sectors there are so many synergies in the challenges that we鈥檙e facing.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really encouraging to hear of the optimism and resilience despite the challenging time that we鈥檙e facing. In times of pressure businesses tend to do one of two things. They either cut back on everything and effectively standstill.
鈥淗owever, the smarter businesses invest when others don鈥檛 to stay ahead of the curve. I鈥檓 fortunate as I鈥檓 backed by Ken (Deary) and he鈥檚 very much of that mindset and that has put us in a very strong position.
鈥淲e are optimistic about the future but not na茂ve about burying our head in the sand when it comes to the challenges.鈥�
Engaging with others is key
Paul Davies is the chief operating officer of software development company 聽Yozu. He also sits on the Creative Industries Board at LCR.
He said: 鈥淚nternally we鈥檙e always optimistic. Being a resilient business we鈥檙e always looking at ways we can improve and augment what we offer. Engaging and listening to other businesses helps us evolve.鈥�
Build resilience in revenue streams
Tony Reddin is a tax partner at MHA, specialising in personal, business and corporation taxation.
He said: 鈥淢y takeaway from today is to create resilience in the business by trying to establish long-term, sustainable and, where possible, contractual revenue streams that are not overly reliant on a few customers.鈥�