As reported by The Business Desk today, there are tough times ahead, especially in regions of the UK outside of the south east of England.  One of the few business minds to spot the riskiness of the now infamous 'slice and dice' financial instruments such as credit default swaps before the credit crunch took hold is a voice worth listening to. Moulton suggests that one of the last things we should be doing is relying on public sector bail-outs and issues a call to deal with the recessionary problem now rather than later.

Relying on funding is indeed a risky strategy, especially since much of it is drying up (see Yorkshire Forward Suffers funding cuts).  But as I see very frequently indeed, this leaves business owners who are trying to grow their business whilst cash isn't forthcoming in a real dilemma... how do they afford to grow?

Well, it often has to be a gradual process to put the business back into a shape where investors will consider it as an attractive proposition, but there is still some help available to kick-start SME growth by helping owners and senior managers develop their business strategy - a crucial prerequisite fopr growth - and leadership skills.

If your business has between 5 and 249 employees and you haven't benefited from such funding before, then you can claim from £500 to £1000 worth of funding to help you develop and get a head start.  Business Doctors are happy to sign post you in the right direction if you get in touch.

In this guest blog, Kevin Parry of Cogenic Management Consulting provides a view from Hong Kong, where he is lucky enough to be engaged in project work at the moment.  Kevin's view provides an interesting counterpoint to the current economic and political malaise affecting the UK.

Hong Kong is essentially a trading city (these days a Special Administrative Region) in China which has not lost its long tradition of fast moving, adapting and risk-taking since the handover from British rule back to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. The overall Chinese economy, if you believe the official statistics, is growing fast. 11.7% in the last quarter according to the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com) and the evidence is here of deal-making everywhere.

Hong Kong people are hard working (an average of 44.5 hours per week) and are famous gamblers, and one aspect of the hard work and willingness to take a risk for money is that people are very resilient in the face of losses, simply coming back to the table to bet again  The feeling about the future is positive; Hong Kong has some of the highest property prices in the world as a result of the rising levels of wealth and investment here. It is the main south China trading hub with the rest of the world and a knowledge centre for Chinese businesses, with a reputation for innovation and sophisticated tastes.

The warm weather (today is 26 degrees whereas London is 7 degrees) and excellent transportation systems make it easy to buy and sell services, goods and financial instruments. The ready availability of capital for investment; from Angel investors to corporate banks, also encourages new ventures expansion and growth. Income tax is 18% at the top rate here and most people only pay 15%. This means that far more of their salaries are disposable income than in the UK and translates into both personal investments and consumption of all kinds of products and services.

The business environment is also encouraged by the number of private clubs here, almost every business person belongs to one of more, which create a sense of a small and integrated community in which personal relationships count for more than contacts and purchasing portals. Here if you are trusted you can do business which is a contrast with the lack of trust sometimes evident in the UK business environment in which procurement is increasingly about price and little else. This must surely lead to a deflationary environment and will tend to make postponing investment the logical choice.

Hong Kong is a melting pot of cultures, ideas and influences. From Canada and the US to Japan, Singapore and Europe people, technology and ideas circulate freely, supported by advanced communications networks and fully integrated public transport systems. So is this a kind of Utopia? No, of course not. Hong Kong has its problems like everywhere else, but is striking when you arrive here is the “can-do” attitude; and if that’s not a competitive advantage, I don’t know what is.

Kevin Parry is a Programme Director and Consultant who has held programme director roles in global telecommunications businesses and healthcare and is interested in meeting fellow professionals and making presentations on the subject of project and programme management to suitable groups during his stay in Hong Kong.

As UK economic data and other indicators continue to paint a shaky picture of economic growth (according to Gordon Brown's latest warning, not to mention recent data including industrial output, balance of trade and house prices), it may seem like the green shoots of recovery are still some way off (although I'm wondering in an election year, which politician will be the first to overlook Norman Lamont's premature optimism in the early 90's recession and start to over-promise recovery at this time of of economic under-delivery).

An email I received from a contact this morning brought the message home to me - as if it were needed - that many real companies doing real work and employing real people really are struggling in the current climate; it really sounded like a cry for help.

Part of our role as Business Doctors is to provide a link between private sector SMEs and public sector bodies who are responsible for implementing economic policies aimed at stimulating and regenerating businesses - in fact, it's the Business Doctors' mission to help bring companies back to health and I for one believe passionately in that.

So without beating about the bush, the point of this blog is quite simply and unashamedly to make you aware that there's a strong possibility that Yorkshire companies who need help to grow may be able to benefit from a fully funded project worth £3000, which can be delivered by Business Doctors, to provide a full strategic review, implementation planning and support for your business operations.  This really is a fantastic way to get a clear picture of where you're going in business in these difficult times and get some help to make sure projects to deliver change are properly set up.

The funding is provided by Yorkshire Forward, and brokered by Business Link and there are certain criteria which companies should fulfill in order to qualify (namely your company should be based in Yorkshire, have been operating for a few years or so and be looking to grow).

Let us help you get your ideas off the ground - together we can beat the recession!