25,000+ Council Jobs Axed – Good News or Bad?
The recent announcement of a BBC survey that has revealed upwards of 25,000 jobs are under threat in councils up and down the country has sent shockwaves through the system. But is the prospect of job losses on such a massive scale good or bad news for those entrepreneurs looking to develop their business plans in the near future? Basically, could your venture succeed or suffer as a result of this news?
When can job cuts be seen as a positive?
It is a fact of business life that your bad news is often good news for someone else. Yes, it might sound a little mercenary, but it’s the balance that the universe provides us with.
If your business plan is to offer services that are being currently monopolised by local authorities you’ll be thrilled (but reservedly thrilled for decencies sake!) at the news. With the expected workforce cuts, local authorities will be stretched to breaking point which will give new competition a route into the market.
If your business plan is to offer specialist placement or re-training services to those in the public sector, then you’ll have plenty of opportunity for success. There will be tens of thousands of workers who will need to learn new skills, be given career advice and be offered a chance at finding new employment. I imagine that there will be a whole sector keen to cash in on this opportunity.
If your business plan is to offer small business advice or funding, there are bound to be a number of individuals losing their jobs who will be glad of the release from the daily humdrum of working for a council and can now pursue their entrepreneurial dreams with a little bit of help from you.
If your business plan is to offer counselling services there will certainly be an uplift in the number of customers in need of your soothing toned advice and guidance, although due to the nature of your business it is unlikely that this will bring you much joy.
When can job cuts be seen as a negative?
New ventures often rely on their local authority for a number of things, and the job losses can only result in delays and frustration.
If your business plan requires the application for grants or any other form of government funding, it will certainly be more difficult to get now, not least because a council workforce stretched by its losses will take much longer to process their paperwork (not that they were renowned for their speed before!)
If your business plan relied on applications for permission to do anything (extensions, erecting signage, change of land use, and so on), once again you’ll find that a stretched council team will be a slow council team.
If your business plan was to supply goods or services to your local authority then you may well find that not only do they not have the budget they’d hoped for at the beginning of the year, if you were supplying to their workforce their needs will soon be greatly reduced.
So whether this announcement is good or bad news for your venture will depend on what your business plan is. The important thing to remember is that every cloud has a silver lining; it’s just so much better if you’re not the cloud in this scenario!
