Well it was, until the pandemic trumped it! A real double whammy! Only a little over half of businesses in the UK might be ready to meet the challenges of Brexit, from January 2021.

“For importers, exporters, freight forwarders, customs brokers, consultants already engaged in international trade or those looking to access new markets, now is the time to review existing business plans, assess strengths and opportunities, and develop new strategies for business life beyond January 2021, after the transition period has ended” Dinesh Unadkat affirms.

Regenerating the economy, finding new trading partners, and nurturing mutually beneficial business connections coinpal and supply chains in a post COVID-19 and Brexit era are central to Government policy, regardless of the outcome of the current negotiations or the terms of any exit agreement.

Doing business in any emerging or established market is a challenge, but can be a rewarding journey, if you follow some key steps and develop a market entry strategy that is right for your business, products, and services. From country to country, industries and sectors vary vastly.

We can help you to get to grips with your preferred country/countries and all relevant technicalities, or guide you through the “dos and don’ts” and help you to shape your strategy, for moving forward.

Listening to the presentations during the recent HMRC and ACITA (Automated Customs and International Trade Association) Border Operating Model webinar and other debates, it is certain that future arrangements will be challenging to say the least. Our exit from the European Union will create significant change to customs process and procedure, border formalities, VAT, and other regulatory regimes.

For instance, obtaining an EORI (Economic Operators Registration and Identification) number, or AEO) (Authorised Economic Operators) status or accessing UK Global Trade Tariffs for your products etc., are just a few of the Brexit readiness planning checklist items, that will be key to shaping import and export strategies.

These in turn will help you to maximise on Free Trade Agreements, expand or diversify into different markets, manage cash flow and currency fluctuations in a volatile market, and also ensure that relevant management and staff training are in place.

Overcoming these complexities, technicalities, and protocols systematically will help to ensure that SMEs and large businesses can tap into the medium and longer-term opportunities that await them in emerging markets in South and East Asia.

Your Brexit readiness journey starts now!

E-mail ash@ashverma.com for a free, confidential exploratory discussion about your Brexit readiness plan.

It is 14 March 2020 at the Hilton Park Lane, London and there is an air of unease at the sixth British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards, BEDSA. Not something that I have ever witnessed before at any high-profile, glamorous event.

“Until the very last minute, we were uncertain about when lockdown would hit us”, emphasises Rajan Singh, a pioneer and leading veteran of the UK’s Asian Entertainment and Media industry, during one of our regular on-line meetings to assess the impact COVID-19 is having on the business world, and on the entertainment sector, in particular.
Rajan is the architect of the BEDSAs and collaborates with Sporting Equals to organise this prestigious event. “It would have been a financial challenge and a huge disruption all round if we had to cancel”, he adds.

The six hundred guests and celebrities from the world of sport, healthcare, entertainment, media, armed forces, multi-nationals, big and small business, braved the evening to acknowledge the participation of people of all ages from around the country.

As ever, celebration by nominees and winners alike was a testimony to their commitment and achievements, captured on live TV, was poignant Families and friends were proud of the achievements being honoured.
To follow – BEDSA 2019 photographs of: Rajan and one of the key winners – if need be!

Rajan is also the architect of the Asian Viewers TV Awards, AVTA. Ash Verma Consulting has been partnering and sponsoring these events for many years.
The AVTAs in December 2018 and 2019 were held at the Heathrow Hilton Hotel. Each of the prestigious televised gala events were attended by some 500 Asian and non-Asian TV businesses, professionals and, of course TV, Film and Music personalities, especially from the UK and Bollywood.

A New Normal. Will it last? Surely not! Over time humans have overcome viruses before, moreover humans are not meant to be caged in! But survival is part of our evolution!

WFH – working from home. No F2F – face to face meetings. “Sorry, can’t talk now, on a Zoom Call, or is it Teams, cannot remember”, become reasons, or excuses for reprioritisation of working days for many. Losing track of days, maybe of interest too, in more ways than one!

We are in a full-scale global recession! We need to engage with businesses and others to see what needs to be done to build resilience during and beyond the pandemic. Just as significantly, we have to keep an eye on Brexit too, it is just around the corner.

“We’ve waited long enough”, I reiterated to Brunel University, London colleagues from Life Sciences and the Design and Technology team, that manages the Co-Innovate Programme at Brunel University, London, during our zoom meeting to finalise arrangements for our webinar on Wellbeing in SMEs on 1st July 2020.

We all agreed, we are in fluid and fast-moving times and have much to learn about COVID-19 and its impact. Moreover, the subsequent nightmare that has wreaked havoc both for the economy and in society, for months and additionally has generated mistrust and a rise in blame games locally, nationally, and internationally.

For months during the initial lockdown, only hospitals, care homes and other essential places of work were open, largely to save lives, ensure food was available and accessible. Offices, restaurants, factories, cinemas, theatres, gyms became virtually deserted, just like the transport and aviation sector (buses, trains, and planes etc.). Just like a scene from a dystopian sci fi movie, cars parked on roads and driveways gathered dust, with deserted office buildings and streets. Yet, open spaces, playing fields, and gardens blossom. Clear skies, clean air, no pollution!

The impact of this invisible enemy will be felt for generations as scientists, governments and pharmaceutical giants try and create a lifesaving vaccine. No guarantee we will ever get one, many argue. Everyone has got an opinion.

Wash hands with soap regularly for at least twenty seconds, wear masks, keep social distance, exercise, build immune systems, get a COVID-19 test, eat healthily. These have become familiar mantras to help Save Lives! The mantras are holding good. We all comply, in the main! Madness not to, otherwise the economy will be destroyed.

The language of lockdown trips easily of the tongue as restrictions are eased, step by step, but with extreme caution as predictions of local fluctuations leading to localised lockdowns are already in real, and more on the horizon.

The hour-long webinar attended by SMEs, academics, policy makers and students whizzed past. Much food for thought.

Click Here to watch edited highlights.

We are live. I remark, “We are living, or surviving in unprecedented times. Over half a million lives lost. The financial cost of the pandemic into the trillions and rising”. Economies devastated. Livelihoods under threat like never. It is by no means over yet! We have witnessed nothing like it for a hundred years.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, my work with SMEs, Enterprise Wellness and Brunel University was putting the spotlight on the importance of SMEs as being the lifeblood of our economy, and how productivity and revenues were being adversely impacted by sickness absence. “Only one in ten businesses have a mental health policy”, I add, signalling the tremendous challenges that lay ahead.

Our keynote speaker, Dr Onkar Sahota, a GP, and Chair of the GLA’s Health Committee makes his presentation and shares personal, professional, and political insights into health, productivity, and equality, all of which have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Only 5% of people were working from home before COVID-19, and now its nearly half”, Dr Sahota stated. It is too early to define what the New Norm will look like, as we have three challenges”. These are, how do we stop the spread of the virus, a need to ensure there are tools for enforcing non-compliance and addressing mental health – half the adult population has been affected by mental health through stress, anxiety, and an increase in domestic abuse because of the pandemic.

“Avoid the three evils of working from home”, adds Dr Sahota. The evil of the Bed, the TV and Fridge! Good advice!

Dr Wendy Martin, Senior Lecturer in Life Sciences at Brunel University, emphasises “Our research before COVID-19 had already identified that less is known about how to enhance wellbeing strategies and solutions in SMEs. In effect, the research project concluded that Culture and Values, Environment, Relationships and Stress and Mental Health are critical in the workplace,” suggesting that more urgent research into these and, other solutions for a post COVID-19 workplace are crucial now.

My message is “innovate and come up with new ideas,” affirms Professor, Rob Holdway, Innovation Director on the Co-Innovate Journeys Programme, which has been supporting London’s SMEs to grow since 2014.

“Innovative businesses are more likely to export and employ qualified staff, with 40% of businesses collaborate to innovate”, adds Rob Holdway, highlighting that this will be key to moving through the current crisis and Brexit.

The journey ahead is uncertain, long, and fraught with anxiety, especially as warnings of a second spike begin to gather momentum the closer, we get to autumn and winter this year.

Going for short or long walks, wearing masks in shops, but still reluctant to use public transport and pubs and restaurants, and for many of us, WFH, is the New Norm, but at what cost to overall productivity and to our general health and mental wellbeing?

Building resilience, preparing for Brexit, and redefining WFH, which is patently not possible for all occupations and roles in the workplace are core messages, that emerge from our webinar, along with the need to continue to undertake in-depth research and find new innovative ways to support businesses, its owners and staff.

Email me at ash@ashverma.com with your ideas, needs and support, so that we can become a voice for you!

Aspiring to achieve “growth and wellbeing” is a journey. For me, the journey continues to be shaped and inspired by some very extraordinary individuals and organisations from many walks of life.

What drives us, or sometimes inhibits us, from growing and reaching optimum personal and/or business growth and overall wellbeing, is influenced by external experiences. But, do we know how to awaken all our powers inside of us to meet challenges head-on and make positive and sustainable changes!

I have been inspired immensely during the past decade by Sadhguru – a visionary, mystic, and yogi. Sadhguru is the founder of the Isha Foundation. Isha is a universally acclaimed organisation dedicated to health and wellbeing.

Inner Engineering is Isha’s flagship programme – an exploration of the inner-self and a revolutionary way of thinking and self-transformation. We are supporting Isha in the organisation of this prestigious event to be held at London Excel on 20th and 21st April 2019.

The programme will be the biggest two-day personal development programme in the UK. It will deliver powerful tools from the ancient science of yoga to eradicate stress and enhance physical wellbeing, emotional balance, mental clarity and capabilities. Most of all, it will be a unique opportunity to tap into new levels of energy, vibrancy, joy, and aliveness.

The event will provide a unique platform for companies who recognise that a joyful workforce, with staff operating at the peak of their well-being, is the key to a successful business. The Life-Transforming Weekend will have 5,000 participants from the UK and Europe.

The journey of self-exploration is an on-going process.

Contact ash@ashverma.com for further details, including sponsorship opportunities.