Brexit has been one of the most important news items of the past 12 months, and whether you were for or against leaving the EU when the vote was held, chances are that as a business owner you have some concerns about how it will affect you.

There has always been a saying in business however that every crisis brings with it its own opportunities – so can you really stand to benefit from the current volatility caused by the Brexit situation?

1. Leaving the Single Market

It remains to be seen how leaving the single market will affect different industries, but since Theresa May announced that that was the intention Britain would be going with – rather than trying to negotiate a deal where Britain left the EU but remained in the market – the pound has rallied somewhat. This is attributed to the fact that certainty is better than uncertainty in the markets, and so a plan being revealed – whether it was one the markets liked or not – was better than no plan at all.

The UK will have to negotiate new trade deals with all of the countries it trades with, and this means that as a business owner you need to watch the talks with countries you interact with, but it is not anticipated that a Britain outside of the EU will have worse trading conditions with places like the US and Asia, and possibly even with key EU trading partners like Germany.

2. The Pound

The pound took a dramatic dive when Brexit was voted for, however, since then has recovered somewhat. While this has been playing out, the US dollar has experienced significant lows because of fears around Donald Trump’s presidency, and the protectionist policies he has been keen to put in place. What this means is that the pound is actually faring quite well against the US dollar, and drops in the FTSE 100 have mainly been attributed to dollar earning companies suffering from this rather than the UK or the pound suffering in light of Brexit.

People who look at currency trading as a part of their business or who are concerned with exchange rates can see from sites like FX Pro that the pound has been gaining strength against the dollar.

Takeaway

In short, if your business interacts with consumers in other countries, Brexit is going to impact you in unknown ways, however when it comes to the pound and the relationship we have with US consumers and businesses, you are actually in a strong position that is unlikely to diminish in the next few months as Trump continues to establish himself.

This post is a collaboration with Andre Jackson, writer and finance enthusiast.