Thursday 23rd June 2016 is one of the most important dates in a generation. Our Business Doctor has some advice if you haven’t made a firm decision yet on whether to remain or leave the EU.

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Ensure you spend some time doing your research before you vote!

Human beings are predominately emotional creatures and we tend to decide emotionally then justify logically. Some research even suggests decisions are made 80% emotionally and 20% logically.

So when it comes to your decision making, how many times have you bought something on a whim, or impulse or done something immediately and then later looked back and logically said to yourself, “that wasn’t worth it” or “that was a waste of money”. This process is a big part of learning, particularly from past experiences but what if the purchase or event is all new to you and you hadn’t experienced the good or the bad before? Time permitting, ideally you would carry out some research beforehand. And if you did your research, the chances are, the outcome would likely be as expected, beneficial and hopefully a positive outcome for you, your family or your business.

It’s a pity then, there isn’t a review link on TripAdvisor for the EU referendum!

For the last few months we have been bombarded by viewpoints, opinions, scare stories, assumptions and suggested outcomes from many sources and through multimedia channels, about the benefits of Brexit or Remaining within the European Union (EU). Some with very strong arguments but very few backed up with any facts.

Have you made your decision? If not, it’s worth doing your own research and reflection before you vote on Thursday.

Unlike politicians and key stakeholders trying to sway you, at the end of the day everyone has different needs and the decision is ultimately yours. Therefore the only thing I ask is that, you do vote on Thursday!

But don’t make a decision just based on watching the debates on TV or listening to the radio as all this rhetoric is basically trying to engage you and convince you emotionally! Ultimately they are selling and telling stories to create “a call to action” by playing on your emotions. Before you vote on Thursday do some logical research yourself, to answer the question stated on the voting paper.

“Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?”

Below are links to some websites, blogs, videos and podcast which may help you answer or clarify some of the questions you still have. I have picked those which are impartial to hopefully help you to make up your own mind.

- Martin Lewis of MoneySavingExpert.com has an excellent impartial blog: www.mse.me/eu

- Independent fact checking charitable organisation FullFact: https://fullfact.org/

- Kings College London operate a good informative website “The UK in a Changing Europe” http://ukandeu.ac.uk/

- Radio4 “More or less behind the stats” have some excellent podcasts to try and make sense from all the statistics www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02nrss1/episodes/downloads

- Parliament library website for further information www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/offices/commons/commonslibrary/commons-library-news/eu-referendum-page/

- BBC news reality check website, with live fact checking and impartial analysis www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-eu-referendum-35603388

Your response and decision should be based on the consequences to you, your family, your business and your customers, not just financially but also socially and personally over the short, medium and long term. Therefore be sure to put an X to suit your preferred outcomes either in the Yes or No box. “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom”. Viktor E. Frankl

If you are looking to review and then grow your business, Business Doctors Cumbria offers an initial free business health check and can help you to establish a clear vision, to start working on the steps to fulfil your aspirations. For further information please contact Peter Fleming 0845 163 1490 or 07966 686112 email peterfleming@businessdoctors.co.uk

http://www.businessdoctors.co.uk/health-check

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07966 686112 email peterfleming@businessdoctors.co.uk