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Sustainability in SMEs rarely fails because of conviction. It fails because of timing.Most entrepreneurs I speak with have no fundamental problem with sustainability. Their problem is that the bill arrives immediately while the benefit trickles in over years, in a year when every franc is already counted twice.That creates a common reflex: ESG is declared…

The strong franc may be the oldest productivity programme in the Swiss economy.It requires no grant application, no project office and no regard for the annual budget.In a recent Deloitte survey, 68 per cent of Swiss CFOs identify the strong franc as a burden on margins. Labour costs follow at 58 per cent and energy…

The term is the most underestimated variable in an investment decision.Prices are negotiated, interest rates debated and specifications contested for weeks. The term is simply entered. Usually as long as possible, because that lowers the monthly instalment and makes the application easier to approve.For Swiss SMEs with international business, that is the wrong optimisation. When…

Diversification is one of those words almost everyone supports until the bill arrives.When an export market becomes more difficult, the recommendation comes quickly: enter new markets. Correct, but those markets do not appear for free.The current environment for Swiss exporters is demanding. In the first quarter of 2026, Swiss exports fell by 4.2 per cent…

Resilience has become a synonym for standing still. That misunderstanding has expensive consequences.For several years, many companies have considered it robust to avoid major risks: investments postponed, projects paused, capital retained and workforce planning frozen. It feels responsible and is rarely challenged by boards of directors because caution always wins rhetorically.But that is rigidity, not…