Explained: Business due diligence The due diligence process consists of three main parts: screening due diligence, business due diligence, and legal due diligence. Each firm may have a specific process, but typically it involves reviewing the management team, the market potential, the product or service (and the need it meets), and the business model.

Cold calling: Nine effective steps For a salesperson, cold calling can present one of the greatest challenges in their day. Get the most out of your cold calls by following these nine steps. And remember that staying positive, being persistent, and listening and adjusting to customer responses are the personal ingredients to help you succeed.

New business doctors on hand to help London firms The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has today launched an online advice surgery staffed by five ‘Business Doctors’ to help cure the most common day to day problems that companies face.

Tools to help you use social media as an asset not a chore Tired of new social media services that promise to bring customers to the door? Well, the truth is consumers are using social media to connect, and you might be able to see business results by harnessing this. Here Richard Alvin looks at the options available to you.

Crowdsourcing the business cycle Last year food giant Unilever dropped the ad agency it had been using for over a decade and put up a $10,000 bounty for new ideas to promote Peperami on TV. Here Fergus Dyer-Smith, Co-founder of Wooshii looks at how cost effective research can help grow your business.

Are we neglecting training the next generation of employees? People – in other words employees – grow businesses. As economic recovery begins in earnest small businesses need to recruit key staff with the right attributes if they are to succeed.

Law firm warns SMEs at risk from ‘cybersquatters’ A leading law firm is warning that SMEs are not doing enough to protect themselves from the threat of cybersquatters.

Better book keeping for small businesses Watch this live webTV show at 9pm on Wednesday 17th March for all you need to know about the benefits of good record keeping

Gain an extra member of staff for your business In a bid to better support the 66 per cent of businesses that want external support, the Forum of Private Business (FPB) has relaunched itself with a view to become an “extra member of staff” for Britain's small businesses.

Could you be a TV expert? Think of Location Location Location, SuperNanny, The Choir, Grow Your Own Drugs, The Apprentice, Grand Designs, How Clean is Your House, You are What You Eat, The House of Tiny Tearaways and Working Lunch to name but a few. They all needed new experts when they were devised – and so will many future shows.

Taking to the water for your office Cardiff-based firm Waterspace Developments have made a bit of a splash with the launch of their first floating office in Cardiff Bay.

Royal Mail Special Delivery under threat DX Group, the only UK-wide postal company to have its own end-to-end operation that is not reliant on Royal Mail, has today unveiled changes to its next day service, SecureDX. Important items can be sent to any UK postcode address for up to 30 per cent less than Royal Mail Special Delivery (RMSD).

Thousands of drivers use Twitter while driving Thousands of British motorists are putting themselves and other drivers in danger by constantly using the micro-blogging site, Twitter while driving, a survey has found.

Franchising may be the way forward Most people associate franchising with large brands, but it can also be an effective way for some smaller businesses, struggling to raise finance in order to expand in the present economic climate, to grow at minimal cost. The Forum of Private Business (FPB) is campaigning to raise awareness of franchising as a way forward for many viable businesses.

Are you properly insured if you change your business plan? As businesses focus on ‘the road to recovery’, amending their business plans to ensure their continued success in 2010, Premierline Direct, the business insurance specialist, is highlighting how changes to plans may impact on the business’ insurance policy.

Do you know where your stopcock is? Thousands of businesses at threat from winter water damage - from inside the building as one in five business owners and managers do not know how to turn the water off!

Businesses are being urged to protect themselves from the effects of internal water damage this winter following new research released today. As many as 20-30 per cent of insurance property claims costs are for escape of water from inside the building1, with the most common being from the effects of a burst pipe.

How to protect your business from blackouts Many companies are poorly prepared in the event of IT and telecoms problems. Here, Dominic List who owns IT and Telecoms solutions company Comtact, gives his simple tips that all companies should adhere to in order to ensure that they are fully prepared in the event of a blackout…

Season's warnings Every year, thousands of people close up their businesses and homes for the Christmas break without fully considering the disasters that could happen in their absence. According to the Fire Statistics Monitor Q3 2008-09, 10% of the 33,000 house fires that occurred in 2008 happened over Christmas – largely due to poor quality Christmas lights and flammable decorations.

Bad spelling costs UK companies millions The UK’s leading gadget advice company, www.gadgethelpline.co.uk has had to take the unusual step of registering incorrect spellings of its brand domain to counteract the problem the UK’s 18-21 age-group have with spelling the word 'Gadget.'

Healthcare benefits may be your recession ‘armoury’ At a time when businesses need to be as lean and efficient as possible, it makes no sense to cut off the very tools that create a healthy, motivated and engaged workforce – not to mention staving off high volumes of costly employee turnover.