At a time when the number of people starting a business is at a record high the small business publisher Brightword Publishing has launched a Start Up Kit to ease the process of going it alone.
Category: In Business
Advice on growing your small and medium sized business, SME, in the UK. Hiring and managing staff and finance plus marketing all on one website
Employers have closed the door on mothers
There was a time when hiring a mother was a positive thing for employers. Mothers were seen as reliable, hardworking and trustworthy; after all they had a child to support. However according to a recent survey, it would appear that times have changed.
Businesses fail to capitalise on demand for volunteering
Nearly two thirds of UK businesses have admitted they do not provide a good level of support for their employees to volunteer. Despite strong demand from employees to engage more with their local communities, just over a third of business managers said they currently provide a good level of support, such as allocating staff a few hours a month to volunteer.
What exactly is a motivational speaker?
There is a worrying tendency that has developed over the years for a level of ‘being promoted to the level of your incompetence’ to become ever more widespread. We’re taking a look at public and motivational speakers and wondering what qualifies us for the title.
Customer Service: Use your own bad experiences to sharpen your game
Customer service is a crucial way to differentiate your business and increase its robustness to weather out the current economic uncertainties. Rather than just examining best practice, examine and learn from any examples of poor customer service you experience yourself to stimulate improvements in your own business.
Location, location, location: Choosing an office that’s right for your business
As the new year has arrived many businesses will be taking a fresh look at their operating costs in light of the tough financial conditions that 2010 had to offer, and which show no immediate signs of improving.
Dealing With Christmas Objections – Part Three
Follow these tips to ensure that your business doesn’t get the ‘call me back after Christmas’ objections, and make sure that in January you can still get hold of them!
Christmas Party ‘Sickie’ hangovers will cost dearly this festive season
The office Christmas party season will be in full swing this week, with 65% of workers attending on average two work events over the next few days. However this revelry will cost UK business £620 million, due to hung-over Britons pulling a ‘Hangover Sickie’.
Engage with your customers online – don’t just broadcast to boost sales
Websites are no longer simply the online ‘face’ of a business. Customers expect more from a company’s website than a home page. To use an analogy of buying a house, how many people make a purchase based on how attractive they find the outside of a building? Buyers want to be able to enter a home, have a good look around and get a feel of a house, before making a purchase decision
Is your computer software licensed? Your staff might earn a bonus if not!
In one of the largest UK settlements to date, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) has settled with a media hosting company following an investigation into its use of unlicensed software. The investigation was launched after the BSA was tipped-off by a former employee. The company paid in excess of £100,000 in damages, in addition to paying a significant amount to purchase legal copies of Microsoft and Adobe software.
Small businesses look abroad for business boost in new year
New research has revealed that nearly two million of UK small businesses are set to move to international markets over the next year, with a third claiming overseas economies are increasingly more welcoming to small businesses than here in the UK.
Dealing With Christmas Objections – Part Two
Let me explain why so many business owners and salespeople get the ‘call me back after Christmas’ objections, only to find in January that they can’t get hold of the person ever again!
Customer Profiling – how to actively manage your customer base
If you don’t actively manage your customer base, you’ll end up diluting your resources for growth. If you want your company to grow you need to decide what sort of clients you want – so how do you pin point those that are worth keeping?
Husbands & wives trusted for straight talking business advice
Over half of UK small business owners will turn to their husband, wife or partner before anyone else for straight talking business advice, according to a national survey of small business owners published today. Spouses and partners were preferred to accountants, trade bodies or other local businesses and bank managers.