Many social entrepreneurs are now starting businesses with the aim of making a profit and putting a percentage of that profit to good use, to ‘make a difference’. An increasing number of businesses in the UK are taking this approach and are putting social impact at the heart of what they do. It is also the case that many consumers want to buy from businesses which are making a contribution in the wider world.
Grow a Small Business
There are many aspects to consider when setting up your business, and one of the most vital is pricing. In order to not only keep your head above water but also to actually generate profits that enable you to grab new growth and development opportunities as they arise, finding the balance between strategic and competitive pricing is essential.
Long hours, tight deadlines and increasing demands, among many other workplace stressors, can turn work into an emotional roller coaster that will inevitably affect performance and job satisfaction. Running the hamster wheel is a short-term gain.
In the business world today, the competition is becoming more serious. This is why it is crucial for business owners to pay attention to the latest trends to get ahead, especially for small businesses. Getting ahead means accessing new knowledge, skills, resources, and tools. And you can only learn these things when you break away from your comfort zone.
Noel McDermott, a psychotherapist states that: “If you want to be a progressive business leader, now is the time to invest in the emotional and mental health of your team, they are after all your most valuable resource. Most organisations now understand fundamentally the link between a healthy workforce and increased productivity and most of us understand that health and wellness includes mental wellness.”
Cybersecurity should be a top concern for small companies whether you do business primarily in the UK or in other countries as well. Even though news headlines usually focus on data breaches that happen to large companies and government organisations, it’s the small business that’s even more at risk. Why? Hackers are counting on small businesses to spend less on their cybersecurity budget and have weaker security than larger companies.
SMEs generally need the capability to juggle many different tasks at any given moment. If you’re a new SME business your focus might be on finding suitable premises, financing your operation, strengthening your team or simply staying afloat. With a plethora of moving parts to consider, digital risk management can get left by the wayside. The risks, however, can be severe and are more prevalent in smaller businesses than they are in larger ones.
It’s very easy for businesses to fall into the “just-in-case” trap. They keep paperwork (or its digital counterpart) to the extent that they are legally permitted “just in case” and as a result, bit by bit, they become overwhelmed by (digital) “stuff”, which is not really needed and certainly not wanted.
Let’s face it. Small businesses don’t have big budgets to work with (unless you’re lucky enough to secure an angel investor – keep those fingers crossed!). For the rest of us, we need to find ways of streamlining business processes and promoting growth with limited capital. The good news is, these days it’s completely possible to grow your business on a limited budget. How? Harnessing the power of technology.
Has your business, or a business you know, suffered from a cybercrime? As 43% of cyber-attacks are targeted at small businesses, you need to take action to protect your business now and on an on-going basis.
Every company’s beginning is hard, which is why small business owners are tasked with perfectly balancing the budget, or risk unplanned bankruptcy and an abrupt end.
Do you tend to put off booking a holiday? As a business owner, you may worry about leaving your team to cope in your absence but for your own sake as well as your family’s you need to take time off. Luckily there are plenty of tech tools you can put in place so that you and your family can go away while your business carries on without a hitch.
An efficient business is usually a more profitable business, and taking steps to improve your company’s efficiency can make a huge difference in your revenue. These improvements can also save your employees and customers a lot of time and stress and will help make everyone happier.
In addition to great product quality and superb customer service, there’s one more factor that is making quite an impact on eCommerce business these days. Online reviews. Apparently, online shoppers increasingly rely on them to make purchasing decisions, so disregarding the importance of managing the online reputation has become a sure-fire way to fail as a business. Well, it hardly comes as a surprise (just remember the last time you searched for reviews) because online testimonials help shoppers to make better decisions.
If you run your own business, you are bound to have a lot on your plate all the time. The list of things to do never ends. To keep up you need to always be on your game. That is why everyone is looking for ways to be more productive to achieve their goals. Unfortunately, a lot of information we take as gospel is misleading and affects our productivity instead of helping us.
There’s no doubt about it: moving out of the home is a bit of a leap in the dark for any business. There may be unintended consequences and hidden expenses just around the corner, but there may also be limitless opportunities for growth and lucrative success.
What stories do you remember? Perhaps ones told to you long ago. The reason that stories such as Aesop’s Fables remain popular is that they confirm that stories and the messages they contain have a power that cannot be ignored. They help an audience by packaging the message in a highly memorable form.
Established retailers have a habit of keeping their cards close to their chest, claiming that their success is down to simply having a “good eye” for products that will sell. But business can’t be all about guesswork, because you’re inevitably going to get it wrong at some point.
If you’re an introvert, delivering talks may not be your first choice of how to apply your skills. However, as a business owner, you’ll need to present to your teams, clients or investors whether you like it or not.
GDPR has now been in place for a year and, while the ICO has previously claimed it doesn’t intend to come down too hard on businesses still getting their privacy plans straight, the heavy fines are about to hit.
