On-demand services are taking the world by storm. You can now get almost any service you want with a few simple clicks, including getting whatever you need delivered straight to your door.
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Owners of small businesses know that overcoming obstacles is part of the job. You simply don’t have the resources that your long-established large competitors have or their market dominance.
Starting a business has never been easier; the Internet in particular and the march of technology means researching a market is within reach for start-ups (even at a global scale), and much of this can be achieved with relatively little money.
Managing your own business, especially if it is a new venture for you, could be a very daunting task to undertake. There are many things to think about, to prepare, and to manage day in and day out. But if you have nailed down all the basics of business management, it will be a whole lot easier for you to get your new business going.
To build a mobile-friendly, high performance (fast loading time) app with a responsive design for varying screen sizes and great UI (user interface) requires a lot of hard work better left to the pros. And when the mobile app has been built through a strategic Mobile App Development/Android, iOS process, what comes next is mobile testing to get quality assurance. But that is not nearly all there is to it in creating a successful mobile application.
Every sales manager knows the essential benefits of training or sales coaching. Sales coaching software can give managers and salespeople the ability to collaborate and analyse sales emails and calls. It helps in refining sales techniques, establishing best practices, and improving sales close rates. All aspiring and even experienced salespeople can benefit from sales coaching and feedback. If you are running a small business and need to improve your sales, then sales coaching software can make a difference.
Whether you’ve been freelancing for a while or you’re starting a new business but feeling a little lacklustre about your progress or you just want to work harder and be more efficient, keeping yourself motivated at work, isn’t always easy!
Many small businesses start with a product idea. It could be a practical product you’ve taken months, or possibly years to develop. Perhaps you have spotted a gap in the market and now have a top-of-the-range product for the food industry that you know is needed. If so, it’s time to get out there and starting convincing restaurant owners that your product is just the thing for their business.
From production to customer service, almost every aspect of running a business involves a process. Processes are an integral part of any business operation; they are like blueprints for an organised and systematic flow of procedures aimed towards achieving ends efficiently.
I started out in the organic products business when there were hardly any organic products! Now it is possible to get every food imaginable in organic format, and in ever increasing quantities. When we first had organic brown rice the world beat a path to our door. Now it’s a commodity and you can get many different kinds; short grain, long grain, basmati, red, black – all organic.
Colours have a way of captivating the senses and evoking emotions, from the calming blue of the sky to the cheerful golden glow of the sun. Many studies have pointed to colours as great influencers of human behaviour. [continue reading…]
Business mileage is the most significant single expense type for companies in the UK. It’s estimated that over 2 million employees make mileage claims annually, driving more than 10 billion business miles every year in the UK alone.
When your early or growth stage company needs essential funding, equity crowdfunding can be an excellent way to achieve this.
Readers question: I was wondering if I could get some advice about being self-employed and living abroad. I want to open a business account as a sole trader in the UK and pay my national insurance and pension to the UK. However, I live in Slovenia with temporary residency, as I am a British citizen. I live here as I got married to a Slovenian. I wanted to know how can I open as a sole trader as I work from home online teaching on a platform based in Asia. They just pay my salary nothing else. What would I have to pay to Slovenia as I live here and would I have to pay double social security? Or claim my benefits from the UK when I need them. Also, would I need a virtual office in the UK? My students, I just interact with them from the website the company provides.
In a recent study carried out by insurance provider Qdos, it was found that self-employed are exposed to financial risk, as they avoid getting insurance cover. There are numerous reasons for this, from business owners thinking they don’t need it to them still being in the process of considering it.
We all want to keep our businesses taxes as low as possible and one way is to claim all legitimate expenses. But the general rule that says you can claim all expenses incurred wholly and exclusively for the purpose of your business is, sadly, not entirely straight forward.
The tax season for 2019 in the UK is officially defined as the period between 6 April 2018 and 5 April 2019. Each tax season, all businesses, regardless of size, must provide their employees, contract workers, and others, with tax documentation that is required by the HMRC so that workers can file their tax returns. Unless an extension is requested, all tax paperwork must be postmarked or filed with HMRC by no later than 31 January 2020.
Readers questions: My partner and I have between us around 30,000 thousand pounds worth of tools/equipment as a sole trader, can we take them over to the ltd company or can the ltd company pay for them? We don’t want money out, we would like to offset our tax bill, can it be done?
For much of history, the concept of a safe workplace was one which was free from physical hazards. While this is still very definitely the case, there is a growing awareness of the need to protect employees’ mental health as much as their physical health.
Whether you own a retail store, a restaurant, or an e-commerce site, EPOS (Electronic Point of Sale) systems are beneficial for you because they present a more efficient way of running your business. They can be programmed to perform any process. Plus, they run on handy peripherals such as tablets or iPads for maximum mobility.
