The price of leased lines is dropping – making them more accessible and affordable. A leased line is a permanent network connection between two points; typically the local telephone exchange (also known as the PoP – the Internet Service Providers Point of Presence) and a company’s premises, and they offer an ‘uncontended service’, i.e. the connection is completely dedicated to you.
Facebook is the biggest social media platform that’s in use today, and it’s growing in many ways. With 2 billion monthly active users, the potential reach for your business could be huge. A Facebook page for your small business will help you be found, as well as allowing you to connect with your customers and clients. What better way to get started on your social media marketing than joining the biggest social media network?
People can get angry anywhere, whether it’s on the street or at work, anger is a natural emotion. However, it is essential to diffuse anger in the workplace to avoid any irreparable damage that may occur. Anger is a normal reaction, it could be directed towards another employee, or an employee might be angry at themselves. In order to ensure minimum damage, its best to address the anger and use techniques of emotional intelligence to diffuse the anger in the work place.
The Brits have started adopting American retail/shopping holidays in the recent years, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday being huge hits with the shoppers. Another retail holiday is making its way in the UK, the Small Business Saturday. It has been inspired by the American Small Business Saturday, which takes place traditionally the Saturday after Thanksgiving. However in the UK, Small Business Saturday will be celebrated in the upcoming weekend, on Saturday 2nd of December.
Stand out from the crowd and bring something new and unique to the market is something that is essential for start-ups do. Making something different whether it is a product or the way you deliver a service will help you outshine and stand against your competitors. Small businesses have corporate giants as well as independent small businesses as competitors, therefore they have to work extra hard at being memorable and different. [continue reading…]
The coffee shop business industry in the UK is expanding, and it is expected to be worth around £15 billion by 2020. This will see the rise of about 10,000 outlets in the upcoming three years. With room for you to thrive, opening a coffee shop now could be ideal for you. Coffee shops are well in demand with sleep-deprived Brits inclined to purchase a cup of coffee or two throughout the day. There is, however, the stellar competition that coffee shops owners will face from large chains such as Costa and Starbucks as well as the many independent coffee shops who are offering a unique experience to stand out.
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As the festive season gets underway, many businesses will start to enter a few weeks of spending on items and events that were unplanned or not in their initial budgets. It can add a significant dent in your profitability if steps aren’t taken to ensure your company doesn’t let spending get out of control. Small business owners need to ensure that they keep Christmas costs in check.
As children, there was always time for naps, cloud-watching, or simply to lie around and just ‘be’. But as business owners it can feel as though there simply isn’t the time to kickback, explore, play, and dare we say, go on an adventure. There is always more work to do on the business!
Have you invested heavily in your website only to find that those leads you thought would be flowing in, are simply not coming? You are not alone. Tim Butler, the founder of Innovation Visual gives you 10 of the fastest ways to improve the performance of your website. Small business owners need to make sure that that their website is optimised so take note of these tips to make your website perform better.
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As a small business owner you will always be pitching. From pitching to investors to get funding to pitching at networking events to seek out potential partners, pitching will be an essential part of your role as a small business owner. Therefore, you need to take time to how to perfect your pitch. Not being able to communicate your ideas and plans because you haven’t learnt how to deliver a good pitch can be detrimental.
Once again, Contractors sat yesterday with baited breath to see how the secrets of Philip Hammond’s red box and the Autumn Budget 2017 would affect them. In his first Budget since the government lost their majority in the general election, it was good to hear the Chancellor affirm his commitment to small businesses, recognising them as the backbone of our economy and praising them for their “vibrancy and resilience”.
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The first ever Autumn Budget 2017 was revealed by the Chancellor Philip Hammond at the houses of Parliament yesterday. The Budget focused on the finances of the country, and how it will affect the citizens of the country, from small business owners to millennials. The budget has mostly had a positive response, especially from the small business community.
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Small business owners often don’t delegate when they can and when they should. Lack of delegation in a small business environment can lead to the business owner being overworked and over-stressed. Taking on everything may seem natural to you as a business owner and you may think it is productive, however doing so can really hinder your chances of growing and developing your business. Therefore, practice and take time to learn how to delegate in a small business environment . The art of delegation, as you will find, has many benefits.
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Getting less than 7 – 8 hours of sleep per night on a regular basis can have severe repercussions for your health. Your brain functions, your mood and the way you interact with people will be affected. Those are all vital aspects for small business owners, so the smart thing to do would be not to lose sleep.
Data breaches and the protection of data has never been more prominent in the business world. Data breaches can be in the form of data theft or the loss of data through other means, whatever form they take, they can be detrimental to businesses. With GDPR going into effect May 2018, businesses need to do all they can in order to comply with the regulation. One of the major parts of the regulation is to ensure the protection of data or facing dire consequences.
You must notice how our everyday lives are becoming more and more cashless every day. New technologies are inventing easy ways of making payments, from contactless pay to paying with your mobile phone, and as such the need for physical cash is quickly diminishing. In research conducted by Expert Market, it was found that Brits are becoming cash-phobic, and are much less prone to use it in today’s cashless society.
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It may seem extremely difficult and hard to run a seasonal business, however if managed carefully then it can be a success. Seasonal fluctuations can create a problem for all businesses, however seasonal businesses embrace these fluctuations and develop skills and strategies in order to thrive.
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With the lead up to Christmas and the New Year, business owners are likely to be busy dealing with getting the customers in and operating the business. However, small business owners need to ensure that they plan ahead when it comes to making payments and payment processing. Making payments on time is vital to ensure that everyone has a Merry Christmas and are able to enjoy the festive period.
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With a new Budget around the corner and just a few months since the last one, 2017 has been a bumper year for Budgets. Following on from the Spring Budget in March, Wednesday the 22nd of November will see the first ever Autumn Budget; but why has the date of the Budget changed and how will it impact your business?
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Working out the Value Added Tax (VAT) and making sure that your business is complying with the VAT laws is time consuming for small business owners. In research conducted by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) it was found that small business owners spend a whole working week every year trying to comply with the obligations that come with VAT.
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