In our latest success story, we talk to Temi Alanamy co-founder of a nutrition based app called Whatsinit?. She talks about the biggest lessons learnt and how having a partner can challenge you to do better.
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When you are trying to expand your small business, money can be tight and yet you know that you need to market your company to help reach your goals. Some small businesses and start-ups spend a fortune on their marketing strategy but when you don’t have that luxury, there are some low budget ideas that could inject some life into your marketing campaigns.
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Starting a business requires vision, determination and careful planning. Unless you are a one-man band, you’ll need people to help take your business forward. Get workforce planning wrong and you could end up going nowhere.
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Once you have surpassed the point of starting up your business you will want to start growing it. You can do this by increasing and improving your revenue growth, which will lead to an increase in profits, allowing you to expand by reinvesting in your business.
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You can consider a contingency plan as a plan B or a course of actions to take if disaster strikes. You could be hit with a natural disaster such as a hurricane or a flood or it could be a technical disaster like loss of data or a data breach. Creating a contingency plan will help you prepare you and your business for any potential risks/dangers.
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Smartphones have become a necessity in today’s society, for some they have become an extension of the body. From waking you up in the morning with alarm apps to having a late night scroll through your social media. Small businesses need to take into consideration how much time people spend on their phones, especially shopping via smartphones.
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To run a business and to do it well you need to have a certain skill set. Being an entrepreneur is rewarding, and although you may not have all these skills it doesn’t mean you can’t start your own business. The list of skills will give you an idea of what is needed to run a business successfully. Also, running a business is a continuous learning process, and you are bound to pick up skills on the journey of being a business owner.
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Theresa May made a speech at the Conservative party conference, which some have labelled as ‘disastrous’, however she did manage to address the contribution of small businesses to the UK economy briefly.
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Starting up can be a very expensive endeavour and you need to keep costs low so you don’t overspend. This will decide the survival of your business so ensuring that you are cutting costs where possible and just keeping costs low in general will ensure the business is kept afloat. In this article you will be given manageable tips to make sure that you are spending on necessities rather than extra luxuries (unless you can really afford them).
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Unless you’re an expert or very good at using computers, you might have heard the term ‘web hosting’ but not quite understood what it means. However, if you run a website, it’s important that you do. In essence, you can imagine it a bit like this: your website is a book, and in order for anyone to come across it and read it, you’ll need it to be hosted on a shelf. That’s what you can think of your host as – a very high-tech shelf.
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Paul Uppal, an ex conservative MP, has been appointed as Small Business Commissioner (SBC). This role will focus on empowering small businesses and providing guidance and support for the 5.5 small businesses in the UK. His role will be crucial in tackling some of the biggest problems faced by small business owners, such as late payments from big businesses.
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Calculating start-up costs is essential for any prospective business owner. You need to figure out your start-up costs in order to see if you can afford to fund your business. If you do not have the sufficient funds to finance your business then you can explore different methods of funding available to you. In order for you to calculate your start-up costs you need to have a detailed business plan, highlighting all the costs for your start up.
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In a report carried out by Centre for Economics and Business Research Ltd (CEBR) for World First, it was found that the UK’s small business sector has become more digital than ever. This movement mirrors the wants and needs of today’s consumers.
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I built my start-up business from nothing to a successful venture almost entirely through networking – and along the way I made plenty of mistakes,  says Sue Fish from Toastmasters International.
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Venture capital is a form of funding for businesses. It varies from multiple other ways of funding because it deals with huge sums of money as well as requiring equity in exchange for investment. In this article you will find out how venture capital (VC) works and how you can get funding. VC is becoming a prominent part of UK business funding, with around £2.5 billion invested through venture capital in 2015 alone. Additionally, there are currently 22 VC firms operating in the UK.
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HMRC are tackling tax avoidance among businesses, and they have set their sights on small businesses in particular because they are seen as the easier target. Small businesses do avoid tax, this could be unknowingly or knowingly, but there are steps you can take to avoid falling foul of HMRC’s tax crackdown.
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GDPR is the new regulation that all business owners need to be aware of. So what exactly is GDPR and how will it effect business owners, from small businesses to bigger organisations? This introductory article on GDPR will prepare you for the upcoming regulation.
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There are three main types of business structures to choose from for your business in the UK. They vary in terms of scale, liability and investors. It is also possible to start off with one structure and move to another one, for example a sole proprietorship can expand to a limited liability company. In this guide, you will be informed on the basics of all the business structures and the benefits and disadvantages of them all.
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Till systems are no longer just a cash drawer and a calculator – they have become a cornerstone of modern day retail and hospitality businesses. A till can store data, help manage staff, keep track of stock levels and feed information straight to your accountant.
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