Running a business can be a lonely experience. One where you can forget about the 9 to 5, and where your weekends become just an extension of your working week. So it’s just as well that business owners are renowned for being resourceful, resilient and focussed. They know what they want and will overcome all manner of challenges in order to achieve it, regardless of the number of hours they hav...

For far too long, particularly in industry, ‘soft’ skills have been seen as the responsibility of HR while the operations department, maintenance, logistics, finance etc. concentrate on the ‘hard’ skills that generate value. As somewhat of a disruptor I take a contrary view. Firstly, why spend any time at all on soft skills if they do not contribute to the bottom line? Secondly, ...

Most of us understand the importance of delivering exceptional customer experiences to drive loyalty, repeat business, and growth. But have you considered the impact of a bad employee experience on your customer experience (CX) and ultimately, your bottom line? A robust employee experience (EX) strategy is essential. Why? So, you can increase productivity, reduce costs, enhance customer interac...

Fake reviews have caused frustration and despair for online retailers and shoppers alike for years but have escalated recently to record levels. Estimates reveal fake reviews account for up to 30% of all reviews online, which is a startling amount when you consider 90% of consumers use reviews as a guide before deciding whether to make a purchase or not. You will be relieved to know that all of...

Business owners tend to try and cover all the key business disciplines themselves as opposed to seeking external help when needed. This is understandable, especially for startups, when finances are tight and there is a refreshing self-belief where outsourcing doesn’t even come into the strategy. This may be for various reasons such as, a perception that the small but dedicated team can han...

The term “metaverse” has been making headlines lately, especially in the tech and gaming communities. But what is the metaverse? Is it just a buzzword, or is it something more significant? In this blog post, we’ll dive into what the metaverse is, how it works, and what it means for the future of technology and society.

How did the metaverse start?

The concept o...

Successful business owners share many traits and put their success down to several reasons including work ethic, timing, vision and being supported by a talented team. Obviously all of these are important but we are going to focus on that final reason i.e. the team, or more importantly leadership of that team. A team or a business without leadership is like a ship without a rudder, left to drif...

There is no doubt that a recession has a major impact on the business world and also on the consumers it relies on. One thing all business owners should remember though is that marketing in a recession is still very important. This is because it enables you to retain brand visibility through tougher times and lets consumers know you remain open for business. It also means you can showcase your ...

Business owners are a hardy bunch and can be reluctant to turn to anyone for help, especially during the early days. Many believe they can do everything on their own and seeking advice is perceived as a sign of weakness, when in reality the reverse is true. Asking for advice from experts in their relevant fields can strengthen a business and could even be the difference between longevity and cl...

The present economic situation indicates that we are heading into a recession. As more customers run out of disposable income, companies will cut down on growth and expansion activities. However, cutting down your marketing budget is counterproductive. Instead, identifying and executing approaches that work best during a recession is the better way to go. This article shares some effective appr...

You wouldn’t let anybody look after your legal matters, would you? And would you take financial advice from someone you met in the pub? Hopefully not. Ok, what if you were ill, would you seek help from any Tom, Dick or Harriet? Of course not, you’d make an appointment with your doctor.

So, when you entrust someone to look after your business’s finances you need to make sure they are fully...

Consumer Duty is one of the most significant shifts in UK financial services. The intention of companies to put the client's needs first is admirable, but evidencing actions can be challenging. Measuring and demonstrating how they are acting to deliver good outcomes for their clients is high on the boardroom agenda for financial services firms. But Consumer Duty is more than a tick-box exercise...

Sales can be a real roller coaster on emotions.. Hitting your targets you feel BRILLIANT ... yet if you aren’t hitting your targets then it can be a real downer...Did you know there are ways to get ahead and help you to hit your targets? How I hear you ask? Invest in UK business lists could be the key to your success.

UK busin...

Running a business can be exciting and rewarding but on the other hand it can also be challenging and exhausting. In the early days you may think that you can do everything yourself and maybe you can, but as the business evolves you find yourself stretched in all directions and there aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish your daily tasks. As the obstacles you face become more challenging...

The integrity of the R&D tax credit industry has been under the microscope for some time, with both HMRC and Government enforcing policy changes to prevent fraudulent activity and abuse, with new legislation coming into force from April 2023. Fraudulent activity could include:

• Boundary-pushing when determining what is and what is not qualifying research and development
• In...

Dr Anthony Kenneson-Adams specialises in teaching the tools and building the culture and leadership that underpins Operational Excellence (OpEx), drives sustainable lean manufacturing, Reliability Centred Maintenance and organizational development. In this blog he breaks down the journey to operational excellence in an easy to follow step-by-step guide.

How businesses interact with customers will determine whether they are successful in developing long-term loyal relationships or lose them to their competitors. To ensure the former is the outcome it is vital that the customer journey is as seamless as possible and every touchpoint provides customers with a truly positive experience. In many cases, especially in the professional services arena,...

Never was there a greater responsibility for every business to maximise its efforts to drive to net zero.  Correct machine maintenance and Lean CI processes, once just the domain of the manufacturing industries are now proving to be a force multiplier across all business in the drive to net zero. At Project 7 Consultancy we have seen Total Productive Maintenance, and Lean Manufac...

When starting your own business it is understandable that you are keen to launch as soon as possible. You’ve got a great business idea, you’ve got your mobile phone and you are ready to conquer the world. But hold on a minute. The world of business can be cut-throat and extremely competitive, so you want to make sure you start on the front foot and create a professional image from day one.

Change Readiness in an organization is the ability to continuously initiate and respond to opportunities that create business advantage, minimize risk, and sustain performance (Musselwhite & Plouffe, 2010). Change must be a constant in business just “to get things done” (McWhinney, 1996). The need for this organic, constant approach to change means that organizations need a new kind of...

The business world is more competitive than ever and if you’re a small business owner without a digital presence then you better get one soon because you can guarantee your competitors have, and if you don’t, then your business won’t survive long-term. Maybe you are not convinced by such a bold opening statement, so here are some social media statistics, courtesy of Hootsuite, to think about.&n...

Last summer, after the hottest period of weather the UK has seen for a LONG while, I jumped at the opportunity to go for an early morning swim with a good friend. When I pulled back the curtains this morning, a bit blurry eyed it was raining… what would you do?

Me? No questions I got ready. It reminded me of the wet summer holidays in Cornwall when we lived in our swimming costumes, ...

Networking to many comes naturally but to others it is something they’d rather not do and if you are a business owner who falls into the latter category then this is a problem that needs to be overcome. The alternative is sending someone to represent your business at networking events but will they make the right impression? More importantly you will be missing out on an opportunity because net...

The world of cyber security is a complex and everchanging as technology evolves. It is now a case of businesses and organisations of all sizes waiting to see WHEN they will be attacked instead of IF.

Here is a high-level explanation of the types of attacks that have become common practice.

Bureaucracy. The word alone is enough to make you shudder.

But we’re here to tell you it doesn’t have to be that way.

Yes, ok, we get it. When you think of bureaucracy you immediately picture a sour-faced public servant, begrudgingly following overly complicated processes, that, let’s be honest, are only making his/her life harder.

And, as an additional (joyous) bonus, all com...

Running a business can be difficult at the best of times. There are so may challenges to overcome, not enough hours in the day and for many you are left to do it all by yourself. Thankfully with Business Butler help is at hand, you are not alone and here are ten reasons why you should join Business Butler.

You can join for FREE

As surprising as this may sound, espe...

Entrepreneurship isn’t for the faint hearted. In fact, the rocky road to owning a thriving business is fraught with danger, risks, demands and complications.

And if that hasn’t put you off, this might. Because the ugly truth is that 20 percent of...

When you launch a business you obviously want to give yourself the best possible chance of success. Whatever market you are in you will be up against established businesses and larger companies that will have bigger budgets and greater resources than you, making it look as if the odds are stacked against you, and to a certain extent they are. But there are ways you can level the playing field a...

Feedback following the mass migration to remote working has by and large been positive. The concerns raised by business owners and managers about productivity levels falling were brushed aside and even the doubters were forced to admit it was proving to be a resounding success. CEOs of some of the leading corporates stated, prematurely as it seems, that they would not be recalling staff back to...

There were mixed emotions when it was announced earlier this year that 70 businesses in the UK were going to participate in piloting a four-day working week as part of the world’s biggest trial on this new format of working.

Excitement and anticipation from the 3,300 workers who were about to enjoy long weekends for the next six months contrasted greatly with the apprehension many manager...

Running a business event can be a stressful experience. The amount of planning and preparation required and the added pressure of making sure you don’t make any mistakes, which could not only be embarrassing but more importantly damage your brand, often puts people off hosting such events. However, when done correctly, running an event can be immensely rewarding from both a personal and profess...

Remember when you and your colleagues would often work late just to finish an important project or start earlier at your boss’s request? Maybe you took your work home just to get the job done? Going above and beyond your contracted hours was seen as a prerequisite and you did so not out of fear of losing your job but because of your diligence and dedication to the company you worked for. Well t...

With business owners facing increasing pressure from escalating energy bills and soaring inflation, the head of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has issued a stark warning. Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith said businesses “will close their doors this winter” unless they are given support and added that the country needs an ”action plan” as soon as possible.

Baroness Ruby said government...

In a challenging economic environment it is great to have some positive news for a change. The government has recently announced that scaleups will be able to attract the best talent from around the globe with the new Scale-up visa scheme.

What is a scaleup?

Most people are familiar with startups because of the sheer volume of them launching each year but scale...

When the enforced mass exodus of employees from their places of work began in March 2020, companies had to turn to a new way of working. This transition to working from home (WFH) worked better than anticipated. Business owners and CEOs needn’t have fretted about production levels dropping and staff motivation flagging. The vast majority of businesses declared remote working a resounding succes...

Most people work hard throughout their career with the aim of being able to enjoy a comfortable retirement and if everything goes according to plan then maybe retire a few years earlier than the state pension age. However, nothing is straight forward and life is full of surprises, some pleasant and others not so. The current economic crisis couldn’t have been predicted when workers approaching ...

With businesses still reeling from the difficult trading conditions during the past two years, the British Business Bank has revealed details of the scale of funding that’s been provided to SMEs in Wales in the form of recovery loans.

Post-pandemic recovery

When millions of workers were forced to work from home (WFH) because of the pandemic, there were bosses and business owners up and down the country who all shared the same pressing concern – what will this mean to productivity? The general consensus of opinion was that productivity levels would fall because employees would be easily distracted by the comforts of WFH and by family members. Where...

More companies these days are choosing to air their views regarding social issues. Recently, the eyes of the world were focussed on America as the US Supreme Court made the highly contentious decision to restrict abortion rights… In turn this led to major demonstrations protesting against that ruling and several companies have emphasised their standpoint on...

As an Operational Excellence (OpEx) consultant, I was asked today a seemingly simple question. What is Operational Excellence? As the definitions one can find on the internet are either too broad or too ambiguous, here is the working definition of OpEx that I gave as my answer.

OpEx is a highly functioning engaged culture of leadership, ...

There’s been a significant surge in the number of predatory marketing calls in the UK, which as well as being extremely annoying is also a concern for data protection.

The UK’s data protection regulator has made fighting predatory marketing calls and supporting children’s privacy two of their main focuses to combat over the next three years as part of their new action plan. It’s good to h...

Even working from home (WFH) doesn’t offer a safe haven from the dreaded workplace bully. Bullying claims from workers in the UK have surged recently and now WFH has taken a toll because of it. Allegations of bullying jumped 44%, a study found and video calls and messaging apps may be adding to the problem. Let’s delve deeper into this.

Record numbers

Most people wo...

A recent article suggests that employees are being pigeonholed by their job titles and not being utilised fully by companies? Another even suggests whether job titles are even needed in today’s business world.

What do I mean by this? Well, some employees in big companies are overlooking talented staff beca...

Everybody knows that excellent customer service is a must but there are numerous high-profile companies that are struggling to provide it. According to a recent report customer service complaints are now at the highest they have ever been in the UK.

Staffing and supply chain problems

According to a recent article the Welsh Government wants to double the number of businesses that are owned by employees in the principality. There are currently 38 employee-owned businesses in Wales, including eight that have hatched within the last six months.

Raising awareness

With the cost of living escalating upwards it was refreshing to read that the luxury motor company Rolls-Royce is paying their staff £2,000 to help with the economic crisis. The engineering firm has said that it’s the first ever payment they have made that isn’t performance related but rather due to the economic climate.

A new government campaign has begun to try and get businesses to reduce their prices for consumers. On Monday evening the new tsar at Number 10, David Buttress, asked business leaders their ideas on “how to help” fight the cost of living as it keeps rising.

In a BBC article it was discussed that a government source has given information to the broadcaster concerning the government’s plans...

Can you imagine as a business owner that some day in the future you will be able to sleep easy, safe in the knowledge that while you are getting some much deserved rest your business is being run by an avatar version of you. 

I know, it sounds far-fetched but when you think about how quickly technology...

Team building exercises can be beneficial for employees if done correctly. They can help boost morale, be an interesting way to help employees bond and get to know each other. But, occasionally they don’t go according to plan… Sometimes a team building exercise can go horribly wrong if poorly organised and if it’s not planned in advance. Recently, a team bu...

In today’s blog we will be going through and discussing the different types of exit strategies, what they mean, and how you can put them in place in the early days of creating your business. Exit strategies are an important part of anyone’s business plan and fundamental for, of course, the latter days of your business depending on the time frame you put in ...

In today’s blog we will be looking at what a lasting power of attorney (LPA) is and why it is important. A lot of people aren’t too savvy on the subject so today’s aim is to shed light on the process, how it works and why it is so essential, especially for business owners.

So, what is a lasting power of attorney? Well… a lasting power of attorney is a legal document in which you can allow...

R&D Tax Credit Changes Explained

During the 2021 Autumn budget, the government confirmed the addition of an extra R&D tax credit cost category: data and cloud computing. This announcement has been much anticipated following the 2020 consultation on qualifying criteria and has been welcomed by companies and advisors alike.

Matthew Jones, managing director, Li...

In today’s blog we will be going over what staff handbooks are and why businesses need to make sure they have them. Firstly, what is a staff handbook? A staff handbook, which can also be referred to as an employee manual/handbook, contains a number of policies and documents which tell everything that employees need to know about working at a business.

In today’s blog we will be discussing how explainer videos can be beneficial to businesses of any size. Explainer videos can be a very important step in your business’ marketing strategy by helping your target audience really find out what your business does as a whole and what you’re trying to achieve.

One of the world’s market-leading animated explainer video companies, Wyzowl has said ...

Running a business is hard and lets be real there aren’t enough hours in a day to get everything you need done by yourself. Being a business owner can involve juggling a whole load of different responsibilities and it can be tough and stressful. There are many ways to combat the number of entrepreneurial responsibilities a business owner can face day-to-day...

After being in lockdown for so long, what a relief it has been for people to be able to go to actual events again. No more needing to log into virtual events, you can now mingle and see other people… face-to-face, believe it or not! Following lockdown it feels like there’s more of a sense of community, which is lovely to see. If you haven’t already, then I ...

The power of the mind should not be underestimated and peak performance coach, Mr Jim Steele, proved that in the opening minutes of his captivating Business Mindset Conference in Cardiff. The event was held in the majestic Cornerstone Arts Centre and Community Hub, a converted chapel, where Steele preached to the masses about the benefits of having a business mindset.

A vibra...

The importance of streamlining business processes 

Every business aims to be slick, efficient and agile, which is why streamlining your business processes is essential. In today’s blog we will be going through the importance of this for any sized business and also a few ways you can start to achiev...

Many professionals use LinkedIn everyday but not everyone does. I know myself as I have only recently been introduced to using LinkedIn and have found it profoundly eye-opening. Today we will be discussing the many perks of using it, why it is important for professionals to use, and how to use the platform effectively. Afterall, some people do say that a LinkedIn profile is no more than just an...

In today’s blog we will be going through the benefits of working with a Public Relations (PR) consultant, explaining why it is important for small businesses to do so, and discussing the misconception that PR consultants are only needed for big businesses.

There are many reasons why PR can be crucial to a ...

In today’s blog I will discuss the meaning of intellectual property and also its importance to small businesses. Intellectual property also known as IP is used to refer to anything that has been created such as; literary pieces, designs, inventions, brand names, and also musical pieces. IP is protected by law through patents, trademarks and copyrights which allows the author to have the authori...

In today’s blog I will be discussing the advantages of using animation for small businesses. These days if a business doesn’t have suave marketing and silky branding then the chances are they probably won’t get too far. The use and need for animation within businesses is becoming more and more popular and is understandable when you consider the benefits.

Powerful and engaging

When you look at successful people in business they all share several traits but the most important of these arguably is a business mindset. This is often referred to as an entrepreneurial mindset but either way the key point to note is that anybody can learn how to develop such a positive and rewarding mindset.

What is a business mindset?

A person with a busin...

New rules have been put in place to make fake reviews online illegal. As a result people are going to be more protected from fake reviews as well as subscription traps, with new plans to tackle rip-offs head on. Part of the plan that has been proposed is to make it “clearly illegal” to pay anyone to write or post reviews that are fake. Furthermore, there are plans to fine firms up to 10% of the...

Have you ever had thoughts about whether or not you should turn your hobby/passion into a potentially profitable business? It’s fair to say that most people would have had these thoughts at some point, I know I have! Today I am going to be going through 8 important questions to ask yourself before considering starting a business of your own.

What is the core motivation for startin...

In a recent article it was discussed how Netflix has been losing their subscribers which hasn’t happened in ten years, which is leading them to consider using advertisements. You would have thought the opposite was happening with all the recent success of some Netflix owned releases, it is surprising to hear. Netflix have shed the blame onto factors including the increasing competition from oth...

Figures show that public sector pay for jobs such as; teachers, NHS workers and civil servants has fallen further behind price rises in the three months to February. Some see this as the biggest squeeze for public sector pay in 20 years.

Escalating cost of living

Wages for public sector workers have risen but price rises have actually ended up outpacing them. This m...

As many business owners know, digital marketing is essential for growth and having a good, structured plan can do wonders for your company! Today I am going to be explaining what digital marketing is, how you can use it, and the steps you need to take to create your own digital marketing strategy.

What i...

Almost everyone nowadays has a smartphone. Whether it be for work or just keeping in contact, the smartphone is an everyday appliance that can be found in almost every home. There are even tech-savvy subcultures who pride themselves on getting the newest phones, finding everything about the latest hardware used, camping overnight outside a shop to purchase the latest drop, there are many people...

In a recent article pub landlady Maggie Holmes said that businesses and customers are going to suffer due to the rising energy costs. Small business owners in a village in North Yorkshire have said that they have had no choice but to raise their prices due to the cost of bills. The rising energy costs will affect everyone’s pockets it seems! It has been said that millions of people will be...

The Government is planning a £11bn National Insurance tax rise to pay for social care. It looks like it has the capacity to cause strain, hurt the economic recovery and create more unemployment. Mr Kwarteng, Secretary of State for Business, is said to be worried about the tax rise as he believes it could reduce the numbers of hiring as the cost of each staf...

The UK’s Government Kickstart Scheme has just stopped taking anymore applicants. The scheme works to give 16 to 24 year olds who are on Universal Credit opportunities to “kick start” their careers. The scheme has been praised but also scrutinised for the lack of ‘good’ jobs available. I myself can pledge that there are a fair few questionable jobs involved ...

In this blog I will be discussing what a Chief Happiness Officer is and why the role is becoming more popular amongst workplaces. It may seem like a made-up title or perhaps not much of an important job but in recent times happiness officers have been helping companies bloom.

In essence the chief happiness officer is a HR Manager with a certain qualification and certain beliefs in that ha...

After such a long period of working from home, from it being a necessity to it being a more productive way of working, while knocking time of travel to zero, many offices now have workers coming in just like the old days! Many other businesses have adopted hybrid work week schedules. Having employees only coming in for half of the work week or two days in the office and three days working from ...

If you’re reading this you definitely know and have heard of the mammoth company that is Amazon, but do you know how they handle their customer’s data? With Amazon’s yearly revenue reaching £290 billion it’s safe to say that most households are taking advantage of their fast paced delivery service, but is it safe to say that the majority of the 200 million people don’t know how Amazon is using ...

In today’s blog I will be discussing the benefits of using Zoom for small business owners. I will be delving into how to maximise these benefits to suitably fit your business’ needs. When the start of the pandemic hit employees were made to stay-home and work, of course this had its ups and downs. Whether it be the terrible hit to business’ communication or the lack of understanding of how work...

When a loved one passes, emotions and tensions can be high and we’ve all heard the dreaded dispute stories.. Today I will be discussing the importance of writing a will. Nobody likes thinking about death but it is an everyday reality, and having your inheritance sorted out and pursuing an all-round feeling of fairness between family members can have a big impact on loved one’s lives. Making a w...

Big ideas, big ambitions, big plans, big(ger) competitors, big (massive!) decisions, big risks (certainly), big returns (maybe). Isn't it time we cooked up a new way to describe those businesses with fewer than 250 employees other than SME, the 'small and medium-sized enterprise'?

Out of small acorns…

It's such a misnomer and a discredit to the sweat, blood, to...

Today I am going to be discussing the importance of having a retirement plan in place. There are many questions that surround retirement plans such as; “Will I end up running out of money? Will I even be able to retire when I would like to? Is there any way to be sure of having the retirement I want?” Well…Today I am going to try and answer a few of those questions for you!

What i...

The bookkeeper can play a vital role if incorporated into a small business. Hiring a bookkeeper can help your finances make more sense and can help free up time for other tasks that might need doing, usually when starting a small business the bookkeeping responsibilities would fall on yourself. Today I am going to be discussing how hiring a bookkeeper can r...

Company bonuses have always been around, they are a great way to boost morale and can help with productivity. A recent article went into how a Cardiff firm gave staff a free all-inclusive break to Tenerife. Yolk Recruitment Ltd. paid to take their 55 staff on holiday to thank them for continuing to work through the pandemic.

Business owners life’s can be stressful enough just by navigating the day-to-day. Due to the energy crisis and the cost of living rising it seems like the next few months are going to be difficult. Figures suggest that business owners in Wales are experiencing the highest levels of mental health issues when compared to the rest of the UK.

Finance is a key reason

As we all know technology runs the world. Due to the covid-19 pandemic without it most businesses would be halted at a stand-still. Whether it be; processing and shipping orders, communicating over email, or paying employees, most businesses are extremely reliant on their IT infrastructure to operate effectively.

Running your own business is a dream for many and for those who manage to achieve theirs the rewards can be amazing. However, as with anything rewarding it takes a lot of hard work to succeed and there are challenges to overcome and risks to consider - and the risks are significant.

Rewind two years to when one in five businesses failed in the first year of trading and three out of e...

Running a business is difficult at the best of times and there are always challenges to overcome. One such recurring challenge that small business owners face is that of late payments and recent research reveals that the issue is reaching crisis point.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has said that more than 440,000 small firms could go out of business because of late payments and...

IKEA has recently announced that it is slashing sick pay for unvaccinated staff who are forced to self-isolate due to being in close contact with someone with Covid-19. They will only be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay of £96.35 a week unless there are mitigating circumstances. This is a massive decrease compared to the average gross wage of £400 for shop floor workers.

A spokesperson for ...

Understanding what drives your actions and behaviours is key to personal growth and achieving your full potential. Yet it is surprising to know that most people strive to achieve personal and professional goals without this valuable insight. Personality tests are an ideal way of discovering this, so let’s find out more about one particular type of assessment.

DISC assessment is one o...

New year resolutions are great if they are adhered to but for whatever reason resolve for personal promises begins to wane for many before January is out and the vast majority have been cast aside by the time spring arrives. However, the results are different when it comes to business.

All business owners understand that they can’t afford to treat company goals and objectives with the sam...

With so many businesses struggling with debts as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic and the furlough scheme having ended two months ago, only now are we beginning to see the devastating effects on small businesses.

Recent research reveals that a third of small businesses in the UK are planning on making redundancies over the next few months and this figure increases to four out of 10 ...

Payments made from the government’s Covid emergency lending programme to fraudulent companies will cost taxpayers £4.9 billion. The funding was essential to safeguard millions of jobs and keep businesses afloat but in the rush to make the credit available it appears that fraud prevention measures were not implemented in time.

Concerns were raised before launch

The g...

The number of people working in the gig economy in England and Wales has almost trebled in five years according to research published by the Trade Union Congress (TUC). The TUC estimates there are 4.4 million gig-workers, which equates to 14.7% of the working age population, this is a significant increase from 5.8% in 2016.

What is the gig economy?

There is no ...

Portugal has made it illegal for employers to contact staff by phone, text message, or email outside of their normal working hours. The ground breaking legislation titled ‘right to rest’ is aimed at improving work-life balance following an increase in the number of remote workers.

Attracting entrepreneurs to Portugal

Portugal's Minister of Labour and Social Security...

Ever since the mass migration to homeworking there has been one big concern facing business owners and managers. Will the staff be as productive working from home (WFH) as they are in the office?

Trust is crucial

The word trust is often banded about as being a key component in developing long-term relationships between a business and its customers. Trust, however, i...

Recent research reveals that three out of four job vacancies advertised in the UK don’t offer flexible working options. The annual survey conducted by Timewise, a flexible work consultancy firm, tracked more than five million ads for 17 key words or phrases, including job-share, home-working and part-time. Their findings from the survey showed that just 26% of job vacancy ads posted contained a...

Business leaders in the UK have been focussing on Glasgow this week, or if they haven’t then they should have been. Scotland’s biggest city is hosting the 26^th meeting of the Conference of Parties, or COP 26 as it is more commonly known.

The global United Nations summit features world leaders, scientists and eminent guest speakers addressing the issues facing our planet, with t...

As life slowly returns to normal it is great to see fans flocking to sports stadia, shoppers returning to the high street and the hospitality industry welcoming back all manner of social gatherings.

On the business front, it is just as satisfying to see awards ceremonies filled with jovial attendees dressed to the nines, bustling trade shows and the return of physical networking even...

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak was never going to be able to please everyone with his autumn budget and there were always going to be winners and losers, but let’s have a look at the key points for businesses from his budget statement.

The Chancellor confirmed that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) anticipates that the UK economy will grow by 6.5 per cent this year ...

The first annual Regions and Nations Tracker published by the British Business Bank has revealed alarming regional disparities in accessing equity finance and private debt in the UK.

Although more than 40% of businesses were accessing external finance in 2021, the lack of local investors in certain areas means that there are lost economic opportunities across the UKs regions and nations.

Wales is facing a crisis as young people desert the principality in search of more rewarding and successful careers elsewhere. The Welsh government is looking at plans to arrest the exodus because if it continues at its current rate there will be severe ramifications for the country’s economy. With the number of working-age citizens continuing to fall, the government is concerned that it will h...

What is the R&D Tax Credit Statistic Report?

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have released their latest Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credits Statistics Report; sharing data for accounting periods ending during the 2019-20 tax year. The report, published each year, provides valuable information on the number of UK companies benefiting from the relief and the va...

Research indicates that during the pandemic the majority of small businesses in the UK increased their social media presence and are now benefitting from their digital exploits. The past 18 months have had a devastating effect across all sectors and as physical operations ground to a halt business owners were faced with having to pivot in order to survive.

Results from a poll of 1,000 UK ...

Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer recently announced that the Kickstart Scheme has been extended until March 2022. The scheme gives employers funding for creating jobs for 16 – 24 year olds who are on Universal Credit. The Kickstart Scheme was launched in September 2020 and was allocated £2 billion in funding to provide 250,000 high-quality jobs for young people following the economi...

Being self-employed sounds attractive and there are several advantages when compared with working for someone else, such as greater flexibility with your working hours and not being answerable to anybody. However, there are also disadvantages, one of which is the fact that pension payments are solely down to you. There is no employer contributing to your pension pot, so in simple terms, if you ...

The furlough scheme, which has safeguarded millions of jobs during the past 18 months, finally closed at the end of September. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, as it was officially known, was launched in April 2020 when large parts of the UK economy were forced to close because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under the scheme, the government contributed up to a maximum if £2,500 per month ...

Your people are your company’s most important asset. Cheerful employees are likely to be more productive, but employee engagement is complex - where do you start?

Engaging your team is critical to business success. The holy grail is to have employees who are excited to come to work each day. To achieve this, they need to do what they do best, feel connected to their cowor...

Amazon is a company that divides opinion and is often in the news regarding staff welfare issues. This time though the news appears to be positive from the world’s leading online retailer. 

The American giant has started paying staff a £50 weekly bonus at some of its UK warehouses, which is very generous of them, but this isn’t performance related, it’s just for being punctual. Now c...

Everywhere you look online you are inundated with content as businesses vie for your attention and hopefully your custom. Most of the time you just ignore all the noise but now and then there is a post that will catch your eye and it will probably be a video clip.

More and more small business owners are realising that video content is an effective way to connect with prospects and custome...

The importance of branding in the competitive world of business cannot be understated. It is what distinguishes a company from the rest. Branding covers a multitude of disciplines and purposes. Branding needs to be a true representation of a business, communicating how it wants to be perceived and why prospective clients should choose them over all the others in a saturated market.

The ro...

Getting the right kind of funding for your startup is a challenge. You have to find it, get approved, and then use it wisely. But there are many mistakes that too many founders make when they're trying to get their company off the ground. In this post we'll cover 7 key mistakes you should avoid so you can raise enough money for your startup without sacrificing any equity or valuable resources.

Running a business can be exciting, challenging and draining, both physically and mentally. There are so many things to remember and not enough hours in the day to get everything done. Thankfully business owners don’t need to carry on getting more and more stressed because there is help at hand. The solution is to outsource wherever possible, or to be more specific, hire the services of a ...

Latest research indicates that 20% of startups will fail in the first year and 60% won’t succeed past year three, startling figures that would put many people off trying in the first place but business owners are brave at heart. A lack of financial management knowledge is often quoted as one of the main reasons why businesses fail and with that in mind it is essential that business owners equip...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is having a greater influence on everyday life as more and more industries seek innovative solutions to a myriad of problems. You may not be aware that as you travel, work, dine, shop and participate in a host of other leisure activities, behind the scenes AI is hard at work.

But what exactly is AI? Well without getting too complicated, AI can be defined as th...

Amazon is a company that divides opinion more than probably any other. This behemoth American corporation has grown at an astronomical rate since Jeff Bezos started selling books from his garage in 1995.

In its quest for global domination Amazon has consumed everything in its path and has been blamed for the closure of thousands of businesses worldwide. The majority of these hav...

Following the announcement that people in England no longer have to work from home (WFH) from 19 July – and the rest of the UK will follow suit shortly - there will be tens of thousands of workers preparing to return to their offices for the first time in 18 months.

This is great news for business and the economy, although there is still some confusion about what this actually means, so h...

A Guest Blog by Mel Evans, Customer Experience Expert

At a point where you need customers more than ever, it is critical that businesses now focus on their marketing and customer experience (CX) as a central platform to their business development.

At difficult times in business the first response is to make cuts: staff, overheads, stock, facilities, services, etc…it...

OK, so everything has gone according to plan, or even exceeded expectations and your startup has reached the stage where it has become too big and you need to take it to the next level. Give yourself a pat on the back because this is an impressive achievement and not all business owners reach the stage where their startup is ready to scale up.

The scale up phase of a business can be ...

A Guest Blog by Julie Plumb, Digital Marketing Expert.

How do you choose the right social media for your business?

Our advice is always not to try and spread yourself thinly across every single platform that you've ever heard of. Choos...

Business owners are renowned for making tough decisions, it’s part and parcel of what they do. From hiring and firing to expansion and closure, if you don’t like making important decisions then don’t run a business. The latest decision facing business owners is one that they would never even have contemplated 18 months ago - should they continue running the business remotely or return to t...

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic and overnight the whole of the UK made the abrupt shift to working from home as businesses and organisations quickly executed Business Continuity Plans (or in some cases had to evolve on the fly).

With a restriction on travel and the near blanket closure of shared office spaces, we have all had to adapt, and work be...

Long gone are the days when companies were satisfied in just selling products, regardless of who were buying them, let alone why. Then, as competition grew and customers had a greater choice of where to spend their money, businesses had to become more customer focussed. Customer service was seen as the panacea, as long as a business treated its customers well, or just better than its competitor...

Starting your business is super exciting. You just want to get going with the fun stuff…but often this means that the more ‘boring’ things can be left out. This frequently comes down to legal matters.

As uninteresting as it may seem, protecting your business from a legal perspective is INCREDIBLY important…this includes making sure your BRAND is protected. Whether it be your business name...

Tens of thousands of small business owners across the UK thought 2021 had got off to the best possible start when a ruling made by the Supreme Court in January found in their favour regarding insurance payments to cover losses caused by the first national lockdown.

The fact that business interruption insurance policies were going to pay out was welcome news during the most difficult econo...

Working from home (WFH) was something many workers had never experienced prior to lockdown last March and was usually only a familiar practice among freelancers in specific sectors. Many business owners and directors approached remote working with trepidation, which was understandable because it was unchartered territory.

Now fast-forward 12 months and despite lockdown restrictions finall...

Small business owners across the country were waiting with anticipation to hear whether the Chancellor would be the bearer of good news when he announced the budget, after all they had suffered more than most, and any support would be welcome.

Rishi Sunak has endured a challenging year as Chancellor of the Exchequer, and as the saying goes...”you can’t please all the people all of the tim...

A Guest Blog by Caryl Thomas, HR Expert.

This time of year is usually filled with festivities. From Christmas parties to the legendary Secret Santa gift exchange, there is normally no shortage of reasons to get together with friends, family and co-workers during December.

But after a difficult year curtailing coronavirus, and with continued efforts to keep the risk ...

A Guest Blog by Graham Morgan, a Business Expert.

There were 267,000 business enterprises in Wales in 2019 according to the Office of National Statistics and this was the highest number recorded over the period from 2003. The growth from 169,000 enterprises in 2003 has been consistent year on year. Small and medium sized businesses(SME’s) accounted for 62.4% of the estima...

A Guest blog by Graham Morgan, Business Expert.

Wales has recently exited its second nationwide lockdown of 2020. The Welsh Government’s decision to go for a short sharp ‘circuit break’ was based on increasing trends in Covid infection rates across all parts of the country. Certainly not as severe as the lockdown of March, April and May, given many businesses continued tr...

It is that time of year when the clocks have just turned back, the nights are drawing in and children across the country start to feel a little bit frightened as Halloween fast approaches.

However, this year millions of adults are also filled with fear and it’s not down to the ghosts and ghouls of Halloween. No, this is fear of the unknown because the end of October marks the end of ...

Everybody has a favourite brand, don’t they? I mean as I teenager, for some unknown reason, I loved Adidas, Pepsi and Wrangler! Not quite sure why because my friends went for Nike, Coke and Levi’s – maybe I just liked to be different.

When you are young and impressionable you don’t tend to look at the reasoning behind such decisions. However, when your are older and wiser and especially w...

Money, or the lack of it, is a concern for businesses at any time but during the current economic environment it takes on even greater significance. Business owners are constantly looking at ways to reduce costs without sacrificing quality or raise margins without losing customers, and even for businesses robust enough to survive the worst economic crisis on record, every pound counts.

So...

Bounce back is a phrase that you will hopefully be hearing a lot more of during the coming months, whether it is in relation to the economy improving, businesses trading again or inspirational stories of survivors of Covid-19. But at the moment you are more likely to hear it in relation to funding because the Bounce Back Loan Scheme is the latest government initiative to help small businesses t...

OK, let’s fast forward a few months and life is beginning to return to normal, or as close to normal as it was before the coronavirus pandemic. On a personal level, sales are shooting upwards as customers who have been starved of your products and services make up for lost time, margins are equally impressive, and your bottom line is looking healthier by the day. All in all, your business is ge...

There are so many things to remember when setting up a business and what with all the excitement and hullabaloo, there appears to be so little time to do them all. From writing a business plan and deciding on a business name to choosing a legal structure and finding suitable premises. Then there is the bank account to open, website to design, licenses to apply for, suppliers to source, contract...

Can you imagine as a business owner being entitled to thousands of pounds and not even knowing? How frustrating would that be? Sounds too good to be true, does it? Well it is true and thousands of businesses across the UK are failing to take advantage by not making a Research and Development (R&D) tax credits claim.

In fact, recent research suggests that less than 20% of eligible SMEs...

You may think that business consultants are only useful for larger, established companies, that have seen performance plateau or sales stagnate and require help to guide them in the right direction.

However, what you may not realise is that business consultants can be equally effective when working with new businesses. In fact, using the services of an experienced consultant as a new busi...

When the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) was first launched last month, it was welcomed with open arms by businesses across the UK. However, it soon became apparent that the CBILS was not the panacea that businesses hoped it would be and it wasn’t long before the scheme started attracting criticism.

In response to this, Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, r...

A recent report into the spending behaviour of more than 133,000 small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SME’s) in the UK over the past 10 years has just been published and makes interesting reading.

We’ll take a look at some of the pertinent points from the comprehensive report now. The global report actually covered a total of 250,000 SME’s across the UK, US, Canada, France and Australia wi...