2008 - Page 4 of 13 - Business Matters

Fact or fiction, how far should you go when writing your CV?

12 June 2008 In Business Business Matters

This year’s winner of ‘The Apprentice’, sales manager, Lee McQueen, was caught out during the interview stage for lying on his CV about how long he had been at university.’

Despite this, he was still hired, but, as Victoria Band from The One Group explains, real life isn’t like that and lying or even exaggerating to a prospective employer is never a good idea.

“All of us want to make a good impression,” said Victoria. “And it’s only natural that we’re occasionally tempted to tweak the truth to make us seem more suited to a particular job.

Small business decision-makers spend over two months a year out of office

22 May 2008 In Business Business Matters

Research highlights need for mobile communications as senior staff spend a minimum of 11.5 weeks away from team members every year.

60pc of small business senior decision makers that we spoke to spend a minimum of five hours out of the office a week – equivalent to 32.5 working days a year.
42pc of small businesses consider they pay too much for their mobile communications plan and yet 77pc do not have a plan that balances the cost of phone calls, mobile emails and text messages.
65pc also do not have the means to control the cost of international calls from mobile phones.

Red tape & bureaucracy awards put Darling at Number One

22 May 2008 News Business Matters

Nearly 40% of small business owners blame the Chancellor of the Exchequer for the increasing burden of red tape in the UK. A recent poll commissioned by online accounting software firm KashFlow has revealed the constraints and worries that increasing amounts of red tape has had on small businesses around the UK.

In the first ever Red Tape and Bureaucracy Awards the Chancellor of the Exchequer is today revealed to be the person that the majority of small business owners and accountants blame for increasing red tape in the UK.

Surviving the downturn part three – When it goes wrong

22 May 2008 Advice Business Matters

Many are wary of upsetting key customers by chasing slow or overdue debts. But as a frequent surprise to many suppliers, buyers often report privately that a failure to chase agreed debts is not seen as a relationship-building exercise, but as weak management. A contractual debt owed is a contractual debt to be paid!

In Parts 1 and 2 of this series, we have stressed the importance of ‘starting off on the right foot’ contractually, and ‘keeping your eye on the ball’ financially.

Of course, some organisations have no shame in delaying payments to their creditors, until pushed really hard.

Whether you really want to trade with such bad payers is entirely up to you, but here are some more handy tips that might help however things might go wrong.

Surviving the downturn Part two – Getting Paid!

22 May 2008 Advice Business Matters

Part 2: Keeping your eye on the ball

Getting your Terms and Conditions right and checking customers’ credit status are vital. (See Part 1 of this series). What else can you do to ensure prompt payment?

Monitor your Aged Debtors and set Customer Credit-Limits

You will probably already review your debtors at least monthly, to keep an eye on defaulters. Most financial software packages readily provide this data phased by sums due over successive months. Ignore it at your peril.

The monthly ‘Total Outstanding‘ figure per client is also critical. Your credit checks on each customer should also produce credit limits and you need to have really good reasons to allow these to be exceeded. (Banks, Factors and Debt-Insurers can be laughably conservative in guiding you here, but don’t ignore their advice without excellent reason.)

Surviving the Downturn – Part One

22 May 2008 Advice Business Matters

When doom, gloom and despondency reigns in business, the inevitable response is always to make cuts. No surprise here. The media resound with everyday stories of staff cuts, budget cuts and training and development cuts. And yet, at the same time, there is an astounding growth in job advertising for ‘business development’ executives of multiple shapes and sizes. It’s a stereotypical and oh-so predictable response to tough times ahead. Jeremy Thorn assesses the problem

Remote & mobile working clinches the deal

15 May 2008 In Business Business Matters

The option to have flexible and mobile working can be a deal breaker when choosing a new job according to 70 per cent of respondents to a commuter survey carried out by THUS plc. An encouraging 72 per cent of employees said that their employers actively promote this style of working within their corporate cultures which demonstrates how UK companies are embracing flexible and mobile working. However, this still means that 28 per cent of companies are not currently offering flexible and mobile working and risk losing out on the best candidates.

Businessman turns apprentice for Sir Philip Green

15 May 2008 News Business Matters

Matthew Riley finished his first apprenticeship at the age of 18 and now 34 he’s doing it all again – his teacher, one of the most astute businessmen in the country, Sir Philip Green.

After winning one of the biggest prizes in business – the title of Bank of Scotland Corporate Entrepreneur of Year – the CEO of business communications provider daisy has now started to reap the rewards of his money-can’t-buy prize.

Making Marketing Accountable

14 May 2008 Marketing Business Matters

Marketing accountability should be a priority, but in reality there is a lot of talk on the matter, and less action. Given access to large corporate budgets, marketing staff have promised returns on investment and increased market share. However, the evolution of the dot.com era has contributed to the fact that marketing staff can no longer get away with promising big results without quantifiably measuring them.

U-turn over plans to phase out cheque payments forced

14 May 2008 Finance Business Matters

The Forum of Private Business (FPB) is welcoming the Payments Council’s new National Payments Plan, announced this week, in which it agrees not to phase out cheque payments until adequate alternatives are in place. Research carried out by the FPB at the end of last year revealed that most of the smaller businesses surveyed want market forces to determine when they should switch payment methods.

Office workers are animals when it comes to the colour printer

14 May 2008 In Business Business Matters

Are you like a Parrot and need colour in everything regardless of cost? Or are you a Cheetah and need everything at speed? Or perhaps you are a Panda or Polar Bear and are happy with everything in black and white?

Leading behavioural psychologist, broadcaster and journalist, Donna Dawson, says that office printing habits are the best way to examine the dynamics of the modern workplace, where people’s behaviour can be equated to The Human Zoo.

Brown wants ‘Apprentice’-like reality show

14 May 2008 News Business Matters

Prime Minister Gordon Brown is in discussions with TV producers to star in his own reality show, reports say.

MP Hazel Blears was photographed carrying an email print-out detailing a show with the working title Junior PM to a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

The email from producer Margaret McCabe pitched the show, which would feature aspiring politicians as contestants, as being targeted for the "Apprentice meets Maria/Strictly Come Dancing audience".

Don’t crack in the credit crunch

8 May 2008 Advice Business Matters

In February Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, stated that “tighter credit conditions will bear down on demand” and he projected poor growth forecasts and higher inflation. At times like this, banks may refuse or reduce credit facilities and so it becomes vital that businesses have their own stringent credit control systems in place to ensure cash flow is maintained.

Boris Johnson vows to end corruption

8 May 2008 News Business Matters

The capital’s new Mayor set up a “forensic audit group” of leading business people and public figures that he said would end mismanagement and deliver better value for money for taxpayers.

The panel will be led by former Sunday Telegraph Editor Patience Wheatcroft who is currently a Non Executive Director of Barclays PLC and Shaftesbury PLC.

The group will look into claims of financial mismanagement and lack of control at the London Development Agency and the Greater London Authority.

Reduce your carbon emissions

8 May 2008 News Business Matters

SMEs responsible for 110 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year

AXA launches carbon calculator to help SMEs reduce emissions.

Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) generate approximately 110 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year, according to new calculations published today by AXA. In an effort to help small businesses reduce their environmental impact AXA, one of the UK’s leading insurers of SMEs, today launched a carbon footprint calculator available free at axa4business.co.uk/climate. Created specifically for SMEs it provides a self-assessment tool to enable them to assess and reduce their environmental impact.