One in ten mums surveyed by Netmums and BT Business, aspire to have their own business, with one in 5 looking to have more flexibility on choosing the hours they work.
Category: In Business
Advice on growing your small and medium sized business, SME, in the UK. Hiring and managing staff and finance plus marketing all on one website
Entrepreneurs, Inventors, Designers- Britain’s High Street Wants You!
Have you invented the next Dyson vacuum cleaner? Concocted a successor to Innocent Smoothies? Discovered the next Protect and Perfect face cream? Then the BBC wants to hear from you!
Channel 5 to launch a Small Business Series
Are you a small business with big goals? Are you frustrated by the speed of your company’s growth? Would you like someone to inject some energy into your trade?
Are you a Dragon tamer in need of investment?
Do you have a killer idea or a ‘must-have’ product of the future ready for investment? Do you have the powers of persuasion needed to part Dragons from their cash? Well the BBC has opened the application process for the next series of Dragons’ Den.
8.4 Million Brits lie awake dreading return to work
Huge numbers of Britons dreaded the first day back at work after the Christmas and New Year break because employers are piling on the pressure. Companies desperate to stay ahead as the recession bit last year are keeping people at work longer and increasing workloads, causing 8.4 million Brits to lose sleep in the past year, according to a study by insurer RSA and You Gov. RSA has dubbed the phenomenon has WAWAW – wide awake worrying about work.
Do you know where your stopcock is?
Thousands of businesses at threat from winter water damage – from inside the building as one in five business owners and managers do not know how to turn the water off!
Businesses are being urged to protect themselves from the effects of internal water damage this winter following new research released today. As many as 20-30 per cent of insurance property claims costs are for escape of water from inside the building1, with the most common being from the effects of a burst pipe.
Monarch is the Bookies favourite as ‘next airline to go bankrupt’
Paddy Power has opened a book on which airline will go bust next, and claims that the UK’s largest charter airline, Monarch, is favourite to fold.
How to protect your business from blackouts
Many companies are poorly prepared in the event of IT and telecoms problems. Here, Dominic List who owns IT and Telecoms solutions company Comtact, gives his simple tips that all companies should adhere to in order to ensure that they are fully prepared in the event of a blackout…
Making your mark this Christmas
With Christmas just around the corner, children and adults will soon be getting into the festive spirit decorating their homes and wrapping up presents. This year there is one great way to ensure your present stands out from the rest whilst under the tree; by using a Sharpie marker!
Whether personalising your wrapping paper with a festive silver snowflake or putting colourful finishing touches to that perfect tag, Sharpie markers are available in 13 stand-out colours making them the ideal Christmas creative companion.
We have teamed up with Sharpie to give 10 lucky readers the chance to get their hands on a goodie bag of Sharpie markers – the ultimate Christmas design kit worth £35, which will ensure your gifts really stand out this year. To enter just email us at: sharpie@bmmagazine.co.uk
To grow or play it safe? That’s the million-dollar question…
One reoccurring topic which always seems to crop up when speaking to business owners is ‘when is the right time to bite the bullet and take the business to the next level’? When do we stop the bootstrapping and say hello to investment? I am a firm believer that all businesses can (and in most cases, should be) boot-strapped from day one. This not only saves costs, it keeps your business lean and avoids the unnecessary ‘fat’ that one could be tempted to add if investment is gained early on.
Season’s warnings
Every year, thousands of people close up their businesses and homes for the Christmas break without fully considering the disasters that could happen in their absence. According to the Fire Statistics Monitor Q3 2008-09, 10% of the 33,000 house fires that occurred in 2008 happened over Christmas – largely due to poor quality Christmas lights and flammable decorations.
Christmas queues keep till from ringing
With Christmas around the corner, retailers are already enjoying ringing tills and an uplift in sales, however recent research has revealed many are concerned that long queues may hinder sales over the next few weeks.
Smarta launches new and much improved website
After digesting months of feedback and suggestions, Smarta, the free online business resource has launched a new, easier to use, and a more functional website. From the feedback Smarta learnt that there are three things users wanted from the site: Advice, Networking and Tools.
SMEs have their say about bad management practices & cost-cutting initiatives
A recent survey of small to medium sized businesses reveals that the three worst qualities an employer can exhibit during difficult times to their staff are ‘hiding the extent of problems’, ‘making the problems appear worse than they are’ and ‘being distant with staff’ – indicating that SME employees want honesty and straight talk from their employers about the state of the business.
Bad spelling costs UK companies millions
The UK’s leading gadget advice company, www.gadgethelpline.co.uk has had to take the unusual step of registering incorrect spellings of its brand domain to counteract the problem the UK’s 18-21 age-group have with spelling the word ‘Gadget.’
