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.
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
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.’
Healthcare benefits may be your recession ‘armoury’
At a time when businesses need to be as lean and efficient as possible, it makes no sense to cut off the very tools that create a healthy, motivated and engaged workforce – not to mention staving off high volumes of costly employee turnover.
John Cleese helps make video learning affordable for SMEs
Video Arts, the training company started in 1972 by John Cleese and Sir Anthony Jay, who wrote the Yes, Minister TV series and is renowned for entertaining films that use humour and well-known actors to deliver essential training messages has created a new licence that lets small and medium-sized companies cost effectively use digital versions of its best-selling titles.
Don’t back down on your sales in December
As December approaches, I’m sure you’re already sick and tired of getting the ‘call me back after Christmas’ line only to find that come January, you can’t get hold of the person ever again! As the festive season roles in, I’m going to take a look at how to overcome these objections and make the most of the festive period.
BT Volunteer scheme sees 20,000 days given to good causes
BT people are being freed up to tackle the issues that are important to their local communities and to communities across the world. Some are helping make local community areas cleaner and greener. Others are working with a whole range of charities and social enterprises to enhance their operations.
Cyclescheme make top spot in Fast Track 100
Cyclescheme, the UK’s number one provider of cycle-to-work schemes, has been given top billing in the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 and as such is the first company from the bicycle industry to gain entry.
Preparing for the seasonal rush
The run up to Christmas is one of the busiest times of the year for many businesses. Tens of thousands of seasonal jobs are being created on the high street alone with many of the big retailers recruiting thousands of staff to cope with the Christmas rush, and for ‘specialist’ jobs such as the 10,000 Santas that are reportedly needed. However, the surge in demand from customers doesn’t just have an impact on retailers, many other businesses are affected.
