Articles

London-based ticketing and events site Shoobs is one to watch this year; it’s part of the current group of startups backed by seed accelerator Y Combinator, which had their demo day in March. After launching in January last year, it’s got its sights on becoming the destination for events organisers and party-goers, with founder Louise Broni-Mensah taking the leap about six months ago and turning it from side project to full-time business.

Specialising in modern. stylish streetwear, Elevate London is a brand on the up. Parisians Marcel and Grace, its founder and creative director, explain why E2 is the perfect fit.

Hilary Briggs, profitable growth expert and Managing Director of R2PLtd helped Pinnacle Communications Ltd to increase their monthly recurring revenue by over 100% over 12 months by using customer analysis and profiling.

Whether outsourced, or in-house, a solid sales force can put a company on the map. By working together to increase brand awareness and drive sales forward, the sales team can exponentially grow revenue and play a crucial role in ensuring a business’ success.

Mention the word “sustainability” to most small business owners and their eyes will probably glaze over. It’s a shame that the golden glow of all that is meant by the “S” word has been tarnished; that the exciting promise of a new way of doing business has been masked by the fear of something outside our remit, something unattainable that, for the small business owner struggling to survive, is completely outside his comfort zone.

When you’re in business, it’s vital to stay on top of your finances and keep your books in order, but this can often be very confusing and stressful especially when you only have yourself to rely on. Emily Coltman ACA, Chief Accountant to award-winning online accounting system provider FreeAgent and author of Finance for Small Business and Micro Multinationals, gives her 10 top financial issues that freelancers and contractors should be aware of.

Once again late payments are making the headlines. As politicians and journalists come forward to identify small and growing businesses as an integral factor in rebuilding the UK’s economy, it is unsurprising that the issues of late payments and cash flow have been brought to the fore.

We all know that if you keep doing the same things you generally get the same results. Similarly, if you keep doing the same thing in an ever-changing sector, you will probably suffer worse results. So there comes a time when you need to invest in something new to move your business forward. Any investment is a big decision. If it’s an investment in new technology, the stakes are even higher because the playing field moves so quickly.

Becoming self-employed is a big step to take, but it can provide many benefits such as freedom, intellectual fulfilment and flexibility. There are also financial benefits as some self-employed people earn more than they would as an employee. However, there are also higher risks and disadvantages if you are not prepared…

Studying for a Master of Business and Administration (MBA) in the UK remains incredibly expensive, those looking to pursue this option can expect to pay in the region of £15,000 for their course. However, a recent survey from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) revealed that job offers to executive MBA graduates were at an all-time high, with 76 percent of participants having received an offer of employment at the time of the survey (February 15 - March 18, 2012). With that in mind, can the advantages of holding an MBA really justify such a substantial investment in both time and money especially given the uncertain economic climate?

Scott Allison is the founder and CEO of Teamly, as well as the former co-founder and CEO of award-winning B2B telecoms virtual network operator, abica. It was during his time at the head of this company, Allison began experimenting with different ways of managing people which later inspired him to create Teamly. He is also a founding member of TechHub in London, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a contributor at Forbes.com. Until recently, he was also a board director of The Entrepreneurial Exchange and curator of the London Startup Digest.

Until 1st October 2011, most businesses adopted the default National Retirement Age (NRA) of 65 for their staff. Under the then law, employers had the right to retire employees at 65, provided they followed the statutory retirement procedures. If such procedures were followed, such a dismissal would be neither unfair nor amount to age discrimination.

Helen Jacobi is Director of The Inspired PA and winner of National Outstanding VA of 2012 in the over two and a half years in business category. She was an Executive Assistant for 20 years working alongside boards of directors in large corporations and with successful entrepreneurs. Being passionate about enabling businesses to succeed, in 2009 she took the plunge and started The Inspired PA, a virtual PA and business management enterprise which supports business owners and entrepreneurs globally.

The absence of women from many top jobs might suggest that the concept of a glass ceiling is still very much a reality.There has however, been an encouraging upturn of female entrepreneurs, bucking gender trends even in traditionally male-dominated industries. 10 of the UK’s most inspirational female entrepreneurs from a diverse range of backgrounds talk to inspiresme about overcoming the challenges they have faced.

All of us struggle to meet deadlines and goals at some point, and will inevitably fall back to short-term copying strategies – such as all-nighters – to get the job done. But these coping strategies often come at a price; lots of stress with a side order of exhaustion. In the long-term, planning and understanding are the keys to regularly meeting deadlines and goals without the nasty side-effects. Read on to find out more.

Understanding what is going on outside your business is an important part of strategic planning. There are some useful analytical tools that help to understand important factors in the business environment and competitive drivers in your industry as an initial step in undertaking competitor analysis. In addition to this, many businesses try to understand, in some detail, what its competitors are doing.