Any entrepreneur will tell you that starting up your own business can be as scary and lonely as it is exhilarating and rewarding. So for many would-be entrepreneurs the thought of having your best friend by your side as your business partner can be a tempting proposition. But is there room for two at the top?
Category: Opinion
Some of the UKs leading business leaders and opinion formers share their insight and ideas for growth
Motivating Staff: Looking for Ideas Beyond the Pay cheque
It is now more important than ever that small business owners find alternatives to cash to enable them attract talent – top talent that can turn their businesses around.
Social business and leaders of the future
Social collaboration is not only about social media. This is only a small part of collaboration. A collaborative organisation promotes a culture based on transparency and accountability.
EIS and VCT fall under the FSA’s gaze – but is this bad news for SMEs?
The FSA has announced that Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) and the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) are to be within their forthcoming guidance on unregulated collective investments (UCIS).
Spiralling business costs: another winter of discontent?
New research from the Forum of Private Business shows that business costs are rising at a rate above inflation – and the situation could soon become worse.
Outsource in the UK – better for the economy, better for the client
Outsourcing business processes abroad remains popular, with the promise of huge cost savings still attracting many advocates. With the Government recently stating that rather than restricting outsourcing, it is to encourage service providers to set up delivery centres in the UK, perhaps now the scales are beginning to tip the UK’s way. Solicitor Maxine Park, Director and co-founder of UK-based transcription service provider DictateNow explains the advantages of outsourcing within the UK.
Unemployment: teach kids the idea of working for a living
The unemployment figures are in, but before we start celebrating, we need to address youth unemployment by getting back to basics and instil a work ethic that makes them effective contributors to their employers’ business and the UK economy.
Youth unemployment: time to charge the economy’s skills battery for the future
Employment levels maybe stabilising, but youth unemployment remains high and is one of the biggest threat to the UK economy’s future. We have to give them the skills for the future because if we don’t charge our economic batteries by training young people now they’ll go flat. Without skilled people powering our economy, we won’t have the energy to drive the country forward.
“More companies should consider mature workers” says business director
Whilst rising youth unemployment has been a consistently hot topic during the economic downturn, less has been said of unemployment amongst older workers, the group which at the start of this year accounted for the largest rise in unemployment.
Sales Lessons From Steve Jobs
Friday 5th October marked one year since the death of Steve Jobs, but his legacy as an entrepreneur lives on. Here, leading Sales Expert Andy Preston explains the sales lessons that we as salespeople can learn from Steve Jobs and how we can implement them to benefit both our own sales, and those of our team.
The Impossibility of No
Jo Haigh talks about the importance of the word NO in sales
Postcode lottery for council supplier payments
How to address the epidemic of late payment is one of the biggest headache facing small businesses and politicians, but one initiative has been the 10-day public sector payment target.
Planet Recession to Vince Cable – we need help now, so show us your money’
I’ve been calling for a government-backed business lending bank for ages so you will forgive me if I’m now becoming a little frustrated that, after such a promising announcement, the actual details of how it will work, who will be eligible, and even how much money it will have to lend out, are still not available.
How The Smartest People Convert Mistakes Into Opportunities
What were your biggest mistakes? and what did you learn from them? We look at how they can help you build your business.
When can it be right for companies not to pay tax?
Global IT monster Google will pay only £6 million in tax this year on a turnover of £395 million from its UK operation. Google’s chairman Eric Schmidt says the company could pay more but British tax law won’t let him! When can it be right for off-shore companies not to pay UK tax?