Flowers are timeless and have been used for centuries to express emotions. They play a role in all occasions, from expressing sympathy, to celebrating the birth of a new baby or showing love on Valentine’s Day. Flowers being closely related to emotions and occasions is perhaps the reason why the florist industry has been thriving for decades and why the need remains strong. The fresh cut flowers and plant industry is currently worth £2.2 billion in the UK, and to give some perspective that is £0.2 billion more than the music industry in the UK. The florist business industry is huge and comes with the vast opportunity to start a successful company.
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Two brothers, Timothy McElroy and James McElroy founded their business as they struggled to find a dog sitter for their dog. They took inspiration from the likes of Uber and Airbnb to set up their business. Now, HouseMyDog is Europe’s largest online community that enables dog owners to find and book local, trusted dog sitters and walkers. It operates in more than 70 cities across the UK, Ireland, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Belgium.
Cat in a Flat founders Kathrin Burckhardt and Julie Barnes feature in our latest success stories, looking at entrepreneurs making a success out of a niche business idea. They discuss having complementary skills, marketing your business effectively, and attracting customers. Cat in a Flat has become an international business allowing customers to find cat sitters for their pets.
Everyone has a unique personality. That’s part of the reason why people are so interesting. But sometimes, personalities clash. When it comes to working in a team, knowing how to manage different personality types is a vital skill. While we are all unique, it is generally accepted that we all sit on a spectrum of introversion and extroversion. It’s common in the workplace for personalities from different areas of the spectrum to collide and it can be a challenge to work with or manage introverts and extroverts.
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Small businesses are less likely than larger businesses to offer zero hour contracts when hiring. In research carried out by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), it was found that employers within the small business sector tend to steer clear of non-guaranteed hour contracts. It was also found that small businesses were already paying the new National Living Wage (NLW) of £7.43 before it rose in April. This makes small business a good choice of employer.
If you have a passion for making music, starting a recording studio business may seem like a dream enterprise, especially if you already have experience of recording in your own home studio. Helping unknown artists on the path to success is an exciting prospect. However, starting up a professional recording studio is not easy. You need to be aware of what is involved and make sure that you are fully invested.
Training your staff is incredibly important, whether it’s a new employee or a manager that has been with your business for years. Members of staff need to feel like they are growing their skillset and are taking steps to progress in their career. By encouraging and implementing training in your small business environment, you will be able to retain good quality employees. Training your staff can also help you prepare for any skills gap that may become a problem due to Brexit.
Like many business owners, you may dread holiday periods coming around. Finding someone to fill in for an employee’s essential duties can be a dismal task. However, there are positive days ahead, as your business will benefit in the following ways when your employee returns from their vacation. Here Austrack Campers highlight why it’s important to encourage your employees to travel while on paid time off.
Jose Melico is the latest entrepreneur to join others in our success story series. Jose came up with the idea of Zypho when he was just fourteen. Zypho is a water heat recovery device that reduces shower water heating energy bills. Being energy conscious and thinking about a solution to a problem enabled Jose to come up with this winning business idea at such a young age. In his success story, the entrepreneur discusses having a solid team and the skills required to keep a business going.
Some people are comfortable with the routine and regular income that comes from being an employee. If being an employee suits you then that’s great. However, for some people being an employee can feel like an inescapable trap. If you start feeling like that then you should consider starting your own business. You will need certain skills to thrive as a business owner, but most importantly you need to be a leader and be focused in order to be a good entrepreneur.
Companies are increasingly recognising the benefits of team building – the beginning of 2016 actually saw record spending on team building activities in the UK. In fact, on average companies now spend £305 on activities per employee to boost morale and keep their staff happy. Traditional team building activities such as assault courses are being replaced with more creative days out, with the most popular being cooking and baking. Adventure Connections highlight the many benefits of team building in the workplace that small businesses need to take advantage of.
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In a recent survey conducted by the BCC (British Chamber of Commerce), it was found that one of the biggest issues that small businesses are facing is employing workers with the right skills. The small business workforce seems to lack certain skills which can hinder their chances of business growth. One of the factors that affected the confidence of small businesses during the early Brexit negotiations was the worries over the lack of skilled workers. Therefore, business owners together with the government need to create initiatives to upskill the British workforce.
Running a business is not for everyone, it requires certain skills and abilities to really be a successful business owner. To run a small business successfully, business owners will need to either be born a natural leader or hone skills and get qualifications specifically for the challenge of setting up and running a business. Although every entrepreneur is different, they will likely share a certain set of skills and knowledge which enables them to be successful.
The self-employment sector grows continuously in the UK. More and more people are taking the plunge of becoming their own boss and it’s not an easy decision to make. To leave the security of being an employee, which provides regular work and pay checks, it can be daunting. Being your own boss and running a business can be glamorised, but in reality it can be quite difficult.
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