With the year coming to a close, it’s time to look back and reflect, as well as looking ahead. 2017 has been a great year for small businesses which have thrived and stood strong despite uncertainty bought on by Brexit. From the Autumn Budget being small business friendly, to the huge success of Small Business Saturday, small businesses can allow themselves to be optimistic about the upcoming year.
start up
Providing the best customer service can almost always be a deciding factor of the success of your business. Building a client base that is loyal can really help your business thrive. Therefore, providing customer service should really be a prominent part of every business’ goals and objectives. Proving a good service means that you can bring the customers back as well as sending them away happy and satisfied.
It’s difficult for small business owners to switch off, being a business owner means a huge work load that sometimes may seem never ending. Therefore, having a work/life balance is something that small business owners only aspire to have. It has become a culture in the UK to constantly be ‘on’, hence its not surprising that the UK’s workforce is crumbling under a digital overload, because they don’t get a chance to switch off.
Did you know that the power that comes out of your plug sockets and other outlets can vary in quality? It is true that there are strict rules governing the quality of power to ensure that individuals, businesses and organisations receive consistently high levels of power. However, sometimes errors can occur within systems that bring power quality down significantly. Multiple different power issues can end up costing your business money.
You’ve come up with that bullet-proof business idea. Numerous micro-pitches have been made over drinks. You’ve planned, plotted, dreamt, and now what? How do you translate your concept to money in the bank? Or, more importantly, how do you do it successfully? Informi give you an insight on how to get started and get prepared to climb the entrepreneurial ladder.
Setting up a business venture is an exciting time. Armed with a solid business plan and the drive and determination to succeed, it’s time to see your ideas finally take shape. Whether your business is a local retail outlet, a graphic design consultancy or a mobile hairdresser, there’s a lot to think about and your start-up budget will be stretched every which way to get ready for launch.
Perhaps the greatest challenge facing any young tech company trying to grow its business, is to ensure that the enterprise is operating to the best of its ability – efficient, dynamic and prepared to make the most of market opportunities.
The coffee shop business industry in the UK is expanding, and it is expected to be worth around £15 billion by 2020. This will see the rise of about 10,000 outlets in the upcoming three years. With room for you to thrive, opening a coffee shop now could be ideal for you. Coffee shops are well in demand with sleep-deprived Brits inclined to purchase a cup of coffee or two throughout the day. There is, however, the stellar competition that coffee shops owners will face from large chains such as Costa and Starbucks as well as the many independent coffee shops who are offering a unique experience to stand out.
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As children, there was always time for naps, cloud-watching, or simply to lie around and just ‘be’. But as business owners it can feel as though there simply isn’t the time to kickback, explore, play, and dare we say, go on an adventure. There is always more work to do on the business!
Getting less than 7 – 8 hours of sleep per night on a regular basis can have severe repercussions for your health. Your brain functions, your mood and the way you interact with people will be affected. Those are all vital aspects for small business owners, so the smart thing to do would be not to lose sleep.
One of the most controversial topics regarding the success in the business world is the one of the so-called ‘gut feeling’. While it is true that a lot of people made a fortune following their intuition, there is a lot of debate on what this gut-feeling really is. The closest thing to an explanation would be to say that the gut-feeling is an ability to match a current situation with a similar successful or unsuccessful scenario from your past. In other words, instead of relying on luck or some mystical force, you are subconsciously analysing the current situation and making decisions based on it.
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You will need to raise finances to fund your franchise business. It might be possible that you have to deal with hefty start-up costs that will cover the initial franchise fee as well as buying and/or renting the premises. You will also have to deal with ongoing costs that you need to cover, especially at the beginning where you will not be making a great amount of money.
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Leadership skills are something that you need to acquire in order to run and lead a successful business. Everyone is not born a natural leader, and this is not necessary in order for you to be a good leader. You can develop leadership skills over time and through experience. It is important to invest time in developing good leadership skills, as this will help you be a successful entrepreneur and a good boss.
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Once you have successfully started up your business, you will need to focus on actually running it. Although getting started and setting up is the initial big challenge you have to face and overcome, after getting into a routine of running your business, you will need to make sure that you are progressing and moving forwards and upwards rather than being stuck in a stagnant state.
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Finding a gap in the market gives entrepreneurs a chance to innovate their business. Finding a gap and taking advantage can even allow you to build an entirely new business. There are several different ways in which you can look for gaps in the market to give you that one idea that can change the course of your entrepreneurship. You can come up with ideas from looking at trends to tweaking already existing products or services.
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If you decide that you are ready to take on the world of franchising and want to invest in a franchise business, then there are certain things you need to consider. These include skills and attributes that make a good franchisee, choosing and buying the type of franchise, as well as actually running the franchise on a daily basis.
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Small businesses can really benefit from having accounting software to handle all the accounting of their business. It can make your business accounting secure, organised and hassle-free, allowing you to work on growing your business. When compared to manual accounting, accounting software provides clear advantages.
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Up until now, you might have thought that your product was the driving force behind getting a shopper to part with their cash – after all, isn’t that why you’ve spent months (if not years) developing it to perfection. You would be wrong, though. If you’re reading this then you’ve probably already realised that whatever medium or vessel you’re using to contain your products is a much, much bigger deal.
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Starting a business is one of the most important decisions of a business owner’s life. Therefore, you want to think about it carefully and consider whether you want to run the business by yourself and the advantages and disadvantages of doing so. You may also want to consider going into partnership, however you should make sure that you make a decision that you feel confident and happy with.
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Being a vegan means that you only eat plant based food. It’s a lifestyle that people choose to be healthier, as well as being environmentally and animal friendly. Some of the major cities around the world are fully embracing veganism and these include LA, Berlin and New York. The vegan business is booming in those cities, and London is following suit.
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