Originally written by lauradodes on Small Business
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is where you can earn a commission for marketing someone else’s product. Revenue driven through the affiliate marketing channel has grown 10 per cent annually since 2015. More and more brands are recognising its value as a low-cost performance marketing strategy. But what exactly does it entail?
#1 – First, a brand needs to create an affiliate programme. This will typically be done through a network. Networks allow the brand to create trackable affiliate links and approve third-party websites (aka affiliates, publishers, partners, associates) to promote their company.
#2 – The approved affiliates use the link on their own platform and create content that encourages their audience to shop through their platform. When a customer clicks on their link to the brand and makes a purchase, the affiliate receives a commission.
Creating an affiliate site can be an easy way to earn some extra cash on the side, but it also has the potential to blossom into your full-time business.
>See also: How a social media platform can enhance affiliate marketing
I’m sold – how do I create an affiliate site?
Before beginning your journey as an affiliate marketer, you need to determine how your
Tag Archive for Buying and selling
Hot Business News Today
As predicted, Amazon passes on 2% sales tax onto small businesses
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Entrepreneurs say that Amazon has “shafted” small businesses by passing on the Government’s new 2 per cent digital sales tax.
Instead of forcing the internet giant to pay its fairer share of corporation tax, all the new digital sales tax has done is hiked up fees to sellers, “punishing small businesses in a crisis,” according to Amanda Thomson, founder of Thomson & Scott, which sells alcohol-free and sparkling wine on Amazon.
The Government launched the 2 per cent digital sales tax in April with the aim of getting internet giants to pay their fair share of tax. At the time, Amazon UK country manager Doug Gurr warned all that would happen was that his company would pass the levy onto its small business sellers, which is exactly what has happened. The same thing happened in France.
>See also: Amazon retailers could find their businesses blocked in a no-deal Brexit
Amazon has told UK small businesses using its services to sell products that it will increase its fees by 2 per cent. Some say they will have to pass on the cost to consumers.
“This self-employed group, who already pay their taxes in the UK, have become collateral damage
Hot Business News Today
Small businesses may have to pay 2% online sales tax
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Small businesses face being hit with another sales tax as Rishi Sunak considers launching a digital sales tax for goods sold online.
The Treasury is debating whether to charge 2 per cent on top of goods sold online, as a way of giving High Street shops a slight price advantage over online retail, according to The Times newspaper. The levy would raise around £2bn a year.
Last year, the Commons Treasury committee called on the government to consider an online sales tax to create a more level playing field in the retail sector.
>See also: Nearly a quarter of small businesses cut jobs despite furlough scheme
Another idea under consideration is charging home-delivery customers a surcharge for having online goods delivered online, which say critics, is adding to urban congestion.
Both ideas are part of a wider review into business rates, which the Government launched as a consultation earlier this month.
The review, begun last week, will conclude by next spring. In a consultation paper, the Treasury said it was “exploring the potential strengths and weaknesses of alternative property and online taxes put forward as possible replacements for rates”.
The COVID-10 pandemic has struck when bricks-and-mortar shops are already struggling
Hot Business News Today
Small businesses may have to pay 2% online sales tax
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Small businesses face being hit with another sales tax as Rishi Sunak considers launching a digital sales tax for goods sold online.
The Treasury is debating whether to charge 2 per cent on top of goods sold online, as a way of giving High Street shops a slight price advantage over online retail, according to The Times newspaper. The levy would raise around £2bn a year.
Last year, the Commons Treasury committee called on the government to consider an online sales tax to create a more level playing field in the retail sector.
>See also: Nearly a quarter of small businesses cut jobs despite furlough scheme
Another idea under consideration is charging home-delivery customers a surcharge for having online goods delivered online, which say critics, is adding to urban congestion.
Both ideas are part of a wider review into business rates, which the Government launched as a consultation earlier this month.
The review, begun last week, will conclude by next spring. In a consultation paper, the Treasury said it was “exploring the potential strengths and weaknesses of alternative property and online taxes put forward as possible replacements for rates”.
The COVID-10 pandemic has struck when bricks-and-mortar shops are already struggling
Hot Business News Today
Are people buying or selling a business during COVID-19?
by Matt Hernon • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Matt Hernon on Small Business
As the pandemic swept the world, we were bracing ourselves for the very worst. Would anyone really want to buy or sell a business during the COVID-19 crisis? Recessions come and go but this was looking like an economic tsunami.
In the immediate aftermath of the lockdown in March, traffic to BusinessesForSale.com halved from 1.3m visitors to 700,000 in a matter of days. But the fact that there were still 1000s of business buyers searching the website looking for a business was not just a relief for us but also quite fascinating.
A massive online marketplace to buy from during COVID-19
What was going on? The answer lay in the fact that BusinessesForSale.com was a mirror of the real economy.
While businesses that were instantly shut down – such as pubs, restaurants and hotels – which saw interest suddenly fall off a cliff edge – we saw a sudden spike in enquiries to tech and e-commerce businesses as well as convenience stores, pet shops and petrol stations.
What we discovered in the next few weeks and months was a revelation. Buyers had cash and they were moving in to make quick gains – and they still are.
So, to
Hot Business News Today
Are people buying or selling a business during COVID-19?
by Matt Hernon • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Matt Hernon on Small Business
As the pandemic swept the world, we were bracing ourselves for the very worst. Would anyone really want to buy or sell a business during the COVID-19 crisis? Recessions come and go but this was looking like an economic tsunami.
In the immediate aftermath of the lockdown in March, traffic to BusinessesForSale.com halved from 1.3m visitors to 700,000 in a matter of days. But the fact that there were still 1000s of business buyers searching the website looking for a business was not just a relief for us but also quite fascinating.
A massive online marketplace to buy from during COVID-19
What was going on? The answer lay in the fact that BusinessesForSale.com was a mirror of the real economy.
While businesses that were instantly shut down – such as pubs, restaurants and hotels – which saw interest suddenly fall off a cliff edge – we saw a sudden spike in enquiries to tech and e-commerce businesses as well as convenience stores, pet shops and petrol stations.
What we discovered in the next few weeks and months was a revelation. Buyers had cash and they were moving in to make quick gains – and they still are.
So, to
Hot Business News Today
Buying a business rather than starting up – is this a better route?
by Jo Thornley • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Jo Thornley on Small Business
To many people, becoming a business entrepreneur means setting up your own business and beginning to trade in your own right.
But while this is what plenty of entrepreneurs actually do, many others choose to buy an existing business as a means to becoming an independent business owner.
So which option is best? In reality, the answer usually depends upon your own circumstances and expectations:
Option one: buying a business
With buying an existing business, the first problem you may encounter is actually raising money for the purchase. By implication, buying a profitable business implies that it has a value. So, if you wish to take advantage of a ‘going concern’ as a source of income, you will need to be able to afford to do so.
However, even though raising money to buy any business is rarely plain sailing, you will find banks and other lenders much more likely to offer a loan against an existing business. Provided you have solid evidence that your chosen business for sale is profitable and forecast to remain in good business health, any lender should see this as a reasonable investment.
What this means is you must always ensure that any business
Hot Business News Today
7 tricks to help boost your website sales
by Enni Al-Saiegh • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Enni Al-Saiegh on Small Business
Although there is no magic trick to boost your website sales overnight, there are certain strategies you can implement. These can help boost your website visitors who can be converted into customers, and ultimately increase sales. Once you have a visitor on your site, there are key points to focus on to maximise the potential of turning the visitor into a customer including enticing visitors to stay on your site, encouraging them to make a purchase and persuading them to return at a future date.
In one word, what it is about is personalisation, and once you have that nailed down, converting site visitors to buyers falls into place.
>See also: How can I promote my small business website?
Below, I’ve explored 7 tricks that can help to boost your website sales.
#1 – Ensure your site is user-friendly
First and foremost, you need to make sure that your ecommerce site is completely user friendly. Even if a potential customer has come to your site specifically to make a purchase, if the page they land on is a mess then there is every chance they will take their custom elsewhere.
Loading speeds need to be fast – as this
Hot Business News Today
Sajid Javid may guillotine, not scrap, Entrepreneurs’ Relief
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Sajid Javid, the chancellor, may guillotine Entrepreneurs’ Relief instead of scrapping it completely, following protests from entrepreneurs.
According to the Sunday Times, Sajid Javid may shut off Entrepreneurs’ Relief for new businesses in next month’s Budget instead of scrapping the tax break completely.
And the tax break for entrepreneurs selling their businesses would be capped at £1m worth of capital gains tax to pay instead of the current £10m.
Entrepreneurs’ Relief halves the amount of CGT business owners must pay when they sell up, from 20 per cent to 10 per cent on sale.
Introduced by Gordon Brown’s government, the idea was that entrepreneurs would reinvest in their companies rather than sell out when they can.
However, Treasury officials see Entrepreneurs’ Relief as a tax loophole and want to shut it down completely. Prime minister Boris Johnson claimed the £2.4bn-a-year tax break served only to make the “staggeringly rich” even wealthier.
In October the Institute for Fiscal Studies criticised Entrepreneurs’ Relief for just rewarding owners already selling their businesses, rather than encouraging them to reinvest in another start-up.
The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) went further, calling for Entrepreneurs’ Relief to be scrapped and that the £3bn or so the
Hot Business News Today
7 of the most common myths around selling a business
by Jo Thornley • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Jo Thornley on Small Business
For many entrepreneurs, selling a business is a major decision. Given that many sell a business just once, it can be hard for even experienced businesspeople to understand the business sales arena and its established norms. Myths about selling a business, perhaps based on the evidence of one isolated transaction, are often voiced as general truths.
Make sure you don’t walk into traps by learning these seven common business sale myths.
1. I know the type of buyer I’m looking for
This could be ‘a clone of me’, a major player in your field, or someone with a large wallet and a string of companies. But why restrict your options? Someone else with good credentials, sound finances and new plans may be just the shot in the arm your business needs to move to the next level.
More generally, it can be reassuring to everyone if a change is largely cosmetic and it’s almost ‘business as usual’. But if maintaining your legacy and securing staff futures are your priorities, you may have to settle for a lower price to get such guarantees. That can be tough if cash is your key consideration. Remember a seller paying top