Tag Archive for Small Business

Hot Business News Today

Future of small business is local, personal and about data

by Timothy Adler • July 12, 2021 • 0 Comments

By Timothy Adler on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

The future of small business is local, personal and all about data, according to futurist Andrew Grill.

Grill, whose clients include Nike, Nestle and the British government, says: “It’s about being local – harnessing the power of the community – understanding the power of data, and personalisation, making things individual or even just redecorating your home.

“If you can get those three things right, there’s a lot of opportunity for a lot of small businesses.”

>See also: Brexit puts more than third of UK small businesses at risk of closure

The good news is that there may never be a better time to run a small business.

According to a Vistaprint survey, over two thirds of Brits say the Covid-19 pandemic has shown them how important small businesses are to our society.

Forty-one per cent of those surveyed said they would even pay more for coffee or lunch if it meant supporting a small business. And 63 per cent said that was to help the local economy.

Grill, a former IBM Global managing partner turned in-demand futurologist, says that the pandemic had accelerated trends by between two and three years.

>See also: Leading

Hot Business News Today

Future of small business is local, personal and about data

by Timothy Adler • July 12, 2021 • 0 Comments

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
The future of small business is local, personal and all about data, according to futurist Andrew Grill.
Grill, whose clients include Nike, Nestle and the British government, says: “It’s about being local – harnessing the power of the community – understanding the power of data, and personalisation, making things individual or even just redecorating your home.
“If you can get those three things right, there’s a lot of opportunity for a lot of small businesses.”
>See also: Brexit puts more than third of UK small businesses at risk of closure
The good news is that there may never be a better time to run a small business.
According to a Vistaprint survey, over two thirds of Brits say the Covid-19 pandemic has shown them how important small businesses are to our society.
Forty-one per cent of those surveyed said they would even pay more for coffee or lunch if it meant supporting a small business. And 63 per cent said that was to help the local economy.
Grill, a former IBM Global managing partner turned in-demand futurologist, says that the pandemic had accelerated trends by between two and three years.
>See also: Leading creatives call for tax on tech devices to

Hot Business News Today

What the Uber ruling means for your small business

by Jill Bottomley • February 23, 2021 • 0 Comments

Originally written by Jill Bottomley on Small Business
Last week’s long-awaited Supreme Court ruling in the Uber case has far reaching ramifications for any small business that engages self-employed individuals, in all sectors.
Drivers, engaged by Uber on a self-employed basis, brought a claim that they were not in fact self-employed; instead, they claimed they were “workers” and were therefore entitled to statutory pay, compliant with the National Minimum Wage (NMW) for all “working” time. Included in the claim were rights to statutory benefits, such as paid holidays.
And the court has ruled in the drivers’ favour, potentially costing Uber up to £20,000 per driver.
Uber’s defence was that its arrangement with drivers was typical of the private hire or “gig-economy” industry.
However the implications of the ruling may extend to any which currently engages self-employed consultants or independent contractors.
>See also: What are the benefits of agile working? – a small business guide
The crux of the issue
Many would imagine that a someone found to be a “worker” in this case would be classed as an employee, not as self-employed. However, confusion on these categorisations is where the crux of the whole issue lies.
A worker is not the same as an employee. The status can best

Hot Business News Today

How to deal with sexual harassment in your small business

by Timothy Adler • February 15, 2021 • 0 Comments

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Over one in two working women in Britain have experienced sexual harassment at work, according to a TUC and Everyday Sexism Project survey.
That rises to a shocking nearly two thirds of women (63 per cent) of women in the workplace if you’re aged between 16 and 24.
One effect of the recent #MeToo movement calling out men for sexual harassment and abusing their positions of power has been an increased number of internet searches for the term “sexual harassment.”
>See also: Sexual harassment: #MeToo and Time’s up encourage workers to speak out
Happily in the UK, the same sexual harassment legislation applies to every size of businesses, big or small, as it all falls under the heading of discrimination.
And discrimination is something the law takes very seriously indeed. A badly handled discrimination case could you leave you, as a small business, tens of thousands of pounds out of pocket. It could also cause you serious reputational damage.
Laura Ranaghan, HR consultant at Citrus HR, says: “The content of the policy that deals with sexual harassment at large companies such as M&S will be the same sort of process that you will need to follow in your own

Hot Business News Today

How to deal with sexual harassment in your small business

by Timothy Adler • February 13, 2021 • 0 Comments

Hot Business News Today

What new Covid restrictions mean for small business

by Timothy Adler • September 23, 2020 • 0 Comments

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Boris Johnson outlined the latest set of Covid restrictions this afternoon, significantly tightening laws for small business in England ahead of a second wave.
The latest set of Covid restrictions, which will become law, threaten any small business that does not comply with fines. Shop assistants in retailers could, for example, be fined £200 for not wearing a facemask behind the counter.
Mr Johnson warned that the new regulations, which underpin the rule of six – preventing any more than six people congregating – will be in place for the next six months.
>See also: Rishi Sunak to extend government coronavirus business support
The new clampdown will be a blow to pubs and restaurants, which from Thursday, September 24 have to shut at 10pm. That means close completely, not last orders.

All pubs, bars and restaurants must operate table service only and must close at 10pm
Staff and customers in pubs, bars and other indoor hospitality must wear facemasks when not eating and drinking
Retail staff and all users of taxis and minicabs must wear face coverings
Covid-secure guidelines for retail, leisure, tourism and other sectors will become law. Businesses will be fined and forced to close if they breach the

Hot Business News Today

What new Covid restrictions mean for small business

by Timothy Adler • September 22, 2020 • 0 Comments

Hot Business News Today

How do I apply for a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan?

by Timothy Adler • July 30, 2020 • 0 Comments

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
How do I apply for a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan?
UPDATED: Today (July 30), the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme has been relaxed to make more SMEs eligible for emergency funding.
Until now, an SME that was classed as an ‘undertaking in difficulty’ was barred from getting access to the loan unless the business was less than three years old. They’d be an undertaking in difficulty if, by deducting accumulated losses from its reserves, it was left with a negative amount greater than half of its subscribed share capital, as of December 2019.
This changes mean that SMEs with fewer than 50 employees and a turnover of less than £9m will not be classed as an undertaking in difficulty, unless they’re subject to insolvency proceedings or receiving certain types of aid. It’s expected to help small businesses that have previously secured private equity and venture capital funding.
Allie Renison, head of Europe and trade policy at the Institute of Directors, said:
“This is a welcome move towards helping more British businesses access much-needed finance. The UID test has caused a lot of frustration, and the IoD has been knocking hard on the door of both government and Brussels

Hot Business News Today

How to reopen your small business post lockdown – what we know so far

by Timothy Adler • June 24, 2020 • 0 Comments

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
UPDATED: Boris Johnson has announced the gradual unlocking of small businesses across England, as the UK emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Shops reopened on June 15
Pubs, hotels and restaurants will reopen on July 4

New guidance published on June 24 details how hairdressers, hotels, pubs and other small businesses in England can reopen safely from July 4.
However, other businesses including nightclubs, casinos, indoor play areas, nail bars and beauty salons and gyms will remain shut for the time being.
Announcing the changes on Tuesday, Mr Johnson said the following venues will be able to reopen from 4 July:

Pubs, bars and restaurants but only with a table service indoors, and owners will be asked to keep contact details of customers to help with contact tracing
Hotels, holiday apartments, campsites and caravan parks but shared facilities must be cleaned properly
Theatres and music halls but they will not be allowed to hold live performances
Hair salons and barbers will be able to reopen but must have protective measures, such as visors, in place
Cinemas, museums and galleries
Funfairs, theme parks, adventure parks, amusement arcades, outdoor skating rinks and model villages
Attractions with animals, such as at zoos, aquariums, farms, safari parks and wildlife centres

The

Hot Business News Today

Coronavirus small business diary – Alessandro Savelli, Pasta Evangelists

by Timothy Adler • May 21, 2020 • 0 Comments

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Alessandro Savelli founded Pasta Evangelists, a home delivery service for fresh Italian pasta dishes in 2017, because he felt that pasta in Britain was still relegated to hard, mass-produced spaghetti on supermarket shelves and jars of pesto.
Based in Hoxton, East London, Pasta Evangelists employs around 25 full-time staff in its office and another 60 or so in production, preparing and packaging the pasta boxes. The start-up has an outlet in the world-famous Harrods food hall and a concession in M&S in Southampton.
Since the coronavirus pandemic took hold, Pasta Evangelists has seen demand for its home-cook pasta boxes more than quadruple and currently the business is shipping out around 12,000 orders a week.
24th February
It’s a rainy Monday morning in late February. I’m at home feeding my son Daniele his breakfast when my phone rings.
“You need to think about increasing your production – fast,” says the voice on the line.
It is my father calling from his mountain village in the Aosta Valley. Italy has just seen its first major surge in coronavirus cases and the Italian government has declared much of the north a “red zone”, locking down 11 towns across Lombardy

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