Monthly Archives: March 2020

Budget 2020 what it means for small business – analysis and live blog

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
UPDATED: Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a £30bn spending package to help mitigate the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
Government to cover statutory sick pay for SMEs
Statutory sick pay will be available to all those advised to self-isolate from the virus. The government will refund the cost of statutory sick pay for up to 14 days to small- and medium-sized businesses at a cost of £2bn. This will apply to businesses with fewer than 250 employees.
Announcing his Budget this afternoon, the chancellor acknowledged coronavirus would cause “temporary disruption” to the economy.
Jonathan Richards, CEO and founder of Breathe, added: “As a small business owner, it’s reassuring that the government will cover the strain caused by sick pay, as well as offering significant loans and cash injections to UK small businesses.
Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme
A “Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme” will support up to a further £1bn lending to smaller businesses. The government will guarantee bank loans to small businesses on amounts of up to £1.2m. The government will cover bank losses of up to 80pc.
Business rates to be scrapped for certain businesses…
Business rates will be abolished altogether for smaller firms in retail, leisure and hospitality

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Chancellor cuts entrepreneurs’ relief lifetime limit from £10m to £1m

Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
In today’s Budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak cut the lifetime limit on entrepreneur’s relief from £10m to £1m. He said that 80 per cent of small business owners will not be affected by the move.
For a round-up of announcements relating to small business owners, read Budget 2020 what it means for small business – analysis and live blog.
‘A missed opportunity’
Though hailed as a ‘sensible reform’ by Sunak, many industry experts wanted to see it abolished altogether.
Phil Hall, AAT’s head of public affairs & public policy, said:
“AAT is pleased that the Chancellor acknowledged many of the numerous negative points that this misnamed relief has, including that fewer than one in 10 entrepreneurs have been incentivised to invest because of it, that its name is misleading and that that 75pc of the £3bn annual cost of the relief goes to just a handful of individuals.
Having acknowledged all of those problems, it’s therefore very disappointing that the Government has failed to scrap it and has instead opted to restrict the relief from £10m to £1m.
There is an overwhelming body of evidence that indicates the relief does not achieve its policy objectives, that it’s extremely expensive, misguided, poorly

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How I started my business – The Little Black & White Book Project

Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
Ruth Bradford, 38, launched The Little Black & White Book Project, a collection of black-and-white picture books teaching infants about animals and nature, in March 2018, having spent six years in Southeast Asia.
Pregnant with her son while living in Singapore and learning about the benefits of black-and-white images for newborn visual development, she was underwhelmed by the small selection on offer at the time. She decided to create her own. Bradford credits The Little Black & White Book Project really taking off when she created a website and sold directly to new parents.
Bradford started with three board books and one set of flash cards reflecting the places she had visited – safari in Africa, the rainforests of Southeast Asia and the Australian bush. Within nine months of launch she had won Enterprise Nation Female Start-up of the Year and been invited to 10 Downing Street.
Bradford says The Little Black & White Book Project is on track to triple her revenue in 2020-21 with 25 wholesale clients, as well as selling to five online marketplaces, obtaining national distribution, as well as direct sales via her website and social channels.
Still a one-woman-band,

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How I started my business – Zaffrin O’Sullivan, Five Dot Botanics

Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
Zaffrin O’Sullivan, 41, first had the idea for Five Dot Botanics back in 2017. She wondered why the packaging for skincare products listed impenetrable ingredients at a time when consumers were demanding ingredient transparency in food and cleaning products.
 O’Sullivan found a cosmetic scientist and spent two years developing her products along with designing the brand and a website alongside her day job working in television. The idea was to create a range of skincare products with only five easily understandable ingredients each. Five Dot had its first manufacturing run in the spring of 2019 and launched direct to consumer last July. The brand is already stocked in health food chain Holland & Barrett.
 Five Dot raised funding from start-up seed investment fund Worth Capital, managed by Amersham Investment Management, and plans to enter another fundraising round later this year.
 Only this week, O’Sullivan won a place on the coveted Sephora Accelerate 2020 programme and she plans to spend time in the US and Paris developing her brand for international distribution.
 O’Sullivan still runs Five Dot Botanics as a side-hustle, as she still works in TV as a lawyer. And, if that’s not enough,

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