Monthly Archives: July 2020

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A quarter of entrepreneurs don’t use social media for their small business

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
New research reveals that 25 per cent of entrepreneurs don’t use social media for their small business despite the benefits that it can bring.
The UK Domain study shows some surprising results from the 500 business owners it surveyed. Out of all the users that took part, 24 per cent don’t think it’s relevant to their industry, with 23 per cent saying they don’t know how to use it to promote their business or they don’t have time for it.
A smaller 15 per cent say that they have enough customers already and 15 per cent have other reasons for not using social media.
For those that do, Facebook remains the most widely used social media platform (27 per cent), surviving recent controversies over data. The visually powerful Instagram comes in second place (25 per cent) while social media veteran Twitter takes a respectable third (though it has around half as many users as Facebook at 14 per cent).

 
Small business owners use social media for a variety of functions. Chief among them is raising brand awareness (29 per cent), increasing customer engagement (26 per cent) and generating sales (20 per cent). Social media platforms are also

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Solopreneurs earn a third less than full-time employees

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
A sole trader’s income is around a third of that of their fully employed counterparts, according to a report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
Three years after starting their own businesses, people who went into solo self-employment after a period of unemployment report earning nearly 30 per cent – or £500 less – per month on average. That gap has gone up from 21 per cent in 2002-2003.
ONS figures show that there are more self-employed people than there have been in the past 40 years. However, this move towards self-employment hasn’t created many businesses of scale. According to the report, one in nine workers is now a sole trader with no employees. That’s up from one in 11 in 2008.
Worryingly, more than four in ten solopreneurs were classed as being in poverty in 2018-2019 after deductions from housing costs, compared to one in ten who are in full-time employment. They’re also more likely to be ‘materially deprived’.
All of that said, self-employed people typically have a higher level of job satisfaction and wellbeing than those who are in full-time employment. It’s even true for people who became self-employed because of a lack of

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How to cope with the slow return to trade post-lockdown

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Originally written by Stuart Crook on Small Business
July 4 marked the most recent phase of coronavirus restrictions easing in the UK, which allowed for pubs, restaurants, and private events to return to trade post-lockdown. Engineering, construction, and non-essential retail had already re-opened, however many are discovering that it isn’t simply a case of “business as usual”.
The Government has offered many different forms of financial aid during the pandemic to help businesses weather the economic freeze, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and Bounce Back Loans (BBL), which have all been greatly received. However, even with businesses opening their doors to the public again, there are new rules and restrictions in place which must be followed which will impact on the bottom line of businesses and squeeze margins.
So, the challenge now isn’t so much restarting operations, but finding a way to do so profitably.
>See also: A quarter of entrepreneurs don’t use social media for their small business
Demand for sales
The Government was praised for its £330bn war chest at the beginning of lockdown to help businesses survive and protect the nation from mass unemployment. The idea was that it would protect the economy and ensure

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