Monthly Archives: August 2020

Hot Business News Today

How going insolvent could be the best way to save your business

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Originally written by Andrew Shipp on Small Business
These are without doubt, unprecedented times. Small businesses in virtually every sector are struggling financially and facing concerns about what is ahead and how they will survive.
Since May over a million bounce back loans have been issued, the 100-per-cent Government-backed loan scheme to support small businesses during the pandemic. But according to banks, it’s expected that half of these loans won’t be paid back, with many small business kicking bad debt further down the road.
If your company is “insolvent” – meaning it’s unable to pay its debts – or you’re worried that this is likely to be the case in the near future, then it’s important to consider your options.
>See also: Where to find your £5,000 small business technology grant
As a director, not only do you owe various duties to the company, including to act in its best interests, but you also face the risk of personal liability for debts incurred by the company, if you continue to trade once you are aware, or should be aware, that the company is insolvent.
There is no “one size fits all” solution if your company finds itself in such a position. For some, liquidation may be

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3 ways start-ups can create irresistible investment proposals

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Originally written by Matthew Cushen on Small Business
This article will explore how start-ups can create irresistible investment proposals.
Imagine you saw a tinned soup on a supermarket shelf, you might have seen something like it before, but possibly not the exotic flavour. You’re intrigued enough to pick it up and take a closer look. The packaging is poorly lined up, some ingredients are missing, the allergens are unclear and there are some spelling mistakes. It’s unlikely to get into your basket.
So I ask myself why, over 16 years of seed investing, and thousands (upon thousands) of investment decks, have I seen only a small fraction of investment proposals that have been thoughtfully constructed to sell the investment? With the right amount of information to give confidence and the creativity to instil some emotion?
Any pitch document should be aiming to make any investment proposals irresistible, and land in the investor’s ‘basket’ (their portfolio). So the ingredients of a compelling pitch to investors are the same as a compelling offer to consumers — differentiation, distinctiveness and price.
1. Differentiation
• Insight: It is difficult to create new ideas out of the same view of the world that everyone else has. A real innovation is usually

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8 ways to save money running your microbusiness

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Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
Energy expenditure is the second largest cost after tax owing for microbusinesses that small business owners still estimate.
This is despite 56 per cent of microbusiness owners agreeing that having a better understanding of their energy use would give them greater control over business expenditure.
Smart Energy GB, the pan-utility company campaign to encourage adoption of smart meters, surveyed the owners of 1,000 microbusinesses (firms with less than 10 employees) to reveal the devastating financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Three quarters of those polled were anxious about how they will keep their business afloat in the coming weeks and months. The biggest concerns for struggling microbusiness owners were a lack of customers, cashflow issues – a third now check their finances daily compared to just one in five before the pandemic – and that consumer confidence will not return quickly enough.
Michelle Ovens, founder of Small Business Britain, said: “COVID-19 has been hugely challenging for microbusinesses across Great Britain. As lockdown eases and firms get back to business, many are weighing up their financial situation and focusing on how to recover and move on. Now is therefore a good time to evaluate your business expenditure and

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Hot Business News Today

Only 43% of businesses plan to claim £1,000 furlough bonus

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
New figures reveal that almost half of businesses aren’t going to take up the £1,000 furlough bonus scheme.
The latest British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) Coronavirus Business Tracker was carried out around two weeks after the Chancellor’s Summer Statement, gathering responses from over 500 companies.
The intention of the scheme is to give employers confidence in retaining and hiring employees. Plans also include a subsidy to cover some of the pay for young people and grants for apprenticeships and trainees.
Even fewer businesses want to take part in these other schemes. A substantial 56 per cent of businesses said they didn’t intend on using the Kickstart scheme, a further 31 per cent hadn’t even heard of the scheme and 8 per cent want to use it but are not eligible.
Measures are insufficient in protecting jobs with almost a third of businesses expecting to cut workforces in the next three months, according to the BCC. Some firms say the coverage from the bonus scheme isn’t worthwhile as it’ll still be too costly to bring employees back.
Over half of firms (55 per cent) have reported a slight or significant decrease in their cash flow since June 2020. Another

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