Monthly Archives: September 2021

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How to win £4,500 to make your small business green

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

The Government has teamed up with BT, SSE and NatWest to find Britain’s most green small business, offering cash prizes worth £4,500 each to winners.

To enter, small businesses must show what steps they have already taken to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, in line with the UK’s aim to be carbon neutral by 2050.

The best Heroes of Net Zero entries will be invited to attend the COP26 international climate change summit in Glasgow on November 2, where the winners will be announced and receive an exclusive prize package worth £4,500:

21 hours consultancy with an energy manager and one-year free access to SSE’s ‘business energy intelligence’ energy management platform, worth £3,500Six hours of mentoring with a NatWest enterprise manager from its climate accelerator programme, helping winning businesses gain climate friendly skills in accessing new markets to attracting talentUp to £1,000 in vouchers to access a brand-new digital advertising support package from BTto grow your business

How to enter Heroes of Net Zero

The competition is open to UK businesses with fewer than 50 employees and split into two categories, each with the opportunity to win a £2,500 prize

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Listen to your customers when it comes to sustainability

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By Dan Matthews on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
Few business owners would argue with the idea that the customer is always right and many successful modern businesses are built on their drive to satisfy customers. Leading Internet retailer Amazon is a great example of a successful company founded on a relentless focus on customer satisfaction. Their founder Jeff Bezos is well known for saying “We’re not competitor obsessed, we’re customer obsessed. We start with what the customer needs and we work backwards.”
Most businesses will immediately think about their product and services when it comes to keeping customers happy, making sure they have a great feedback system and deal speedily with customer requests, issues and complaints. However, customers these days are often more demanding than they were in the past and will look for more than just great prices and products from a company.
Consumers will often only want to buy from companies that have an explicit sense of purpose and align with their broader ideas about corporate responsibility and ethical behaviour. This could mean only buying fashion from companies that check their supply chains to make sure workers are fairly paid or only banking

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How to become a driving instructor

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By Anna Jordan on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

You’re not alone if you’re thinking about becoming a driving instructor.

Due to the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, there are more learner drivers looking for instructors than ever. According to recent research from insurance firm Marmalade, there are currently around thirty learners to every driving instructor (also known as an Advanced Driving Instructor, or ADI) in Britain. Current instructors have seen a 227 per cent increase in enquiries since 2020, which equates to an average of an extra 8.24 enquiries each week.

What’s more, 30 per cent of instructors are turning away five-ten enquiries per week, meaning there isn’t enough supply. In response, some driving schools are offering fast-track ADI training to deal with demand.

The Marmalade research also reveals that, since the start of 2020, instructors now have on average 27 per cent more pupils, which is nearly six more pupils. Over a third (35 per cent) of instructors now have around 21-30 pupils at any one time. 

“There has never been a better time to become a driving instructor,” said Ian McIntosh, CEO of RED Driving School. “The lockdowns over the last 18 months have created huge

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