Tag Archive for Advice

Hot Business News Today

List of small business associations and networking groups

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

The advice on offer will depend on whether the small business associations are national or local, focused on one specific industry (such as a trade association) or a generalist (e.g. a chamber of commerce).

For readers interested in taking advantage of the support offered by such groups, here is our list of UK small business organisations – many of whom we regularly work with when creating our advice articles and guides.

Any additions or updates gratefully received. See our contact details section to get in touch.

Read on for the full list or you can go straight to your preferred section using the navigation links below.

UK small business associations

UK business networking groups

UK trade associations

Other SME business groups and resources

UK small business associations

Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed

Website: ipse.co.ukMission: Empowering, protecting and connecting our members for success, making IPSE the association of choice for the self-employed.Description: IPSE is a not-for-profit association that represents freelancers, consultants, contractors and others following the self-employment route. Benefits of membership include: tax and legal helplines, contract review service, discounts and deals on third-party services such as insurance, a group pension offer,

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The Questions Most Asked by Small Business Owners

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By Ben Lobel on Small Business UK – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
1. Should I be self employed or a sole trader?
Whether you register as a sole trader or as a limited company is a key decision when starting a business. If the decision is to start as a sole trader, it is prudent to review the situation after the business has become established. Basically, a limited company provides opportunities for saving tax but it involves a higher level of bureaucracy which you must either undertake yourself or pay others to do so on your behalf. Limited liability might also be advisable if the business venture is particularly high risk.
Forming a limited company has a number of implications, particularly in terms of taxation of profits. There are a small number of ways you can take money out of a limited company – dividends out of profits, a salary which is subject to Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and National Insurance Contributions (NIC) or by repaying a directors loan account which is in credit. A sole trader on the other hand can take money out of the business as frequently as they like, provided it does not

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Starting your own currency brokerage firm is a horrible idea

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Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
Starting a financial-focused business in 2021 is challenging enough as the full impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has yet to be fully understood. This is especially true in the money exchange space as the industry is dominated by multi-billion pound giants like Wise (formerly TransferWise) who compete against multi-hundred-billion pound banks.
Anyone thinking now is an opportune time to enter the currency brokerages space may not fully understand how crowded the space is and just how much power the industry titans have.
The currency brokerage industry: many big and small players
One of the first steps in evaluating a business idea is understanding the competitive environment. Starting a business knowing there are few companies in the space offering a competing service makes the entrepreneurship journey just a little bit easier.
But looking at the global foreign exchange space shows this is far from the case. There are at least two dozen FX exchange providers in London alone. London is the epicenter of the global foreign exchange industry so it is natural for a large number of companies to be based out of the United Kingdom.
There are other major global money exchange hubs, including New York City, Singapore,

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Hot Business News Today

Starting your own currency brokerage firm is a horrible idea

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
Starting a financial-focused business in 2021 is challenging enough as the full impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has yet to be fully understood. This is especially true in the money exchange space as the industry is dominated by multi-billion pound giants like Wise (formerly TransferWise) who compete against multi-hundred-billion pound banks.
Anyone thinking now is an opportune time to enter the currency brokerages space may not fully understand how crowded the space is and just how much power the industry titans have.
The currency brokerage industry: many big and small players
One of the first steps in evaluating a business idea is understanding the competitive environment. Starting a business knowing there are few companies in the space offering a competing service makes the entrepreneurship journey just a little bit easier.
But looking at the global foreign exchange space shows this is far from the case. There are at least two dozen FX exchange providers in London alone. London is the epicenter of the global foreign exchange industry so it is natural for a large number of companies to be based out of the United Kingdom.
There are other major global money exchange hubs, including New York City, Singapore,

Read more...

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How to start your own coffee shop

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Starting a coffee shop is at once exciting and daunting – there’s a lot to factor in before you even start writing your business plan.
This guide will take you through the main steps of how to start your own coffee shop, with comments from experts in the industry and links to further information.
What should be included in my coffee shop business plan?
The first part of your start-up is always the same: your business plan.
Your coffee shop business plan will look very similar to any other. It should include:

Your business proposition
Unique selling point (USP)
Target customer
Marketing strategy
Sources of funding
Overheads
Financial forecasts

What’s different with a coffee shop is that you’ll need to talk about what kind of coffee you’re going to use and what’s included in your menu. Is it food or drink that you expect to be your biggest money maker?
Along with the proposition, you should include your business’ purpose. Many businesses now launch with an ethical core. Not only will having your purpose in your business plan keep you on track with fulfilling your goals, but it will also help to attract ethical investors.
You must have these points nailed down before you approach partner companies.

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Hot Business News Today

How to start your own coffee shop

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Starting a coffee shop is at once exciting and daunting – there’s a lot to factor in before you even start writing your business plan.
This guide will take you through the main steps of how to start your own coffee shop, with comments from experts in the industry and links to further information.
What should be included in my coffee shop business plan?
The first part of your start-up is always the same: your business plan.
Your coffee shop business plan will look very similar to any other. It should include:

Your business proposition
Unique selling point (USP)
Target customer
Marketing strategy
Sources of funding
Overheads
Financial forecasts

What’s different with a coffee shop is that you’ll need to talk about what kind of coffee you’re going to use and what’s included in your menu. Is it food or drink that you expect to be your biggest money maker?
Along with the proposition, you should include your business’ purpose. Many businesses now launch with an ethical core. Not only will having your purpose in your business plan keep you on track with fulfilling your goals, but it will also help to attract ethical investors.
You must have these points nailed down before you approach partner companies.

Read more...

Hot Business News Today

Tips on running a B&B

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Originally written by Alice Douglas on Small Business
13 tips on running a B&B
In 2004 I opened a B&B in a converted church in Snowdonia. I was a single parent with two children under five. I was apprehensive at the prospect of welcoming strangers into my house and kept imagining one might be an axe murderer. However, I soon realized the best part of running a B&B is all the wonderful people you get to meet. Guests are rarely savage keyboard warriors out to immortalise you with a damning review, but on the contrary are mostly extremely forgiving of the odd mishap. I’ve had my fair share, like an escaped hamster paying a midnight visit in one of the four poster rooms, and other mundane but unavoidable dramas like boiler issues or hot tub breakdowns, but guests on the whole are very tolerant.
They are also in residence when good and bad life events happen to you, such as your child’s birthday celebrations or that sudden phone call when in the blink of an eye a loved one is lost. When that happened, a guest took over the breakfast service and persuaded me to go to London straightaway while they stayed to

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Hot Business News Today

Tips on running a B&B

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Alice Douglas on Small Business
13 tips on running a B&B
In 2004 I opened a B&B in a converted church in Snowdonia. I was a single parent with two children under five. I was apprehensive at the prospect of welcoming strangers into my house and kept imagining one might be an axe murderer. However, I soon realized the best part of running a B&B is all the wonderful people you get to meet. Guests are rarely savage keyboard warriors out to immortalise you with a damning review, but on the contrary are mostly extremely forgiving of the odd mishap. I’ve had my fair share, like an escaped hamster paying a midnight visit in one of the four poster rooms, and other mundane but unavoidable dramas like boiler issues or hot tub breakdowns, but guests on the whole are very tolerant.
They are also in residence when good and bad life events happen to you, such as your child’s birthday celebrations or that sudden phone call when in the blink of an eye a loved one is lost. When that happened, a guest took over the breakfast service and persuaded me to go to London straightaway while they stayed to

Read more...