Originally written by anthonyimpey on Small Business
After the toughest year in living memory for business leaders across the country, it’s been great to hear the news of successful vaccine trials. However, it may be some time before British businesses return to something that feels like normality. The latest productivity figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that although there is a rise in how much each British worker produces since the start of the pandemic, it’s still below pre-crisis levels.
While it might have felt like a near impossible task over the last nine months, business leaders can improve the performance of their teams – and therefore overall productivity – during a pandemic. The prize is greater profits and a more resilient business.
The pandemic has been a huge trend accelerator – with perhaps the most seismic shift towards online, by both consumers and businesses. Business leaders have also been presented with new management challenges every day. The need for faster decision making and the extended period of remote working has forced many leaders to rapidly introduce new processes and new technology.
‘The first lockdown caused three years’ worth of innovation in the first three months of the pandemic’
The pace
Tag Archive for Business Management
Hot Business News Today
How community solidarity with SMEs can boost your Q4 revenue
by Partner Content • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
COVID-19 has hit every economy around the world and practically every industry and vertical, but small businesses have been hit particularly hard.
In April 2020, almost a quarter of small businesses in the UK had to close, and those that reopened reported that revenue had declined by an average of 80 per cent. All told, 234,000 UK SMEs shut up shop permanently between March and September 2020.
The outlook is admittedly pretty bleak, but if there’s a silver lining to this cloud, it’s that people’s eyes, hearts and purse strings have opened to the importance of local SMEs. With the right strategies in place, today’s entrepreneurs can ride the wave of this sentiment, hopefully closing the financial year from a place of strength that can carry momentum into 2021.
We’ve all fallen in love with local
The novel coronavirus and loss of in-person socialising has led consumers to fall out of love with global service companies and products that are mass-made in China. Instead, they’re realising the benefits of local businesses. Around the world, activists have set up organisations to support local businesses, like Goodmoney in Brighton & Hove in the UK; Support Local BC in British
Hot Business News Today
How community solidarity with SMEs can boost your Q4 revenue
by Partner Content • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
COVID-19 has hit every economy around the world and practically every industry and vertical, but small businesses have been hit particularly hard.
In April 2020, almost a quarter of small businesses in the UK had to close, and those that reopened reported that revenue had declined by an average of 80 per cent. All told, 234,000 UK SMEs shut up shop permanently between March and September 2020.
The outlook is admittedly pretty bleak, but if there’s a silver lining to this cloud, it’s that people’s eyes, hearts and purse strings have opened to the importance of local SMEs. With the right strategies in place, today’s entrepreneurs can ride the wave of this sentiment, hopefully closing the financial year from a place of strength that can carry momentum into 2021.
We’ve all fallen in love with local
The novel coronavirus and loss of in-person socialising has led consumers to fall out of love with global service companies and products that are mass-made in China. Instead, they’re realising the benefits of local businesses. Around the world, activists have set up organisations to support local businesses, like Goodmoney in Brighton & Hove in the UK; Support Local BC in British
Hot Business News Today
How to choose a debt collection agency
by chrisleslie • • 0 Comments
Originally written by chrisleslie on Small Business
Recent reports in the press advising that banks may be looking to bring in third-party debt collection to collect Bounce Back Loans (BBLs) that go “bad” raises a number of important issues.
Debt collection agencies have always supported banks in collecting non-performing loans, credit card debts, mortgages etc. so to that extent the story is nothing “new”. What is new, perhaps, is the tone in which the story is being reported, and that seeking professional help is a sensible step for banks and Government to protect what is, in many ways, the public purse.
Certainly, whether directly or indirectly, the availability of credit impacts us all, and we should applaud those who take steps to strike the correct balance. Banks fear they may be “overwhelmed” with the task and are, understandably, concerned about protecting their reputations. They are also concerned about the increased blurring of the lines between personal and business debt, and the accelerated focus on vulnerability. Which is precisely why expert help is required.
>See also: Nearly two thirds of Bounce Back Loans could go bad, says government
How to choose a debt collection agency
Bringing this debate into the open raises another important issue, not least
Hot Business News Today
How to adopt a subscription service into your small business
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Firms are increasingly incorporating subscriptions into their business models – or shifting to a subscription-based model entirely.
With restrictions, lockdowns and further uncertainty ahead, it looks as if this will continue to grow as entrepreneurs look at new ways to do business which will give them a steady income that can be sustained online.
We explore the surge of the subscription-based business model and what a business needs to do to get started.
Why should I introduce a subscription service?
Subscription economy is worth £323bn, according to research from Barclays Payments. 65 per cent of homes are signed up to a subscription service, with the average number of subscriptions totalling seven. UK spends £552m a year on subscription services. Increased 50.2 per cent year on year during April – the height of lockdown.
Zuora’s COVID-19 Subscription Impact Report reveals of those businesses that already offer subscriptions, four out of five companies are still growing despite the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In fact, 50 per cent of all subscription companies are growing just as fast as they were before the pandemic while 18 per cent are seeing an acceleration in subscriber growth.
What’s more, subscription companies tend to be
Hot Business News Today
How to choose a debt collection agency
by chrisleslie • • 0 Comments
Originally written by chrisleslie on Small Business
Recent reports in the press advising that banks may be looking to bring in third-party debt collection to collect Bounce Back Loans (BBLs) that go “bad” raises a number of important issues.
Debt collection agencies have always supported banks in collecting non-performing loans, credit card debts, mortgages etc. so to that extent the story is nothing “new”. What is new, perhaps, is the tone in which the story is being reported, and that seeking professional help is a sensible step for banks and Government to protect what is, in many ways, the public purse.
Certainly, whether directly or indirectly, the availability of credit impacts us all, and we should applaud those who take steps to strike the correct balance. Banks fear they may be “overwhelmed” with the task and are, understandably, concerned about protecting their reputations. They are also concerned about the increased blurring of the lines between personal and business debt, and the accelerated focus on vulnerability. Which is precisely why expert help is required.
>See also: Nearly two thirds of Bounce Back Loans could go bad, says government
How to choose a debt collection agency
Bringing this debate into the open raises another important issue, not least
Hot Business News Today
How to adopt a subscription service into your small business
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Firms are increasingly incorporating subscriptions into their business models – or shifting to a subscription-based model entirely.
With restrictions, lockdowns and further uncertainty ahead, it looks as if this will continue to grow as entrepreneurs look at new ways to do business which will give them a steady income that can be sustained online.
We explore the surge of the subscription-based business model and what a business needs to do to get started.
Why should I introduce a subscription service?
Subscription economy is worth £323bn, according to research from Barclays Payments. 65 per cent of homes are signed up to a subscription service, with the average number of subscriptions totalling seven. UK spends £552m a year on subscription services. Increased 50.2 per cent year on year during April – the height of lockdown.
Zuora’s COVID-19 Subscription Impact Report reveals of those businesses that already offer subscriptions, four out of five companies are still growing despite the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In fact, 50 per cent of all subscription companies are growing just as fast as they were before the pandemic while 18 per cent are seeing an acceleration in subscriber growth.
What’s more, subscription companies tend to be
Hot Business News Today
How to chase debts and get paid
by suechapple • • 0 Comments
Originally written by suechapple on Small Business
Cashflow, as every business owner knows, is essential to business survival. Businesses go bust not only because they lose clients or an important contract, but more often than not because they run out of cash. Businesses fail with money still owed to them, money that, if they chase debts, could have led to a very different outcome indeed.
So how do you collect a debt that’s owed? Look at it a different way. Why do you have a debt in the first place and what’s stopping you from getting paid?
There are many reasons and excuses and you’ve probably heard most if not all of them before: we’ve not received your invoice, the boss is out, you’ll be in the next pay run, the cheque – as always – is in the post.
>See also: Banks may call in debt collectors to recoup unpaid Bounce Back Loans
Know your customer
But go back a step further. What do you know about your customer? Are they a good credit risk? Do they have an established reputation? In credit management terms “know your customer” is the first – and arguably the most important – step in how to get paid. Think
Hot Business News Today
How to chase debts and get paid
by suechapple • • 0 Comments
Originally written by suechapple on Small Business
Cashflow, as every business owner knows, is essential to business survival. Businesses go bust not only because they lose clients or an important contract, but more often than not because they run out of cash. Businesses fail with money still owed to them, money that, if they chase debts, could have led to a very different outcome indeed.
So how do you collect a debt that’s owed? Look at it a different way. Why do you have a debt in the first place and what’s stopping you from getting paid?
There are many reasons and excuses and you’ve probably heard most if not all of them before: we’ve not received your invoice, the boss is out, you’ll be in the next pay run, the cheque – as always – is in the post.
>See also: Banks may call in debt collectors to recoup unpaid Bounce Back Loans
Know your customer
But go back a step further. What do you know about your customer? Are they a good credit risk? Do they have an established reputation? In credit management terms “know your customer” is the first – and arguably the most important – step in how to get paid. Think
Hot Business News Today
Why negotiation is an important skill to learn
by paulfisher • • 0 Comments
Originally written by paulfisher on Small Business
Is negotiation skill an art or a science?
In today’s data-driven world, businesses, and those who negotiate on their behalf, rely on data to inform and power the decisions they make. But data isn’t the only driver that can boost a company’s bottom line. My experience with UK and international companies has shown that even with time pressures, companies still value face-to-face communication and importantly, the negotiation skill coaching to give them the confidence to do this.
Given the increasingly complex world within which these organisations operate, it’s crucial for them to strike the balance between data usage and the softer negotiation skill needed to ensure they get the result they want.
>See also: How to negotiate a commercial lease – tips for negotiating with a landlord
What are the challenges to effective negotiation?
But what does that look like in practice and what are the challenges employees face when it comes to negotiating effectively?
Knowing what you don’t know
When entering a negotiation, how much you know is crucial. But preparation is also key. It’s essential that you can identify what you may need to know so you are best prepared to achieve your goals.
This can be achieved through a