Tag Archive for Coronavirus

Hot Business News Today

How to start a new business if Covid makes you redundant

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Originally written by Steve Taklalsingh on Small Business
10-step guide to start a new business
Many people have gone through redundancy this year. More are likely to do so because of Covid. If you are one of them, after recovering from the initial shock, you are probably re-evaluating your life and career. Despite economic uncertainty this is proving to be a popular time to start a new business. But if this is the moment you head out on your own, where do you start and what do you need to know?
#1 – Have a good idea
Successful businesses are not successful because someone had a ground-breaking idea or invention. They’re successful because the business owner implemented the idea effectively. Having said that, you do need to really think about your business idea.

What is the problem you are trying to solve in the market?
Who is the competition?
Is there space in the market for you or is the marketplace saturated?
What do you bring to the table that others don’t?
How are you going to attract customers?

Do your research; it will be the most valuable time you’ll spend on your business.
>See also: 5 best ideas to start a small business post coronavirus
#2 – Check your status
You must

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Hot Business News Today

What new Covid restrictions mean for small business

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Boris Johnson outlined the latest set of Covid restrictions this afternoon, significantly tightening laws for small business in England ahead of a second wave.
The latest set of Covid restrictions, which will become law, threaten any small business that does not comply with fines. Shop assistants in retailers could, for example, be fined £200 for not wearing a facemask behind the counter.
Mr Johnson warned that the new regulations, which underpin the rule of six – preventing any more than six people congregating – will be in place for the next six months.
>See also: Rishi Sunak to extend government coronavirus business support
The new clampdown will be a blow to pubs and restaurants, which from Thursday, September 24 have to shut at 10pm. That means close completely, not last orders.

All pubs, bars and restaurants must operate table service only and must close at 10pm
Staff and customers in pubs, bars and other indoor hospitality must wear facemasks when not eating and drinking
Retail staff and all users of taxis and minicabs must wear face coverings
Covid-secure guidelines for retail, leisure, tourism and other sectors will become law. Businesses will be fined and forced to close if they breach the

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Hot Business News Today

Rishi Sunak to extend government coronavirus business support

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to extend all four of the UK’s emergency coronavirus business support schemes until the end of November.
Until now, the Treasury has resisted calls from business groups to extend the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), in particular. The CBILS is due to expire at the end of October with the Bounce Back Loans scheme following shortly thereafter in November.
However, given this week’s expected further semi national lockdown, according to the Financial Times, the chancellor has bowed to the inevitable in extending all coronavirus business support schemes, which have already backed £53bn in lending to business through government guarantees.
Second national lockdown
The news comes as a thinktank warns that a second national lockdown would cost the economy £250m a day as people are kept out of pubs and restaurants and encouraged to work from home.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) warned that GDP could fall by between 3 per cent and 5 per cent in the last three months of this year compared with the third quarter.
Although the £250m figure is a tenth of the impact of the full-blown lockdown at its peak in April, CEBR deputy chairman

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Hot Business News Today

How to start a new business if Covid makes you redundant

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Steve Taklalsingh on Small Business
10-step guide to start a new business
Many people have gone through redundancy this year. More are likely to do so because of Covid. If you are one of them, after recovering from the initial shock, you are probably re-evaluating your life and career. Despite economic uncertainty this is proving to be a popular time to start a new business. But if this is the moment you head out on your own, where do you start and what do you need to know?
#1 – Have a good idea
Successful businesses are not successful because someone had a ground-breaking idea or invention. They’re successful because the business owner implemented the idea effectively. Having said that, you do need to really think about your business idea.

What is the problem you are trying to solve in the market?
Who is the competition?
Is there space in the market for you or is the marketplace saturated?
What do you bring to the table that others don’t?
How are you going to attract customers?

Do your research; it will be the most valuable time you’ll spend on your business.
>See also: 5 best ideas to start a small business post coronavirus
#2 – Check your status
You must

Read more...

Hot Business News Today

Small business owners reveal how they’ve handled mental health and COVID-19

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
This year has been tough for small business owners – not only have they had to deal with the normal challenges of running a business, but they’ve also had to tackle the hardships that have come with COVID-19.
We’ve joined up with the UK Domain to discover just how these entrepreneurs have been feeling.
COVID-19 and its effects on small business owners
While we were looking into wellbeing, we wanted to understand how COVID-19 has impacted small businesses.
The pandemic has touched all areas of life: health, family, lifestyle and, in a significant way, business.
When we asked you, just shy of half (48 per cent) said that COVID-19 has had a ‘severe impact’ on their small business while 35 per cent said it has had a ‘major impact’. A tiny two per cent said that it has only had a ‘minimal impact’.

As we all know, the consequences of COVID-19 are vast, and this is reflected in our results. Most small business owners worried about adapting their business to these changing times (27 per cent). This was followed by the stress of supporting employees (18 per cent) and confusion over the help available (17 per cent).

Some respondents elaborated

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Hot Business News Today

Rishi Sunak to extend government coronavirus business support

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to extend all four of the UK’s emergency coronavirus business support schemes until the end of November.
Until now, the Treasury has resisted calls from business groups to extend the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), in particular. The CBILS is due to expire at the end of October with the Bounce Back Loans scheme following shortly thereafter in November.
However, given this week’s expected further semi national lockdown, according to the Financial Times, the chancellor has bowed to the inevitable in extending all coronavirus business support schemes, which have already backed £53bn in lending to business through government guarantees.
Second national lockdown
The news comes as a thinktank warns that a second national lockdown would cost the economy £250m a day as people are kept out of pubs and restaurants and encouraged to work from home.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) warned that GDP could fall by between 3 per cent and 5 per cent in the last three months of this year compared with the third quarter.
Although the £250m figure is a tenth of the impact of the full-blown lockdown at its peak in April, CEBR deputy chairman

Read more...

Hot Business News Today

How CCTV and access control could help your staff return to work

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Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
Stopping the rate of transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19) is essential while allowing for more people to return to work and for other aspects of normal life to function again.
While social distancing, along with washing our hands and surfaces, will continue to be the principle ways that we can reduce transmission, technology firms and their partners, such as UK-based CCTV and access control specialist, Ecl-ips, have been developing various solutions to enforce new rules and to help in the return to work.
>See also: How to reopen your gym, pool or leisure facility post lockdown
Temperature screening
One of the symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) is a high temperature and there are a number of CCTV and other technology firms marketing elevated body temperature (EBT) detection. However, all of these technologies need to be considered carefully.
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), for example, has stated that “temperature-based screening, such as thermal imaging, is not effective at determining if someone definitively has COVID-19 because, among other things, a person with COVID-19 may not have a fever. A diagnostic test must be performed to determine if someone has COVID-19”.
The FDA adds, “Thermal imaging systems have not been shown to

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Hot Business News Today

Eviction ban for commercial tenants to be extended until end of the year

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
The government is preparing to extend the eviction ban on commercial properties until the end of the year, reports the Financial Times.
Officials are looking at how to extend the ban from its current cut-off date of September 30th. The move comes as the Government faces increasing pressure to help businesses who are still struggling with the effects of COVID-19.
The announcement could be coming as early as this week, according to one official.
Leading figures in hospitality and retail warn that retailers and restaurants could be at risk of closure come the end of September with the clashing of the eviction and the next quarter’s rent bill.
UKHospitality has warned that a failure to act urgently to rent crisis will result in a ‘bloodbath’, with hospitality businesses failing and subsequent job losses.
Over the past weekend, leading restaurant groups including Burger King and Itsu wrote to Boris Johnson wrote to Boris Johnson to ask him for a targeted extension of the eviction ban, citing a ‘critical risk’ for restaurants from October 1st.
Retailers such as New Look have also called on landlords for rent reductions, with some forcing cuts through company voluntary arrangements.
Landlords say that eviction bans risk

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Boris must ‘act now’ to save businesses from going under

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
The British Chambers of Commerce has written to Boris Johnson urging him to “act now” to avoid “significant levels” of businesses going under.
Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, president of the BCC, said the government needed to provide more support for businesses suffering local restrictions alongside a comprehensive stimulus package, including reducing national insurance costs.
Baroness McGregor-Smith wrote: “If the government wishes to avoid mass unemployment, significant levels of business failure, and long-term economic scarring in our communities, we urge you and your colleagues to act now.”
See also: 150 UK small business grants to apply for right now
The government has extended some Covid-19 support measures, such as awarding grants worth £1,000 to small businesses that find themselves in lockdown, but it has so far resisted calls to prolong the furlough scheme or to extend the availability of state-backed coronavirus business interruption loans beyond the autumn.
The BCC’s full suggested fiscal stimulus package includes:

Reducing the cost of employment by expanding the National Insurance Employment Allowance for 18 months from £4,000 to £20,000 and raising the threshold for employers’ National Insurance contributions from £8,788 to £12,500
Rates relief to all of the hardest hit sectors and their immediate supply chains –

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Hot Business News Today

How CCTV and access control could help your staff return to work

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
Stopping the rate of transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19) is essential while allowing for more people to return to work and for other aspects of normal life to function again.
While social distancing, along with washing our hands and surfaces, will continue to be the principle ways that we can reduce transmission, technology firms and their partners, such as UK-based CCTV and access control specialist, Ecl-ips, have been developing various solutions to enforce new rules and to help in the return to work.
>See also: How to reopen your gym, pool or leisure facility post lockdown
Temperature screening
One of the symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) is a high temperature and there are a number of CCTV and other technology firms marketing elevated body temperature (EBT) detection. However, all of these technologies need to be considered carefully.
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), for example, has stated that “temperature-based screening, such as thermal imaging, is not effective at determining if someone definitively has COVID-19 because, among other things, a person with COVID-19 may not have a fever. A diagnostic test must be performed to determine if someone has COVID-19”.
The FDA adds, “Thermal imaging systems have not been shown to

Read more...