Tag Archive for Outlook

Hot Business News Today

SMEs left behind in government net zero goal

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

Small businesses aren’t getting enough support to help the UK reach net zero, according to a new report.

It highlights that 99 per cent of British businesses are unlikely to be ready for the increase in carbon reduction policy and regulation, with the government focusing on large companies and the highest carbon emissions thus far.

Neglecting small businesses puts 52 per cent of the government’s turnover at risk and excludes a quarter of the workforce, meaning that the UK won’t meet its targets. The warning comes from Bankers for NetZero, a body made up of several banks aiming to identify initiatives before COP26 in Glasgow this November.

The UK has a legally binding target of net zero emissions by 2050. Official estimates in March show that emissions fell to 49 per cent below 1990 levels last year. This is partly down to reduced car traffic and industrial activity.

In order to help small businesses, Bankers for NetZero says that they need support using all of the following methods.

Financial incentives

This could mean:

Lowering the cost of capital by offering ‘green’ financial products and services, rewarding firms that invest in decarbonising operations

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Future of small business is local, personal and about data

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

The future of small business is local, personal and all about data, according to futurist Andrew Grill.

Grill, whose clients include Nike, Nestle and the British government, says: “It’s about being local – harnessing the power of the community – understanding the power of data, and personalisation, making things individual or even just redecorating your home.

“If you can get those three things right, there’s a lot of opportunity for a lot of small businesses.”

>See also: Brexit puts more than third of UK small businesses at risk of closure

The good news is that there may never be a better time to run a small business.

According to a Vistaprint survey, over two thirds of Brits say the Covid-19 pandemic has shown them how important small businesses are to our society.

Forty-one per cent of those surveyed said they would even pay more for coffee or lunch if it meant supporting a small business. And 63 per cent said that was to help the local economy.

Grill, a former IBM Global managing partner turned in-demand futurologist, says that the pandemic had accelerated trends by between two and three years.

>See also: Leading

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Hot Business News Today

Future of small business is local, personal and about data

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
The future of small business is local, personal and all about data, according to futurist Andrew Grill.
Grill, whose clients include Nike, Nestle and the British government, says: “It’s about being local – harnessing the power of the community – understanding the power of data, and personalisation, making things individual or even just redecorating your home.
“If you can get those three things right, there’s a lot of opportunity for a lot of small businesses.”
>See also: Brexit puts more than third of UK small businesses at risk of closure
The good news is that there may never be a better time to run a small business.
According to a Vistaprint survey, over two thirds of Brits say the Covid-19 pandemic has shown them how important small businesses are to our society.
Forty-one per cent of those surveyed said they would even pay more for coffee or lunch if it meant supporting a small business. And 63 per cent said that was to help the local economy.
Grill, a former IBM Global managing partner turned in-demand futurologist, says that the pandemic had accelerated trends by between two and three years.
>See also: Leading creatives call for tax on tech devices to

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Leading creatives call for tax on tech devices to help the arts

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Over 100 figures in the arts, including Olivia Colman and Frank Bowling, want gadget sales revenue to go towards a pot for artists and creators.
The Smart Fund tax would be between 1 per cent and 3 per cent of the total cost of a tech device. That means bits of kit that can download or store creative content, including PCs, laptops and smartphones.
This fund could generate as much as £300m a year for the creative sector. There’ll be more if smart TVs or cloud-based technology get taxed. It would raise up to £25m for visual artists alone, doubling their current resale royalties – a pot of £20m a year.
>See also: How cloud computing can help your small business thrive
It’s a collaboration between UK’s creative industry, technology sector and the government. The government’s initial reaction was ‘positive’, according to the Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS), who are behind the campaign. Similar schemes run in 44 other countries and they generated £930m in 2018 for creators.
Gilane Tawadros, chief executive of DACS, said: “Working with the tech industry and innovators in this sector, we want to support creators and performers, to rebuild and enable the

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Hot Business News Today

Leading creatives call for tax on tech devices to help the arts

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Over 100 figures in the arts, including Olivia Colman and Frank Bowling, want gadget sales revenue to go towards a pot for artists and creators.
The Smart Fund tax would be between 1 per cent and 3 per cent of the total cost of a tech device. That means bits of kit that can download or store creative content, including PCs, laptops and smartphones.
This fund could generate as much as £300m a year for the creative sector. There’ll be more if smart TVs or cloud-based technology get taxed. It would raise up to £25m for visual artists alone, doubling their current resale royalties – a pot of £20m a year.
>See also: How cloud computing can help your small business thrive
It’s a collaboration between UK’s creative industry, technology sector and the government. The government’s initial reaction was ‘positive’, according to the Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS), who are behind the campaign. Similar schemes run in 44 other countries and they generated £930m in 2018 for creators.
Gilane Tawadros, chief executive of DACS, said: “Working with the tech industry and innovators in this sector, we want to support creators and performers, to rebuild and enable the

Read more...

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Brexit puts more than third of UK small businesses at risk of closure

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
EXCLUSIVE: More than a third (37 per cent) of UK small businesses claim Brexit could result in their business closing, according to research.
More than two fifths (44 per cent) of SMEs say that Brexit will or already has driven their businesses to lay off employees, according to research by business payments firm Equals Money.
More than three quarters (76 per cent) of 1,050 SMEs surveyed say foreign suppliers have increased prices, and more specifically, a third (33 per cent) say suppliers have increased their prices by more than 10 per cent. More than half (53 per cent) say that Brexit could or has resulted in higher shipping costs.
>See also: Half of small business exporters struggling with new rules post Brexit
Tomorrow (June 23) will mark five years since the Brexit referendum took place and the UK voted to leave the European Union by a majority of 52 per cent. Brexit officially came into force in January 2021, but it wasn’t until May 1 2021 that the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) came into effect. The free trade agreement now governs the relationship between the EU and the UK.
>See also: A quarter of small exporters

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The BCC is calling on the government to help businesses rebuild

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Optimism has grown since lockdown restrictions have started to ease, but businesses are still worried about the months ahead.
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has created a report outlining proposals to help businesses build back stronger.
It focuses on five key areas:

Manage the virus response in a way that helps businesses survive and thrive
Economic health and investment
Build an ambitious global trade strategy
Skills for the jobs of today and tomorrow
Invest in the places where we live, work, study and play

Let’s see what they had to say.
>See also: Sunak ignores small business pleas for more help to get through lockdown
Manage the virus response in a way that helps businesses survive and thrive
UK-wide co-ordination of virus management and recovery, ensuring consistency of approach across nations
Set out a long-term Coronavirus testing strategy so businesses can plan with confidence
Set out contingency plans for future virus response so businesses can invest in their future with confidence
Economic health and investment
Require lenders to accept requests from Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan customers for the term of their loans to be extended from six to up to ten years
Introduce a blended approach to businesses’ Coronavirus-related debt, including a student-loan style option, so firms only

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Hot Business News Today

The BCC is calling on the government to help businesses rebuild

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Optimism has grown since lockdown restrictions have started to ease, but businesses are still worried about the months ahead.
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has created a report outlining proposals to help businesses build back stronger.
It focuses on five key areas:

Manage the virus response in a way that helps businesses survive and thrive
Economic health and investment
Build an ambitious global trade strategy
Skills for the jobs of today and tomorrow
Invest in the places where we live, work, study and play

Let’s see what they had to say.
>See also: Sunak ignores small business pleas for more help to get through lockdown
Manage the virus response in a way that helps businesses survive and thrive
UK-wide co-ordination of virus management and recovery, ensuring consistency of approach across nations
Set out a long-term Coronavirus testing strategy so businesses can plan with confidence
Set out contingency plans for future virus response so businesses can invest in their future with confidence
Economic health and investment
Require lenders to accept requests from Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan customers for the term of their loans to be extended from six to up to ten years
Introduce a blended approach to businesses’ Coronavirus-related debt, including a student-loan style option, so firms only

Read more...

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Sunak ignores small business pleas for more help to get through lockdown

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has ignored small business pleas for more taxpayer support to help get them through extended lockdown until July 19.
Small business owners, and especially nightclub operators, face going out of business because of the government pushing back the lifting of lockdown restrictions until end-July. The fear is that government scientists will again point to Covid-19 infection numbers again going in the wrong direction, and Britain remains at the current level of restrictions until spring 2022.
The Treasury has pointed to local authorities still having £1bn at their disposal to help small businesses cover such things as business rates on a case-by-case basis. Other than that, its arms are folded.

From the start of next month, small businesses will have to start contributing to the salaries of furloughed workers. Currently, the government covers 80 per cent of wages of workers in the furlough scheme. Next month that becomes 70 per cent, with employers having to cover an extra 10 per cent
Hospitality, leisure and retail operators will also have to start paying one third of their business rates bill from the start of July, ending more than a year of the bills being waived.
Small businesses

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Hot Business News Today

Sunak ignores small business pleas for more help to get through lockdown

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has ignored small business pleas for more taxpayer support to help get them through extended lockdown until July 19.
Small business owners, and especially nightclub operators, face going out of business because of the government pushing back the lifting of lockdown restrictions until end-July. The fear is that government scientists will again point to Covid-19 infection numbers again going in the wrong direction, and Britain remains at the current level of restrictions until spring 2022.
The Treasury has pointed to local authorities still having £1bn at their disposal to help small businesses cover such things as business rates on a case-by-case basis. Other than that, its arms are folded.

From the start of next month, small businesses will have to start contributing to the salaries of furloughed workers. Currently, the government covers 80 per cent of wages of workers in the furlough scheme. Next month that becomes 70 per cent, with employers having to cover an extra 10 per cent
Hospitality, leisure and retail operators will also have to start paying one third of their business rates bill from the start of July, ending more than a year of the bills being waived.
Small businesses

Read more...