Originally written by paulchristensen on Small Business
Yesterday the government announced a raft of new local lockdown restrictions in Liverpool. These follow on from local lockdowns across the north of the country, and likely precede harsher measures in the next week or so to be imposed on London.
It is clear that the government remains committed to keeping the “R” rate low, and prioritising protecting the NHS’ capacity over any resultant economic harms. That’s its trade off to make – but if it is a trade-off it insists on making, then small businesses need the government’s support more than ever.
These hyper-localised lockdowns have a huge impact on the small business community. For a large number of SMEs, their suppliers and customers are geographically proximate to their base of operations. This means that the viability of their business is tied to the health of the local economy, and, critically, to individuals and businesses producing and buying goods and services.
>See also: HSBC will not accept any more Bounce Back Loan applications
Think about a medium-sized grocer that supplies a number of large corporates in Liverpool. With profits already damaged by the downturn in orders from cruise lines and shipping companies, they are having to extend
Tag Archive for Running a business
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Local lockdowns only make the problem of late payment worse
by paulchristensen • • 0 Comments
Originally written by paulchristensen on Small Business
Yesterday the government announced a raft of new local lockdown restrictions in Liverpool. These follow on from local lockdowns across the north of the country, and likely precede harsher measures in the next week or so to be imposed on London.
It is clear that the government remains committed to keeping the “R” rate low, and prioritising protecting the NHS’ capacity over any resultant economic harms. That’s its trade off to make – but if it is a trade-off it insists on making, then small businesses need the government’s support more than ever.
These hyper-localised lockdowns have a huge impact on the small business community. For a large number of SMEs, their suppliers and customers are geographically proximate to their base of operations. This means that the viability of their business is tied to the health of the local economy, and, critically, to individuals and businesses producing and buying goods and services.
>See also: HSBC will not accept any more Bounce Back Loan applications
Think about a medium-sized grocer that supplies a number of large corporates in Liverpool. With profits already damaged by the downturn in orders from cruise lines and shipping companies, they are having to extend
Hot Business News Today
5 winning traits 5 top entrepreneurs all have in common
by Tony Robinson • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Tony Robinson on Small Business
For the last 34 years I have been starting and running my own businesses. Throughout this time I have been lucky to learn from hundreds of entrepreneurs, some famous, about what helps a new business to survive and thrive.
These tips are rarely included in books or talks on entrepreneurship because successful business owners just regard them as normal everyday activities. All successful entrepreneurs I have met work extremely hard and love what they do but their hard work is rarely glamorous, risk taking or disruptive.
Growth is not exponential, ups and downs are guaranteed, and businesses often scale up not by increased productivity but by the entrepreneur exploiting a new opportunity, contract or acquisition.
>See also: Small business marketing 101, all the latest tips in 2020
Maverick start-ups that are investor led most often do not survive the first three years whereas four out of five start-ups that obey my five rules will survive three years.
5 rules to survive your first 5 years
Bootstrap don’t borrow (until you’ve got customers)
Test trade first
Build multiple income streams
Ask for help from a business owner who understands your customers
Enjoy what you do
Professional speakers may not see these activities as exciting enough
Hot Business News Today
5 winning traits 5 top entrepreneurs all have in common
by Tony Robinson • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Tony Robinson on Small Business
For the last 34 years I have been starting and running my own businesses. Throughout this time I have been lucky to learn from hundreds of entrepreneurs, some famous, about what helps a new business to survive and thrive.
These tips are rarely included in books or talks on entrepreneurship because successful business owners just regard them as normal everyday activities. All successful entrepreneurs I have met work extremely hard and love what they do but their hard work is rarely glamorous, risk taking or disruptive.
Growth is not exponential, ups and downs are guaranteed, and businesses often scale up not by increased productivity but by the entrepreneur exploiting a new opportunity, contract or acquisition.
>See also: Small business marketing 101, all the latest tips in 2020
Maverick start-ups that are investor led most often do not survive the first three years whereas four out of five start-ups that obey my five rules will survive three years.
5 rules to survive your first 5 years
Bootstrap don’t borrow (until you’ve got customers)
Test trade first
Build multiple income streams
Ask for help from a business owner who understands your customers
Enjoy what you do
Professional speakers may not see these activities as exciting enough
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Why Corporate Change Management Often Fails (Hint: It's Not the People)
by Josh Rovner • • 0 Comments
Four key infrastructure components must be addressed in order for change to take hold and last.
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How to Earn More Revenue With the Customers You Already Have
by Biron Clark • • 0 Comments
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4 lessons from Germany on how British SMEs can thrive post lockdown
by Sam Rucker • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Sam Rucker on Small Business
As lockdown eases, changes in how we do business have only just begun. One country that might be able to provide valuable insight for SMEs is Germany. Having begun lockdown easing back in April, it is already dealing with the next economic phase that small businesses in the UK will have to adapt to.
Our recent study involving SMEs in Germany reveals what Britain’s economic future might look like, and some best practices for how small UK businesses can face it head on.
Here are 4 lessons from Germany on how British SMEs can thrive post lockdown:
Re-imagine customer journeys to capture support
One silver lining to this dark cloud is the community support SMEs are currently experiencing: Pinterest, for example, recorded an increase of 351 per cent in support of small businesses.
To capitalise on that support, German respondents to the June Vimcar survey recommended ways to remodel customer journeys:
– Use social media
With people craving social interaction more than ever, social media usage has seen a 40 per cent increase. As a result, many German SMEs are feeding into #supportyourlocals and #nowopen threads.
UK businesses can also take advantage of this social media uplift and use the free
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How to reopen your hairdressers and barbers and post lockdown
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
The Government has announced that hairdressers and barbers can reopen for business on July 4 but other beauty businesses will have to wait.
Hilary Hall, chief executive of the National Hair and Beauty Foundation applauded the decision to reopen but said it had come very late in the day.
Hall said: “We are also extremely disappointed that beauty businesses are not yet allowed to reopen, and we have always emphasised that hair and beauty should reopen at the same time.”
>See also: How to reopen your restaurant, pub or hotel post-lockdown
How to reopen your hairdressers or barbers
All salons must stick to social distancing and maintain two metres between clients, or one metre with additional precautions, such as the use of screens
Face visors must be worn by practitioners for all activities. Face coverings are not an acceptable alternative to visors, but clients or staff may choose to wear an additional face covering
No walk-ins: clients must be seen by appointment only. Salon and barbershop owners will be required to keep a temporary record of all clients and visitors for 21 days to support the NHS test-and-trace system which controls outbreaks of the virus
No food or drinks to be
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Coronavirus small business diary – Alessandro Savelli, Pasta Evangelists
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Alessandro Savelli founded Pasta Evangelists, a home delivery service for fresh Italian pasta dishes in 2017, because he felt that pasta in Britain was still relegated to hard, mass-produced spaghetti on supermarket shelves and jars of pesto.
Based in Hoxton, East London, Pasta Evangelists employs around 25 full-time staff in its office and another 60 or so in production, preparing and packaging the pasta boxes. The start-up has an outlet in the world-famous Harrods food hall and a concession in M&S in Southampton.
Since the coronavirus pandemic took hold, Pasta Evangelists has seen demand for its home-cook pasta boxes more than quadruple and currently the business is shipping out around 12,000 orders a week.
24th February
It’s a rainy Monday morning in late February. I’m at home feeding my son Daniele his breakfast when my phone rings.
“You need to think about increasing your production – fast,” says the voice on the line.
It is my father calling from his mountain village in the Aosta Valley. Italy has just seen its first major surge in coronavirus cases and the Italian government has declared much of the north a “red zone”, locking down 11 towns across Lombardy
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How to Stabilize & Fortify Your Business in a COVID Economy
by James McKinney • • 0 Comments
Following the Footprints of Successful Business Owners to Successfully Bounce Back in Business During and Post Disaster